My niece posted a blog today relating goals she set for the summer and then recapped them to see how successful she was in attaining them. She didn’t do too bad. The key was that she set meaningful, measurable and attainable goals. She didn’t set goals like landing on the moon, but rather simple goals, like getting back to using her real camera instead of the cell phone. It got me thinking about my own goals. How many times have I thought about things I might want to get back to, but never do. Of course, for many of us, we have to do something similar for work, so we might not want to do something similar in our personal lives. However, maybe that is just what we need. CC set the seasons as her target dates, so with fall arriving, she recapped her summer goals. She felt good that she was able to meet most of them.  Though she never made that bundt cake for her charming, loving uncle Ed.

Good goals are ones that are reasonable and attainable. This keeps you from becoming frustrated and disenchanted. Since this isn’t work related, they can be as simple as CC making a bundt cake for her uncle. (I added that she was making it for me, though, she can if she wants to.) Think of all those things that you have either wanted to do or felt a need to get back to and make a list.Try not to overwhelm yourself out of the gate and pick a few things and set the target date to complete. Remember, measurable, so if you put reading books, quantify it. Say, I want to read five books over this season. If you want to make a bundt cake, set the goal of at least two, one for you and one for me. Okay, one for me. I think in our busy lives, it is good to set goals. If we can make the goals, it gives us that sense of satisfaction. It also gives our lives a bit more focus.

So some goals for me for the Fall:

Get back to writing. – In progress. Softballing it now by talking about building out Pinecroft into a productive croft (Croft is Gaelic for small farm). I do plan on tackling tougher issues such as depression, healthier living, and social issues. Maybe earn another Golden Note award for online writing. Who knows. Goal: Write a minimum of one blog a week.

Get back to my music. – I bought a guitar to get back to playing when we were at the old house. It has been stored ever since. Hoping when I build out the office downstairs, I will put it on the stand so that it is out and available. I do have my Karoake set up which I use once a year for a charitable event I run. I haven’t written a song in twenty years. Goal: Pick up the guitar and learn one song by heart. (Walk Don’t Run doesn’t count as I had learned that one last.) I’ve got to get blisters on my fingers!!!

Get back to my cooking. – I have been processing all the food coming in, canning and freezing. I love to entertain and I think Cindy and I need to have small parties with intimate groups rather than just the two major cookouts we have each year. I like the more intimate groups because you can concentrate on folks more and learn what is going on in their lives. Though I do love the cookouts. Goal: Have at least one intimate event with one or two other couples. I wonder how many volunteers will jump to help with this one.

Get back to my photography – I used to be a photo dawg. I took pictures of everything. Hell, I still have my old Pentax film camera. I used to send multiple rolls weekly to Clark for processing. I switched to Digital and stayed with a Pentax. I had that one until it died. I had been out in Sedona taking pictures and slipped on some wet stone and landed in Wet Beaver Creek, camera and all. The ninety plus temps helped to dry things out, but just like your cell, once those electronics get wet, in time, they just go. I did replace it after a year or so with a K30 water resistant. I stayed with Pentax because of my investment in lenses and filters. You can’t get the Mirumi filters anymore and I have a filter for every mood. I even have a kaleidascope filter. So let’s see, what would be the goal besides just taking pictures? Goal: Taking at least two pictures worthy of being blown up to poster size. (Though I do have one all ready that I had put to canvas. It was a picture of the hoodoos when Cindy and I went to Nevada/Colarado/Arizona/Utah for our 10th last year.)

Get back to reading – I used to be a voracious reader before Facebook. I might have had two or three books going at the same time. I studied everything from Native American culture to Quantum Physics to Shamansim and other indigenous healing methods. Of course, I had my light reading too, like Tony Hillerman’s series with Leaphorn and Chee or Dan Brown’s books. Despite not reading, I continued to acquire books. I have quite a library. I am a third of the way through the one my son gave me on Quantum Gravity. I have a pile of others waiting. Okay, hmm goal, maybe be a little ambitious on this one because the others are attainable with time and stick-to-it-ness. So a harder goal, but a good one: Complete one book from three categories, one from my Shamanism/Healer stack, one from my Masonic stack, and the Quantum Gravity book. Three books in three months.

Okay, so there. I have set some goals. We will have to come back to this in a few months and see just how well I have done. My challenge to you, my readers, is to create your own list of goals. Check to see how well you do against your list. Maybe we can compare notes.

My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.

So I think those are all measurable, attainable, and