New Directions, New Horizons

and the world said hey it's a brand new day, originally uploaded by emdot.

(In which our fearless author overuses numbered lists and dips her toe into something that could either be beyond fabulous and motivational OR dull and dry and ohmigod what what I thinking?)

For the past month several sewn-together thoughts have been with me every single day for what feels like every single minute. I want to lose weight-be fit-be organized-and I want to do this online. Take my goals to my blog.

I've got some goals -- ongoing, neverstarting, neverending, always persistant goals -- that have been with me for some time. Oh, you know, like more than years. Decades. Old goals that have never been met.

I want to turn that around. I want to really and truly take those steps forward that say,

1. This is what I want in my life.
2. This is how I'm going to do it.
3. And I'm going to do it for everyone to see.

Reasons:

1. I need to be held accountable
2. I need constant reminding
3. I need to be motivated

And my feeling is that some of you may need that too.

So, I'm going to go for it. Tell my goals to all who come here. I'm going to share tips and tricks, and trips and falls. I'm going to ask for help and suggestions.

And, hopefully, purposefully, I will drive my life in the direction in which I want to go.

So, what are my goals?

Here they are:

1. Lose 40 pounds. Yes. Forty. There I said it. And I will do this in six months. Following the Bob Greene strategy in "Get with the Program" and most probably Weight Watchers. The food deal is a tricky one for me because, let me be really honest, food is all about emotion in the Emdot Day-to-Day. And it has been for a long time (since probably junior high school). So... it's tricky. But I'm willing to try again. :)
2. Get organized. To me, and I've really been thinking about this a lot, a lack of organization is the fertilizer to my current state of treading water. For that, I'll be focusing on smaller goals as well as tips and tricks based around Getting Things Done.
3. Get my finances in order. Like super in order. Like I can buy a house without relying on a parental hand out order. This one will take longer than six months and I will not be starting it seriously, or chronicling avidly, until some time next year.

So there they are: the three goals that have filled up thousands of (offline, personal) journal pages, countless hours of self-berating or guilt. Countless statements of "this is my day one of my new workout/diet/lifestyle."

My whole goal is to do this in a fun way. In a sane way. In a non-obsessive way. In a way that will continue to inspire myself and maybe inspire you. My goal is to stay positive and honest. My goal is to move my life into an area that I've wanted for a long time, but has always seemed out of reach.

So there you have it. What I haven't decided yet (and why I haven't started yet) is if I will start a new blog or if I will be doing this here at meandering streamies. The plan is (no matter the previous decision), move this over to my domain, have lots of helpful links, ponderings , and then more thoughtful posts.

And my hope is that I reach my goals. And that some of you might share with me -- what has worked or hasn't worked. And there you have it.