Day	Amount	Place	Category
Monday	$10.00	safeway	groceries
	$14.25	papa murphys	groceries
	$51.25	lowes	house
	$39.25	christmas	allowance
Thursday	$57.00	writing	allowance
Friday	$123.25	CostCo	groceries
Saturday	$22.25	Red Robin	eating out

I am the queen of last minute Christmas shopping. I just am.

Otherwise, this was a fairly quiet week for spending. I did spend money on Thursday on my writing goals, but that’s something I feel good about.

Saturday, I wanted C to talk me out of getting a new laptop. Instead we ended up researching the new convertible laptops- the ones that can function like a tablet, too. We didn’t buy anything, but a convertible laptop would fit the wants both of us have for our next electronic device, so don’t be surprised if there’s spending on one in the next few weeks.

Sunday, I took C with me to an open house for a house I’ve been coveting. That may or may not have been a mistake. More about that on Tuesday.

 

This is the FINAL post for 2012 goals! How did I do?

1)      Be paid for publishing one piece of fiction

FAIL

Submissions so far: 5

Responses: 3 rejections 1 acceptance, 1 pending (just submitted on Thursday)

While I was thrilled to have a piece accepted for publication in Conquest Through Determination, I was not paid for that piece.

A similar goal will be back next year

2)      Pay All Adoption Expenses in Cash & Still Pay for C’s College Out of Pocket

UNKNOWN

Paying off my graduate student loan may have made this one a little more difficult, but since our “pick me, pick me” books won’t likely be in front of prospective birth parents until late February at the earliest, we should be in good shape.

Not certain if I’ll carry this goal over.

3)      Attend FinCon12. Pay for the trip with money from allowance/side projects saved/earned BEFORE the conference starts. Goal: $600

SUCCESS

Or at least that’s what I’m calling it. I am still pondering whether I want to attend FinCon again next year, or instead attend one of the pet blogging conferences, or not do either because I’ve got a cousin getting married in NC in June….

4)      Become a member of Yakezie (6 month anniversary is Jan 21)

FAIL

I am still not a Yakezie member. My Alexa ranking isn’t in the right place. And I’ve made peace with this. While I love what the network does for bloggers and intend to continue to support it, I don’t think this will be a goal that carries over.

5)      Make money from my blogs.

FAIL

AdSense earnings: $30.56 at the end of November, with $0.39 made so far this month. (They won’t send me any money until I hit $100.)

Amazon earnings: $0.00

And again, I’m okay with this. I’m not really looking to make money from my blogs. While I will continue to have the ads and the Amazon placement next year, this goal will not be continued.

6)      Be healthier

SUCCESS

Five months in to my 13 month diet, I’ve lost 30 of the 65 pounds that I set as my goal, and that included the fact that I gained 4.5 pounds over the last week (so not a surprise, given how much chocolate I’ve eaten lately). I am really happy with my progress and definitely intend to continue down this path.

My goal overall is still to be healthier, not just skinnier. Because even once I get to my goal weight, I’ll still be overweight, just not morbidly obese. I will never be skinny, and that’s fine with me. I just want to be healthy and to have the energy to do things with my dogs and with my eventual child.

This goal will definitely continue.

 

So, I succeeded in 1/3 of my goals, failed in ½, and one couldn’t be determined. And I’m okay with that. The point of goals isn’t always to achieve them, but to make you think about your life in a different way. These goals did that for me, even if I did later decide that they weren’t the right goals for me.

 

This is my last post of 2012. Thank you to all of you for following along. It’s been a tough year, but also a good year. I am happy to have been able to share it with you.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year’s Eve, and I look forward to seeing you in 2013.