This is the year!

2011.

This is the year for reaching for and achieving challenging goals.

Seven months ago I was trying to decide whether or not to buy a car. I knew I wanted a car. I also knew I wanted to go back to Prague for a visit. I was trying to decide which goal I wanted most because I was thinking I had to pick and just do one or the other. I couldn't imagine a way to afford both.

Then something shifted in my thinking and I decided both were good goals and I wanted to do both. I put a note on my refrigerator that says, "How can I say YES to both?" and another that says, "Find a way to say Yes, I can, instead of No, I can't."

Fast forward seven months and I am amazed at what "trying to say Yes" has done to my life. I became comfortable with the idea of having debt in my life, got a car loan approved for an amount I thought I could handle, and bought a car.

I've always been intrigued with rolfing and took a few sessions with Brad Jones, a rolfer and my kettlebell coach.

I went to Prague for two and a half weeks at the end of March and beginning of April, accomplishing a goal I'd had for 4 1/2 years. At pretty much the last minute before procrastinating the purchase of my plane tickets had gone beyond reason, my dad called and said I could fly on a buddy pass he had with Delta. This, combined with the fact I was able to stay with friends, cut the costs of my trip dramatically.

When I got home, I decided I was on a roll and couldn't stop. I left the signs up on my fridge, went to Best Buy and bought a new laptop. I've been blessed to be given hand-me-downs from relatives the last two laptops I've had. But I've always wanted one of my own choosing. I want to get back into writing and I decided getting an up-to-date laptop was my way of saying to my inner writer to come out of the closet.

I went back to work at the end of my vacation and decided I was done spending money. But....

then Brad Jones said he was going to order some kettlebells and who in our class wanted to order some, too? Competition kettlebells aren't cheap. But there was enough of us ordering them that we got a good deal. So I went ahead and ordered two.

You see, back in February I was drooling over some fancy Kettlebell wrist guards and even posted something about them on my blog. They were something like $30 with shipping and I just felt like I wasn't ready to part with the money with my trip to Prague coming up. Some of you might say I was being practical and reasonable and smart, etc. Maybe so. But I think I had fallen back into the trap I was trying to get out of. I was saying no, I can't instead of finding a way to say yes, I can.

And then Sara came to the rescue! One day I came home and found a card from my friend Sara McCausland from Portland, OR. She wrote "Here's a little something to help with you fulfilling some of your dreams and goals for 2011." And she included a check for the wrist guards. Wow! How cool is that? Thank you, Sara! Thank you for helping me remember to say YES!

When I wear my Kettle Guards I often think of Sara. And I think how blessed I am to have friends near and far who cheer me on. The day I got Sara's card I'd been driving home from visiting my sister and cousin. I'd had a great day and yet I'd cried my way home. I have no idea what unleashed those tears or where they came from but they needed to be shed.

I feel like I have a pretty great life. But still, sometimes I get sad about some things. Doesn't everyone? Having a friend to call and say thank you to; having a friend who could say, yeah, I know what it's like to be single in your 30's, too; having a friend who could say I care about you and cheer you on no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other, meant a great deal to me that day. And also on subsequent days when I simultaneously rejoice in letting the dishes pile up with no one around to care and mourn the lack of someone there to care, I think of Sara and know I'm not alone.

My goal is to compete in a kettlebell competition. It's on September 17th in Seattle. Today I made one more step towards my goal. Hooray for two new kettlebells! The blue is 12 kg (24 lbs) and the yellow is 16 kg (35 kg).

Hooray for finding a way to say Yes, I can!