(despite the snow on the ground), so it’s time to review my Winter Goals and see how I did.
- Go skiing. Um, negative on this one. It just wasn’t as important as everything else. There’s always next year.
- Try the following foods: beets, brussel sprouts. Check on the Brussels sprouts (yum) , not so much on the beets (as in, I didn’t try them). Also, I tried a pear, which I didn’t like.
- Sew one item of clothing for myself each month. Pretty big fail on this one. I did get most of a dress sewn, but it’s not done yet. There was quilting done, however, and I stayed current with swaps.
- Modify one item of clothing from the drawer each month (the drawer of thrift store purchases that don’t fit properly and unfinished sewing projects). Negatory on this one. I only accomplished this in February, when I attempted to take in a cute shirt from the thrift store, and made it too skinny. Oops. I think it might fit if I lost the weight I wanted to.
- Take our plecostomus to live somewhere else, as he has been too big and aggressive for our small tank for several months now. Um, yeah, I still haven’t done this. It will get done this month, though, since we have to empty the tank for moving.
- Go through closet and dressers and get rid of clothes I no longer wear / no longer fit. Done. Twice, actually. Once early in the year, and then again this past weekend for the Courage Center pickup that’s occurring in our neighborhood tomorrow.
- Re-organize kitchen cabinets (again) – this should probably be a spring cleaning goal, but it’s driving me crazy now. I didn’t even remember I’d made this a goal until just now. Totally didn’t do it (obviously). And completely not necessary, since there will be moving soon.
- Not to pick up a new hobby. Check. No new hobbies.
- Clean out the under-the-bed area in the spare bedroom. Also check. I also cleaned out the drawers in my desk, shredded a year and half’s worth of receipts, and kept my craft area organized (for the most part).
And for those yearly goals…
- Work out for 30 minutes every day that I don’t have class (because I’d be setting myself up for failure if I thought I’d make it to the gym on those days). On the off chance that my plans may include some sort of aerobic or cardio-type activity (you know, if we go skiing or sell the house and move or something), that counts as my 30 minutes. “Work out” may be cardio, strength-training, or both. As previously noted, I scrapped this goal while school was in session, because it was insane.
- Maximum of 2 visits per week to the hot drink places in the Skyway (the coffee places, the tea place). Successful, every single week.
- Drink lots more water. My goal is 70 ounces a day. Not so successful, but working on it. I did ditch my bottled water habit, and have started carrying a water bottle, so I’m getting at least… 13 ounces of water a day (because that’s all it holds at a time, and the water here at work tastes icky). I still need to improve here.
- Eat breakfast every day. McDonald’s is not breakfast. “Something that won’t kill me” is a good guideline. Right now, I’m enjoying Carnation Instant Breakfast, though I may have to switch over to Slim Fast at some point during the year for variety. Also successful every single day. Yay me!
- Since it’s nearly impossible for me to get enough sleep with my current schedule (in order to get 8 hours, I’d have to be asleep by 9:30, which just isn’t happening), I will stop feeling guilty when I fall asleep on the bus (both to and from work), and enjoy the chance, however short it is, to renew myself. Yes, I’ve given up guilt over sleeping on the bus. I should just cross this one off the list and no longer revisit it.
- Remove my makeup every night before going to bed, without exception, even if I’m feeling really really lazy. I will also remember to floss and use mouthwash [more] regularly. Check almost every day (I think there have been a few times when I haven’t taken off my makeup). Gotta remember to work on that floss and mouthwash thing though.
- $50/month budget for fabric (notions like zippers, thread, ric rac, rotary cutter blade refills, etc do not count). As previously noted, February was a bust for this, but both January and March I excelled (just about $50 to the penny each month). April will be a $0 spent month, since there is no buying of fabric when fabric is being boxed up.
- No yarn buying. I did buy some yarn in January, and actually made stuff out of it, so I think that mitigates the bad. I made two hats (one mine, and the black one that was really nice and warm with cables that I thought looked ridiculous on me? my sister loved, so it’s now hers) and a shrug. After we move, I’m going to work on matching hats for the nephews.
- Very little, if any, book buying. I think I did good on this. I don’t remember buying too many books. Maybe a few. Some cookbooks. Not much else.
- Very little caffeine. Excellent success on this one. Even when I really miss caffeine, I do not miss its inflammatory effects, so I try not to whine too much.
- Eat a more balanced, healthy diet, which may include (gasp) restricting calories until I’m a little more in shape to do serious cardio. Yeah, let’s mark this one as “needs improvement” and move on.
- Make time for friends, fun, , relaxing, baking, etc, so that life is not only homework. I will try very hard to make it to every one of
’s “fun days” (or whatever she’s calling her once-a-month get together with friends), assuming that she puts it on her Google calendar so I know when they are in advance (or emails me, or whatever) and can plan homework accordingly. I didn’t do too good at making time this semester. Perhaps I can make up for that failure by calling my friends and asking them to help me move? Yeah, I didn’t think that would fly either. Conveniently, I will have nearly 4 months off this summer, so I should be able to spend some time with friends then. - Sunscreen in the summer, whenever sun may be an issue. Sun has yet to be an issue this year.
- Attempt to have a more positive attitude about things, though this is a very blah goal and unspecific and one I’m not terribly motivated for at the moment. The “positive thoughts” habit I am working on currently involves asking myself “are they hurting anyone?” when someone is doing something that is incredibly annoying to me (but doesn’t directly affect me, such as people talking on their cell phones on the bus). Still a work in progress.
So, for being 1/4th of the way through 2009, I feel good about my progress.
Oh, should I make some Spring goals? Let’s see, Spring = April + May in my book. Since April = moving and half of May = moving, and April also = end of the semester, I’m going to keep my goals short and sweet.
- Pack up house. Move out of house. Move into new house.
- Finish semester well. Complete all assignments. Get straight A’s. (There are serious rewards involved if I do.)
- Do not freak out too much over above potential stresses. Life is an adventure, right? Must keep reminding self that. When all is said and done, both of the above are things that I really want to do, and that we’ve been planning on for quite some time. Just need to take lots of deep breaths, and write a list or two.
- Host Easter dinner. Succes = no one getting food poisoning, no injuries requiring more than a Band-aid, and no fights that end with slamming doors. I smell success.
- Have hammock set up by May 31st in new backyard for some quality relaxation.
Spring seems exciting, doesn’t it?
