R E C A P | August Goals

Um, holy moly.  I feel ridiculously productive this month.  Other than the "health" section, I actually can CHECK OFF EVERYTHING ELSE!  :-)  And, not only did I complete {almost} everyone on my goals list, I completed stuff that WASN'T on my goals list per say, but has been out there to be done for YEARS.  How's that for an awesome August?  

Here are my August goals:

Just for your info:
S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Relevant
T - Time-Bound

HEALTH
1.  Work out.  Period.  30 minutes, at least.  3 - 5 days a week.  Just do something.

 HOME
1.  Hang curtain rod & curtains for living room.  Goal date:  8/10/2014  A little later than my original goal date, but um, it's done.  And really, that's all that matters.  I can't even remember how many MONTHS this has been on my to do list.  Oops.  I forgot to take a picture of this, but maybe I'll remember tonight and update tomorrow.

2.  Hang IKEA shelves above desk, and organize the office space.  Goal date:  8/10/2014  Same goes for this one.  I figured since I was getting ready to start a new CPA section, the least I could do is start with a clean slate desk wise.  Ignore the cords underneath.  I haven't figured out exactly what to do with them.  And, I'm not sure that the wire drawers will stay there.  I also need to do some more decorating on the shelves, but for now, they look great!  :-)

PERSONAL
1.  Take the FAR portion of the CPA exam.  I tackled this test on 8/29.  I'm not too confident that I passed, but we'll see.  

2.  Celebrate Adam's arrival, and get LOTS of baby snuggles!  Oh my gosh, this baby boy!  He was born on 8/11.  And he's precious.  It's been a week since I've seen him, but man, he needs to stop growing already!  Isn't this little burrito baby adorable?  I most certainly think so.

3.  Plan one evening out.  Do something fun & spontaneous to break up the boredom of always studying.  Live a little.  Alex & I have tried to make it a point to spend time together and do more things outside of our house in August.  But I won't lie, August was a HORRIBLE month.  I'm glad it's September.  Hopeful for big things coming our way!  I tried to take a selfie, but when you are a foot shorter than your boyfriend, they tend to turn out like this. :-)

And here's all the projects I finished in August...

The first  embroidery project was started in 2012, to be ready for the "fall" season.  Um, yeah.  I clearly didn't make it.  The second one was started & finished this weekend, AND I learned a new stitch which is fun.  :-)

And these pillows... the paisley pillows were sewn by my mom when I moved into my first apartment after separating from Marcus.  All I had to do was stuff the pillows & close them. Needless to say, I just got around to it this weekend, but I love how they kind of complete our bed.  :-)

And I also put together a fabric bunting of Halloween fabric to decorate my desk at work.  I love making these buntings.  They are high impact without much work.  :-)  This is the 4th or 5th one I've made.  

July Goals Recap

I figured I'd go ahead and get the recap for July out of the way, since clearly I'm not going to get anything else done in the next two days.  :-)  July feels like one gigantic FAILURE!  But I refuse to look at things like that.  My schedule revolves around studying for the CPA exam, so anything else I add to that list is just greatness.   

HEALTH
1.  A friend & I are going to start Jamie Eason's Live Fit program.  We had initially planned on starting yesterday, but with everything going on at work this week, I asked if we could push the start date back until 7/7.  It's a 12 week program.  

HOME
1.  Hang curtain rod & curtains for living room.  Goal date:  7/20/2014
3.  Hang IKEA shelves above desk, and organize the office space.  Goal date:  7/20/2014

PERSONAL
1.  Stay on schedule for FAR review.  DO NOT GET BEHIND!
2.  Submit the funds to State Board to register for FAR.
3.  Create & stick to a study schedule, once I finish all the lectures/homework/simulations.

With that being said, pretty much the ONLY thing I did in July is study, study, study.  :-)

June Goals - Recap

Here's the long awaited (psht) recap of June... I can't believe that this {YEAR} is 1/2 over.  It seems like we just finished Christmas & New Year's celebration.  And now, we're in the middle of summer. In just a few weeks, advertisements will begin again for back to school.  Time flies.   

HEALTH
1.  Just attempt to get some sort of exercise, even if it's walking the dogs, for 30 minutes per day.  Didn't happen, but I'm not going to stop trying!

HOME
1.  Hang curtain rod & curtains for living room.  Goal date:  6/21/2014  Nope.
3.  Hang IKEA shelves above desk, and organize the office space.  Goal date:  6/21/2014  Nope.  
 PERSONAL
1.  Stay on schedule for FAR review. DO NOT GET BEHIND!  I'm a little behind, but not much.  It's only because I decided to ignore Becker last weekend, so I'm going to count this one as a success.
2.  Finish Project #1 for baby shower.  Goal date:  6/7/2014
3.  Finish Project #2 for baby shower.  Goal date:  6/14/2014
4.  Finish Project #3 for baby shower.  Goal date:  6/21/2014
5.  Finish Project #4 for baby shower.  Goal date:  6/27/2014

I got all the baby shower projects done!  :o)  On time.  Woo hoo!  I'm looking forward to sharing photos in the coming weeks, once I get around to it.

May Goals - Recap

I can't believe that it's already June.  And not only June, but it's June 2nd.  The month of May brought on some very unexpected changes, and I didn't even begin to do as well as I had anticipated.

HEALTH
1.  Get my butt in the gym.  Since started the Advocare 24 Day Challenge on 4/28, I need to up my working out.  I'm going to do the Lean Body for Her Challenge.  While the actual "challenge" is over, I have the work out plan, and I'm going to focus on that for the next 12 weeks.  Goal date:  5/31/2014  This didn't even happen.  I wish I could say that it did, but it didn't.  I did the first week of the Advocare 24 Day Challenge, and found that the massive amounts of pills required for the program was too much.  I couldn't keep up.  So I stopped.

HOME
1.  Hang curtain rod & curtains for living room.  Goal date:  5/11/2014
3.  Hang IKEA shelves above desk, and organize the office space.  Goal date: 5/11/2014

PERSONAL
1.  PASS AUDIT!  I sit for the first section of the CPA exam in May.  I'm nervous, but I'm ready.  I'm prepared.  And by the time the actual test gets here, I will have studied my behind off!  :-)  Goal date:  TBD based on when my exam gets scheduled.

3.  Start work on baby shower decor items.  Goal date:  5/18/2014
3.  Sew maxi skirt from knit fabric.  Goal date:  5/25/2014

Heck, I don't know why I'm even bothering.  I don't know if I passed Audit, although I did take the exam on 5/28.  I won't know results until 6/9.  I didn't hang the curtain rod or the curtains in the living room.  Heck, I haven't even spackled the hole from when I tried to hang them the first time.  I have the supplies for *some* of the nursery decor items, but I haven't started on them.  This week, I promise.  Only because time is sort of running out. LOL.  And the maxi skirts I was going to sew - yeah, I sent the pattern & the fabric to my mom.

April Goals Recap

April was a good month for GOALS!  It's kind of exciting to be able to check stuff off the ol' list.  :-)

HEALTH
1.  Do some sort of physical activity, 3x per week.  Goal date:  4/30/2014  

Done!  While it wasn't intense work outs, heavy weight lifting, etc. it was a physical activity.  Alex and I started walking several nights a week around the "circle" of our apartment complex.

HOME
1.  Hem curtains for living room.  Goal date:  4/12/2014  Completed:  4/12/2014

2.  Hang curtain rod & curtains for living room.  Goal date:  4/12/2014  

So, yeah.  I kind of ran into a snag with this one.  Apparently, hanging the curtain rods within 6" of the window isn't going to be possible with the way the framing is done.  All I was left with is a GIGANTIC hole in the wall.  So this one is on hold until I can get to Lowe's, get some wall putty, and some paint to fix the hole.  Maybe by the end of the month? 

An update update:  Well, the hole still remains in the wall.  I haven't made it to Lowe's. Oops.  This one will be showing up again for the May goal list.  :-)

3.  Hang IKEA shelves above desk, and organize the office space.  Goal date: 4/12/2014

After the issue with the curtain rods, I decided to hold off on this one for fear of MORE holes in the walls.  LOL.


PERSONAL
1.  Finish bunting for Eve.  Goal date:  4/17/2014  Completed:  4/2/2014
2.  Meet with Jeana to start baby shower planning.  Completed:  4/25/2014
3.  Pick out fabric for baby shower decor.  Completed:  4/29/2014

4.  Sew maxi skirt from knit fabric.  Goal date:  4/30/2014
5.  Start work on baby shower decor items.  Goal date:  4/30/2014

I didn't get the maxi skirts sewn, and I haven't started working on the shower items, simply because I haven't received the fabric yet.  But May.  :-)  Definitely May.

March Goals (Recap)

Welp - it's that time again, already!  I feel like my life is flashing before my eyes!  My primary focus this month was on getting ready for the Becker Review, as well as submitting my application of intent to the state board.  I accomplished both of those.  I won't say it's a completely successful month, but at least I managed to accomplish *something.*

HEALTH
1.  Create a work out plan.  Goal date: 3/15/2014
2.  Water, water, water.  80 ounces per day.  Track!  Goal date:  EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
3.  Log the fruits/veggies challenge @ work.  Goal date:  EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

HOME
1.  Hem curtains for living room.  Goal date:  3/15/2014
2.  Hang curtain rod & curtains for living room.  Goal date:  3/16/2014

PERSONAL
1.  Update, re-create, start over, etc. on the 101 Things to do list.  Find new focus.  Erase the past, and start over fresh.  Goal date:  3/15/2014
2.  Achieve three items on 101 things list.  Goal date: 3/31/2014
3.  Mail CPA Intent Application to state board.  Goal date:  3/7/2014
4.  Register for Becker CPA review.  Audit review in April.  Goal date:  3/15/2014

February Goals (Recap)

I haven't focused much on the health aspect of life in February.  Work hit me like a ton of bricks this month, coupled with school.  I made progress on other aspects of my life, like getting the move behind us, decorating and organizing the new place, etc.  I wouldn't say February was a total loss.

HEALTH
1.  Now that the move in behind us, find a fitness routine that works for me.  
2.  Go to at least one of Teresa's yoga classes in the month of February.
3.  Research PCOS more, and the impact that food has on it.  Focus on switching to a more "clean" lifestyle.  I did order books to start research on this, but that's as far as I got.
4.  Record body measurements on February 1st and again on February 28th.  Take pictures too.

HOME
1.  Hang the bedroom curtains and hem/hang the living room & dining room curtains. We got the bedroom curtains hung.  We'll be working on the living room this weekend.
2.  Organize the pantry, bathroom, and dresser drawers.  We need to find some storage options for the pantry as our new pantry has really wide shelves, and it's not the easiest to reach the top.  
3.  Finish unpacking the boxes in the garage.  I'd say we made it about 85% through this one.

PERSONAL
1.  Update, re-create, start over, etc. on the 101 Things to do list.  Find new focus.  Erase the past, and start over fresh.  Goal date:  2/14/2014.  Yeah, didn't happen.
2.  Learn meditation, breathing tricks to overcome the anxiety and panic.  I really struggle with this one, but I'm doing better.  When I originally posted this list of February goals, I was having a really bad day.  But after talking to some friends, figuring out more of my trigger points, and how to overcome them, it was the only bad day I had in February.
3.  Successfully mark off 3 - 5 "items" on the 101 Things list.

August Goals - Recap

Here's the August recap...

Health

1.  Start a weekly workout routine.  Focus on gaining momentum.  A total of 10 work outs for the month.  While the end of the month fizzled due to work and school, I did pretty well through the month as a whole, and got in the 10 work outs that I had planned.  I'm going to count this one as a success!
2.  Continue to drink more water.  I've been trying to limit my intake of Diet Coke.  I usually only have one per day, during lunch.  While that's more than I want to drink, sometimes I just need the caffeine boost.  But... I've been drinking nothing but water at home, and through the rest of the day at work.  So SUCCESS!

Home

1.  Make a minimum of one new recipe per week for dinner.  Healthy!  FAILURE!
2.  Menu plan, and stick to it.  Another major fail.  I think because I wasn't menu planning, I didn't cook, at all.  
3.  Pack up all the stuff in the "office" area downstairs to prepare for new furniture, and ORGANIZATION! I skipped this one, but on purpose.  We decided instead of renewing our lease, we're going to move to a new apartment.  Instead of organizing, we're packing for good.
4.  Paint the curtains for the living room, take the curtains for the bedroom to the cleaners.  Another one I skipped - on purpose.  I'm going to wait until we get moved to figure out what I want to do in terms of decor, and we'll go from there.

Personal

I'm not even going to bother with these individually.  It just didn't happen.

1.  Sign up for professional pictures.  Start researching prices.  
2.  Read five + books for fun.  
3.  Accomplish 3 items from my 101 things list.  
4.  Accomplish 10 items from my "running" to do list.

July Goals - Recap

July was an insanely busy month at work.  I felt overwhelmed 90% of the time.  We had THREE back-to-back audits without a break, and since a big part of my job duties are to assist with the audit, I didn't feel like I had much time to breath.  But, thankfully, August is starting out *much* slower.  I know it's already the 9th day of the month, and I'm just now getting around to this recap.  Better late than never!

Here are the July goals, recapped.

Health

I'm not even going to bother with these.  I didn't do anything in July.

1.  Continue with my weekly workout routine.  A minimum of 3 work outs per week, no matter how small.
2.  Continue to drink more water.
3.  Start and finish the Advocare 24 Day Challenge.

Home

1.  Make a minimum of one new recipe per week for dinner.  Healthy!  I feel very successful with this one.  I cooked more in the month of July that I've cooked in a long time.  :o)
2.  Menu plan, and stick to it.  Because of my cooking, we were able to menu plan and stick to it!
3.  Bring lunch to work a minimum of 3 days a week.  This one has actually become very easy for me.  I loathe leaving the office for lunch, because there's so many people all cramming into the same restuarants.  Oh, and we're supposed to do it in an hour.  Riiiiight.
4.  Grocery shop on the weekends, or Thursday evening.  This one kind of goes hand in hand in my menu planning and cooking.  I can't cook without groceries.

Personal

1.  Sign up for professional pictures.  Start researching prices.  
2.  Read three + books for fun.  Done.  I miss reading!  :o)  I actually think I accomplished more than 3, but I'd have to go back to my TBR list to double check.  
3.  Accomplish 3 items from my 101 things list.  I'm not going to mark this one off, but I did complete 2 things.  I finished Carie's embroidered towels.  Um - it was part of her Christmas present.  And, I made homemade brownies from scratch.
4.  Accomplish 10 items from my "running" to do list.

February Goals - Recap

Clearly, since I'm just now recapping February, it didn't go so well.  It's always awesome to update this blog with a BIG, FAT, FAILURE!  But at least I'm trying to keep myself honest.  And maybe I didn't fail as bad as I think I did.  Hahahahaha.

Health

1.  Run a 28 miles... That's only 1 mile per day.  Totally doable.  I *must* start focusing my training for the half marathon in May.  This one didn't happen.  I don't think I ran a single mile in February.  Yay me!
2.  DRINK MORE WATER!  Another *must* do goal!   I didn't put a restriction or a measurable goal on this one on purpose.  I know that I don't drink enough water, but I also knew that I needed to make a change.  I've tried really hard to just make it a point to drink water at night, keep water at work, etc.  So I'm calling this one a SUCCESS!!
3.  Limit Starbucks to only one per week.  I actually surprised myself with this one.  I achieved it.  :-)  I made it a point to only get Starbucks, if I had one at all, on the way to church as a weekend treat. 
4.  Cancel 24 Hour Fitness.  I'm paying $50 and working out at home anyways.  I canceled 24 Hour, but I'm thinking of joining up at LA Fitness, since they have a special price with work.  It's only $30 per month, instead of the $50 at 24 Hour. 

Home

1.  Make a minimum of one new recipe for dinner.  Done!  :-)  I'm having way too much fun trying new recipes. 
2.  Menu plan, and stick to it.   Hahah!  Didn't happen.  Life involved a bit of DRAMA in February, and we were lucky to eat, much less menu plan. 
3.  Only go out to eat ONE day a week!  This one didn't happen either, much to the same reason as above.
4.  Bring lunch to work a minimum of 4 days a week.  I'm calling this one a failure, as I tried to bring my lunch as often as possible, but it wasn't 4 days a week.
5.  Create a personal budget and stick to it.  I think I did well with this one.  The budget is created.  :-)  And I've managed to stick pretty closely to it.  I was able to pay off 3 of 4 credit cards in the month of February, so I call that a success. 

Personal

1.  Sign up for professional pictures.  Pick a date with Shani.  FAIL!2.  Enjoy my first Valentine's Day with Alex.  Success!  :-)  It was an absolutely wonderful day.  I'm blessed beyond belief. 
3.  Read two + books for fun.  This one didn't happen, and it's a shame.  I love reading, but I just don't find myself making as much time for it as I once did.
4.  Accomplish at least 4 items from my 101 things list.  This one didn't happen either.

January Goals - Recap

So January didn't go so well... it started off strong, and then school started, and things went WAY down hill from there.  But, in an effort to be honest, here's where my goals ended up...

Health

1.  Run a minimum of 31 miles... That's only 1 mile per day.  Totally doable.  This didn't happen.  I slacked.  I started off strong, ran 8 miles in the first 8 days, and then bam.  Nothing since.  FAIL.
2.  DRINK MORE WATER!  Another fail.  It didn't happen.
3.  No Starbucks for the entire month.  A & I went to Teavana and bought some healthy teas, so I'm going to make it a point to drink that tea for the month, and stay away from Starbucks.  I made it through the first 18 days, which for me was a RECORD!  I've had three chais in the month of January, but coming from drinking one a day, I'd say this was a pretty good accomplishment.  However, since I did have at least one, I'm marking this one as a fail too.
4.  Cancel 24 Hour Fitness, sign up for a new gym membership at LA Fitness.  FAIL!  I'll get to it this week.
5.  Keep up with the UG Challenge(s) for the month.  Another thing I started off strong with, but managed to screw up by the end of the month.  Ahhh!

Home

1.  Make a minimum of one new recipe for dinner.  I'm kind of proud of myself for this one... I've made not only one new recipe for dinner, but 4 new recipes for dinner.  :-)  I need to blog about them.  I'll add that to my "to do" list. 
2.  Menu plan, and stick to it.  I menu planned, but we deviated from the plan, and ate out a lot more than I had originally wanted to do.
3.  Go through closet, get rid of clothes that are too big, and stuff that I just don't wear anymore.  Done!  I managed to go through my closet and get rid of two large trash bags full of clothes.  I took them to Carie to see if she wanted any of the clothes, and donated the rest of them to a donation drive at church.

Personal

1.  Get a massage.  FAIL!  Didn't happen, should have happened, but didn't happen. 
2.  Organize calendar with 2013 Spring school schedule.  Done.  But then again, I'm anal, so who didn't figure that would happen.
3.  Read two + books for fun.  Another thing I accomplished.  I read The Host by Stephanie Meyer and Insatiable by Meg Cabot. 
4.  Accomplish at least 4 items from my 101 things list.  So for my 101 things... I reached a goal weight of 170, Alex & I went to the aquarium, Alex & I bought a new car, and I added three new recipes to my "try 12 new recipes."  I wasn't able to completely mark that one off the list, BUT, I did make progress, so I'm counting that as a success!