February 2013 Goal Assessment; March Goals!

Happy Monday! I hope you're all having great days! I'm here at home with the family, just starting week 4 of my 12-week maternity leave. Beckett is sleeping so it's like laundry/dishes/pumping/blogging/chilling with pups time - gotta squeeze a lot in during her naps! LOL Speaking of, here is a look at what we set out to do in February, and what we accomplished!

1. Make 2 new recipes. did NOT do this - Beckett came on the 8th and I haven't cooked very much as we've had so many wonderful family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors giving us food! I will def do this in March though as I have the recipes ready to go!
2. Monitor Craigslist items; store or donate if they don't sell. We did GREAT getting rid of stuff - i'm marking this as done!
3. Read 2 books (Beckett-related: Happiest Baby on the Block & Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child) I read 2 books, but not these! I read the Happiest Baby on the  Block but didn't finish sleep habits. Instead, I read Rachel Schurig's Three Girls and  a Baby - super cute - i'll do a book review soon! 
4. Shoot video of Beckett! Begin taking much more video and of course Beckett photos. I have taken NO video of our baby yet. Eek! I HAVE done a photo shoot each day with Beckett - so fun! I hope to keep it up!
5. Make 2010 Photo Book NOT done; will attempt in March.
6. Finalize household budget. NOT done; will attempt in March.
7. Create Study! Buy bookcases, desks, etc. - hang items, decorate, finish it! NOT done; will do in March.
8. Create Guest Room! Once Austin is in office, move furniture in, decorate, finish it! DONE; although I do want to tweak things a little, need a few decorative items, etc.
9. Upgrade all door knobs - only about 5 left! NOT done; will finish up in March.
10. Hang art up stairwell; find bench for Remy; update Master Bedroom; find mirror for entryway DONE; got the art hung; little steps for Remy that she loves; changed up the master bedroom and got a mirror for the entry - little things that made a big difference!

All in all, good February! Definitely changed focus a good bit when Beckett arrived, but I knew it would! And of course, other things got done that were not in the list... things like:

• Creating and mailing birth announcements
• Writing and mailing thank you cards
• Hosting wonderful friends and family who came to visit Beckett
• Redoing this dresser and chair with new fabric (more on this later!)
• Ordering a new iPod-enabled clock for Beckett; getting tons of Baby Einstein music; loading it on to my old iPhone3 and giving her her own music!
• Creating a Beckett-focused blog for long-distance family!
• Having a 30" x 40" canvas made for our master; hanging it and other art (changed out lots of pictures at home so little Beckett can be everywhere!)
• Lots of other Beckett stuff of course (finishing her medicine kit, sponge baths, pediatrician appointments, adding her to our insurance, creating a bottling area upstairs, pumping 8 times a day, making multiple trips to Babies R Us for extra items, making our Amazon subscriptions, etc.)
• A much-needed visit to the chiropractor and a one-hour massage!

So what are the plans for March? Honestly - not too much! It's been such a busy year already and I really want to make March even more all about Beckett since it's my first full month with baby girl! But of course, I do have some free time, so I'll be looking to tackle this while Miss Beckett sleeps!

1. Make a photo book (wedding book!).

2. Finalize household budget.

3. Create study! Buy bookcases, desks, lamps, etc.

4. Upgrade all door knobs - last 5!

5. Read 3 books.

6. Make 3 new recipes.

7. Have bedroom, bonus room, and two bathrooms painted.

8. Find other house items: navy throws/accents for master; night stand, lamp & art for guest room

That's it for March! I'm looking forward to a lighter month and can't wait to cook more - very excited about the new dishes, especially a new slowcooker one!

Q: What's on your agenda for March?!

13 2013 Goals

Yes, it's that time of year again where I optimistically decide what I hope to accomplish in the year to come! My biggest goals are obviously Beckett-focused! Delivering a happy, healthy baby in February, being able to successfully breastfeed, celebrating all of her milestones to the fullest, being the mom she needs, the list goes on! These will definitely 'trump' other goals, but it's still good to know what I want to accomplish outside of being a great mom! So outside of the many, many Beckett-related goals, here is what I hope to take on in 2013!

1. One word: Beckett. :) I realize this isn't a goal - at all - but it's a constant reminder of my #1 priority!
2. Make 40 new recipes
3. Go Paleo post-pregnancy started on 9/16
4. Get my body back in shape post-pregnancy! (not until April 1)
• Track calories in Spark People 
• Measure on Thursdays
• Create, post and follow monthly workout plans to include walking/running/C25K, spinning, P90X and strength training 
• Reach goal weight: 120 (ultimate goal: 115) having a tough time; 138 as of 10/9
5. Try out churches in our area. 
6. Purge unwanted/unused items and donate or Craiglist them. 
7. Read 40 books (including nonfiction!). 
8. Create two new step-by-step meal plans. These aren't really relevant anymore since I am at home - I can pre-cook much smaller portions now!
9. Do 4 family videos: winter, spring, summer, fall 
10. Do 5 family photo books: Make 2010 book; Make 2011 book; Make Pregnancy Book; Make Wedding Book; Make Auburn book; Start Beckett Book 
11. Finalize household budget; refinance home; etc. 
12. Reorganize my career goals/notes/tips/etc., and get involved in PRSA (professional organization; still working to define what 'involvement' means!) Ended up resigning from job in June - no longer need to focus on this!
13. House Updates
• Have entryway and hallway painted 
• Paint living room and guest room 
• Have pool table shipped to Birmingham & Austin moved to office; rearrange house accordingly! 
• Buy bookcases, desks, dining chairs, etc.
• Upgrade all door knobs 
• Frame new art for stairwell & new library/office 
• Hang art up stairwell 
• Find small bench for Remy 
• Reupholster chaise no longer a priority now that I've quit my job
• Reorganize Kitchen cabinets - make 'bar' area moved all items out, haven't added them in!
• Consider bathroom updates (new lighting, counter tops, sinks, shower stall, hardware, etc.) no longer a priority now that I've quit my job
• Consider spindle updates (on stairs) dito
• Consider new front door dito

Clearly some of these can’t be started yet being that I’m still pregnant and that I’m going to be just a tad preoccupied with Miss Beckett (duh!), but here is what I hope to accomplish in January! 

1. Make 2 new recipes. 
2. Purge unwanted/unused items and donate or Craiglist them. 
3. Read 2 books. (Beckett-related: New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding and On Becoming Baby Wise)
4. Carry my video camera around – shoot video! 
5. Make 2010 Photo Book 
6. Finalize household budget 
7. Have entryway and hallway painted 
8. Paint Living room and guest room 
9. Have pool table shipped to Birmingham & Austin moved to office; rearrange house accordingly! 
10. Buy bookcases, desks, dining chairs, etc. 
11. Upgrade all door knobs

Q: What are your goals this year - To-Dos, To-Enjoys, etc.?!

Q: What is one thing you hope to accomplish this month?

For more on goals, past goals, past assessments, how I set goals, etc., visit here!

20 2012 To-Do/To-Enjoy List

This year I decided to do my resolutions, to-dos, goals, etc. a bit different. Instead of listing them out somewhat arbitrarily, I decided to look at it more in the lines of what I hope to do each day, week, month, quarter, etc. - this way I could focus a bit more on what I really want to do! I also took the number down to 20 things - again, more doable. Yes, things come up. Yes, I may not get to it all. And yes, many of these are from last year. But that's okay! I truly enjoyed sitting down and really taking the time to think about what I want to do next year - the sky's the limit! And then paring back to make it as realistic as possible. So, without further ado, here is what I hope to-do/to-enjoy in 2012!


Daily To Do/To-Enjoys


1. Each day I want to focus on the positive, enjoy my family and puppers, think about/call/email loved ones, blog (even if it's just a photo), read blogs (even if it's just one post from one of my favorite writers), do something active (even if it's just stretching on off days!), eat healthified, home-cooked meals, and read something inspiring or motivating! Definitely carved out a lot of 'me' time in 2012 - i'm proud of this, and hope it continues as life is about to get crazy with Beckett's arrival!
2. Track calories until goal weight is reached (115). Pregnant in May so this wasn't really an option!

Weekly To-Do/To-Enjoys 

3. Have date night.going well! Need to make sure to keep this a priority after Beckett's arrival!
4. Measure on Thursdays. (to help show progress the scale may not show!) was going well, but stopped measuring/weighing/etc. once I got pregnant - didn't want to stress myself out
5. Relax: Read a magazine and do at least 30 minutes of yoga/stretching. This went well! Kept up my stretching during the pregnancy and think it helped.
6. Try out churches in our area - hopefully find one! didn't happen this year. :(
7. Make at least 1 new recipe. didn't happen each week. I posted about 40 recipes in 2012, but the cooking/trying new things went down A LOT with the pregnancy as Beckett wouldn't let me eat meat for a few months, never let me eat seafood, and, to be honest, most food just sounded gross for most of the pregnancy. 

Monthly To-Do/To-Enjoys 

8. Make and follow monthly workout plans (to include P90X/strength training, spinning, and running). was going well; once I got pregnant, I kept up walking 3- 4 days per week, but stopped running for sure.
9. Read 2-3 fiction books and 1 nonfiction book. (40/year). Attend book club! Didn't do well at ALL with reading - was too busy reading 'baby stuff' and baby books which I didn't review like normal food!
10. Make 1 'fun with food' recipe - bentos, snacks, etc. Hope to get into this more once Beckett is here, especially since most of it is 'kiddie' food for when she's older!
11. Find, edit and healthify 5 recipes to prepare for cooking. Gave this up around mid-year, but hope to do A LOT more healthifying and cooking in 2013.

Quarterly To-Do/To-Enjoys

12. Create a step-by-step meal plan. Definitely didn't do this each quarter - wasn't cooking much. :(
13. Do a family videos (1/quarter - spring, summer, fall, winter!) Didn't create ONE video this year, don't even know where the camera is. Sigh!

One-time-only/Ongoing To-Do/To-Enjoys

14. Find master bedroom items: small bench for Remy & reupholster chaise; focus on updating the laundry room, bathrooms and the hallway. Did a good bit of this - no luck on bench or chaise, but did update the bathroom, kitchen and did a good bit of home reno!
15. Do home upgrades including 'stairs' project, flooring in guest bath and printing/framing more pictures! We did the pictures - we had the other projects quoted and don't feel it's worth it; have decided to only put $ into things we can take with us when we move.
16. Make 2010 photo book; make 2011 photo book; make wedding book. My goal is to work on some 'back log' books during maternity leave (assuming I have any downtime) - and to just be okay with them not being perfect, maybe some photos will be missing, etc., but they'll be done and will help us remember such great times!
17. Do a household budget. a LOT of progress made - we're hoping to finish by end of year (have time off this weekend)
18. Learn how to sew on a button, how to use my food processor and how to use my steamer. Never learned to sew a button.
19. Reorganize my career goals/notes/tips/etc.; share my 20 under 20 minute recipes;  reorganize my to-make recipes; . 
20. Accomplish fitness goals: build to where I can run 6 miles straight at 6.3 mph (9.5-minute miles); run 3 miles straight at 7.5 mph (8-minute miles); run a 5K race (first race ever!). Nope - but these can become post-Beckett goals! First step post-Beckett related to workout? Starting C25K again! And probably doing P90 again.

Overall, I just hope to have a happy and balanced 2012 where I can be present in what i'm doing and not worrying about how much I have to do because I've spread myself too thin. I want to see my family and friends as much as possible. I want to be active, eat healthy and reach my goal weight again where I feel the most positive physically! I want to continue organizing, traveling, cooking and enjoying Atlanta. Here's to an AMAZING 2012, starting with seeing Auburn in the Chick-fil-A bowl on New Year's Eve, then flying out to Breckenridge, Co., on Jan. 2. Already SO excited for what all the new year will bring!

Q: What are you looking most forward to in 2012? All I can say is balance - i'm truly hoping and planning for a more healthy work-life balance.

Day 342: Ode to Austin (via Progress Pics), 3.5 miles, Goal Chat!

Today is Austin’s birthday – the 21-year-old boy I met in college is now my 29-year-old husband who I love just as much as I did when my 19-year-old sophomore self met him and began dating him. Happy Birthday to Austin – and a shout out on his AMAZING progress. This boy was just supporting me – sure I’ll join a gym if you do, sure I’ll eat whatever you make…and like it and help and not complain. He quickly lost weight and before we knew it he was down 35 pounds. He looks just like the boy I met - even grew out his frat boy hair! Hehe Anywho – here’s some before and afters from February 2008 to May 2009 (both in tuxes to help see the difference!). I’m SO proud of him – but of course I loved him with or without the 35 pounds and think he’s the cutest person I know. Duh.

Anywho – sorry for the lovefest here – on to my day! Yesterday was a great day! I got lots done at work, had productive meetings and it kind of flew by (sweet!). I did have a work lunch though so of course I overate. Why can’t I be trusted in restaurants? Grrrr. After lunch me and Stacy headed over to the gym for a quick 3.5 miles, then I headed to Brandsmart to buy Austin’s birthday gift! I wanted to get him a beverage chiller for his man room the upstairs den. I knew exactly what I was looking for – glass front, shelves not wine racks, European Bar Pull handle, stainless steel, cold enough for beer, etc. So of course, I couldn’t find it. After leaving Brandsmart I hit up a Lowe’s and then I found it at Home Depot… but the guy working there wasn’t helpful – another customer and his wife ended up helping out and I left happy with a 100-pound fridge (so much for taking it upstairs, filling it with beer and surprising him. Boo. I DID get it to the garage though – woo! And unpacked it – still need to put a bow on it!

Once the fridge was ready, it was time for Drop Dead Diva, Make it or Break it and Time Traveler’s Wife – woo! I ended up at 1,849 calories, 204 carbs, 55 fat grams and 102 carbs. Here’s what I ate. Still slightly disgusted that I ate SO MUCH at lunch…. Bread/butter… salmon/potatoes/asparagus… pie. Grrr. I wasn’t even kind of hungry until 8! Maybe one day I’ll be able to keep my ordering in check at restaurants. Boo.

So, as far as goals, let's start with a funny to help put things in perspecitve....

hehe Okay, for reals now.... I started setting goals in the beginning; I really just wanted to be accountable. I know myself and if it's not written down - if i can't "cross it off my list" and mark it as "done" it's just not as satisfactory. At first my goals were all about weight/nutrition/cardio - and they were ALL measureable. I personally can't work with goals that say "walk more" or "eat less." Mine have to be "walk 84 miles/month or 21 miles/week," "don't exceed 1,750 calories 20 days per month, etc.). I need numbers and I need a start and stop (the beginning of the month/the end of the month). I also need to see them - I post them on my blog - can't miss them and helps me stay on track. Later, after I started losing, i realized I didn't just want to be thinner. I wanted to do things I love to do - make reading a priority, make doing things around the house a priority, cooking, etc. So I began adding 'human interest' goals in addition to my weight loss/nutrition/cardio goals.

So I guess for me, goals need to be:

1. Written down - so I can have a constant reminder of what I said I wanted to do!


2. Measureable - numbers, numbers, numbers so I can benchmark and show progress.


3. Timely - I have to have a start and stop time. I'd never say - i'm going to make 20 recipes. Um, when? By August 31. Done - now I have a "deadline" - and I can monitor as the month goes on.


4. Well-rounded - not just about losing X many pounds or walking X many miles, also cooking X many recipes and reading X many books!


5. Attainable - i'm all for goals I can achieve. I'd never say i'm going to read 5 books in one month. I won't! But.... if I see 2 books getting "easy," i'll try for 3! I'm also not afraid to break a goal down. If i want to lose 20 pounds, i broke it out over months. My goal is walk 1,000 miles this year, so it was broken over months, weeks even, this makes it more attainable.


6. Realistic - like attainable, you want to set goals you're capable of achieving. Who can lose 20 pounds in a month? Not me. Who wants to have 15 goals and not meet any because the bar is unrealistically high? How discouraging! Look at where you are and start small - then build up from there!


7. Detailed - This is hard for me. For instance, I had a goal as "Research CFW (crap free weeks." It was a bit too high level for me. Instead, I should have said read an article from 3 different sources about CFWs and by the end of the month determine if it's for me. This is specific enough to make it actionable. Another one I failed on because it wasn't detailed enough: "Work on Wedding Album." I should have said "Start and complete 5 pages in my wedding album by the end of the month." Seems less daunting and it's specific enough so i'll know when i've achieved it.


8. Fun! This may sound rediciulous, but they need to be fun - things you WANT to do. They can't all be things you HAVE to do or 'chores.' I think you should honestly, on some level, look forward to achieving all of your goals, but some need to be fun and they ALL need to be for you - to better yourself, to try something you haven't before, etc.

I think the most important thing about goals i've learned in my last 11 months of setting/tracking/assessing goals is that you won't get it all done. You just won't. But you WILL form great habits, learn new things (that you may or may not like!), feel better about yourself and feel more focused. K - that's my goal chat! I hope you don't think i'm some weird goal-oriented freak now. hehe Happy Hump Day!!