2021 April Goal Reflection

If 2020 has taught me anything it is that I have much less control over my life than I could fathom. Without further ado, my somewhat boring goals for 2021!

1.~ Build proper storage in our garage &/or attic (to finally get the stuff junk out of all our closets)

Moved somethings out of the house at our neighborhood garage sale so that made some space. Not to make sure we do not fill that space with more junk!

I also started washing & sorting baby clothes into Tupperware bins to keep things neat.

2. X Travel outside the state of Florida at least once.

Will has an opportunity to travel to Atlanta, GA this summer & we are trying to find a way to a) have me tag along at least part of the time, b) see if that is even feasible with the baby due the first week of August, c) see if maybe he can just do part of the trip rather than the full 2 weeks. I’ll keep you posted!

3. √ Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

I think I am actually exceeding this. Very thirsty all the time.

4. √ Spend an average less than $650/month on groceries.

Week 1, April 1-4

On list:
- $0
Off list:
- $0

TOTAL: $0

Week 2, April 5-11

On list:
- $92.44 at Winn-Dixie
- $9.68 at Publix (just some snacks: BOGO pretzel chips & tahini to make hummus)
- $56.09 (I had to spend $60 to use a $20 coupon so I added things to make dinner next week to stretch my dollars: baked potatoes with broccoli & cheddar cheese and spaghetti and meatballs)
Off list:
- $8.02 at Winn-Dixie (I’m a sucker for BOGO Mac n’ cheese & on sale Passover leftovers)
- $4.99 at Publix (BOGO frozen mushroom ravioli, always good to have on hand)
- $8.91 (Easter candy on sale, malanga because I was wanting it, corn nuts as a great snack on hand)

TOTAL: $180.13

Week 3, April 12-18

On list:
- $12.76 at Aldi (literally it was all the Easter chocolate on sale lol)
- $104.61 at Publix
Off list:
- $16.77 at Publix (random stuff like bacon, cheddar cheese, and who knows)

TOTAL: $134.14

Week 4, April 19-25

On list:
- $105.97 at Winn-Dixie
Off list:
- $31.23 at Winn-Dixie (sugar was BOGO & while technically not on my list, I am almost out; got myself fancy olives that were also on sale & strawberry milk as a treat, ohhh and Texas Toast and Ben & Jerry’s were on sale…can I blame it on being pregnant?

TOTAL: $137.20

Week 5, April 26-30

On list:
- $43.62 at Publix (things I needed that I couldn’t find at Alid
- $126.47 at Aldi (this was my two-week non-perishables shopping)
Off list:
- $12.86 at Publix (BOGO peanut butter filled pretzels, Will’s fav, BOGO cold brew coffee drink, as a treat for Will, & non-Goya empanada discos – very hard to find!, & yes I will boycott Goya to the end of my days)
- $9.73 at Aldi (frozen french bread pizza, bagels for the excess of cream cheese I have, & a chocolate cream pie that was calling my name)

TOTAL: $192.86

Monthly Grand Total On List: $551.49
Monthly Grand Total Off List: $92.51
MONTH GRAND TOTAL: $644.00

5. √ Write 2 art history blog posts a month.

6. √ Keep my potted herbs alive (& maybeeee add more green things to my backyard).

The pots are now official all filled & I created a note on my phone telling me when to water them and what to look for when they need more sun/pruning/watering. Hopefully this helps me develop a sense for it.

7. √ Use my slow cooker at least every other week.

Week 1, April 1-4: no.
Week 2, April 5-11: totally forgot!
Week 3, April 12-18: Slow-cooker Baked Potatoes
Week 4, April 19-25: Will turned his White Chicken Chili recipe into a slow cooker one on the fly
Week 5, April 26-30: Slow-cooker Lemon Chicken Thighs

8. √ Go for a jog or long walk every week.

Week 1, April 1-4: Will & I went for a 30 minute was on April 1st
Week 2, April 5-11: Will & I went for a 45 minute was on April 5th because I was having a mini-mental breakdown lol
Week 3, April 12-18: hour and 45 minute hike with my friend who is MOVING in a month :((((
Week 4, April 19-25: my usual hour and a half trail hike + total 4.5 miles walking on Saturday
Week 5, April 26-30: walk around the neighborhood

9. √ Practice yoga at least twice a month.

The hospital we are delivering at has FREE yoga classes Monday nights so I started going to those. :))) Gotta love free, especially considering how many health bills we are paying this year.

Monday, April 12: 1 hour prenatal hospital yoga
Monday, April 19: 1 hour prenatal hospital yoga

10. ~ Read at least 5 books classified as “classic literature.”

Still working through Catch-22 (not a fan), I had to switch to an audiobook because otherwise I was just not getting through it.

Finished:

Time Machine by H.G. Wells

11. ~ Grow my emergency savings account to at least $5,000.

At the end of the month my emergency savings account was at: $2,600.14 (+$950 from last month)

*Note: don’t fret, this is not our *only* emergency/retirement/slush fund account; it’s just the one tied to my personal bank account. Between Will & I we have 2 Roth IRA accounts, 1 investment retirement account, 1 pension accounts, 2 checking accounts at 2 different banks, 2 savings at two different banks, & our mortgage/tax escrow account.

12. ~ Vacuum at least once a week.

Week 1, April 1-4: I vacuumed (& mopped) the house on Holy Saturday for Easter
Week 2, April 5-11: Ran the Roomba while cooking
Week 3, April 12-18: I vacuumed the main living areas
Week 4, April 19-25: vacuumed the house on Sunday
Week 5, April 26-30: I don’t even think I ran the Roomba this week

13. ~ Focus on working out my arms more.

Cleaning the whole house on Holy Saturday definitely counts
Sunday, April 11: BodyRock Baby | Week 4 (I did 3 circuits)

14 √ Finish our patio decorating.

I mean, it’s technically done. Now it’s a matter of choosing to add things like plants and/or a new sideboard.

15. X Spend an average of LESS than an hour and a half on my phone per day.

With the iPhone it is super easy to keep track of this, every Sunday morning I get a report on how I did that week. So the data below is reflective of that Sunday report:

Week 1, April 1-4: 2 hours and 29 minutes (this is the amount for ALL that last week, not just these 3 days)
Week 2, April 5-11: 2 hours and 29 minutes
Week 3, April 12-18: 3 hours and 4 minutes
Week 4, April 19-25: 2 hours and 34 minutes
Week 5, April 26-30: 2 hours and 29 minutes

*Note: I have a thought on why I’m not doing so well on this as I thought I would be: I’m texting family & new mommas like crazy due to the pregnancy. I am not trying to make an excuse, and I still want to get down to my goal, but after analyzing why my time was so high it’s making sense.

16. X Buy no books (unless I have a gift card of course).

I had a Barnes & Noble gift card for $25 so I spent it on the following two books: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, 4th Edition: A Step-by-Step Program for a Good Night’s Sleep by Dr. Sears & The Year and Our Children: Catholic Family Celebrations for Every Season by Mary Reed Newland (not not not liking this book at all; so rather than drag myself through it I’m going to try to sell it at a consignment bookshop). I had to spend $15 extra (spend $35 for free shipping of course).

17. √ Do no school work on Sunday.

Ideally I would like to expand this goal to “do no school work on the weekend,” but as an AP teacher (& overachiever) I know I won’t keep to that & I am ok with that. As long as I am happy with the boundaries I put into place then it’s ok with me.

Week 1, April 1-4: certainly not on Easter!
Week 2, April 5-11: none at all this weekend – I did check my email routinely because my AP kids have a project but that’s it
Week 3, April 12-18: at this point, this is habit & I love it
Week 4, April 19-25: did work on Saturday that had been piling up
Week 5, April 26-30: this “week” did not include a Sunday, so no

18. ~ Call someone out of the blue to chat at least once a month.

Does calling my health insurance rep & nurse count??? lol My cousin called me out of the blue and we talked for nearly 3 hours.

19. ~ Finish decorating our two extra bedrooms.

One room is nice and ready for company, while the other (the future nursery) turns more into a storage closet until we actually start decorating it as a nursery. Doesn’t bother me one bit.

20. X Organize an intentional date with my hubby once a month.

April is both state science fair & the end of the tennis season so (like March) it is very, very busy for us. So although we did not do “formal” dates we did spend time on the patio together and went on walks around the neighborhood. But I feel like I’m miserably failing at this challenge and I don’t want to fail at making sure I made time for us. But I’m also cheap so I do not intend this to become an expensive goal!

I think I need to talk more with Will about what will “us time look like” when the baby comes because if it’s on the back burner now, it will certainly be forgotten then and I absolutely do not want that!

However, we did go out to breakfast one Sunday morning to start of our day of errands. Counts!

22. √ Start a family.

Some days I can’t believe I’m actually halfway through this pregnancy. I was so sure I was never going to make it to this point, and there are many times where I doubt we’ll make it to the end. But it’s been (& will continue to be) a wild and crazy ride that is mostly out of my hands. Everything is going well (with the exception of ending up in the ER a month ago) and it’s starting to become spookily real how much everything is going to shift and change in 3 short months. Are we ready? No. lol I don’t think anyone ever is.

JMF

By Jessica

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