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)
Didn’t do anything this month (February is our busiest month with Will’s science fair & tennis), but maybe spring break?
2. Travel outside the state of Florida at least once.
Not this month.
3. √ Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
I got one of those 32oz bottles that has tick marks for every 2 hours and that definitely helps me consistently drink water. But damn all this water drinking + pregnancy is making me spend ⅓ of my life peeing. lol
4. Spend an average less than $650/month on groceries.
Ok so I think my biggest problem with grocery shopping is going off list, which happens a lot lol. This year, instead of just listing what I spend at each location & date, I am going to put how much I spent on things “on my list” & things “off my list.”
Week 1, February 1-7
- On list:
- $80.41 Aldi
- $27.53 Publix
- $15.29 The Fresh Market
- Off list:
- $13.10 Aldi
- $12.97 Publix
- $15.78 The Fresh Market
TOTAL: $165.08
Week 2, February 8-14
- On list:
- $63.80 at Target (to be fair the actual total was $103.80 but I had $40 in gift cards)
- $22.11 at Cavallari Gourmet + $122.59 at Publix (my parents are coming up this weekend so I got lots of extra food)
- Off list:
- $39.10 at Target
- $7.39 at Cavallari Gourmet (I needed a snack + realized we did not have enough to make leftovers for dinner so I bought a premade soup)
- $13.16 at Public
TOTAL: $268.15
Week 3, February 15-21
- On list:
- $141.66 at Winn-Dixie
- $38.72 at Winn-Dixie
- $42.37 at Winn-Dixie
- Off list:
- $11.76 at Winn-Dixie (just BOGO mayo [ours had expired & I am giving the free one to the food pantry], OJ, & cherry tomatoes)
- $44.69 at Winn-Dixie (a couple of things I always buy when BOGO/on sale: Cafe Bustelo party pack, seltzer water, frozen raviolis, Peroni beer)
*Now that Lent is beginning I am trying to be extra careful with purchasing unnecessary splurges.
TOTAL: $236.82
Week 4, February 22-28
- On list: $63.95 at Publix
- Off list: $18.61 at Publix (mostly BOGO things that I always buy if BOGO on a whim)
TOTAL: $82.56
- Monthly Grand Total On List: $618.43
- Monthly Grand Total Off List: $176.56
- MONTH GRAND TOTAL: $794.00 (OUCH!!! I did terrible this month!)
5. √ Write 2 art history blog posts a month.
- #35. Temple of Athena Nike. Acropolis. Athens, Greece. Iktinos and Kallikrates. c. 447-410 BCE. Marble.
- #35. Victory adjusting her sandal, Temple of Athena Nike. Acropolis. Athens, Greece. Iktinos and Kallikrates. c. 447-410 BCE. Marble.
6. √ Keep my potted herbs alive (& maybeeee add more green things to my backyard).
The original ones are still alive & I added a pot of basil (I really don’t think I am a skill level to keep basil alive. fingers crossed!)
7. √ Use my slow cooker at least every other week.
- Week 1, February 1-7: no.
- Week 2, February 8-14: Slow Cooker French Onion Soup
- Week 3, February 15-21: French Dip Sandwiches
- Week 4, February 22-28: none.
8. Go for a jog or long walk every week.
- Week 1, February 1-7: 1.5 hour hike with a friend
- Week 2, February 8-14: I couldn’t go on my usual Wednesday hike & then I wanted to during the weekend when my parents came up but the weather was uncooperative
- Week 3, February 15-21: Will & I did 2 30-minute walks around the neighborhood
- Week 4, February 22-28: 1.5 mile jog + .5 mile walk & a 10-mile bike ride
*Trying to stay super active into this pregnancy; luckily I feel fantastic!
9. √ Practice yoga at least twice a month.
10. Read at least 5 books classified as “classic literature.”
I am still reading Catch-22. I don’t love it, but I do a bit each day. Really wondering why it became a “classic;” however I can see in a mid-century post-WWII era this book and its topic of the pointlessness of war being incredibly simuluating.
To feel like I was moving on with this goal I also added the Time Machine as an audiobook.
11. Grow my emergency savings account to at least $5,000.
At the end of the month my emergency savings account was at: $1,850.12 (+$433.84 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 account, 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, February 1-7: I ran the Roomba on Sunday, that’s it.
- Week 2, February 8-14: I vacuumed on Thursday because my parents & aba are coming up this weekend
- Week 3, February 15-21: Ran the Roomba after my folks left
- Week 4, February 22-28: I was lazy so I just ran the Roomba three times
13. √ Focus on working out my arms more.
Yes, I know this goal is vague: what does “more” mean?? But I currently do nearly zero things for my arms, so more is literally anything.
- BodyRock Baby Week 1 (32:48; but she talks for like the first 7 minutes)
- Nike Training Club: Arms & Shoulders 2 (20:00)
14. √ Finish our patio decorating.
We got our custom covered cushions & pillows this month! And Will purchased the black & white striped 20 x 20″ pillows!!! I guess this goal is technically done?
15. 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, February 1-7: an average of 1 hour and 56 minutes
- Week 2, February 8-14: an average of 2 hours and 19 minutes
- Week 3, February 15-21: an average of 2 hours and 26 minutes* (I’m not mad, we announced on social media we were having a baby so my phone blew up with messages and calls. To be expected)
- Week 4, February 22-28: an average of 2 hours and 27 minutes (a BUNCH of on texting and Pinterest…I need to cut down Pinterest)
*Note: One of the things I am giving up for Lent is social media on my phone Monday-Saturday so that should help greatly with this goal.
16. √ Buy no books (unless I have a gift card of course).
None purchased this month. I used my library for any pregnancy/family books I was interested in picking up.
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, February 1-7: I did an hour or so because an idea was buzzing around my head
- Week 2, February 8-14: absolutely nothing because my parents & aba were up for the weekend
- Week 3, February 15-21: I only did a bit of grading I wanted to finish before their test on Saturday & that’s it
- Week 4, February 22-28: I only finished grading 15 tests on Saturday afternoon & that’s it; moving into the last week before exams & Spring Break :)))
18. √ Call someone out of the blue to chat at least once a month.
Not exactly out of the blue but a 2.5 hour (cut into two convos) with one of my best friends totally counts, as well as talking to my cousin who lives in D.C. & my madrina for over an hour and talking to one of Will’s aunts on a leisurely Sunday morning.
19. Finish decorating our two extra bedrooms.
Not sure this counts as decorating but my parents & aba came up during President’s Day weekend so we definitely tidied the rooms for them.
20. √ Organize an intentional date with my hubby once a month.
- After a (virtual) SCPS Science Fair we went to Oviedo Brewing Co. (they are excellent with COVID measures!) for drinks & an appetizer.a.
- And I don’t know if it counts as a “date” but I got a road bike as an early-early birthday gift (as in my birthday is in May lol – but we found a great deal of Facebook Marketplace!) and we’ve been riding bikes together some afternoons.
- On Ash Wednesday, we did our annual break-the-fast-and-we-are abstaining-from-meat sushi dinner (we did take out this year but still had a nice set up in the patio).
- We also had a free hotel night for Will’s post-post Teacher of the Year Gala & spent Saturday morning at the hotel pool
22. √ Start a family.
I’m still pregnant sooo I guess I’m winning this category. I’ve started to feel really good about this pregnancy (finally); the first trimester I was preoccupied with losing the baby at any moment. Now that I am officially showing (starting about week 14/15) I am feeding off people’s joy. 🙂 But, as always, for whatever they are worth please keep us in your prayers. Nothing is ever guaranteed.
JMF
