Lifestyle

2021 February Goal Reflection

2021 February 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)

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.

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.

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

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