2021 May 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)

My godmother spent a week with us & was an IMMENSE help with cleaning, cooking, organizing – you name it, she did it! The most wonderful thing was her tackling the nursery-which-had-become-storage. She took everything out, sorted and organized, then put things back in to a more logical place. Although the junk isn’t all cleared out and ready for baby, it is a big start!

The other guest bedroom closet is now full of decor for our baby shower, so although it is “full of junk” it has purpose.

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

Negative.

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

Oh I am like double that at least. Central Florida heat + pregnancy!

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

Week 1, May 1-8

*Note: May 7th was my 30th birthday & I prefer Will cooks for me than going out to dinner (especially as our dumb governor lifted all COVID restrictions in the state). But I am not counting that food as part of the groceries because that is part of my gift instead.

On list:
- $49.31 at Winn-Dixie
- $43.29 at Target
Off list:
- $8.34 at Winn-Dixie (pudding & a snack cuz I was getting hangry)

TOTAL: $100.94

Week 2, May 9-15

*Note: my cousin came to stay with us this week so we went to eat out a bit more than usual & I ended up in the ER (again) on Wednesday so I was not about to cook my “usual” fare.

On list:
- $39.96 at Publix
Off list:
- $0

TOTAL: $39.96

Week 3, May 16-22

*Note: my godmother came to stay with us for the week so we did a big food shopping trip plus lots of “oh shit” trips.

On list:
- $58.47 at Winn-Dixie
- $153.34 at Aldi
- $25.65 at Publix
- $2.99 at Target
Off list:
- I didn’t make a list this week so technically there is nothing “off list.” 🙂

TOTAL: $240.45

Week 4, May 23-31 (stretching this one an extra 2 days)

*Note: we went down to visit my all vaccinated family (!!!!) & mother-in-law for Memorial Day weekend so our food bill is lower than expected.

On list:
- $61.58 at Publix
Off list:
- $2.99 (chocolate milk, I’m starting to have some pregnancy acid reflux & dairy helps)
- $16.50 (I won’t call it pregnancy cravings but I really wanted ice cream and then I saw a ring of shrimp cocktail; the other items were just things I like/use on super sale)

TOTAL: $81.07

Monthly Grand Total On List: $434.59
Monthly Grand Total Off List: $62.78
MONTH GRAND TOTAL: $497.37

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

No, end of the school year + rush to make maternity lesson plans + ending up in the ER = no art history blog posts (& hardly any others too!)

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

So my sage died. Not sure what I did but it wasn’t looking good for a week then one day it totally shriveled.

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

Week 1, May 1-8: Slow Cooker Beef and Noodles (I paired it with marinated kale)
Week 2, May 9-15: none.
Week 3, May 16-22: Texas Deer Chili
Week 4, May 23-31: last week of school I do little-to-no meal planning

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

Week 1, May 1-8: neighborhood walk Sunday evening & a 1.5 hour hike with a friend (this time I was much slower & needed 2 breaks)
Week 2, May 9-15: not much besides short neighborhood walks.
Week 3, May 16-22: just 2 walks around the neighborhood & a lakeside walk after lunch out on Saturday; I was kept busy doing household tasks
Week 4, May 23-31: long walk with a pregnant friend & my last weekly hike with a friend who is leaving

9. X Practice yoga at least twice a month.

Prenatal for Core Strength

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, May 17

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

Still working through Catch-22 (really really not a fan), I had to switch to an audiobook because otherwise I was just not getting through it. And I decided to take a break from pregnancy books to hop into Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

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: $2,647.41 (+$47.27 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. X Vacuum at least once a week.

Week 1, May 1-8: just once
Week 2, May 9-15: nope. this was a terrible week.
Week 3, May 16-22: my godmother is here for the week with us soooo she totally vacuumed
Week 4, May 23-31: negative

13. X Focus on working out my arms more.

This month was a no go for working out in general. Just casual walks.

14. √ Finish our patio decorating.

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, May 1-8: 2 hours 45 minutes
Week 2, May 9-15: 2 hours 12 minutes
Week 3, May 16-22: 2 hours 37 minutes
Week 4, May 23-31: just about the same

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

Accomplished this!!

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, May 1-8: heck no! We had a wedding (pictured) & one of Will’s good friend’s 30th birthday
Week 2, May 9-15: May 11th is the AP World History Exam so I am really winding down my year fast!
Week 3, May 16-22: Even though I have about 3 months of maternity plans to make I am making sure Sundays are free of school work
Week 4, May 23-31: last week of school & were FREE!!!

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

People called me for my birthday. I am noticing the trend this year is that people call me to talk. I’m counting it.

19. ~ Finish decorating our two extra bedrooms.

My amazing godmother was here for a week to help me move all the wonderful things we have received out of the future nursery & sorted it all so we can paint & decorate. We also intentionally decorated the other guest bedroom to make it more comfortable for all the loved ones in our lives who are coming over to help out with our bundle of joy coming this August!

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

Does getting dressed up and going to a wedding count? I think so.

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