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 closet
The attic is so much more manageable now! Taking down & putting back Fall and Christmas decor was seamless this year with Will’s excellent organization.
2. Travel outside the state of Florida at least once.
Nope but we are planning a trip to *exotic* South Florida & Daytona Beach in December before Christmas.
3. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
It’s definitely more habit to keep a bottle filled at all times near me, now just to drink it.
4. Spend an average less than $650/month on groceries.
Week 1, November 1-7
- On list:
- $35.70 at Winn-Dixie
- $32.44 at Publix
- $101.47 via Kroger Delivery
- Off list:
- $20.98 at Winn-Dixie
- $46.55 at Publix
TOTAL: $237.14
Week 2, November 8-14
- On list:
- $6.70 at Publix
- $97.89 via Kroger Delivery
- Off list:
- $12.88 at Publix
- $9.78 via Kroger Delivery
TOTAL: $127.26
Week 3, November 15-21
- On list:
- $102.80 at Winn-Dixie
- Off list:
- $11.69 at Winn-Dixie
TOTAL: $114.49
*Note: my parents & aba were over for Thanksgiving and covered our groceries this week, but I still bought quite a bit to have them over. Hence why this “week” is so much.
Week 4, November 22-30 (extra 2 days)
- On list:
- $53.10 at Publix
- $38.77 at Bravo
- $191.55 via Kroger Delivery
- $10.17 at Target
- Off list:
- $2.89 at Target
TOTAL: $283.42
- Monthly Grand Total On List: $660.42
- Monthly Grand Total Off List: $101.88
- MONTH GRAND TOTAL: $762.30
5. Write 2 art history blog posts a mon
Nope 🙁 But I have two in the works
6. Keep my potted herbs alive (& maybeeee add more green things to my backyard).
They’re still alive (except the thyme I got from a friend…I accidently drowned it) & I actually added 2 more over Thanksgiving break.
7. Use my slow cooker at least every other week.
- Week 1: I defrosted up a Chili we previously made in the slow cooker – does that count?
- Week 2: Bean & Tomato Soup
- Week 3: Butternut Squash Soup
- Week 4: no
- Week 5: negative
8. Go for a jog or long walk every week.
Oh so many! Now that the weather is chilly we go for a family walk nearly every day. Over Thanksgiving break I think I went nearly 3 times a day, seriously.
9. Practice yoga at least twice a month.
November 28 Will tells me he wants to start doing more yoga. Music to my ears!
- Balancing Backbends (21:44)
10. Read at least 5 books classified as “classic literature.”
I realllllly did not expect to fail this one so badly!
Finished:
- Time Machine by H.G. Wells
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
I don’t think I’m going to add any to this list, unless Dune counts as a classic. A cult classic that is!
11. Grow my emergency savings account to at least $5,000.
As I said before, no. I drained this account to cover unpaid maternity leave but I think next year I will keep this goal. We have other savings, this is supposed to be our oh shit savings and I guess it did it’s job this year.
12. Vacuum at least once a week.
Oh yes! With family over the week of Thanksgiving I vacuumed daily.
13. Focus on working out my arms more.
Besides carrying a hunky, chunky baby around I did one Nike Training “Tank Top Arms” (20 minutes), but I think 16+ lbs of baby counts as an ongoing daily workout.
14. Finish our patio decorating.
Well now we want to add 2-3 hanging plants. Idk if that will get done this year though.
15. Spend an average of LESS than an hour and a half on my phone per day.
mmmm no, not with breastfeeding – I get a lot of useful stuff done (like pay bills, text people back, etc). while doing that. We are making a big effort to limit phone screen usage around the baby, especially when playing.
Now that I am back at work, my screen time is way less & I added a time limit to social media apps along with a shut down for the night limit.
16. Buy no books (unless I have a gift card of course).
mmm not sure if this counts but I bought *myself* a yearly planner from Be a Heart Design as *my* St. Nicholas book gift. lol The baby & hubby also got books from St. Nick (me).
17. Do no school work on Sunday.
1.5 weeks back at school & still doing good on this goal! Realllyyy trying to keep it up even with the pressure to get stuff done with my more limited free time. Just disciplining myself that things do not have to be graded immediately, my lesson plans don’t have to be complicated, & I can build in grading time while with students.
18. Call someone out of the blue to chat at least once a month.
Yes, actually I’ve been calling family on my way home from work so they can hear the baby scream in the background.
19. Finish decorating our two extra bedrooms.
Yes, not necessarily Pinterest-worthy but definitely done.
20. Organize an intentional date with my hubby once a month.
We made use of my parents & aba staying the week on Thanksgiving to go out for drinks together one night & ride bikes over to UCF for tailgating on Friday morning.
21. Start a family.
Saying I am thankful for my son is such an understatement. Our lives have shifted in such a beautiful way and I can hardly remember life without him even though he’s not even 5 months old yet. I am thankful for the way our son has changed our lives, the good and the difficult.
