September Check-In

So in the month of August, I made a list of goals.  I don't think I really addressed my list on the blog because if I make a list public, I feel like I really have to do the things on that list.  Like my 30-Before-30.  And if I don't do the things I said I would do, then I feel like a failure.  So I made this list in August and I didn't tell anyone about it except the Mister.  I was hoping I would be able to achieve all my items and then be like, "Hey guys, look at everything I did!"  But this is me we are talking about and sometimes I'm a little over-optimistic.  However, I'm still really proud of the things I did accomplish and am okay with the things that didn't pan out.  To note:

Do something nice for the Mister every day that I am home
~  I'm not sure if I managed this one EVERY day, but it was pretty close.  The Mister does SO MANY nice things for me all the time.  And I worry sometimes that I don't keep up my end of that.  So I'm continuing to make a conscious effort to be good to him and to spoil him.

Read the first five novels on the list
~  You guys?  Ulysses sucks.  Like, a lot.  I'm almost halfway through and I still don't even understand what is going on half the time.  I kept trying to force myself to stick it out.  And I even readdressed this goal and changed it to just finishing Ulysses by the end of August.  But I had zero desire to ever pick it up and read it.  So, I'm calling it a loss and moving on to The Great Gatsby, which I am in fact looking forward to reading.

Recommit to fitness goals, focus more on strength training & lost 5 pounds
~  This one sounds like a lot, but is actually the one I am most proud of.  I did in fact lose 5 pounds in August and even that little bit has made a HUGE difference in how I feel and how I look in my clothes.  My uniform dress finally doesn't feel too tight.  I'm comfortable in all my pairs of jeans.  And I feel like I'm starting to get stronger.  I've been pushing myself to lift a little heavier than I usually do.  I bought Rachel Cosgrove's book The Female Body Breakthrough and while I don't buy into everything she says (I'm not giving up my running...it is too important to me), I've started incorporating some of her philosophies and techniques into my own workouts and I think I'm starting to see results!

Update the blog at least once per week
~  Ahahahaha ,whoops.  I don't know why it is so difficult for me to keep up with the blog sometimes.  I think about it pretty often and think of things I want to share with my readers or stories I want to tell.  But then I just never get around to opening up that "new post" page to start typing.  This is something I'll continue to work on.

So!  Those were some of my goals for August.  For September, I'm going to read the next four novels on the list (though, fair warning, I may just skip Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man if I hate it as much as I hate Ulysses).  I'm going to run at least 50 total miles and drop another 5 pounds.  I'm going to go to Zumba every Thursday (more on that another day!).  For the "knit a sweater" item on my 30-Before-30 list, I have decided that a baby sweater totally counts and I have one in the works to be done before the end of the month.  My hair is stupid long so this month I am going to get it cut and donate at least 1 foot of hair!  I put together a Family Finances binder and during September, I'm going to focus on getting our money right.  The Mister & I are lucky in that we don't have any financial problems, but we definitely eat out too much and overspend on groceries.  So in September, we're going to focus on how & where we are spending our money and then work on reorganizing and re-prioritizing our funds!  Doesn't that sound fun?  I'll tell you what though.  The best way to get me excited about something boring like a budget?  Let me buy a bunch of new office supplies (binders! dividers! three-hole punch!) and also let me turn it into an art project.  Because I WILL get excited!

And, because, you know.  Here's a photo of me in yet another airport lounge.  These are sort of like the old "Drinking Coffee in my Hotel Room" posts except they are me blogging in flight attendant lounges.