Monthly Goal Check-in (July)

This month, I kept my goals realistic. We were on vacation for 18 days which is more than half the month. I knew, I wouldn't be making progress on some of the goals but kept my eye on the prize for others. I discovered, knitting is a great goal to work on when you are traveling over 2000 miles along the western coast! 

2018 Goals

1. Workout 218 times in 2018 - I worked out 16 times in July. My goal was 14 times since we were on vacation for so long and I totally met my goal! I'm at 149 workouts for the year with 69 to go!
2. Go Skiing 
3. Complete "The Artist's Way"
4. Learn Hand Lettering - I worked on this a little bit. I now sympathize with my kids when I make them practice their writing. It's not exciting to practice handwriting. 
5. Paint the Bathroom - This goal is waiting until September so I can paint while the girls are at school.  
6. Find a picture for the oval frame in my bedroom 
7. Replace the sad Rhododendron plant with a Dwarf Japanese Maple (or another plant) - This goal is waiting until fall to complete. 
8. Build (or buy) a trellis for my vegetable garden 
9. Buy a new dishwasher 
10. Embrace Minimalism by doing the Minimalist Game for an entire month 
11. Reduce our food bill and food waste - It's hard to say how we did this month since we ate out for almost 3 weeks straight. I'll be focusing on this in August. 
12. Read War and Peace, Moby Dick, A Tale of Two Cities and The Grapes of Wrath -  I didn't do any reading on these books this month though I did do a lot of reading otherwise for Book Bingo.
13. Read the Bible - I'm not quite caught up but I'm working hard on it. 
14. Knit Nanoo - Nanoo! I'm still working on this. Working, working!
15. Knit 12 hats for charity - I got both my June and July hats knit up while on vacation. Turns out riding in the car for long hours equals knitting time. 
16. Repeat Goal: Complete TKGA Master Knitting Level I - I bought the updated instructions and plan to dive into this soon. 
17. Repeat Goal: Finish my Miter Square Blanket  - My goal for July was to knit 6 miters and I did it! I have 9 squares left to knit. I'd love to have them all done by the end of August so I can start knitting the border but I might need to stretch out squares to September. 
18. Repeat Goal: Catch up on my yearly photo books of the girls - I did not work on this at all in July. I need to come up with a plan to get myself to work on these. I need time at my computer but when I'm here, I have other paid work to get done. 

Week in Review 7.28.18

Re-entry was rough! So rough! I scheduled an easy week activity wise for the girls thinking they would want to ease back into the everyday of life. But, boy, did that backfire on me. They say kids need space to be bored and have independent play and for my kids that means destruction, whining and a frustrated parent. 

Exercise

I jumped right back into exercise this week and got in three boot camps and two BurnCycle classes. It was great being back in the grind but it was also so hard! My booty is sore! I am glad to be back into my regular routine and happy with the amount of exercise I did get on our trip. 

Food

I decided to try having BeWell by Kelly Fab4 smoothies for breakfast this week. I decided to go all in and even bought a Vitamix. My fall down is usually lunch. I get hungry at 11:45 a.m. and then need to pick up Maggie from school and it all goes down hill from there. These smoothies have really helped! I'm literally not hungry until 1 p.m. when I can have a nice healthy lunch. HUGE win! And as someone who previously did not love smoothies, I am actually enjoying them. 

Otherwise I spent this week just getting back to non-vacation eating even if that was hard for the kids. We had a ton of fresh produce which my body was really thankful for. Can't go wrong with fresh fruits and veggies! 

The Girls

The girls were rough this week, so rough! They had their first set of tennis lessons and swim lessons which kept them moving but otherwise, they were free reign which led to too much television. At the end of the week, I announced that we were going back to our rule of No TV after dinner. Molly got really mad and threw the tv remote at it. And long story, short, we are now a TV free household! Scott took the broken TV to the recycling place today. The kids are really feeling the consequence of this action. Molly has apologized a few times and we've talked about big emotions. While it has only been a day since TV left our house, I can honestly say things are going better. While my house is trashed beyond comprehension, they have been creatively playing and having so much fun. I do miss my electronic babysitter but I think our screen-free forced break is going to be good. I'll write more on this later next week after I have a few more days to report on. 

Other Goings On

The basement is nearing completion. I'm actually working on the punch list to make sure everything is complete. I'm so excited to move our stuff out of storage, purge more stuff and start decorating the basement. 

I caught a summer cold this week and have been miserable with snot. All I want to do is curl up under a blanket but then I'm sweating up a storm. Having a cold in the summer is terrible! 

Stories Published

ParentMap - Legoland: 10 Tips for Your Fabulous Family Vacation

Week(s) in Review - 7.21.18

We went on vacation and I completely neglected to update the blog. It was worth it though as we have had quite the adventure. We are headed home now with a very dirty car, tired kids and so many memories. 

Exercise

I did get in some exercise while on our trip. I went on two hikes in Yosemite, climbed up some San Francisco hills while walking many, many miles and got in two barre3 classes in Los Altos. I'm nearing my goal of 14 workouts for this month which feels great after being away from home for 17 days. I've really missed my almost daily morning movement. 

Food

Food was all over the place and I'm now that person who craves veggies. I was so happy when we landed in Palo Alto for the week in a hotel room with a kitchen as it meant I could cook veggies. Yum! Turns out my body can't handle too many carbs anymore and was so unhappy. 

We ate at an amazing Mexican restaurant outside of Yosemite that blew my mind! We ate at Taqueria Plazuelas where I had Huaraches made with homemade tortillas and the most amazing sauce. It was unexpected and so good. 

We also ate at the oldest Dim Sum restaurant in the United States while in San Francisco. It was the girl's first time having dim sum and they liked it. It wasn't the best I've ever had but I did enjoy it. 

The Girls

The girls had lots of adventures on this trip and lots of great times. They have done so much and honestly have become a bit ragged on the edges with messed up sleep, sassiness and too much sugar. 

Over the past 17 days, they've swum almost daily, hiked, seen amazing sights of nature, climbed huge hills in San Francisco, ridden a cable car, been to the top of Coit Tower, started at the majestic Sequoia trees in Yosemite, investigated Hearst Castle, explored the Monterey Aquarium and seen the Elephant Seals at San Simone. They explored the beach at Santa Cruz and did all the rides they could on the boardwalk. Yesterday, I took them to see Hotel Transylvania 3 in Mountain View. The theatre was amazing with huge comfy recliners and an amazing concession stand.   

Other Goings On

I read a lot on this trip - almost 9 books and I knit everything in sight. I attribute this to making a list of realistic goals for July and really sticking to them. Instead of spending time on social media (though I did plenty of that), I read my book. While watching tv or reading, I kept my knitting needles in my hands. There is something also to be said for hours spent either in the car or poolside that gave me time to knit and read. I also took a ton of photos which I put up on Instagram under our special vacation hashtag - #mongrain2018californiaroadtrip

Instagram: Seattle Walk Report

Stories Published

Seattle Refined - This Instagram account creatively breaks down walking routes in Seattle

Mommy Nearest - 10 Best Things to do in Portland, Oregon with Kids

Reading, Listening, Watching

Reading

Feast by Ferry

Annihilation: A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy)

At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe

Less (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize): A Novel

You can find my most current reads on Instagram using the hashtag #reebeckireads

Listening

The Rise Podcast

Shameless Mom Academy: 5 Ways to Love the Skin You're In

Happier with Gretchen Rubin: Know Your Purpose

Watching

Annihilation

Riverdale: Season 2

Week in Review 7.7.18

This was a pretty laid back week. We headed out on vacation at the end of the week and I spent time getting ready. The girls hung around the house (setting up our shade tent over and over again in the backyard) and we just got into vacation mode. All in all, a very good thing! 

Exercise

This week was way easier and calmer in the exercise department than the last two weeks. I did two boot camps, one CityCycle class and one barre3 class. It was a good start to my goal of getting 14 workouts in this month. Since we'll be traveling, I lowered my exercise goal to be realistic for my circumstances as we'll have a few days of all day driving with little availability for exercise.

Food

Acme changed their delivery day to Tuesday instead of Thursday which worked out awesome for us. We left on a road trip on Friday and having food delivered on Tuesday meant I didn't have to go shopping or plan anything for our last few days. The kids gobbled up the muffins so fast and I really dug the meals! 

The Girls

This was one of our weeks this summer where we did not have camps, swim lessons or basically anything. On Monday, I took the girls for haircuts and then treated them to mani/peds. They are completely spoiled. The rest of the week, I told them to go outside and play and leave me alone. Basically I have embraced 70s parenting. It's good for them. They have ended up very dirty and very happy. I also let them have ice cream for dinner which they said was the best treat ever! 

Other Goings On

Painting continues on and I continue to be glad that I hired painters rather than trying to tackle this myself. It's a big job and I would have spent months doing it. I don't have months to devote to painting. 

July Goals

June was quite the suck. I did not get far on my goals. This was my first time experiencing the end of the school year in public school and it was busy! I know better now and will prepare better next year (maybe). 

Here is how I did on my June Goals:

1. Exercise 22 times - I give BurnCycle all the credit for getting in 27 amazing workouts! I really needed them for my mental game this month. It was a stressful one. 
2. Catch up on my Bible reading - Nope! Still not caught up!
3. Get 8 books read for Book Bingo! - I got almost 6 read which feels good. I spent too long trying to read a book I was not enjoying. I decided to abandon it which means I need to choose a new one for the "LGBTQIA author/character" category. 
4. Knit on Nanoo - Yeah, nope! 
5. Knit my June Hat for charity - Totally missed this goal. I selected my pattern and wound my yarn and knit nary a stitch. I hope to knit two hats in July. 
6. Work on the Girl's 1-and 2-year-old photo books - Nope! 
7. Update Ravelry with my Yarn Stash - Nope! 
8. Work on Hand Lettering - Nope!
9. Knit 5 miter squares for my blanket - I knit 4 squares! I literally had to re-knit two squares twice so I would have surpassed my goal but technical issues slowed me down. 
10. Finish getting my yard in summer shape (weeding, laying down dirt and pressure washing the porches) - It is almost there. I need to get some dirt but my yard is no longer an embarrassment to me! 

Here are my goals for July! These include some 2018 goals and some specific goals fro July. These are a bit lighter due to our vacation plans which is ok with me because sometimes one needs to sit back and relax. 

July Goals

1. Exercise 14 times  
2. Catch up on my Bible reading
3. Get 9 books read for Book Bingo! 
4. Knit on Nanoo
5. Knit my June and July Hats for charity 
6. Knit 6 miter squares for my blanket
7. Finish The 100 Day Project
8. Keep logging my meals in MyFitnessPal

Monthly Goal Check-in (June)

June was not a great month for making a lot of progression on my goals. School was winding down. Our remodel was winding down. The kids had celebrations every other day along with dance recitals and swim lessons. I had too much going on in daily life to tackle my yearly goals. Some months are like that so I'm not worried! I still made some great progress on some of the goals but just didn't do a lot overall. That is life! 

2018 Goals

1. Workout 218 times in 2018 - I worked out 27 times in June. My goal was 22 times which I leapt right past! I'm at 133 workouts for the year with only 85 to go!
2. Go Skiing 
3. Complete "The Artist's Way"
4. Learn Hand Lettering - I didn't work on this goal at all. 
5. Paint the Bathroom - This goal is waiting until late Summer/Early Fall due to our basement construction. 
6. Find a picture for the oval frame in my bedroom 
7. Replace the sad Rhododendron plant with a Dwarf Japanese Maple (or another plant) - This goal is waiting until fall to complete. 
8. Build (or buy) a trellis for my vegetable garden 
9. Buy a new dishwasher 
10. Embrace Minimalism by doing the Minimalist Game for an entire month 
11. Reduce our food bill and food waste - This always slides when I get busy. I overbuy food or don't make planned meals or just don't build upon my meals to get the most of our food. July is mostly traveling so our food waste will be low but our food bill higher. I'm going to re-focus on this goal in August. 
12. Read War and Peace, Moby Dick, A Tale of Two Cities and The Grapes of Wrath -  I didn't do any reading on these books this month though I did do a lot of reading otherwise.
13. Read the Bible - I'm not quite caught up but I'm working hard on it. 
14. Knit Nanoo - Nanoo! I'm still working on this. Working, working!
15. Knit 12 hats for charity - Gah! I fell behind and did not get June's hat knitted. I plan to knit two in July. We have a two and half week road trip coming up which for me means a lot of knitting time! 
16. Repeat Goal: Complete TKGA Master Knitting Level I - Put this aside for June! 
17. Repeat Goal: Finish my Miter Square Blanket  - My goal for June was to do 5 miters and I ended up finishing 4. I tried to knit more but kept messing up my miters and having to re-do them. I have 15 squares left to knit. I'd love to have them all done by the end of August so I can start knitting the border. As of right now, my blanket is about 75% done though! 
18. Repeat Goal: Catch up on my yearly photo books of the girls - I did not work on this at all in June.