I
posted at the beginning of the year that this year for me would be
intentional. Intentional in time with my family, intentional in spending money, intentional in what I did with my free time, and intentional with where my life is taking me.
I laid out some
goals and since today it's the beginning of March, I thought it’d be a great time to check in.
Financial Goals:We created budgets on Mint.com and have been diligent about checking them weekly. Every Monday morning I have a reminder on my calendar to log in and see where we are. This has help bring perspective to what we are spending and also helping to hold us accountable.
To be honest we’ve gone over in budgets both months but mostly due to things like unexpected increases in daycare costs, adding Macie to the weekend gymnastics fun, Macie’s birthday that I didn’t budget for, and finance charges on credit card debt that we are paying off soon. I am planning to reassess our budget this month to account for these increases and also to account for the bonus I’m getting which will be going straight to debt! (Adulting is hard)
Started college funds for the girls which will kick in this April, another budget adjustment.
Still need to work on savings but that will get easier once some debt is paid down this month. I want to focus on debt paydown and then we will have funds freed up for savings.
Family Goals:Disney Trips for the girls’ birthdays - Since we have annual passes I want to ensure we are getting ours money’s worth. We are planning a trip Friday for Macie’s birthday. All of the reservations and FastPasses are made and ready to go.
Weekly lunch dates with the hubs - I’ve been slacking on lunch dates with the hubs since I’ve been working out on lunch. I need to get better about carving out at least one day a week for him and me. I love getting out of the office and having alone time with him, even if just for an hour.
Monthly date nights with hubs. We haven’t had any date nights either, add to the list for March.
Monthly dates with the girls alone. I had a few lunch dates with Henley during the week since I am trying to get her to not nap at school, that battle deserves its own post. Husband had a day alone with Macie picking strawberries and playing with the ponies at his dad’s house too.
Health Goals:Workout 3-4 times a week - I’ve been working out more than my goal, six days a week all month! YaY! I’ve been doing Hammer and Chisel this month and loving it. Four weeks to go. I've been a little off this week and with Disney Friday through Sunday I imagine I'll be redoing week five next week.
I've been drinking my Shakeology daily and have been meal planning and prepping which has been huge for ensuring I have a healthy lunch.
I’ve been hitting my step goal most days, 24 days this month to be exact!!
Personal Goals:Blog twice a week - January was a good month but February was a little sparse. I chose working on other creative outlets over writing this month but I am planning to get some more out there in the next few weeks.
Monthly updates to photo book----total fail. Haven’t started this at all for 2017.
Reading challenge of 35 books this year - I am on book five so a little behind. I’ve tried to read two different books this year that are nonfiction, more focused on self-improvement and I lost interest after much forceful reading. I think for me reading is a relaxing, fun way to wrap up my day and those books didn’t do it for me. I found myself preferring to scroll through Facebook or Pinterest instead. Two of the books I’ve read so far:
Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner: This was one book that wasn’t a fiction but I loved it and would highly recommend. This book isn’t full of how-to’s or tips on becoming a minimalist but instead packed with experiences and overall enlightening. I found myself constantly reassessing my priorities and looking at where I spend efforts in my day to day.
I also read Truly, Madly, Guilty from Liane Moriarty. I typically love her books but this was one overall frustrating. “Just get to the point!” was something I found myself thinking constantly through this book.
Stay creative - I’ve definitely been excelling in this area between the blog, writing with the Year of Creativity, photography, and lettering. Check out my
latest watercolor/lettering I posted to Instagram.
Stay above the Bullshit! I’ve been doing relatively well here also. See my post on
Maintaining the Balance.Intention---just calling it out as something I needed in my life has been huge for me so far this year. I love the awareness it’s created with my life. I feel much more in control. I also think being out of the baby stages with the girls has been a huge help. I’m not nursing or pumping and the girls sleep through the night most nights. We are still up early but at least the 2am wake ups are a thing of the past (knock on wood). I’m feeling more human every day.
How are you doing on any goals you set for the year? Keep going! I know you’ve got this!
