Goal Number One - Read 12 books: This year the goal is set at 12 books, with an extended goal of 18 books. I finished two more books this month, which means I'm up to four out of my twelve goal. I don't devote enough time to reading. I just feel so tired and I just don't want to read.
Reading List (total so far 2)
- Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas
- Falling Over Sideways by Jordan Sonnenblick
- Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today by Cynthia Levinson and Sanford Levinson
- A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green
Goal Number Two - Average a one pound per week weight loss by the end of the year: I've not had some fluctuations, and right now I'm trending downward, so hopefully things will turn out well. I do have the obstacle that my treadmill is currently out of commission. I think it needs a new belt. But here's what I got on the mini-goals:
- Subgoal 1: Close my three rings 75% of the time. Since February I have had straight perfect months. There were a few days this month that I thought I wouldn't make it, but I pulled it out in the end!
- Subgoal 2: Create a schedule that includes two different activities a week. Becky has joined me on this one and we've got a pretty good schedule going, so well done here.
- Subgoal 3: Log every meal, every day right after the meal. Don't skip any snacks. Still doing fine on this.
- Subgoal 4: Complete another 5k race. With COVID I'm going to throw this goal out. I don't see anything happening before the end of the year or me feeling comfortable about doing a run.
- Subgoal 5: Limit my snacking to under 350 calories a day. I've been snacking more with fruit lately, though I am out of fruit currently. I still need to focus here though.
Goal Number Four - Home Repair/Improvements: July had a lot of movement here. We pulled out the floor in the bathroom and put tile down. We also replaced the tub, but need to get new tile for around the tub, and get the vanity finished up. We also had major painting going on in our bedroom, the hall, and the foyer, as well as all the trim upstairs, down the stairs, and in the foyer. In terms of hours left on the bathroom project, it's not much left. The tiling doesn't usually take long, though you have to wait periods before grouting etc. Our next step is to replace the carpet, perhaps a bit more painting in the main floor. Then since it'll be moving toward cooler days, perhaps some outdoor jobs replacing some wood trim, painting, etc. We're also looking at replacing our foyer light, so that's very exciting. It's been a very busy month for home improvements.
Goal Number Five - Spend at least one hour a week on creative things: Haven't done much on this one, unless painting a wall counts, haha!
Goal Number Six - Take three photos a day: So, I started a daily Instagram to do this, and it's got 523 posts so far, though that's 116 below where it should be, so basically I'm about a month behind. I've done some fun cooking series, and some on improvements, so perhaps I can catch up doing a few more like that. It's hard to find new things to photograph when all we do is stay home.
Goal Number Seven - Have seven new experiences: Given the state of things, I don't know that this is going to really end up hitting the goal number, and if it does it's certainly not going to be for experiences that I was really going for. Though, I did order fresh peaches from The Peach Truck, so that should be something fun and new.
- Visited the natural history museum at the University of Michigan
- Living in a pandemic with a stay at home order
- Taught school over the Internet
- Ordered groceries for at home deliver because we can't go anywhere
- Began emergency planning since it's hard to get food and supplies now
- Ordered from the Peach Truck and made three new recipes, two cobblers, and a bread pudding
So, that's it for the August update.
