June goals 2012 : Review

 Trying to be more optimistic for this next month.  June pretty much sucked the life out of me.

- lose 4 pounds.  (one pound a week.  it's coming off so much slower now...) 
Fail. Didn't lose any. Ate like crap pretty much all month long.

- go to the gym 15 times.
 Fail. I made it nine times. I did go walk quite frequently, as well and running outside.

- run AT LEAST twice a week.
Win! Going to up it to three times a week in prep for the next run in two weeks.

- have a blast at my first official 5k at the end of the month.
Win! Some of the most fun I've had in a long time. Entry with photos will be posted soonish.

- read more often.
I finished Almost Moon, and I'm giving The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a second try.

- get outside and ENJOY the sunshine (tan, yes please!)
Win! Yanney splash park a few times, lots of trail running. BBQ with friends and family.  I need to get back on my bike.

- practice yelling less.
I've been running on the bare necessities to make it through the days, yelling either comes out of frustration, or I don't say anything at all.

- take more photographs.
I took a bunch of three little boys at the beginning of the month, little did I know that would be the last ones we took together. Took a bunch at the Color Run.

- write more, even if no one but me sees it.
Yes. I've been keeping a random thoughts journal.

- keep in better contact with a handful of my favorite people.
I'm trying. Being a busy grown up sucks.

- smile more, think less.
Fail. Full out.

- apologize to no one for being exactly who I am.
Not only that, but demanding what I deserve even if that means I have to let go of the person I care very deeply for because all he has to offer me isn't good enough and because I deserve better than scraps he's managed to salvage of himself.

- remember to love ME.
It gets easier. Day by day.

April Goals 2012 : Review

- go to the gym 15 times.

WIN!  Went a total of 16, and would have made it more but had several appointments in the last couple of weeks that ate into gym time.

- lose 5 lbs.

Lost three.

- start and finish a new book.

Finished "The Tenth Circle" and started "The Almost Moon".

- go on two (at least) long bike rides.

This one is a monumental FAIL.  I didn't ride at all.

- buy a bike rack for my car :)

Almost.  The one I had my eye on ended up not fitting the bars on my car.  Still in the process.

- SORT THROUGH CLOTHES.  keep, donate, sell, or give away!

I threw out a bunch that were tattered and torn.  I suck at this whole sorting thing.

- possibly start looking for a new apartment. 

Have been keeping my eye out for anything that pops up, so far, nothing.

- sort through Aiden's toys, change out his spring/summer clothes, put away the heavy winter clothes.

WIN!  Haven't made the complete change from winter to summer clothes just yet, but have brought out the shorts.

- make one new meal a week.

WIN!  White chicken enchiladas, honey sesame chicken, pudding cookies, breakfast pizza, and black bean/pineapple tacos.

- have a kick-ass birthday party.

WIN!  oh yes, yes I did!

- go down to the tattoo parlor and talk to them about drawing up and pricing my next tattoo.

FAIL.  No money, no time.  I would have to do it during my workout time, and I hate giving up my workout time.

- don't get hung up in the small things, look at the big picture.

I'd call this one a win.

- smile more.

I have had a couple of REALLY silly days in the last month.  Days like these are the ones I live for.

- take new body measurements.

WIN!  I don't want to talk about it though.

- run my first 5k.

WIN!  I have ran two on my own, once on D's treadmill, and once at the track by my house.  Aiden and I ran/walked a 5k this last weekend for the community PATH 5k.  I also signed up for another Color Run that will be in Omaha in July.

- tell the important people in my life just how much they mean to me.

I try to, more and more every day.

March Goals 2012 : Review

- lose 5 pounds. 
FAIL.  I lost three.  As I get lower, the lbs seem to be coming off slower, but I am noticing a change in inches.  Which is good.

- go to the gym 15 times.
WIN!  Went 15 times!  Would have been a couple more, but I was sick the beginning of this week, and pretty much slept the entire time I wasn't at work.

- lift weights. twice a week- minimum.
WIN!  Also except for this week, I only lifted once.

- go through clothes, again. give away, donate, or sell.
FAIL!  Didn't even attempt this.

- BUY A CAR.
Total and complete WIN!  Bought a 2003 Mazda Protege 5.  I am IN LOVE with it.  It suits me.

- finish one of the books I've started.
WIN!  I finished  Skylight Confessions, and I'm nearly done with The Tenth Circle.

- one night a week, no television.
WIN!  This was something we didn't even consciously do, but Aiden had diving lessons twice a week, and that helped.

- take myself to a movie, eat a big bowl of buttery popcorn.
FAIL!  I was going to go to The Hunger Games, but haven't gotten around to it, yet.  Tancy and I are going on Monday.

- START a new art project.
I'm not going to give this a win or fail.  I didn't do anything on canvas, or paper, but I did a LOT of cooking. 

- sing. loudly. unabashedly. proudly.
WIN!  New car and sterio system that bumps, not to mention the boyfriend's late V-day present was a Griffin iPod adapter for the radio.  I sang a lot of chick music.

- call my sister more often.
FAIL!  I'm a terrible big sister.

- cook at least one new meal a week.
WIN!  I made pizza puffs, drunken noodles, overnight blueberry french toast, sticky buns, pepperoni rollups, and a reese's peanut butter cup pie.

- write. about anything. about everything.
I wrote a lot of things in my head, though didn't get a chance to get them down on the computer, or paper.  I may post something else tonight, though.

- FINISH couch to 5k. continue running.
Week 6 and 7 proved more difficult than I had anticipated, so I did them both twice, have one more week to go.

- buy a full length mirror.
FAIL!  Gah!  I sucked this month.  Next trip to Wal-mart (and I went probably twice a week all month long...) and I WILL buy one!

- keep calm, love myself and others unconditionally. smile more. question motives less. LIVE.
Week by week, day by day, situation by situation.  I have my good days, and I have my bad.  I have managed to remain calm and not act like a 14 year old girl in most situations, I have loved more than I have not, I have smiled more than I have frowned, and I have accepted things as they have come, good and bad. 

Hi, my name is Sadie, and I'm GROWING ;)

February Goals 2012 - Review

- lose 5 pounds.  Just a little over a pound a week.
WIN! I thought this one was going to be a bust, but stepping on the scale this afternoon, I am 5.6 pounds less than I was at the 1st of this month :)

- go to the gym 15 times.
made it 13 times.  I was sick the majority of last week, and even though I wasn't at the gym, I ran at least one day every weekend this month.

- finish the book I'm reading, start and finish another book.
FAIL!  I finished the book I was reading, and started two others, which I am only 1/4 through both. 

- finish ONE of the many unfinished art pieces I have laying around the apartment.
FAIL!  In looking through what I have started but never finished, I realized that I'm a nearly different person than the one who started those.  I would eventually like to finish them, but I have bigger and better ideas to spend my time on.

- finish couch to 5k.  continue running.
I repeated week 5 and week 6.  It's been too cold/windy to run outside, and I hate running for extended periods on the treadmill, so I've been slacking.  I can, however, run at 6 mph for 10 minutes straight without dying.

- continue lifting weights.  goal, 10 times this month.
I lifted 8 times.  This would have been 10 had I lifted at all last week, which I didn't.  I did do a week of 30 situps/pushups every day, though.

- finish reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with Aiden.
FAIL!  He's been reading to me :)

- start looking for (and hopefully FIND) a new car.
Started looking.  Have a good idea of what I want, now I just have to find something in my budget that is close by.

- dream big.  act on it.
:)  I attended a quarterly Nebraska Breastfeeding Coalition meeting via teleconference a few weeks ago.  I felt my dreams sliding into place.  I have registered for a course study, so fingers crossed that I'm accepted.

- get a pedicure.
WIN!  Aiden and I went together, the day of the first huge blizzard of the season.

- declutter the bathroom.
WIN!  I also did a thorough scrubbing.

- one day at a time, one hour at a time, continue to remind myself how much I am loved.
I will admit that there are still days that I struggle with this, but they are fewer than the days where I am in love with life, and myself.  I pat myself on the back, I dance in the bathroom, I sing in the shower, and I am genuinely proud of myself.  Is it conceited to admit that? 

January Goals 2012 - Review

- lose 5 pounds.  Just over a pound a week.
WIN! Stepping on the scale this morning, I have lost TWELVE!

- keep a food diary.
WIN! My Fitness Pal has been my best friend this month.  Only a handful of days I didn't record.

- start lifting weights again, goal for the month: lift 10 times.
WIN! Ten exactly.

- early morning/evening walks, at least half an hour, three times a week. 
WIN!  I did myself one better and I started the couch to 5k running program.  I completed Week 5 Day 1 today.

- not settle for anything less than being adored.
WIN! Other than a few select people who shall remain nameless who I managed to piss off/step on toes this month, I think I've been pretty well liked.

- get more sleep.  I've been living on around 6 hours a night during the week for the last month and a half, and I would like to start getting a solid 8 again.
Half WIN!  I still stay up too late on the weekends, but during the week I have been averaging no less than 7 and a half hours a night.

- read one book start to finish.
I am 2/3 of the way done with The Help.  Do you see how busy I've been?!

- get a pedicure.
Fail.  Planned to last Friday, but a friend's birthday party bash got in the way.

- go to the gym 15 times.
WIN!  As of today, 21 times.

- take new body measurements.
WIN!  Since the start of this journey two and a half years ago, I have lost an inch around my neck, 3 inches around my bust, 5 inches on my waist, 3 inches on my hips, SIX inches off my thighs, and one inch around my bicep (not flexed).  Perhaps after another ten pounds and I will post some before and after photos.  They're scary.

- take myself to a movie.  enjoy my own company, and treat myself to a huge bowl of popcorn.
Fail.  Didn't do this.  But I did sit on a couch, cuddled up with D who was in and out of sleep and watched Fast 5.  The Rock is HUGE in that movie!

- Let what will be, be.  Smile, laugh, and be nothing other than myself.
WIN!  I have calmed my mind a LOT this month.  I have let go of a lot of the worry that normally plagues me, and I have tried really hard (and most of the time succeeded) in living in the here and now, instead of in the "what if"s or the "could have, would have, should have"s.  I am also reaping the benefits of this mindset.

2011 Goals - Review

-become more disciplined. (in every aspect of my life. exercise, food, sleep, etc.)
I have to say, this has been an extreme year of change.  Two pretty big break-ups, Aiden's father walking out of our lives, followed by all the court dates and paperwork that it takes to revoke parental rights, weight loss and finding some of my inner confidence, and probably more than anything else, learning to love myself a little.  Exercise has become my drug of choice.  If I'm sad, mad, frustrated, lost, it's what I turn to.  I didn't manage to eat as well, or sleep as well as I would have liked to ALL year, but for the most part I've learned a lot to put into better practice in the new year.

- lose 40 lbs. this is less than a pound a week. this is doable.
I lost 25.  But more than anything else, I managed to NOT gain it back over November and December.  Last year I managed to gain back 15 during the holidays. 

- go one full month without television.
Not continuously, no.  We went nearly a week and a half this last May with minimal television while on vacation, and since the beginning of the school year, I've been enacting the no television rule one day out of the week.  This is something we need to work on.

- continue to practice "no fat/ugly talk" with myself.
I have my moments.  November served as my "learn to love myself" month, and even through all of my flaws and all of my mistakes, and everything that I would love to CHANGE about myself, I realized that I am all I've got.  It matters to me more than it matters to everyone else, and even though I haven't been able to love the WHOLE me, just yet, I am able to find bits and pieces that I find absolutely amazing.

- be a positive inspiration to my son. this basically translates to not yelling as much.
I still yell too much.  I nitpick on little things that probably really don't matter.  He's a GOOD boy.  He knows how much I love him, how much I cherish him, and that I would do anything in the world for him.  He has developed a love of reading that I only can hope will continue as he gets older.  He is caring and kind and gentle...

- organize!
*laughs*  it's better this year than last.  I need to practice the de-hoarding better.  Get rid of things I don't need, don't use, and have no real value.  Things do not equal happiness.

- make it through another Christmas without going into the red!
Total and unequivocal WIN! I spent more this Christmas than I have in the last 8 years, but I still have a substantial amount of money in my savings account, I have been able to pay all of my bills and not pick and choose in order to make ends meet for the holidays.  It's such a terrific feeling to not have to walk into the new year wondering how we're going to make it to the next paycheck.

It has been an amazing year.  Through all of the heart break, the trials and tribulations, there has also been endless amounts of joy.  My sister's engagement.  My parents buying and cultivating the property next door into a wonderful garden wonderland.  Aiden having an MRI and coming out scott free.  All of us with our health.  I have fallen in love, I have forged strong, tight bonds with my closest of friends.  I LAUGHED.

There is nothing in this world that can't be made better by simply throwing more love at it.

December Goals - Review

- go to the gym 12 times.
If I get the chance to go tomorrow (fingers crossed) that will make 13 times this month.  I haven't been since last Thursday, though, since Aiden has been out of school.  I could have TOTALLY made my usual 15!

- maintain my weight. 
Scale as of this morning was one pound more than what I have written down for the beginning of the month.  With all of the alcohol and food consumed, that's pretty damn good!

- cook at least TWO new meals, and document.
If by meals I meant Christmas goodies, then yes, yes I did!  I made oreo balls, and nutella cookies, and pumpkin rolls, and butterscotch haystacks :)  I made one new meal, a ground turkey sloppy joe.  Hamburger is still better.

- do the 30 day shred, or any other Jillian the Devil video once a week. 
FAIL.  zero.

- continue to let go of the negative.
This one is a WIN.  I've been extremely level headed, not too exceptionally moody, and able to see a lot of things clearly for the first time in a long time.  It's been a good month.

- keep the apartment at an acceptable level of clean.
Other than a couple of days when I was cooking in large quantities, I think I've been really good at cleaning this month.

- go through, sort out, donate/give away clothes that Aiden no longer fits into. 
They are sorted and boxed, but not yet donated.

- lotion.  Everyday. 
WIN!  Softest skin OF MY LIFE!

- finish the book I'm currently reading.
FAIL.  still trucking through it though.

- finish one piece of art that has been started and set aside for an indeterminate amount of time.
FAIL on my own art.  I did, however, transfer from video tape to DVD my father's old videos from his children's theater.

- drink more WATER.
WIN!  I pee all the time.

- take myself to a movie, any movie.  eat a bag of popcorn with butter, drink a soda, and enjoy my own company for a few hours.
Had planned on going to see the remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo tonight, but I've been sick the last few days and a night at home was beckoning.

- don't allow anyone to treat me like I deserve less.  Don't let anyone try to sell me short on what I really want and really deserve.  I am NO ONE'S second best. 
Some things in the last week or so have gotten messy and confusing.  I am, probably for the first time in my life, doing what I want to do.  Not what I think my parents would be okay with, not what the logical choice is, but what *I* want.  It's my life.

November Goals - Review

- go to the gym 15 times.
WIN!  Today was #16.  I would have been there at least four more days, but the gym closed down for a location move two weeks ago, and I was sick the last two Mondays.

- lose 5 lbs. 
WIN!  Stepping on the scale tonight, I'm down 7.

- cook at least TWO new meals, and document.
WIN!  Made Hawaiian Chicken with Pineapple and Pepper Rice.

Also made Low-Fat Chicken and Pesto Shells with Homemade (courtesy of my mom) Pasta Sauce. 

- do the 30 day shred, or any other Jillian the Devil video twice a week.
Did it five times this month, so that's a little over once a week.  Tried doing it one morning when I couldn't sleep and that was the beginning of my stomach flu and I threw up half way through... Have had an aversion to it since.

- start the process of letting go of the things in my life that are bringing me down.
This is always a learning process.  I'm working on it.

- tell myself ONE good thing about myself every day.
WIN!  I went even farther than that and posted to facebook every day.  It wasn't always easy, and I have chronicled them together in a word document that I am going to print out.

- love unconditionally and endlessly from the tips of my fingers all the way to my heart. 
This one remains to be worked on.  I met someone, but his feelings were a lot stronger than mine were and he wasn't willing to stick around and wait for me to be ready.  He obviously wasn't the one.  I'm okay with it.

- "accept what people have to offer, drink their milkshakes, take their love."
See above.

- read two books from start to finish.
FAIL!  Read one.  I don't remember the name of it right now, but the same author as The Pilot's Wife.  It was good.  I am about half way through with Devil in the White City.  It's interesting but a bit of a slow read.

- finish one piece of art that has been started and set aside for an indeterminate amount of time.
WIN!  have my paint set out, and I'm sitting down to finish my first canvas tonight.

- drink more red wine.
WIN! This was the easiest one on my list!  Last night I even got to taste a friend's homemade dry red wine (made with grapes, watermelon, and cherries!).  Divine.

- take myself to a movie, any movie.  eat a bag of popcorn with butter, drink a soda, and enjoy my own company for a few hours.
Went to see Breaking Dawn twice.  First time with Tancy, second time with my mom and sister.  Not alone, but totally worth it.

- start to forgive.  everything.  everyone. especially myself.
I would say that this month was one giant step forward.  I'm not angry anymore.  I'm not so much hurt any more.  I am okay with things.  I am more okay with me than I have been in a long time, maybe ever.  Please feel free to remind me of this when I'm complaining again about something I have little to no control over. :)

Bring it on DECEMBER! 

August Goals - Review

First off, this month SUCKED.

- go to the gym 15 times.
FAIL.  I went 8.  However, in my defense, I also went on 10+ bike rides.

- lose 5 lbs.
FAIL!  I lost 1.  Then I regained it.

- follow for 9 days STRAIGHT the fat smash diet and exercise program.
Eh.  I did this for nine days.  Just not straight.  :(

-buy or rent a beginning yoga dvd and try to find out what all this hype is about.
FAIL.  didn't even think about it.

- STRETCH
WIN!  This is actually one of the things I was able to do on a regular basis.  Helps with the biking too :)

- do Jillian Michael's 30 day shred TWICE this month.  Lower expectations and maybe I'll surprise myself.
WIN! on this one.  Gonna try to go back to once a week this next month.

- make and document at least one new meal a week.
Mostly WIN!  I documented three.

 #1 Vegetarian Pad Thai.  VERY Yummy!

#2 Chicken Enchilada Lasagna.  Eh.  I think I'll alter this recipe next time.  It calls for pasta sauce, but I think I'll use enchilada sauce next time.

#3 Veggie Stir Fry.  Very easy.  Very yummy.

- take Aiden back to school shopping.
WIN!  What a terrible mother I'd be if I hadn't!

- be more of a help than a hindrance in D's packing and moving.
I'm going to count this one as a WIN, but you'd have to ask him.  Felt like I didn't do as much as I could have the first day, but we got a LOT done.  AND I made a kick ass steak and potato dinner.

- allow myself to be comfortable in the silences. 
Tentative WIN!  This is getting easier.  More in the not jumping to conclusions in the silences.  Will continue to work on this one next month.  Not that there's anything wrong with talking!

July Goals - Review

- go the gym 15 times.
I went 14 times.

- lose 5 lbs.
I lost 6.

- start and finish TWO books. 
Started and finished Catching Fire, started and am halfway through Mockingjay.

- go for evening walks at the track at least three days a week.
other than one week where it was over 110 degree heat index all week, I managed to do three times a week.  Last week I only did two.  I've been making time to visit my boyfriend and the one thing that could be cut without any real significant upheaval was the walking.

- do the 30 day shred once a week.
Monumental FAIL.  Didn't do this once.

- breathe deeply.
There have been a couple of rough patches where my patience has been tested, but I have managed to power through it.

- write, then throw away/save to a file on my computer some strongly worded letters to a few people in which I will NEVER send.  This is the important part.  NEVER SEND!
Wrote them in my journal, tore them out, tore them up, and threw them away.  Very therapeutic, and step one in trying to forgive the past.

- call my sister more often.
I am going to count this one as a win.  Didn't talk to her as often as I would have liked, but talked to her more than usual.

- try to cook one new thing each week, and document.
Half win.  I did manage to cook something new each week, but I didn't document. Food doesn't stay around me intact very often.
week 1: rice and black beans fried rice.
week 2: pesto chicken stuffed shells.
week 3: quinoa and black beans and tomatoes
week 4: Brazilian lemonade (which was REALLY good with some coconut rum mixed into it), and tortellini pasta salad.


I apologize for being late on goal posting this month, I'll hopefully get this month's goals up by tomorrow.


xoxo

June Goals - Review

June 2011

- go the gym 15 times. 
WIN!  Exactly fifteen.  I could have gone four more days than that easily, but I instead chose to go to the pool in the afternoons with my friends, and my son.

- lose 5 lbs.
Tentative WIN!  Stepping on the scale first thing this morning and it was exactly five pounds down.  Now the trouble is making sure it stays that way in the next few days.

- start and finish one book.
WIN!  Started and finished TWO.  The Hunger Games and Innocent Blood.  Loved the former, the latter made me depressed and was more of a war book than I can usually get into.  Started Catching Fire this evening.

- work on my tan.
WIN!  I managed to do this one without even really trying.  Between working out at the gym, my friend Linda and I have been religiously walking two to three miles on the track right next to my apartment complex three times a week.  I've also been swimming, and Aiden has had soccer one night a week for an hour.  I am brown.  My mother compliments me on it every time I see her. :)

- worry about ME.
Still working on this one.  The last week has been extremely trying emotionally, and I find myself worrying more about someone else's feelings and emotions than my own.  I am worth so much more than I ever give myself credit for.

- use more lotion.
This goal makes me giggle.  WIN!  I bought some really awesome smelling stuff from Bath and Body Works, and I've been using it after every bath and shower.  FAIL! at keeping up with it on Aiden.  Busyness and my own laziness are to blame on that one.

- do Jillian Michael's 30 day shred once a week.
FAIL!  Did it three times though.  Had an offer to partner up with someone and try P90X, but I think that may have fallen through, and I'm not willing to spend my money on it.

- call some old friends and tell them how much I miss them.
WIN!  I did text some of my closest long distance friends.  I met up with a bunch of old friends at my 10 year class reunion, and I have plans to meet up with an old friend who is currently living in San Francisco who I haven't seen since the Christmas Aiden was one.

- start planning for a late summer trip. 
FAIL!  What I want to do?  I want to go see Clare for a long weekend.  Run up mountains, take her out for coffee and dinner and watch silly movies and play with Aiden.  The reality of it is this, I'm paying more for daycare in the summer than I am for rent.  My rent has gone up.  I am now making payments to a student loan.  I don't have a reliable vehicle, so I would either have to borrow one, or rent one.  I don't have much time off saved since my 9 day Florida vacation.  I WANT.  But I think it's going to have to wait.  :(

May Goals - Review

May 2011

- go to the gym 12 times. 
as of today it was 11.  I can't even begin to describe how busy we were this month with the dentist and doctor's appointments, and school getting out, the fact that I was able to get in at all was a miracle.  I am not counting this as a fail.

- do Jillian Michael's 30 day shred once a week. 
WIN!  I even managed to do it twice in one week, making 5 times total in the month.  I love the changes I see in my body when I stick with it.

- lose 5 pounds. 
FAIL.  But I did lose 4.  This also includes not gaining anything during my 10 day trip to Florida.  I ate theme park food, greasy burgers, and drank WAY too much beer.  4 lbs is good.

- drink less soda. 
WIN! Though I did drink way too much beer, and way too much red bull.  As of tomorrow it's water, coffee, and tea.

- meditate for 5 minutes, three times a week. 
WIN!  I didn't keep track, but I think I did this more days than not, usually while I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep.  Sleep comes easier when you're able to forgive yourself every night when you go to bed.

- spend more time outside. 
WIN!  In the 10 days I was in Florida, only the hours I was sleeping were spent inside.  Before that, Aiden and I made it a point to go over to the school and walk on the track.  Weather in Nebraska is FINALLY acting like summer.

- attempt not to cling so tightly to people who I am either
A. just getting to know
or
B. have been in my life for such a long time that they're not going ANYWHERE no matter how hard I push them. 
Vacation did wonders for me.  I was able to let a lot of things, and issues with people, go.

- start and finish one book.
WIN!  I finished Chelsea Handler's "Are you there Vodka?  It's me, Chelsea."  I also started and am three chapters away from finishing the YA book by Ally Condie "Matched" AND I started "The Hunger Games" on my ipod.  I would like to get a hard copy of that.

- deep clean and de-clutter the kitchen. 
I did, just not as much as I wanted.  It's currently back in a state of disarray, and I really want/need to change that.

- try REALLY hard not to kill the beautiful flowers Aiden picked out and planted for me for my birthday. 
The daffodils are iffy.  The other flowers seem to be doing well, though.  They desperately need the sun though, too much rain and not enough light!

April Goals - Review

April 2011

- go to the gym 15 times. 
FAIL.  I went 11 times.  However, I walked for over an hour four times with my mother, and I spent two full days in Vegas walking the strip pretty much for 12 hours at a time.

- do Jillian Michael's 30 day shred once a week.
FAIL.  Didn't even manage to do it once.

- buy one pair of heels, two pairs of jeans, and two very cute shirts for my trip to Las Vegas on the 15th.
WIN!  Bought two new pairs of jeans FOUR SIZES smaller than the pair I had been wearing.  I bought three VERY cute shirts to wear in Vegas, and I have also worn them around town here too.  Did not buy new heels as I couldn't find ANY that I liked.  I cook a cute pair of stand-bys that I had laying around.

- lose 5 lbs. 
FAIL.  Thought I'm honestly not too down on myself because of this one.  I lost two pound initially at the beginning of the month, then I went to Vegas.  I ate crap for three days straight, drank alcohol by the bucket load, and had an EXTREME allergic reaction after eating at a sushi restaurant.  Upon returning from my trip, I was carrying an extra 12 lbs in water weight.  Over the last two weeks, I have managed to get back down to my starting weight.  Something to work toward for next month.

- continue to have one night a week devoted to entertainment other than T.V.
WIN!  This is hard for us to schedule, but in the last month, we've been able to do this one, sometimes two nights a week.

- FINISH Eat, Pray, Love, and start and finish one more book that is NOT in relation to anything I'm reading to Aiden.
WIN!  Finished Eat, Pray, Love in the Denver airport on my way to Vegas.  Loved the movie, the book, however, left a lot to be desired, though I have to say even if it was slow, it was inspiring.  I also read My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler, and I'm currently in the middle of Are You There Vodka, It's Me, Chelsea by her as well. 

- find a way to let go. 
I'm counting this one as a progressing WIN!  I still have a long way to go, but I'm able to walk through a lot of my days without my heart aching.  I have gone on a couple of dates, with a couple of different men, and I'm in pretty regular contact with one of them.  Letting go is always easier when you have someone to help you through it.

- clean my closet.
WIN!  It's not as de-cluttered as I want it to be, but I am able to actually walk into it now.

- blog at least three times a week.
FAIL!  this has been a terribly busy month, thought that's no excuse.  Finding some of myself has taken more effort away from my computer than I realized it would.

- have an AMAZING time in Vegas for three days with my sister and her friends.
WIN!  Though it had it's ups and downs, this trip was monumentally successful.  I miss my sister so much sometimes, and she and I rarely get long periods of time with JUST the two of us.  I want to be able to do this more often. 

- find a way to find myself, again. 
Progressing.  With spring here, I feel the need to renovate myself.  I need to de-clutter my life and my own head.  I am a lot better off than I was only a month ago.

March Goals - Review

March 2011

- start and finish two books.
FAIL.  I didn't even manage to finish Eat, Pray, Love.  But I will by the end of this weekend.  I did start and finish one book, Coraline, which Aiden and I read together and finished Wednesday night.

- lose five pounds.
Check!  As of today, I am 12 pounds less than the beginning of last month!

- devote one night a week to being T.V free.
Check!  It wasn't ever a set day of the week, but every week this month, Aiden and I managed to stay away from the television and entertain ourselves with other means.

- go with Aiden to pick out and buy cute baskets that will fit nicely either in the kitchen or laundry room in order to start recycling.
Check!  We have four little black trash baskets sitting in our kitchen for cardboard, glass, plastic, tin, and aluminum.  We have made one trip with our recycling so far.  I didn't realize how much this would increase my dishes to wash... ONLY downside.

- clean and organize my closet.
I'm giving myself a half check on this one.  It's still a disaster, but I did manage to get all of my socks folded, and all of my underwear actually put away.

- take myself on a date to a movie.
Check!  Went to see Red Riding Hood with my mom, my sister, and a drunk and silly Mike.  Even though it wasn't on my own, it was well worth it.  And I ate a HUGE tub of popcorn! 

- do the 30 day shred three times a week.
FAIL!  epic.  I didn't do it once.  This month has been a crazy emotional roller coaster ride, and I forgive myself for this one.

- go to the gym at least 15 days.
CHECK!  20 days! It would have been 21, but I took a break yesterday.  Like I said, emotional month, and I've been self medicating with exercise endorphins.

- buy ONE (and I mean one, not five) really awesome (read: amazing, astonishing, striking, stunning, wondrous) pair of heels to wear in Las Vegas in April.
Not yet.  Shopping for Vegas will take place hopefully next weekend.  I did buy a cute swimming suit to wear though. ;)