2016 overall

Well. 2016 is in the books! I personally had an okay year.

I accomplished most of the things I wanted to accomplish. However, I didn't accomplish the really big things, like saving more money, losing some weight, etc.

I am going to hammer into those a little bit more (and STICK WITH THEM) for 2017.

I'm not completely sure on my goals for next year though. I'll be starting the year off with travels (yessssss) to someplace I've never been before (YESSSSSS). I will (hopefully) be getting a second job to melt away some of my tuition/home repair bills. I was grandfathered in to a really good Black Friday deal at my gym from 2015, so I need to make the most out of it and go more often. I have quite a few Book Lists pinned to my Pinterest boards, so I hope to expand my horizons a bit.

I grew up a lot and had a lot of fun in 2016. Now to set some goals for 2017!

December 2016

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Read 16 books.
Lose weight - I have a bad, bad habit of letting one slip up turn into a day full of slip ups. Rather than recognizing that I ate an unhealthy, cheesy, nacho-y lunch and then move on, I just decide that the whole day is trashed and I should just keep slipping rather than pick myself up, dust myself off and move on. Not a good habit. I don't think I am going to keep "Lose weight" as a goal for 2017. I definitely want to have some sort of physical health goal. I'm just not sure what it will be yet.

Save more money - The thing about being a nurse is that there are a lot of opportunities to make extra money. Making extra money gives an opportunity to save more money. I would like to pay off some bills (windows, tuition, credit card) completely in 2017. No more monthly payments!

Read 16 books - I did it! The last book I read You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero and as goofy as I think Self Help books can be, I do think this one has given me the chance to change my perspective for 2017 a bit. Yahoo! Going to head into 2017 with guns a'blazing!

November 2016

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Read 16 books.
Lose weight - Not even a little bit. If anything, I got way worse in October. I was promoted to a new position, which caused quite a bit of excitement, but then quite a bit of nervousness and stress. So I did not treat my body well in October.

Save more money - Also did not treat my bank account well in October.

Read 16 books - I also did not finish American Gods because I just having been as into it as everyone else. I think it's a good story, but then there are some strange applicable tangents that are distracting. Not to mention this new job I started and school this semester has really wiped me out this month. Pretty sure all I have done the last two weeks is wake up and go to work, eat something unhealthy for dinner, and sleep only to wake up and do it all over again.

I plan on November being a better month. I'm getting into the swing of my new position (which came with a pay increase, so hopefully "save more money" will be a feasible goal for 2017), I'm working on getting ahead of school this week to get a bit ahead of the game instead a little behind the game. I'm hoping to finish this book this weekend and move onto something I like a bit more. Harumphf.

It's October!

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Travel a little bit.
Read 16 books.
Lose weight - Sort of back on track. Went to 9Round a couple times before vacation, rode bikes on the trail with Logan a couple times (PS, who remembers bike seats being so ungodly uncomfortable when they were kids? Holy hell. It's awful.), we walked almost 40 miles in the four days we were on vacation (and that includes the day we drove/flew until 1 p.m.) I didn't have any soda while on vacation. Or any fancy coffee drinks. I DID have a frozen butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which is probably what the clouds of heaven are made of and did not help my plan of losing weight.

Save more money - Well. Shoot.

Travel a little bit - YES! YES! WE DID IT. Logan and I went to Orlando in September. We went to Universal Studios for 1-1/2 days and to Disney's Magic Kingdom for one. We had so much fun! We rode on roller coasters and 3-D rides. We met Beetlejuice, Tinkerbell, Woody & Jessie from Toy Story, and a Velociraptor from Jurassic Park. We drank Butterbeer in the Hogsmeade portion of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal. We rode the Hogwarts Express to and from both sides of the park. We shot laser guns at aliens on the Men In Black ride. We shopped at the Kwik E Mart. We helped the Transformers find the All Spark and then did something with Spiderman (I don't remember what the goal of that ride was.) We conquered both Space Mountain and Splash Mountain (Big Thunder Mountain was closed). We were creeped out in It's A Small World and didn't get to ride Peter Pan's Flying Adventure or the Seven Dwarves Mine Train (the waits on these rides was INSANE). After we watched the fantastic fireworks at Magic Kingdom, we went to Disney Springs and ate a delicious dinner at The Boathouse. (Lots of alliteration in this monthly update). I'll be able to cross this goal off my list.

Read 16 books - Well. Turns out I'm not as into this Neil Gaiman book as everyone else I know was. Probably because I started reading it, took a two week break, and just haven't picked it back up again. I'm still on track with reading 16 books though!

September

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Travel a little bit.
Read 15 16 books.
Lose weight - I was lazy this summer. Between clinicals and picking up hours at the Sim Center and traveling, I really didn't spend the time I should have at the gym. BUT, I have stepped it up in the last couple of weeks. I bought a bike (!!), which I have been intending to do for a couple years now. I will need to get a new seat for it because YIKES that seat hurts my butt! And I started going to the gym again. I'm setting a goal for twice/week for September (except for the week I am on vacation!) and then will step it up to 2-3 times in October. Logan and i plan on riding bikes on the trail, so I think that will make for a good "off day" balance.

Save more money - I absolutely hate that once I get back into the swing of saving money and paying off debt, I get some big ole necessary purchase thrown in the mix. In August it was getting a new windshield ($330) and this month I have to get my outlying pipes cleared out by the plumber because of the big ole maple tree roots. It's either that or deal with it when the whole thing backs up and floods. I'd rather deal with paying a plumber for maintenance.

Travel a little bit - I was all "heading to Chicago in September" - NOPE. WE ARE GOING TO ORLANDO, BABY! So this year I did Mexico, Nashville, Alabama, and Orlando! Not too shabby. I think I can cross off "Travel a little bit" as complete in October!

Read 15 16 books - I finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the end of August and am NOW starting American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Including HP, I've read 12 books this year, which is awesome. I originally planned to do 15 books. But I guess I put into my goodreads.com challenge that I would do 16. So I reset my goal on here too. I found a "challenge" on pinterest for next year - I will still plan on reading between 15-20 books (maybe set my goal for 18?), but this challenge focuses on expanding genres more than quantity of books. I think I'll give it a whirl.

I'm actually quite proud of most of these accomplished goals this year! Every year I wish I weighed a little bit less and I wish I had a little bit more money. I am pretty stoked that I have been able to travel as much as I have (probably why the "Save More Money" goal is what it is...) and happy I've read more this year than in previous years. And happy that I actually grew some stuff this year!

Here I come, August!

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Travel a little bit.
Grow something edible.
Read 15 books.
Lose weight - I was lazy in July.

Save more money - Man. July kind of sucked. I spent more money than I should have. I'm back on a spending freeze (I think I said that at the end of June...), but I really need to stick with it. I have a bigger balance on my credit card than I should have. I'm trying to pay off the ole hospital bills and tuition fees. Ooof. Bills bills bills.

Travel a little bit - Heading to Alabama next week! And maybe Chicago in September!

Grow something edible - SUCCESS! I was able to eat some strawberries and basil before it all went to shit because of the weather. I'm taking care of the plants this month - one-way tickets to the woods for those dead little guys. I'm calling this "resolution" a success and striking it off the list.

Read 15 books - I am right on track! I plan on finishing the Stephen King book today (school really took over my lounge-y reading time) and then starting up a Neil Gaiman book for the beach! Hooray!

July was really eaten up by finishing my class and squeezing in a bunch of clinical hours during my free time. I also started picking up a bunch of hours in the Sim Center (hopefully curing some of my "save more money" woes this month). I still kind of think I will have some OT hours in my future at the hospital. I want money in my savings account, my two credit cards paid off, no outstanding tuition fees, and no more hospital bills by the end of 2016!

July! 1/2 the year is done and gone!

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Travel a little bit.
Grow something edible.
Read 15 books.
Lose weight - I'm sort of trying. I am trying. I'm just not trying as frequently as I should be. I really do want to do better. I just need to remind myself often and frequently and always that I didn't get to be this size and inactive overnight. I won't get to be a better size and more active overnight either. Slow and steady wins the race.

Save more money - I am still doing well with this. I put myself on another spending freeze outside of vacations. I am doing that for all of July and August also. And I keep putting 5% of what I spend into savings. Just chugging along!

Travel a little bit - Can I just say that I am so stoked that I have been able to travel more? One of my friends asked me about my marriage the other day (I've been divorced for since 2013). Sometimes I get bummed I'm divorced. Sometimes I get bummed I failed at something so huge. Sometimes I get angry that I was left with a hugely disproportionate amount of responsibility from my marriage. But then I recognize the things I have been able to do since my divorce and they are all things that I probably wouldn't get to do (definitely not as easily) if I was still married (at least if I was still married to that particular individual). In the 4 years I was married, I went on 3 vacations. One by myself to Alabama to visit my dad, one with him to Alabama to visit my dad, and one with his family to Boston. Which is fine. BUT SINCE I'VE BEEN DIVORCED, I HAVE BEEN ON SO MANY VACATIONS AND SEEN SO MUCH COOL STUFF. I have been to Texas, and Alabama (a few times), and Epcot in Florida, and New York, and Mexico, and Washington DC, and Tennessee, and Nebraska. I have been able to do these things with my friends and have had a blast every time. I have a couple more adventures in the mix for 2016 and another one when I graduate next May. HOLLER.

Grow something edible - Sooooo I tried. And Missouri weather screwed me bigtime. My plants were super flourishing. And then it rained a ton and my spinach croaked. And then it was a hot drought and my other plants got sad and almost died. Then last weekend it rained for about 50 hours straight and my dang plants flooded again. BUT I have been able to eat strawberries AND basil. AND peppermint. And the other mosquito-repelling plants have totally done a good job and I have been able to successfully repel those devil bugs!

Read 15 books - I am right on track! I am reading my first Stephen King book ever right now - 11/22/63. I didn't realize until I checked it from the library on my kindle that it was over 800 pages. I think the first 100 pages were a little slow, but it's starting to pick up and now I'm pretty into it. I think after this one I am going to finish the two I have started and am about 1/2 finished with. And then I need to get a beach read for Alabama even though I probably won't read much of it at all because I will have too much fun being with my friends and my cute as pie boyfriend.

June!

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Travel a little bit.
Grow something edible.
Read 15 books.
Lose weight - Perhaps I didn't eat the healthiest while on vacation in May. But we walked our asses off. One day we walked 10 miles! My feet kicked my ass that day. I'm back to wearing my fitbit and the hospital is putting on another walking challenge - another good source of motivation. JR and I have a plan to go to the gym 3 of our 4 days off/week. I am starting to do my supplements and shakes again. I am also sticking with my nerdy gold-sticker calendar to remind me how hard I can work! I have to do better. I WANT to do better.

Save more money - I'm back on track with this too. I couldn't figure out why I was getting little fees on my savings accounts - I had three of them - turns out, I wasn't meeting the minimum balance requirement like I thought I was. Over the last year, I have lost almost $100 because of those damn fees! With the absolute crap interest rate you get on a savings account balance and the fees I was getting, I'm actually better off putting money in a piggy bank or stuffing it under my mattress. I closed two of them and am keeping one of them (above the minimum balance) for my emergency fund. Those other little savings accounts they say to have - I'm opening a couple of those accounts in the bank under my mattress. Still doing the 5% self-imposed tax though. I'll be interested to see how much I save over the year doing that.

Travel a little bit - DID IT. My brother's family was kind enough to invite me to Mexico and I was able to join in on their family trip. We only spent 4 days/4 nights there, but it was a blast! We got to go into the "market" (aka tourist trap) for a few hours, which was cool. We also went on a snorkel excursion and got to explore a cave and a cenote, which was super cool and something i will probably not get to do here in the US. Probably not in Missouri at least. Next month, JR and I are going to Tennessee for a little road trip. August we are going to go on a work-family vacation to the beach! I'll get to see my dad and step-mom and lounge on the beach. And wear tons and tons of sunscreen.

Grow something edible - Dude. DUDE. I was all "I'm going to grow a pot of spinach". That turned into me getting a pod of spinach. And some more pots. And then I thought i would make my deck a little more comfortable in terms of getting rid of the mosquitoes. And then my niece told me that the little flower shop on campus was having a plant sale. So I bought some basil. And some peppermint. And some flowers. and some catnip. And then I needed to go buy a couple pots for them. And when I was there I bought some daisies and some strawberry plants. !!! I like my cute little backyard garden though. It will look so lonely out there in the fall when I have to bring it all in.

Read 15 books - I am right on track! I am currently finishing The Martian by Andy Weir and am starting Creepers for the book club I am joining this month! I only have two weeks to read it - it seems breezy enough though - so I need to get hustling!

OMG it's already May

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Travel a little bit.
Grow something edible.
Read 15 books.
Lose weight - lolololol. I was doing REALLY good there for a minute. I was going to the gym all the time and drinking tons of water and taking those supplements and drinking my shakes and doing the things I said I was going to do. Until I wasn't anymore. Work got busy and overtime got busy and I started slacking. Such is life. I haven't completely given up though! I have been cooking a lot more at home and avoiding soda. I just need to get back on that train.

Save more money - a funny thing happens when you buy a new piece of (much needed) furniture. What will inevitably happen is you will need to buy a new lawn mower. And probably a new washing machine. So instead of just spending $400 on a new dresser (it's beautiful and mature and waaaaaay better than my piece of children's furniture from Value City Furniture's clearance room) you will also spend $400 on a new lawn mower and $600 on a new washing machine. I always buy things that will last. Except for my last washer and dryer that I got really cheap from a resident who was moving. You get what you pay for. My lawn mower served a good 6 year sentence and was sent away to live with a man who likes to tinker with small engines. Either way. Vacation + dresser + mower + washing machine = not so good on the ole savings account. :(

Travel a little bit - HELL YES. This is happening this month! Probably the only legit vacation I will go on aside from my little road trip in June and maybe something tiny in September/October. I'm so happy about this trip though. I'm 31 and just got my passport. I'll actually get to use it!

Grow something edible - No joke. Planted my spinach pod and pepper seeds on Wednesday. Now I get to see if any of them will actually sprout. Turns out, I was supposed to start the pepper seeds about 2 months ago inside under a grow lamp kept at 85 degrees. That most certainly did not happen. BUT, I have a handful of other little plants I am going to get squared away. I WILL HAVE A GREEN THUMB, DAMMIT.

Read 15 books - I have read 5 for the year. I have one coming to read this month for a book club, I have one picked out for my vacation. I need to read the last 30 pages of the Soul of an Octopus (I started off loving that book and ended up dreading reading it.) I don't think this resolution will be hard to stick to though.

April Showers!

25% of the year is over. Whoa.

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Travel a little bit.
Grow something edible.
Read 15 books.
Lose Weight - So in March I went to Supplement Superstore and talked with a young man named Phillip. Phillip is a mighty good salesman. I went in with my mind on one thing - magic beans that will make me hot and thin and healthy in like, a month. When Phillip started his whole, "tell me about your diet plan and your exercise plan and what you drink and what you do" schpeal, I wanted to roll my eyes. I probably did roll my eyes. But I fell into the sales trap. I spent more money than I intended, but I think I am seeing some results. I definitely don't have such strong cravings. And I definitely have been eating better. I have cut back on soda again (I think I've only had soda twice in the month of March) and significantly reduced starbucks trips (I was going pretty frequently in February). I have been KILLING drinking enough water. With the little plan Phillip put me on, I have to drink 100 oz of water every day. My personal goal was to drink 70 oz, so even if I don't meet Phillip's goal, I meet mine. I pee a lot, but that's okay.

Save more money - Yep yep yep. Still doing it! I ended up having some unplanned expenses in March (Supplement Superstore trip included and I found a vintage dresser that came from heaven). BUT I am still saving! I need to remember that one of my savings accounts is supposed to be for those big spending items we all have on occasion - like a new dresser or lawn mower. Just because I tap into one of those doesn't mean I have failed!

Travel a little bit - Vacation! Vacation! Vacation! I'm such a sucker for vacations! I don't understand how people don't like to travel. And I am a total homebody. I would rather be home than out and about most days, but dang it I like going on vacations. I didn't really start going on vacations until my divorce. And now I go on more than one a year. I'm trying to be a little more responsible with spending on this one though. I went a little over the top with DC last year. But... VACATION.

Grow something edible - I cleared out my flower pots on my deck and (hopefully) destroyed all the weeds in my front flowerbed. I wish there was a way to just destroy all of it and start from scratch, but there all bulbs all over the damn place in the front flowerbeds. I plan on growing some mosquito repelling plants to grow on the deck where my deck chairs are. That'll make it a little more bearable. That's what I was checking out when the heavens shined upon me and delivered the most angelic vintage dresser. (Tangent: my dresser sucked. I bought a dresser in 2008-ish from Value City Furniture. It was on clearance bc the mirror was broken. So I took the mirror off and just had a dresser. It was made from pressed wood, was pastel green, and clearly for a child's room. Not cute for a woman in her thirties. Then I go to Helmie's looking for plants and there is a dresser. While it was more than I wanted to spend that day, it was more than reasonable for the quality of furniture it is. And it makes my bedroom look a little more grown up - in a good way.)

Read 15 books - I joined a book club again! They meet monthly, so I will get at least one book in every month if I enjoy it. I am trying to expand my reading choices a little more, get out of my comfort zone. In March I read a book written by a surgeon and I am currently reading a historical fiction novel, both are not choices I would normally make. Sometimes it's nice to get out of your comfort zone.

March Update

Holy hell. It's already March.

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Travel a little bit.
Grow something edible.
Read 15 books.
Lose Weight - I've been going to 9Round with my gym buddy. But this week I have been absolutely terrible with eating healthy. Like, not even joking when I say it's been bad. I need to recognize that just because I have a crap meal doesn't mean I threw away all my hard work or should just keep eating crappy because I already fucked up. Sometimes we just eat crappy and move back on track.

Save more money - I'm still doing it! I'm on track with this goal/resolution! I gave myself a rule of no clothing items for all of January or February. AND I DID IT. This might not seem like a big thing to most people, but it was for me. I often go scope out the clothing section of Target when I am there to get laundry detergent and coffee. I am a sucker for the sales that Old Navy e-mails me all the dang time. I find out I have a coupon, I go buy something, I wear it a couple times or wash it once and then it's pretty much trash. I decided I would let myself buy a couple things for my birthday for this month and then get back to another break. Nothing else in March.

Travel a little bit - My travel plans just keep on changing. Still going on an adventure in May and June. That might be it. Maybe something else in the fall, but nothing major.

Grow something edible - This still hasn't happened because it's too cold. I think I am going to grow spinach in the big pot I have on my back deck. I need to look to see what plant seeds I have in the garage. I went to the zoo last month and walked around the Butterfly House. I think it would be cool to plant some flowers that the butterflies like, but I worry that I would also attract bees. And that's a big ole nope.

Read 15 books - Still on track (ahead of track, really) on this. I've read four books. I am struggling with my fifth (which I actually really started off liking and it has just kind of dwindled away for me). I have two more on my bedside table to crack open. I can honestly say that I have started to enjoy reading again.

February

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Travel a little bit.
Grow something edible.
Read 15 books.
Lose Weight - So I go to a 9Round gym. It's fun and easy and different every day. I go with one of my friends and it is great motivation to go. I bought this little thing called a MyZone - a fitness tracker I wear while I am there. My gym has a connection with the MyZone and it pops up on a TV while i am working out - how much effort I am exerting, how many calories I have burned, my heart rate, etc. It definitely gives me more motivation to work harder and faster. On average, I burn 400 calories in a 35-ish minute workout. And I feel good doing it. Bam.

Save more money - I know I am only a month into the year, but I am still doing it! 5% tax on purchases goes into savings. Done. No clothing purchases at all for January or February. I did this in January! It was such a good thing to do. I often would find myself bored and walking around Target, buying things I didn't need. There were a couple times when I was just bored so I thought about going to buy something... and then I didn't! Hooray!

Travel a little bit - Hasn't happened yet. But looks like I will be having adventures in May, June and July. Good thing I'm saving money.

Grow something edible - Obviously isn't happening in January. But it will happen this year!

Read 15 books - I've already read 3! I'm ahead of schedule! (and I'm almost done with my fourth...)

Not too shabby so far.

Well, it's 2016.

The beginning of the new year means resetting. It means taking an opportunity to reflect on the previous years and for some of us, it means taking the opportunity to set goals for ourselves. They are all the same as they always and so many of us fail at what we are trying to resolve to fix. I know I did last year. I know I do every year. Whatever. The point is that we are at least taking the time to lie to ourselves. I would like the following resolutions to stick:

Lose weight.
Save more money.
Travel a little bit.
Grow something edible.
Read 15 books.
Lose Weight. I want to do this for so many reasons. I feel like I am seeming ungrateful for saying I'm unhappy with my body. I'm so grateful for my health. But I want to be confident in a sun dress in the summer. I want to enjoy the beach and not be worried about how fat I feel. I am going to try to hold myself accountable the old school way - gold stars. No joke. I am going to get a bunch of star stickers and deck out my kitchen calendar. A gold star for going to the gym and giving it my all. A blue star for drinking the recommended 2100mL of water a day. A red star for drinking my Shakeology drink daily. I want to be able to see my progress and when I slack. I want to take the time and give forth the energy it takes. I'm ready.

Save more money. Same shit, different day. I need to save more money. At the end of 2016, I want to have substantially more money in my savings account than I have now. I am going to "charge" myself 5% on everything I buy (outside of paying regular bills) for the entire year. I'm not buying any clothing for January or February (none). I'm going to use the library rather than buy any books (no buying books until my birthday!) I'm mad at myself for how poorly I did on this for 2015.

Travel a little bit. We are supposed to go on a good destination trip in March. Man, I hope it happens. I would like to do another trip in the fall and maybe a small trip in the winter. Of course, my destinations may be chosen based on how I did with saving more money.

Grow something edible. I'm actually really excited about this! Last summer I grew tomatoes. I didn't expect it to grow, let alone blossom and actually produce three little tomatoes - but it did! This year I think I will grow spinach. Just one big spinach plant in the red pot on the back deck.

Read 15 books. The thing about this is that I want to actually, really, truly like at least one book I read this year. I want to be *into* a book. I want to lose 1/2 a day reading a good book.

That's it. That's what i want to do in 2016. Let's kick ass and take names this year.