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.

End of the Year Update!

Holy guacamole! I feel like it was just the other day when I was typing up my January 2015 resolution post and here we are - December 30, 2015. The year has come to a close and so have some of these "resolutions." Sigh.

1. Eat healthier, be more active, lose weight. Well. I don't think I have lost much weight. I know for a fact I am the same size as I was in January. Harumph. That being said, I have absolutely been more active - going to 9round fairly frequently since May and taking the dogs out more often has definitely got me moving more in 2015. And we all know how weight loss works: Calories burned > calories in. Which means that I did pretty terrible at eating healthier this year. I am making changes though. I have cut my starbucks intake down substantially. I am trying to eat out less. I'm sure this "resolution" will carry on.

2. Read more. When I made this resolution, I meant to "Read more books." That didn't happen. I read a lot more blogs. I read a lot more articles. I did not read more books. I would like to read 15 books in 2016. I got the Harry Potter series for Christmas so I may revisit them. I just know I want to read more.

3. Save more money. So I did save more money in 2015 than in years previous. That being said, I also spent more money. So my end goal = not met. My trips this year were a little more costly than I anticipated. I did learn some new tricks on saving money/spending less throughout this year, so I am going to use those for 2016.

4. In fact, I'm trying to use more of what I already have. Heck yes. HECK YES. I have pared my shower stuffs down by about 50%. I don't have jugs upon jugs of laundry detergent anymore. I do still have too much in my pantry, but not in my freezer! I didn't get tempted by Bath and Body Works e-mails all year. I didn't cave in to the Ulta coupons every month (not even once!) I stood my ground and didn't buy shampoo just because it smelled good. I kicked this resolution's ass!

5. Ahhh. My house. Nothing exciting happened with my house this year. I kept paying off my windows. I didn't need any major appliances. While nothing beneficial happened to my house (like new anythings), nothing detrimental happened either (like requiring new things). I did have a tomato plant this year that grew three tomatoes! I also killed quite a few succulents. I didn't paint anything. The house laid low in 2015.

6. Traveling. 2015 was a good year for traveling! I went to Las Vegas in April, Omaha in June, and Washington DC in October. I bought journal for all 50 states and will hopefully start filling it out before school starts back up.

All in all, I didn't accomplish as much as I intended for 2015. Ideally, I would have lost 15 lbs and a dress size or two. I would have some epic tale I read and can't shut up about. I would have a few more dollars saved up. I would still have way less in my shower/pantry/freezer/laundry room. I would have a cuter house or a productive vegetable garden or something. I would have traveled a bit more. But that being said, I am happy with how my year turned out. On to 2016!