Tag: Resolutions

Picture1February is probably my least favorite month of the year (excluding my passed Nana’s birthday of course). February always passes unnaturally quickly (more quickly than it should even with a few days missing). Right now, Louisiana’s weather can’t decide what it wants. The temperature range for this week has been 36⁰F to 78⁰F…crazy right?

But really, what makes me dislike February so much is what typically makes it the “month of love” – Valentine’s Day. I have a Valentine this year, but it’s really more the pressure of what to do. I’m not too much on the ingrained sexist, prejudices around this holiday. I’d like a celebration of love to go both ways. So it’s pressure because I don’t know what’s expected of me. I don’t want to overstep boundaries or slight Z. He’s dear to me, but he’s also being crazy because he’s taking his general exam (or candidacy exam as it’s called). I’m going to do something sweet and crafty because that’s who I am. Hopefully he doesn’t get grumpasaurus at me.

But aside from scouring Pinterest, I have some other goals in mind for this month! I have been keeping a notebook of budgeting, weight, goals, etc. I am going to give Weight Watchers a chance. My friend is having a lot of success with it, so maybe it’ll work better for me than calorie counting (although it’s pretty much the same thing…)

Goals 

  • Lose 5 lbs
  • Read I Am Malala
  • Make at least one bear for the Mother Bear project
  • Complete 3 weeks of Couch-to-10k
  • Create a new working budget with changed roommate situation
  • Write Colt a letter at bootcamp

Not too much going on this month. I’m focusing on tracking my own behaviors and seeing where I spend the most, where I eat the most, and what I should do to better my life…and see if anything needs a complete overhaul.

2016

New Year 2016! Nearly here! All of us only have five days left of 2015 in which to finish our resolutions and plan the new ones! If we’re being honest…I didn’t really set any goals for 2015…and it shows through what I accomplished.

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  • Pay off all debt except student loans (but get it down to 10k)
  • Only eat meat & drink diet soda on weekends
  • Eat clean and exercise (lose weight & run a half-marathon)
  • Get into graduate school or take more courses
  • Do yoga consistently
  • Get all dental work taken care of & buy a “new” car

Those are the things I would like to achieve in 2016. I know I already mentioned that Z told me that doing trumps planning, but may of these things are mindful, and in my opinion require some sort of game plan or they won’t get accomplished.

Game plan

  1. Pay off all debt except student loans (but get it down to 10k) – I have set up my student loans to automatically withdraw $200/month. I currently owe $12,607.15 and will make an additional payment of $207.15 in order to bring the total down to $10k. 
  2. Only eat meat & drink diet soda on weekends – This one is pretty self-explanatory. I plan on replacing animal proteins during the week for health and budgetary reasons. I’ll replace diet soda with diet green tea C will get at CostCo because it’s delicious. That and I ordered a Nalgene bottle. I’m going to drink 2 bottles of water a day as well. Because health and such.
  3. Eat clean and exercise (lose weight & run a half-marathon) – I know “eating clean” is pretty much just a buzz phrase at this point. I personally mean to eat mindfully. I will not eat out constantly or buy desserts (e.g. Little Debbie cakes and those sugar cookies with the icing on top). I already said I would cut down on meat. This also includes just sugar and sodium in general. I will do the Couch to 5K and Run Disney programs to train for running.
  4. Get into graduate school or take more courses – I am applying for a Master of Science degree in Mathematics & Physics, but if I don’t get accepted, I will take at least 3 courses this year either digitally or over the summer. I would also like to take a course in American Sign Language at the Louisiana School for the Deaf.
  5. Do yoga consistently – Every morning post-workout.
  6. Get all dental work taken care of & buy a “new” car – I would ideally like to get this done before October, which is when my deductible resets. I need all of my wisdom teeth plus a molar out, and many many fillings replaced. My car is on its last legs. I’m hoping that it can last through September, which LearnVest claims is the ideal time to purchase a new car.

Each month I will have mini-goals to accomplish, and also steps to take toward the above. I am still processing through how I will do these things, but I know the more I focus on things, the more aware I will be of my actions as I take them.

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language / And next year’s words await another voice. – T.S. Eliot