So it is September now and I needed to check in and see where I am in my quest for 18 in 2018……….
I am an avid listener to The Happier Podcast featuring Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and many other books. Back in early 2018, Gretchen and her sister, Liz Craft, challenged listeners to come up with 18 goals for 2018.
Now let’s see where I am!!
- Read 52 books in 2018 As of today, I am at 35 books. 15 more to go! I need to read about 4 books each month, which I have been on track to do!
- Eat more fruits and vegetables! I definitely have improved eating more fruits and vegetables in my diet!
- Be more patient and pause before getting angry with my kids or husband. Take a breath and think before speaking when I am angry! (However, when I went to Reconciliation in my church recently and confessed to losing my temper, the priest told me that maybe they just weren’t listening and it wasn’t my fault!!! I was laughing so hard!) This one is hard………always working on this.
- Finish my youngest child’s scrapbook………. Well I did make some progress this summer, but it isn’t finished yet! Need to get on this one!
- Clean out and organize my office and start working in there instead of in the kitchen. This is a big FAIL for me, since I just let my boys set up their PS4 in my office on my desk for their Fortnite obsession.
- Plan an overnight (at least one night) in a hotel with my husband at least once a quarter. It is so nice to sleep in a hotel and not have to worry about our 8 year old climbing in between us. It is different than if we stay at home, and they stay at a grandparent’s house. At a hotel, I won’t be unloading the dishwasher or doing laundry or going through mail, etc. We can order room service and eat breakfast in our robes and not feel (much) guilt. We have done this twice this summer! We went to see Kenny Chesney in June and had an overnight in Pittsburgh. We also went to Omni Bedford Springs for a weekend with college friends.
- Get a physical. I haven’t had a “well visit” like I get for my kids every year since I got a high school physical in high school for cheerleading! My doctor recommended I come in for a routine physical now that I am 40. Yikes! I forgot about this one!! I need to do this.
- Read a biography of someone……….anyone. I am so drawn to fiction, especially thrillers. I need to expand to other genres. I started reading Thoreau’s biography, but I stopped so I could read fiction! I need to finish it!
- Say NO!! I say yes so often and then get overwhelmed. I have to practice saying no even though sometimes the FOMO gets to me! Still working on this!
- Organize digital photos and print out albums on Shutterfly, Snapfish, etc Need to work on this!
- Have a date night or date lunch at least once a month with my husband. Now that the kids are back at school, we’ve been trying to do the date lunches. Much easier when the kids are at school!
- Train for a race with my husband and run together. We used to run at least 2 half marathons a year. Now hockey and gymnastics rule our life, and I rarely run outside. Normally it is 6am on my treadmill watching “This is Us” or a Shonds Rhimes Show. This is so difficult to do during hockey and gymnastics season. Our youngest started playing tournament baseball, so I’m not sure we will accomplish a race together for awhile.
- Try to vary our food and recipes by going to the local meat market and specialty grocery stores more often. I subscribed to Blue Apron this summer, and it helped with the rut! If anyone wants a free meal, I have 5 more to give out!
- Host an adult couples dinner party. My husband has been begging me to do this for a long time now, and I get so anxious about cooking, cleaning, and hosting. Did not do this yet!!! Need to!
- Clean out and refresh clothing “basics” (tank tops, underwear, bras, socks) I did refresh some basics over the past few months.
- Attend yoga twice a month. I’ve been hooked on Les Mills classes and spinning, but I miss the quiet and challenges in the hot yoga classes. I have not been able to attend yoga on a regular basis! I’m going to keep trying to get on a schedule. I have been obsessed with the Les Mills On Demand!
- Organize our pantries and keep them organized!! I’m starting to think this isn’t possible with 3 kids!
- Purge any beauty products I am not using. I have lots of items I am hanging onto for no reason at all! I did get a lot of progress here by giving my daughter a lot of items, since she started wearing makeup this summer!
I do have some work to do, but looking back on this list, I have made a lot of progress with my goals!
Do you have any goals you want to accomplish before the end of 2018??
Hockey Sticks, Grips, and trips 