2016 Goal Update // Halfway Through!

Wow, we are over half way through 2016. That's crazypants!

I thought I should do a quick recap of my goals, progress made, and strategies for the months ahead.

16 Goals for 2016

• Read 50 books
• 7 classics
• 2 eco friendly books
• 25 fairytales, folktales, myths, legends, etc. (some of which may not be full books, could be short stories, poems, etc.)

So far I have read 31 books, and 11 fairy tales. I haven't read any classics or eco books yet. In the months ahead I am hoping to build classics into my reading challenges and focus a little more on non-fiction to reach those eco and other books. :) At least I am ahead, and if I need to spend more time on those classics it will be worth it!

• Get TSA Pre Approved - (Oh, the time we'll save!!)

Reconsidering this... the year is half over... and we are only planning to fly once more that we know of right now... Seems unlikely!

• Get a New Bed

We decided with everything else going on this year that we would just get a new mattress rather than a whole new bed. Plus our apartment is so small. Thinking about how to fit a huge bed into our tiny space was stressful! We had lined up to purchase it at the same time as KC's sister so we could share the IKEA delivery (~$150). Unfortunately we got home from Savannah and they had already finished all of that. Pretty disappointing... but maybe we can figure out another way.

• See Coldplay / Get Tickets to See Coldplay - if they ever announce their North American tour dates...

We purchased tickets for August! I'm so excited to see them again, and to check this off my friend Jessica's bucket list! :) 

• Visit 6 New Places
• 1 on our list for a long time
• 1 road trip

Check, check, check! We have more than completed this one! We visited Houston, Galveston, San Francisco, Carmel, Big Sur, Weston, Missouri, Savannah, Tybee Island, and Jekyll Island. We also went back to Nashville - which was a true road trip. We are planning Vegas for August! Have you been? I'd love your suggestions!

• Try 50 New to Me Recipes

Though we have been very busy and not cooking recently... we have managed to try 32 new recipes so far. A lot of that is due to having game nights or baking cakes for occasions.... but hey, we are cooking more! We've even been doing a lot of healthy recipes and mason jar salads. Hooray for progress on this friends!

• Plan 12 Date Nights

We've been doing ok at this! Many of our dates have been watching movies, but I think that's ok! We so far have had 10 dates of 12. I figure that way there's still more time to have more planned out dates throughout the rest of the year too. But movies can be dates too... hehhe What's your favorite type of date night?

• Watch 12 Disney Movies

We were doing really badly at this one, until June. Oddly enough, we were very busy, but managed to stay home some nights for Disney movies. We are also adding Disney DVDs to our collection which is good! So far we have watched 7: Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Finding Dory, Tarzan, Mulan, and Tangled.

• Do Yoga / Dance / DVD Workout 150 times

My friend Rachel and I have been trying to use a google doc to track our workouts and/or text about it. We did SO well at this in April, and I did OK in May... but June was a wash. Rachel has still been doing fine, but I fell off the wagon. Now that KC and I will be home more... (blegh June)... I am hoping to hop back on this train. The two issues ahead: 1) I am WAY behind, 2) Rachel and I count walking... but my 2016 goal doesn't include it. So, we shall see how it all shakes out. I am currently at about (a pathetic) 30 DVD workout sessions. In the coming weeks/months I hope to be more intentional about doing an extra workout on my day off, as well as trying to make some type of reward system for KC and myself to do yoga at home. A new gym just opened by my house, so it may turn out that I do the DVDs and KC goes over there. We'll see.

• Make a Point to Eat Lots of Veggies at least once per day

This is a poorly written goal, but overall I think we have been making veggies more of a priority. We've been doing mason jar salads, some meatless meals, and even eating more fruit. So, I think we are reasonably on track here. But I want to keep eating more veggies. So it's good to have this goal open ended so I can keep my mind trained to grab more vegetables at the store. Since it's been summer I've just been wanting to eat #allthefreshthings so I think I'll be good through September at least. :)

• Get All Dental Work Done - I'm a big baby, and I'm TERRIFIED

None of this yet. I just need to suck it up and make the appointment!

• Learn About (or how to do) 5 New Things

I think I'm doing ok with this one as well. I learned how to make Vanilla Extract, Blackberry Jam (canned it too!), how to use Airbnb, and a little about the history of lingerie at a WWI Museum event. Since I am already to 4, I hope to surpass my goal of 5. :) 

• Get an essential oil diffuser and eco-friendly candles

Half way on this one. I did get some lavender vanilla candles from The Honest Company. I also bought a few more Aura Cacia oils from Target. I now have Lavender, Orange, Vanilla, Peppermint, Tea Tree, and I can't remember the others off the top of my head. Now I just need to find a diffuser - and eventually a case to put the oils in.

• Save Money - we did great at this in 2015!

So far, we are actually doing better at this than we did last year! Mostly because we didn't really start last year until August/September. We have been able to set aside money every other paycheck, and most of that is still in our account. We do take some out when we travel, but we try to limit that. I'm feeling extra thrifty this summer, (is it turning 26? is it the "make do and mend" nature of making jam?), so I am thinking up some new ideas on how to save even more money in the second half of 2016. A key one will include intentionally planning the fun things we'll do... and having that limit there for our wallets as well as our sanity. We have not been home enough and it really takes a toll! I am also considering changing up our grocery shopping locations and strategies. Maybe selling some un-used items as well. Another good idea is keeping me away from bookstores... (help!)...

• Find a Treasure

This one was written ambiguously on purpose. What a romantic notion to find a treasure. As it turns out, treasures are everywhere when you look...  so I may just have to do a post on finding treasures. :) 

• Seek Out Water - drink it, be near it, hear it, look at it... you get the idea, as much as possible.

I have always been pretty good about drinking water. I carry around a 20 oz tumbler of icy water every day and always finish it, and usually refill it multiple times. Our new strategy of freezing a bit of water in the empty tumbler and then filling it full with water in the morning works really well and is saving on ice. Though it does make the straw float as the ice melts hahaha! 

We are fortunate that many of our travels have taken us near water this year. In Galveston, San Francisco, Carmel, and Big Sur it was too cool to actually get in the water... at least in the passing amount of time we had there. But just being near it made me feel good. & it never hurts to dip your feet. When we went to Georgia, we made sure to plan some beach time. We really enjoyed swimming at Tybee's north beach and getting caught in a seriously scary storm afterward. We also swam in Jekyll. Just being near the water so much has been really nice!

Even though I feel good about my water goal for the year so far, I'd like to try: going to our apartment complex pool more, visiting the local lake, trying SUP, trying kayaking, having some type of water fountain, etc. in our house. Or maybe listening to those nature sounds.

Bottom Line: I think I am on track for finishing all of these goals aside from: the TSA Precheck (which we might just scrap all together!), getting a new bed, going to the dentist, and DVD workouts, as of right now. I think with some of the plans I listed out above, I can still make most of these happen. It's definitely good to review my progress and think about how to make the lagging things a priority post-June.

How are you doing on your 2016 goals so far? 

Are you slacking on any? What are your plans to make them a priority?

Have to checked any off? What are you most proud of so far?

XO,

Alexandra