nothing short of thankful

• Deep Clean the house - HA! nope. barely kept it regular clean.
• Plan meals with Blake - another NOPE
• Track food - nope, but I did track my weight almost daily to see how eating certain days affected it
• No fast food - another laughable nope
• Lose 2-3 pounds - umm try 2-3 ounces. 
• PB and C25K - I did much better with my running but went to just 1 or 2 PB classes. Trying to figure out the best time to go to class with the new schedule.
• Wedding tasks - did almost all of them. Still need to make appointment at the DMV for a new license, but I did get my new SS card. Need to actually SEND the thank you cards that I have written, which means I need to order stamps.
• Read 3 books - I think I did this? Another Twighlight book (hush,) finally finished The Help, and I finished Emily Giffin’s Where We Belong last night. 
• Get outside - Eh, did okay on this but still sat at our favorite bar all day one Saturday watching the Braves.

So kind of a fail all around. Shake it off. Time for May.

After all the hectic craziness of the last few months, I’m taking April as a chance to kind of hit reset on some things. So that is my theme for the month. 

• Deep clean the house - GOOD - and get a cleaning schedule set up with Blake and me. 
• Plan out meals with Blake. 
• Track all food - I’m thinking I may even need to do this in a paper and pen fashion, as it is too easy for me to lie to my phone and say I only ate half of such and such. Not so much for calories, but just to get a better idea of what I’m taking in. 
• Hit the brakes on some fast food. Aim for NONE. Eat better in general. Always a goal.
• Lose 2-3 pounds. 
• Revamp my workout schedule. More running (working on a training plan for the Peachtree) and really working hard when I’m in Pure Barre classes. Looking to go to 2-4 PB classes per week (I’m giving myself some flexibility with the new job and baseball starting and a weekend out of town for a wedding) and stick to the C25K training program.
• Finish up all wedding related tasks - return any necessary gifts and get new items, find a place for all of the said items to live in our house, purge items that were replaced by shiny new versions, go through the name change process (SS office, new Georgia driver’s license, change on bills, change on bank accounts, anything I’m forgetting?) and thank you notes.
• Read 3 books (and try to make them more than Twilight books.) I’ve been reading more this year but I’d like to up the quality of the books I’m crossing off my list. Right now I have library holds on a couple of good ones that I can’t wait to get my hands on.
• Get outside each weekend - whether it is for a run, a picnic at the park, or a walk with Denny. We are spending far too many Saturday’s inside a bar watching basketball or laying around all day. 

• Go to 15 Pure Barre classes before the wedding. NOPE. Things got busy, and I had to tell myself it was more important to get a frame for a photo of my father for the wedding at the Hobby Lobby across town than it was to tone my arms one more time. 
• Start Couch to 5K. Another NOPE. This one is HAPPENING in April, though. 
• Finish all wedding tasks without having a panic attack - I’d say I did okay with this. The only time I reallllly panicked or freaked out was on the day of, when we started the day already an hour behind thanks to an MIA hairdresser, and at some point around 4 PM I had a meltdown over missing Sharpies and Sharpie pens. But almost every single thing got done, and that was the goal. Just wish I hadn’t Bridezilla’d people (especially my poor mother) in the hours right before the ceremony. 
• Get married and have a blast! (Easy one!) Check and check! 
• Continue applying and interviewing until I land a great new job. I started a new job today, but it is not exactly full time and I’m still not sure about the fit. We will see, and if we can make the money part of working just 30 hours a week at less than I made before work, then it may be nice to come in a bit later and be home waiting for Blake each day. I had a really great interview last week that I’m hoping to hear back on, and I’ve still got some feelers out for other things. 
• Buy no personal items other than dresses for bridesmaid luncheon, rehearsal dinner and after reception as well as jewelry for day of.  I think I did okay on this? I bought one lipstick that I wanted to wear to the bridesmaids luncheon, and I’m sure one or two things in between, but I held off on any real personal purchases. 
• Fast food only when traveling, and then only at Jimmy Johns or Subway. This was such a ridiculous fail. I have GOT to cut it out with the Wendy’s and McDonalds and crap. Ugh. It’s not even that appealing anymore, just easy. 
• Read 4 books. I achieved this by the skin of my teeth this weekend. I read 50 Shades of Grey (ugh, just had to know what the hype was about and was waiting for a library card so I didn’t have to pay for it. I will not be continuing this series.) I also read the first two books of the Twilight saga (yeah, I missed out on this 3 years ago or whenever they were big) and finished up I’ve Got Your Number by Sophia Kinsella. I’m working on some less teenager books for April. 
  
• Gather items and make appointments for name change process. I think I’m all ready for this - can’t do much until the marriage license comes in the mail this week, but I’ve researched the process and have a plan in place for this month. 

Overall, I did okay with what I knew would be a crazy and stressful month. Looking forward to pressing a reset button on diet and workout in April and getting some things in the house in order. 

Recap of February goals:

• 16 Pure Barre classes- HA nope. Between traveling, the bachelorette and being sick, I made it maybe 8 times? 
• 8 cardio sessions this month - another HA. I wanted to do some spinning and running but things just didn’t work out that way. Made maybe 2 cardio sessions?
• February Fab Abs routine (which, oops, I have missed the first 3 days of!) - NOPE. NONE. Not a bit. Oh well!
• Get my GA license and local library card (yeah, I’ve been here 9 months and haven’t done either.) - Made an appointment to get my license but then realized it was kind of silly to get my license in February and then turn around in late March and get a new one with my new name. So that will be part of April’s goals! ( I do have all the materials for it gathered [which, good gracious, birth certificate, SS card, W-2 from last year, voter registration card, bank statement, old license] and made the appointment, so I am considering this a win.) I’m going to get my library card today!
• Wash my face every night. I’ve gotten really into skin care products lately, and it’s time to put them to good use! I have a sample of this, and bought a full size of this this weekend, and have started using this. - Did MUCH better with this. I think I managed to wash my face most nights that we didn’t go out. My skin freaked out a little at first but I am glad I got in a routine.
• Buy and assemble dresser and desk to work towards finishing decorating the bedroom. - Yeah, didn’t happen. That cash money has to go to the wedding fund. Another one pushed to April.
• File taxes. (Started to do this last night and am going to redo them because hello, I can’t be getting back $1 on my federal return for the second year in a row.) - Filed. And still got $1 back from the feds. My state refunds are supposedly being deposited tomorrow, though, which is lightning fast!
• Wrap up last big wedding tasks - put down deposit on DJ, buy wedding booze,  get our friend who is officiating his license, order wedding shoes, and schedule hair trial. - Hired a DJ (no deposit needed) Ordered wedding shoes. Scheduling hair trial today. There has been a shuffle in who our officiant is, so we haven’t gotten his license yet. Wedding booze will be bought in the next few weeks. Bought lots of table decorations. Chose a location for the bridesmaid luncheon. 
• No more personal shopping - pretty much a total shopping freeze. (Don’t worry, I did a little damage this weekend with Sister before this went into effect.) Exceptions are skirt/dress for bachelorette weekend in NOLA, 1-2 Lily & Laura bracelets (my best PB motivator each week,) and one new Lulu tank. This means no new lipsticks, no unnecessary hair products, no clearance sweaters, nothing. - Bought no Lulu and no Lily & Laura bracelets. Bought two dresses (one for bachelorette, one for wedding shower, both can be work-friendly,) a pair of black pants for interviews, polka dot jeans and white sweater (for a total of $12!) for bachelorette weekend, one new Color Whisper lipstick, and two Essie polishes (one for, you guessed it, bachelorette weekend and one for wedding try out.) So meh on this one. 
• Do another purge of my closet - including workout gear. Drop off all donations at Goodwill. - I did go through my closet, but didn’t have as much to donate as I did last time. I did let go of a few ratty pairs of running shorts and yellowed white camis. 
• Fast food 5 times or less this month. - Oops, actually grabbed some about 10 times. Most of those times were when traveling to either Birmingham or New Orleans, though. 
• Read four books. - Nope. I read The Art of Racing in the Rain at the beginning of the month and bawled. Then I started reading Jonathan Tropper’s One Last Thing Before I Go, but my Kindle died and I can’t find my charger. I even bought a paperback at the French Market last weekend to try and read on the way home, but I got too car sick. 
• Apply to ten jobs per week (and hopefully land a great new job!)- Some weeks saw more openings than others, and I think I applied to roughly 20 jobs so far this month and reached out to 5 or 6 people at agencies and offices I’d like to work at. I went to one marketing conference that I won a ticket to and one social media networking event. I got offered a position at the agency that took over my old company’s social media (working with a different client) and I have tentatively accepted that but haven’t heard back from them since last week, so I’m a little sketched out. I have an interview Monday for a job I would LOVE. It would be a pay cut, but would hopefully open some great doors here, so cross your fingers for me. 

So I give myself maybe a C for February. I at least attempted most of my goals. 

All right, here are some goals for March!

• Go to 15 Pure Barre classes before the wedding. This will be tough with me traveling back to Birmingham most weekends but my arms will thank me on the big day.
• Start Couch to 5K. Since I haven’t really run since October’s half marathon (two jogs in February can’t really count,) I figured it was a good time to get back to basics. If the first week or two are just too slow for me, then I can jump ahead. My goal is to finish C25K by the first week of May and try and PR at this 5K. (ATL gals, want to join me?) The ultimate goal is an Aug/Sept or Oct/Nov half marathon. 
• Finish all wedding tasks without having a panic attack - song list for DJ, meet with venue for floor plan, finalize numbers and layout with caterer, make appointment for hair color and day of hair, make appointments for nails after bridesmaid luncheon, organize bridesmaid luncheon, bridesmaids gifts, finish buying table decor, write script of day with timeline, buy and transport all booze to Alabama, buy Blake’s wedding gift, write thank you notes as gifts come in (as of now I am up to date - whoo!) and any other random things I am forgetting.
• Get married and have a blast! (Easy one!)
• Continue applying and interviewing until I land a great new job. 
• Buy no personal items other than dresses for bridesmaid luncheon, rehearsal dinner and after reception as well as jewelry for day of. 
• Fast food only when traveling, and then only at Jimmy Johns or Subway.
• Read 4 books.
• Gather items and make appointments for name change process. 

March is guaranteed to be an insane and busy month but I am so excited for it. What are your goals for the month?

Quick recap of January’s goals - which I am glad to say I crushed.

• Pure Barre 21 class challenge - Complete 21 classes in 31 days with Brooke. (See scary looking schedule above.) DONE and DONE! So excited about accomplishing this one - there were so many days I wanted to just head home (especially when I wanted to wallow about job news) but the challenge kept me going. I loved having Brooke to go with on the weekends and she helped keep me accountable. I also feel a lot stronger (especially in the arms) and am now motivated to not lose that momentum.
• Set a new budget - needs some tweaking from last year. (Working on this today) Set - but I’ve realized that wedding/job search expenses will take priority for the next two months. (Oh, and my income will be most likely changing, so this will affect the budget as well.)
• Order wedding decoration supplies - burlap, bottles, wooden boxes, etc. Meh. This is the only one I really didn’t do as much for. I did get some mercury glass containers and Kel and I got some supplies this weekend. Still need to order mason jars and burlap.
• Finalize florist plans for wedding Check! Met with the florist two weekends ago and I got the contract from her last week. I am really excited about the things we planned.
• Schedule fitting for dress Done! I went to the fitting two weekends ago and all I really needed was a bustle added. So we picked the dress up this past weekend! Provided I don’t lose 40 pounds or grow 3 inches in the next month or so, we should be good to go!
• Update registries (some stuff is already out of stock  ) Yup.
• Get hair colored by someone who is not me Done - and I think I have found a great hairdresser here in Atlanta now.
• Get one manicure by someone who is not me (you can make a goal to treat yourself, correct?) Yes! Sister and I went two weekends ago. 
• Read 3 books Yup! I read Where’d You Go Bernadette (loved it - I like reading books that are written in slightly unconventional manners,) The Best of Me (newest Nicholas Sparks - my guilty pleasure but they are becoming a bit too predictable and all have the same plot essentially,) and The Art of Fielding (so, so good - it’s long, but definitely a must read.)

Here are my (slightly belated) goals for this month - this short month will have lots of things to do:

• 16 Pure Barre classes, which is essentially 4 per week. I’d love to shoot for 5 per week, but I know my schedule is a bit off this month (and it’s a short month!)
• 8 cardio sessions this month - that’s about twice per week.
• February Fab Abs routine (which, oops, I have missed the first 3 days of!)
• Get my GA license and local library card (yeah, I’ve been here 9 months and haven’t done either.)
• Wash my face every night. I’ve gotten really into skin care products lately, and it’s time to put them to good use! I have a sample of this, and bought a full size of this this weekend, and have started using this.
• Buy and assemble dresser and desk to work towards finishing decorating the bedroom.
• File taxes. (Started to do this last night and am going to redo them because hello, I can’t be getting back $1 on my federal return for the second year in a row.)
• Wrap up last big wedding tasks - put down deposit on DJ, buy wedding booze,  get our friend who is officiating his license, order wedding shoes, and schedule hair trial.
• No more personal shopping - pretty much a total shopping freeze. (Don’t worry, I did a little damage this weekend with Sister before this went into effect.) Exceptions are skirt/dress for bachelorette weekend in NOLA, 1-2 Lily & Laura bracelets (my best PB motivator each week,) and one new Lulu tank. This means no new lipsticks, no unnecessary hair products, no clearance sweaters, nothing. 
• Do another purge of my closet - including workout gear. Drop off all donations at Goodwill.
• Fast food 5 times or less this month. 
• Read four books. 
• Apply to ten jobs per week (and hopefully land a great new job!)

So, lots to do in just 28 days (and really in just 24 since it’s already the 4th.) Let’s do this, guys!

worked on tweaking some of my 1 year, 5 year and 10 year goals today as i realized i’d reached many of the 1 year and was very close to some of the 5 year ones i’d set last year (new job or raise, planning a wedding that fit blake and i as a couple, focusing on settling in a home, budgeting better, getting my fitness back on track.)

i always get a little afraid to set these crazy ambitious goals. who am i to know what i’d want at 35? how much money should i be making then? will i be a runner then or no? will i have a new car, want to own a home, have a child?

or even 5 years. will we still be in atlanta? will we have 9 bulldogs? will i have the same job (or want it?) how sick of paying student loans will i be by then? ( i fear i already know the answer to this one.)

so crazy to think about where we could be by then. exciting as well, though.  

backing off a bit from longer term goals, i also looked at my goals for the next 4-6 weeks. my huge savings goal took a bit of a hit as i lost interest in that kate spade purse (very strange for me) and had to pay some unexpected expenses. but it was nice having plenty of money in savings so i didn’t even bat an eye when i needed to cover something. i still want to work on this, though, so here goes:

• double my deposits into my savings account for next 4 paychecks (6 weeks goal)
• go to pure barre 4 times per week this week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and perhaps Sunday). [reward for reaching this goal is one lily and laura bracelet from the buckhead studio for $12)
• go to pure barre 20 times in 30 days in september. [4 weeks goal (duh) - reward is pair of Wunder Under pants]
• run all scheduled races - two 10Ks and one 15K in preparation for October’s half [4 weeks goal - reward is the softest long-sleeve tee known to man because yes, i will MAKE it feel like fall by september 30th. you’re welcome, atlanta.]
• clear sink completely and wipe down counters before bed each night [life goal? but at least concentrating on it the next 6 weeks. no reward incentive because the reward is that i’m not as nasty then]
• get an oil change
• find a caterer
• budget so spectacularly that i buy this guy in the next 4-6 weeks [i.e. dont’ use extra money from household account on fast food and instead save it all to get a purse]

(also, can you tell i’m so over august + want to fast forward through this week - already setting goals for a month that doesn’t start for 5 more days)