November Goals Re-cap

four random broccoli (cauliflower?) plants that somehow survived the scorching summer and crappy soil- I found them when I cleaned out the garden and prepped it for winter.

Since I wrote down some new goals, I thought I should track my progress at the end of each month. So here's how I did in the month of November:
(October's progress report can be found here)
(September's progress report can be found here)
(August's progress report can be found here)
(July's progress report can be found here)
(June's progress report can be found here)

A few goals under Health:
1. keep strengthening my knee and start running for longer periods of time/distance
I'm running regularly and increasing my mileage. The next thing to do is be more diligent with my strength training.
2. train for and run at least 4 races by the end of 2012 (at least one half marathon)
I ran the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, giving me 5 races for the year, the first of which was a half marathon.
3. be more careful with my eating and lose some weight
We started following the GAPS diet at the beginning of November. We're feeling good and hopefully making progress with the health of our intestines. I lost the weight I gained last month plus some, and am now down 20 pounds from where I was in August. Yay!

A few goals under House:
1. finish painting all the rooms
I worked on the guest bedroom and master bath, but didn't finish them. I did finish the trim and doors in the entry way and living room. I also finally hung some art on the walls- pics to come.
2. do the family room ceiling
Paneling is up, spackled, sanded, primed, and painted. The crown is repainted and reinstalled, so I'm calling it good.
3. finish building built-in shelves in the library
I got the books sorted and organized and placed on the shelves, only to realize I underestimated how many shelves I'd need. I've made some more, but still need to paint them.

A few goals under Homeschool:
1. stick to the schedule I've worked out, as much as possible
We're still doing pretty good. I'm really liking the 3 weeks on/1 week off schedule that we've been doing- no time for boredom or burnout.
2. be more consistent with violin practicing
Since we started school we're doing better because it's in our school schedule. In thinking about this particular goal, I think I meant more consistency from LMS and myself. We've been really good about making sure LMS is practicing, but I still haven't been, so now I need to be more consistent with MY practicing. Like a lot of other things, though, it won't happen till after Christmas.

A few goals under Habits:
1. practice the piano more frequently
Still haven't had time. Realistically, with the schedule I've imposed on myself, I won't have time until after Christmas. I'm ok with that.
2. index several batches every week for FamilySearch
I only indexed once or twice this month- I need to be a bit more diligent with this.
3. have more meaningful daily scripture study (start journaling as I read)
I wasn't loving my topic journal that focused on people in the Book of Mormon, so I tweaked it so it would be more of a summary. I will probably end up buying a topical study guide (I've found one that I think will work out) and using that before attempting something on my own again. This is not a strongpoint for me, so I'm willing to take any help I can get.

How did you do with your goals this month?

Turkey Trot

terrible picture taken just before the race, but it's the only one I have

Thursday I ran the Turkey Trot that we did last year and the year before.

LMS decided not to run the kids' run this year, and I didn't push it. The kids' run is not easy- 1/4 mile down hill followed by 1/4 mile back up the hill to the finish. I'm hoping her energy levels will increase as her intestines heal so she'll feel up to doing more things.

Since Mr M is out of town, I pushed LMS in the jogger as I ran. I've decided this is the last year LMS gets to ride in the jogger :) It's still doable, but it's getting harder. The first two miles I managed about a 9 minute pace, but then I ruined it by taking almost 20 minutes to run the last mile. I had to stop and walk three times because of all the hills. That last mile is brutal! I ended up finishing in 37:58, and had a good strong kick at the end, which I was pleased with.

The weather was perfect for running too. It was about 32 degrees when we arrived, but it warmed up a few degrees while we waited to start. While we were waiting, it was chilly, but once we got going it was great. I never over-heated or got super sweaty, which would have happened in warmer weather since I pushing LMS up all those hills.

I've only been running on the treadmill, but I made sure to include some hill work since I knew the race contained hills. While there are some local races in December, I don't think I'll do any of them. I might do one on New Year's Day, but I haven't decided about that yet. My next race after that is the Disney World Half Marathon in January.

My training will now focus on distance (my mileage is not as high as it should be), with some speed work and hill work thrown in.

October Goals Re-cap

LMS finished another soccer season- yay!

Since I wrote down some new goals, I thought I should track my progress at the end of each month. So here's how I did in the month of October:
(September's progress report can be found here)
(August's progress report can be found here)
(July's progress report can be found here)
(June's progress report can be found here)

A few goals under Health:
1. keep strengthening my knee and start running for longer periods of time/distance
I'm still struggling to exercise on a regular basis. I finally started getting my sleep schedule back on track at the end of the month, but I'm not prioritizing my running enough- I'm allowing the zillion other things going on to get in the way. With the Disney Half drawing nearer, I have to re-prioritize and get my rear (legs?) in gear.
2. train for and run at least 4 races by the end of 2012 (at least one half marathon)
LMS and I ran the Halloween 5k last weekend, though I can't say we trained properly for it. This was my fourth race of the year, and my fifth race will be the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving- and I will be better prepared for it.
3. be more careful with my eating and lose some weight
I didn't do so great this month. I allowed myself to indulge in Halloween candy and ended up gaining back the 4 pounds I lost last month :( The reason I allowed myself to indulge was because I knew it was going to be the last chance to do so for a long time- this weekend we're starting the GAPS diet in an effort to heal our intestines, and we won't be eating candy any time soon. I'll write a post soon about the GAPS diet and why we decided to do it.

A few goals under House:
1. finish painting all the rooms
I've painted the living room and entryway and am now working on the doors and trim in those areas. Up next: the guest bedroom, the master bath, and finishing the kitchen. My goal is to get all the painting done before Christmas.
2. do the family room ceiling
Paneling is up, spackled, sanded, primed, and painted. All that's left is to get the crown repainted and reinstalled.
3. finish building built-in shelves in the library
I FINALLY finished painting all the shelves. I really hope we don't need more shelves to fit all our books, because I really don't want to have to go through this again. The shelves have been curing the last few weeks and I hope to get the books on them this weekend.

A few goals under Homeschool:
1. stick to the schedule I've worked out, as much as possible
We're still doing pretty good. I'm really liking the 3 weeks on/1 week off schedule that we've been doing- no time for boredom or burnout.
2. be more consistent with violin practicing
Since we started school we're doing better because it's in our school schedule. In thinking about this particular goal, I think I meant more consistency from LMS and myself. We've been really good about making sure LMS is practicing, but I still haven't been, so now I need to be more consistent with MY practicing.

A few goals under Habits:
1. practice the piano more frequently
Still haven't had time. Realistically, with the schedule I've imposed on myself, I won't have time until after Christmas. I'm ok with that.
2. index several batches every week for FamilySearch
I finally got FamilySearch downloaded to my new computer (operator error, I'm sure) and was able to index several batches two weeks out of the month. Progress!
3. have more meaningful daily scripture study (start journaling as I read)
I've continued my topic journal, focusing on people in the Book of Mormon. I'll admit it's taken some getting used to- it's quite different from how I've read and studied the Book of Mormon in the past.

How did you do with your goals this month?

Halloween 5k

Saturday we ran the Halloween 5k that I ran last year. During the awards ceremony they gave a bag of Halloween candy to the kids who ran the race and LMS decided then and there that she had to run the race so she could get a bag of candy (yes, we know one of her motivators).

About a month ago I signed us both up and then tried to think of costumes to wear. I couldn't think of anything particular, so we just went the mini-me route and tried to find matching outfits, which isn't as easy as it sounds. I eventually found very similar tech shirts at Target and matching tutu-floofy skirts in the costume aisle at Walmart.

You can't see LMS's skirt in the pic above, but you can see it below. She's covering her face because she didn't want me to take a picture of her smiling.

Last year it was very cold and rained the whole race. This year the weather was perfect: a slight chill, but still warm enough to wear short sleeves, and no wind or rain to contend with.

We started training for the race this summer, but getting sick derailed our training program and we never quite got back on track. So I wasn't expecting LMS to run the whole 3.1 miles, and she didn't. I had to coax her along after the first mile, but we were able to finish in 46:33 (my slowest 5k ever, but it wasn't about me, it was about LMS).  I think that's a great time for our 6 year old's first 5k. I think I was 13 or 14 the first time I ran a 5k, so I'm super excited that she's starting so young.

During the awards ceremony after the race, kids 8 and under who finished the race were invited to come get a bag of treats. LMS was way more excited than this photo suggests. And it instantly erased the memory of all the complaints she'd had during the race. On the way home, I asked her if she wanted to do the race again next year, and she immediately replied "Sure!" in an excited voice.

crappy indoor photo

LMS's next race will be a lot shorter: the 1/2 mile Turkey Trot fun run on Thanksgiving day. 

And yes, we will be doing some training before then.

How old were you when you ran your first 5k?

September Goals Re-cap

LMS has started her fall soccer season- and I'm not coaching this time (yay!)

Since I wrote down some new goals, I thought I should track my progress at the end of each month. So here's how I did in the month of July:
(August's progress report can be found here)
(July's progress report can be found here)
(June's progress report can be found here)

A few goals under Health:
1. keep strengthening my knee and start running for longer periods of time/distance
I'm still struggling to exercise on a regular basis. My sleep schedule has been off since I got sick, which has made it harder to get early am workouts in. Still working on this.
2. train for and run at least 4 races by the end of 2012 (at least one half marathon)
I ran the 4 mile race Labor Day weekend, which brings my total to three races this year, the first of which was a half. Now I'm working toward a 5k I'm doing with LMS in October.
3. be more careful with my eating and lose some weight
I lost 4 more pounds, for a total of 15 pounds lost so far (yay!). I'm still watching my portions and we've started eating our larger meal at lunchtime rather than at dinner time. This started because I was having problems with nausea and lack of appetite in the evenings after being sick in August. The stomach problems have mostly cleared up, but I like how I feel when I eat less in the evening. Now I just have to be more on the ball with meal prep in the am.

A few goals under House:
1. finish painting all the rooms
I finished the trim work in the upstairs hall, bath and master bedroom, and painted the stairway. More rooms to go still...
2. do the family room ceiling
Finally got the paneling up! post to come... I need to spackle and paint, but the hardest part is done.
3. finish building built-in shelves in the library
Still painting the shelves- I swear this is a never-ending project.

A few goals under Homeschool:
1. stick to the schedule I've worked out, as much as possible
We're still doing pretty good.
2. be more consistent with violin practicing
Since we started school we're doing better because it's in our school schedule.

A few goals under Habits:
1. practice the piano more frequently
No time yet, maybe in October...
2. index several batches every week for FamilySearch
Tried to do some, but I'm having problems downloading the program to my new computer. I've tried a couple times and it hasn't worked. I need to figure out why.
3. have more meaningful daily scripture study (start journaling as I read)
I found some great ideas here and have started a topic journal, focusing on people in the Book of Mormon. 

How did you do with your goals this month?

Four Mile Race

Saturday I ran the four mile race that I've run the previous two years (2011, 2010).  I was a lot slower this year at 47:19 than in previous years (43:55 and 42:32), but considering I was flat on my back two weeks ago, I'm not complaining. Two weeks ago I barely managed to slowly walk the .4 mile trip to the mail box and back before collapsing on the couch.  Saturday I ran 3.3 miles and walked .7 miles at a good pace. I think I did pretty good :)

In previous years the weather has been quite hot, but this year it wasn't too bad because it rained lightly most of the time. Of course, the rain tapered off (and it got really muggy) just as I hit the uphill portion (miles 2.5 to 3.5ish), but then the rain picked up again a little as I headed down to the finish line. I anticipated the rain and wore a lightweight hat (which I don't usually do), so my glasses stayed mostly dry and the run was quite enjoyable.

And then I went home and fell asleep on the couch because I was so tired.

I may be feeling better, but my energy levels are definitely not what they were before I got sick.

My next 5k is in 8 weeks. I'll be better prepared, but I'm not expecting a PR. This is the race LMS wants to run, so I'll be going her pace and encouraging her. I can't wait to see how her first 5k goes!

August Goals Re-cap

Anyone else remember jelly bracelets? I found these at Target recently. I guess the 80's really are making a come back.

Since I wrote down some new goals, I thought I should track my progress at the end of each month. So here's how I did in the month of August:
(July's progress report can be found here)

(June's progress report can be found here)

A few goals under Health:
1. keep strengthening my knee and start running for longer periods of time/distance
LMS and I have started a modified version of the Couch to 5k training program. She wants to run a 5k in October, but I told her she had to train properly for it. I didn't increase my distances as much as I wanted to because of the flu, but I am making progress.
2. train for and run at least 4 races by the end of 2012 (at least one half marathon)
No races in August, but my four mile race was Saturday morning- third race of the year. After evaluating my training progress and the available local half marathons, I won't be running another half this year like I wanted. I'll focus my training on the Disney Half in January, which I've signed up for. I have 5k's planned for October, November, and December, so I'll definitely hit my goal of at least four races this year.
3. be more careful with my eating and lose some weight
I lost 8 pounds this month (the flu was good for something!), for a total of 11 pounds lost so far. I'm still focusing on portion control as well as researching our dietary options (leaky gut, GAPS diet, etc- that's a whole post by itself though).

A few goals under House:
1. finish painting all the rooms
I didn't make as much progress as I wanted to because I've been distracted by other projects and things. I did finally get the crown moulding put up in the basement- pics to come on that one!
2. do the family room ceiling
The paneling is still sitting on the family room floor, waiting. I need to finish the trim and clean up of the rooms I've started painting, then I can move on to the ceiling.
3. finish building built-in shelves in the library
The shelves are half-painted, need to finish painting them and then wait for the paint to cure for a couple weeks before putting the books on the shelves.

A few goals under Homeschool:
1. stick to the schedule I've worked out, as much as possible
Despite getting the flu, we did pretty good about staying on schedule. We used one of our vacation weeks so LMS could go to the Irish music day camp. This week is the 6th (and final) week of our first term, then we'll have another week off before starting our second term. 
2. be more consistent with violin practicing
Since we started school we're doing much better because it's in our school schedule.

A few goals under Habits:
1. practice the piano more frequently
No time yet, hopefully in September...
2. index several batches every week for FamilySearch
Didn't get any done this month- the tiny amount of free time I have has been spent working on our adoption blog, trying to get posts written for potential birth mothers to read.
3. have more meaningful daily scripture study (start journaling as I read)
I have almost finished reading the Book of Mormon. Once I finish, I will start a topical study schedule that doesn't go straight through.

How did you do with your goals this month?

July Goals Re-cap

LMS is getting so brave- here she's diving off the diving rock!

Since I wrote down some new goals, I thought I should track my progress at the end of each month. So here's how I did in the month of July:

(June's progress report can be found here)

A few goals under Health:
1. keep strengthening my knee and start running for longer periods of time/distance
I'm still struggling to exercise on a regular basis because we've been so busy, but now that school's started and we're on a schedule, I'm doing better.
2. train for and run at least 4 races by the end of 2012 (at least one half marathon)
No races this month, but I'm working towards a 4 mile race Labor Day weekend.
3. be more careful with my eating and lose some weight
I've lost 3 pounds so far, and am continuing to try to be careful about what I eat.

A few goals under House:
1. finish painting all the rooms
I finished the dining area, hall, upstairs hall, bath and master bedroom, except for the trimwork. More rooms to go still...
2. do the family room ceiling
We've purchased the paneling, now we just have to get going on it.
3. finish building built-in shelves in the library
Still painting the shelves.

A few goals under Homeschool:
1. stick to the schedule I've worked out, as much as possible
So far we're doing pretty good, but we're only a week and a half into it :)
2. be more consistent with violin practicing
Since we started school we're doing better because it's in our school schedule.

A few goals under Habits:
1. practice the piano more frequently
No time yet, hopefully in August...
2. index several batches every week for FamilySearch
Didn't get any done this month- my Sundays have been busy working on our adoption blog, trying to get posts written for potential birth mothers to read.
3. have more meaningful daily scripture study (start journaling as I read)
Still studying the Church Handbook for Leaders, but not everyday like I should- need to improve on that.

How did you do with your goals this month?

June Goals Re-Cap

The bookshelves are built and painted, now I've got to finish all the shelves so we can get the stacks of books off the floor and move the furniture around.

Since I wrote down some new goals, I thought I should track my progress at the end of each month. So here's how I did in the month of June:

A few goals under Health:
1. keep strengthening my knee and start running for longer periods of time/distance
         I started increasing distance, than life got super crazy and I didn't exercise much
2. train for and run at least 4 races by the end of 2012 (at least one half marathon)
         I ran a 5k and my knee didn't hurt
3. be more careful with my eating and lose some weight
         No weight lost yet, but I'm paying more attention to what I'm eating and how much

A few goals under House:
1. finish painting all the rooms
        Not started yet
2. do the family room ceiling
        Not started yet
3. finish building built-in shelves in the library
        Still need to caulk and paint the adjustable shelves

A few goals under Homeschool:
1. stick to the schedule I've worked out, as much as possible
       We finished the school year and are now enjoying summer break
2. be more consistent with violin practicing
        Ummm, not yet

A few goals under Habits:
1. practice the piano more frequently
        Life was way too crazy to even think about playing the piano
2. index several batches every week for FamilySearch
        Only managed to index one week out of the month
3. have more meaningful daily scripture study (start journaling as I read)
        I haven't started journaling yet because after my daily reading in the Book of Mormon I've been studying the Church Handbook for Leaders so I can better understand my role as Relief Society president and how the Relief Society program should work

How are you at keeping goals you make?

First 5k of the year

This past weekend I ran my first 5k of the year. I haven't run any races since the Disney Half Marathon in January, so I was excited to finally run another race. I've been patiently doing my physical therapy since December, and it has paid off. I was able to run the race without my knee hurting (yay!).

I'm a bit out of shape since my training has been limited to minimal treadmill running with no incline, and the course was hillier (hilly-er?) than I expected, so I ended up with sore calves and thighs, but there was no knee pain.

Mr M was at drill so I ended up pushing LMS in the jogger the whole race. I'm going to start her on a 5k training program, but she wasn't ready for this 5k. I was just happy they allowed jogging strollers in the race, since that meant I didn't have to find a babysitter for LMS (such a hassle).

In any case, despite being out of shape and pushing LMS up multiple hills I managed to finish the race in 39 minutes and 23 seconds. The last 5k I ran was the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, and I ran that in 32:44. I was almost 7 minutes slower this time, but I'm completely ok with that given my current level of fitness.

There was also a short kids race that LMS participated in. Isn't she so cute?

 at the beginning

at the finish

LMS always appreciates a good finisher's medal. The shinier, the better :)

This was the second race I've run while pushing LMS in the jogger, and I've realized a few things. Mainly, some people are just dumb. There were a couple people that came from behind me, and ran so close to the jogger that I had to veer away from them so as not to hit them. Really? They just went around me- they knew I was there- they couldn't have given us some space?

On the other hand, if I come up behind someone, I do need to be aware of how much space we're taking up. However, if you're as short as I am, it can be difficult to see the front tire, and thus not run into someone. Extra vigilance is required :)  Though it's really only an issue at the beginning of the race- once everyone spreads out it's not so bad.

I have my eye on a couple races to participate in the next few months, but need to hammer out our schedule before committing to anything. Are you running any races this summer?

Goals

It's been quite awhile since I posted an actual list of goals. I tried the 100 goals in 100 weeks, which had a lot of good goals on it, but my life is just too crazy right now to be dealing with that many goals.

So for now I'm limiting it to a few categories:
Health
House
Homeschool
Habits

{did you notice how I managed to use words that all start with H?}

A few goals under Health:
1. keep strengthening my knee and start running for longer periods of time/distance
2. train for and run at least 4 races by the end of 2012 (at least one half marathon)
3. be more careful with my eating and lose some weight

A few goals under House:
1. finish painting all the rooms
2. do the family room ceiling
3. finish building built-in shelves in the library

A few goals under Homeschool:
1. stick to the schedule I've worked out, as much as possible
2. be more consistent with violin practicing

A few goals under Habits:
1. practice the piano more frequently
2. index several batches every week for FamilySearch
3. have more meaningful daily scripture study (start journaling as I read)

How are you at keeping goals you make?

Our sad garden

the arrows are pointing to our sad squash plants

We've wanted to have a garden for years, and this year we finally managed it. Unfortunately, we're not sure how it will do.

Last fall Mr M and my dad tilled up the spot where we wanted to put in our garden, but there's so much clay and so many {large} rocks that they weren't able to accomplish much. We figured we probably wouldn't have much luck if we planted directly in the clay, so we bought some topsoil, hummus, and mulch, mixed them together and poured them into some trenches we dug. We then transplanted the squash and zucchini plants that we started in the house.

A couple weeks later we added a third row (the one on the left) with some other plants, and the difference in the rows is quite obvious. We're not sure if our dirt is getting absorbed into the clay, or what, but the dirt seems to be disappearing.

The plants are yellowing, but they have blossoms, so they haven't completely died. It'll be interesting to see how many squash and zucchini we do/don't get, as well as how well everything else does.

We're hoping to do some major landscaping in our backyard this fall, so we didn't want to do anything too big/expensive this spring. If nothing else, this will be a good learning experience.

Anyone have experience growing a garden in clay?

Discipline

I wrote this at the beginning of the month, but forgot to post it.

One of the blogs I read was talking about 'discipline' as a goal for the year. She talked about applying discipline to various parts of her life. I liked this and have been thinking about it for a few days now.

I'm pretty good about making goals and following up on them or altering them to fit my changing circumstances. However, there's always room to improve, and being more disciplined is a good way to start.

How am I going to apply discipline to my life this year?

1. I will be more disciplined in my sleep schedule (get to bed on time, wake up earlier)
2. I will be more disciplined in my workout schedule (more consistent)
3. I will be more disciplined in my eating habits (no more "fudging" and eating things I shouldn't)
4. I will be more disciplined in my daily schedule (scriptures, homeschooling, housework, etc each get the attention needed)

What are your goal(s) for this year?