January Goals Revisited

The first month of 2015 is under our belts. It went fast. It was busy. A little stressful. A kitchen renovation happened. Dinner with friends happened. Exploring Ann Arbor with friends happened. We had some snow. We had really cold temps. But I love this crazy beautiful messy life. Lets see how I did this month!

1. Paint nails once a week. Check! I had sparkly nails to bring in the New Year. I had silver nails for the winter cold. I had blue nails. Now my nails are a dark purple/red. I love doing this each week and I find I love staring at my nails when I type or while I drive. Maybe a little dangerous, but instant happy!

2. Lose ten pounds this month. I'm not really sure how much I lost because I didn't weigh in until January 15th. But in half a month I lost 4. A sweet reader gently pointed out ten pounds a month may be a bit lofty so I think I'll readjust this goal in February to 5 pounds. I think it will be more manageable and not leave me so discouraged each month for not reaching it.

3. Do a morning devotional every morning. Check! I started Jesus Calling on Jan 1st and have stuck with doing it every day. I really enjoy the quiet time in the Word. I wake up at 6:00 and drink my coffee while reading the devotional, the Bible verses and then journaling my prayers. I love quiet in the morning. I light a candle. Soak in the teaching. It is becoming a habit I'm really enjoying.

4. Follow Jillian Michael's Body Revolution workout and meal plan. Check on doing the workout portion of this goal! I have followed the workout plan exactly the entire month. Even after working hard doing the kitchen reno I would do my workout after. Dedication! The meal plan was a fail this month. A lot of the recipes call for an oven and with our fridge being temperamental it was just not the right time to start.  I do plan to start the meal plan in February. I'm still calling this a win because it's all about little changes and this month I worked out 27 days and enjoyed every single rest day!

(via)

5. Read 3 books this month. Check! I read Yes Please by Amy Poehler and loved it. She is funny but there is also a lot of wise advice packed in here. I got a little tired of all the name dropping, but I still loved it. I read Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult. It was pretty intense and not my favorite, but it kept my attention and I was intrigued.  Lastly I read Save the Date by Mary Kay Andrews. It made me never want to be an even planner. It was a cute book and a fun, easy read.

6. Cook one new recipe a week. Check! I cooked a lot in the beginning of the month. I made slow cooker baked potatoes, 3 ingredient pancakes, and Curry Cabbage Soup. I also made Greek Salad, Italian Chicken and Stir Fry. Okay, those recipes aren't new but it was a lot of cooking that I feel I need to mention to prove I accomplished this goal.

7. Host dinner once this month. My candle exchange got pushed back due to a work conflict so I know I'll accomplish this next month. I will still say this was accomplished because we had a lot of dinner plans with friends and spent a day with friends in Ann Arbor. The goal is to be social and see people we cherish and that was definitely accomplished.

8. Clean or organize 20 minutes a day. Check! The kitchen is completely reorganized. I have organized all the bathrooms upstairs and spent many mornings doing a quick bathroom or kitchen clean. It feels good. I really hope I can keep everything organized this time. Ha!

How did you guys do with your goals this month?