Goals & Progress

Apparently this whole week on the blog has been in honor of my long hair- RIP.
Why hello, July! I plan on completely tackling you over the next four weeks, but I've gotta' backtrack for just a moment. I love making monthly goals because it helps me focus on just a few smaller-picture things at a time. Let's see how I did, shall we? My goals for June were:
1. Cut back on sugar - This gets a half-point from me. I definitely made the conscious effort, but still snuck a few treats in. It'll be a work in progress for awhile but I am getting there little by little. Why is it so tasty!?
2. Get back to the gym - Win! While I only actually went to the gym that we're members of twice, I also had 9 physical therapy sessions, went for a couple evening walks and even played some basketball with Jared one night. I feel good about being more active in general. I've discovered things about my fitness and interests that maybe I didn't realize before (post to come on that topic) so I'm back on track.
3. Work on photobooks - Win! I had hoped to finish the 2013 book but apparently I took a LOT of photos that year. I got dozens of pages done and I'm nearly at the end of this one, it's just taking longer than I thought. In the past I've been really disorganized about photo storage so the searching/choosing pictures takes way more time than it should. I've implemented a great solution to digital storage though and I know photobooks will be less time-consuming as I continue on them.
4. Landscape our yard - We finished phase one of our landscaping so I say it counts. There is still work to be done but we knew it would take awhile to complete all the different aspects. With all the rain we've been having it's not the easiest thing to make time for, but I'm glad we got a good portion of it done and our yard looks pretty great!
5. Make time for personal goals - I didn't really specify what this was one, but it included a variety of things. Reading more books, catching up with friends more often and a couple other personal things. This is the one area I don't feel like I succeeded in this month. I just didn't make the time- plain and simple. Fail.

July- Oh, July, how you scare me! It's the first day of this month and my calendar is completely packed. I've got multiple work events going on (aka- outside of normal work hours) and so my weekends might be a bit non-existent in July. However, that's no excuse to not get stuff done! Here's what I'm hoping to accomplish this month.

1. Read 3 books. My nightstand cannot possibly take any more crowds. I must make time for all the delicious pages waiting on me! I think I need to stop reading your recommendations for books too, otherwise my list will never stop growing ;)

2. Finish the landscaping, part 2. This one will be tough to squeeze in, but it's a must.

3. Meet with a financial planner. Jared and I are ready to take our financial life to the next level. We're debt free (minus the house) and have big goals in the coming months and years. We're looking forward to sitting down with an expert and really focusing on what we should be doing to prepare for our future.

4. Make a couple new meals. I think summer is the easiest time to get off track with meal planning, or to just get boring with it in general. Our dinner rotation definitely needs a few things added in so hopefully I find a couple new winning recipes to add to the mix. Anyone made anything healthy and delicious recently?

5. Keep workin' on that fitness! I'm not sure how to quantify my fitness goals this month, but I just want to keep making it a priority. Getting out more, trying new things, bettering myself in this area!

Happy July, everyone! Are you setting any goals this month?