August Goals, Revisited

Well since it's halfway through September, I guess I should probably update you all on my August goals and set some new ones through September! You should join with me and if you have a blog or website where you've listed your goals for the month, leave a comment with a link so we can be accountable together!

1) Update rest of personal information with new name. See while I changed my name almost a month ago now (read about it here), I still have some odds and ends that are in my maiden name and need to be changed ASAP. Grade: B; I changed information on my car, my bank accounts, etc. but I still have a few more hanging over my head that I really need to just bite the bullet and fix!

2) Get car re-inspected and licensed. My car had some major health issues (practically non-existent bushings meant the undercarriage could collapse at any moment-yikes) that caused it to fail its last inspection. We now thankfully have that fixed, so now its time to reinspect and get new plates! Grade: A; I now have Missouri plates on the old lady Eleanor (that's my car's name) and plans to use my old California plates in a decor project in the kitchen--stay tuned for details!

3) Sell remaining wedding items (tea bag caddies, cake knives and ribbon) on Ebay or Craigslist. I over-ordered slightly on several items, like tea bags with our monogram and wedding date (not re-usable) and tea cups (completely re-usable and resell-able). I also took on several projects (like individual cakes on each table, hence the cake knives) that I ultimately decided not to pursue. These items are taking up space in my closet and could definitely go to a good home! Grade: F; I didn't even open a listing on either site or take pictures of the items to ready them for sale. This is a high priority for this month. They are sitting in my closet taking up space when they could be gone with money in the bank.

4) Sell my barely used i-Touch on Ebay or Craigslist. I got an i-Touch in October of last year when I got my new Mac laptop. I only used it a few times before getting my iPhone back in February. Grade: A-; I did sell my i-Touch this month, but only because I sold it to J's mom who saw my "listing" on the blog.

5) Blog more. I'd like to blog at least twice a week for the rest of August! Grade: C+; I did do a better job of blogging than the month of July (10 posts versus 3) but still haven't gotten into the swing of a twice a week posting schedule. I also introduced a monthly feature that I am really excited about! My challenge for this month is to try to not only blog twice a week, but be more consistent in the days and times that I post so that you can know when to expect a post from KT.

6) Waste less food. I hope to achieve this goal by planning meals and actually eating them, and also eating the leftovers. J and I did pretty well at this the week before we left for our honeymoon, but I'd like to see us continue this habit throughout August (and beyond)! Grade: B+; J and I did very well on this over the past month. We make weekly menus and I ate the leftovers from the dinners for lunch every day. This past week has been more difficult as we had a visitor which sort of threw off our groove. I would like to continue this into next month, as well as try not to eat out quite as much on the weekends and instead find other things to do with friends that don't always involve going out to dinner!

7) Cancel gym membership. J and I have been running (when its not 100 degrees with 100 percent humidity) together 5-6 times a week. As such, I haven't been using my gym membership and could save a little cash by letting this expense go. Grade: D; While I researched the requirements to cancel my membership, I never did make the call. In the winter months I'm not sure I will be able to keep running outside like we have been doing, so for now I will postpone canceling the membership and simply put a freeze on my account for 3 months (no charge from the gym to do so) until I see how exercise in winter months shapes up!

8) Start plans for my side business. More on this to come but let's just say I am very excited at the prospect! Grade: F; I have been so busy with visitors, work, and friends lately that I have had almost no time to devote to this. I hope to improve this score by several letter grades by next month!

9) Eat more fruits and veggies. J and I have been going to a local farmer's market on Saturdays when we can, but I'd like to see us increase our intake of yummy fruits and vegetables and take advantage of the abundant summer harvest while it's still around! Grade: B+; J and I have gone to the farmer's market a few times this month and have tried to eat at least one fruit or vegetable with each lunch and dinner. For this month, I'd like to try to eat one fruit or vegetable for breakfast, lunch and dinner at least 3 days a week!

10) Take Woods to the vet. Our little kitten is now a year old and needs his yearly check-up, complete with shots. It's not fun, but something that definitely needs to get done this month! Grade: A; We took Woods last week right before my aunt came into town. He was pretty lethargic and stiff the next day from the 3 shots he had to get, but with a visitor to inspect and follow around, he quickly snapped out of it!

Overall, I think my grade for the whole month of August is about C+ or so, which is not bad since we've been pretty busy and had some changes in our schedule in the last month that have sort of thrown a wrench in our plans. I have higher hopes for this month, however, so here are a few new goals for September (or what's left of it)!

1) Work out with J 4 out of the 5 weekdays, plus one day on the weekend. We were better about this in the first part of August, but with school starting back up for J, this has sort of fallen by the wayside. I'd like that to change this month, even throwing some morning workouts (a first for us as a couple!) to make sure we get the job done!

2) Restring my guitar and attend a local bluegrass guitar pick. A local brew house offers Sunday afternoon pick sessions where people of all abilities can play together. I'd like to brush up on my skills and join in on the fun! You see, for 5 years my aunt and I worked in the box office of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and I got to see some great shows and truly develop a love for bluegrass. After reminiscing with her last weekend, I realized how much I miss playing guitar and bluegrass in general, which makes me anxious to get out there and play!

3) Reorganize and slim down my closet. My closet is a mess and I have trouble finding clothes in my closet in the morning, let alone deciding what to wear. I want to clear it out, pare it down to things I actually wear on a regular basis and consign or donate the clothes that don't make the cut!

4) Take more pictures! This applies to daily activities as well as DIY projects I undertake. I've noticed that when I start to blog about a past project, I am often missing shots like a before picture or a picture documenting the process. I want to be more diligent about taking photos of things other than Woods.

5) Go apple picking and make some yummy goodness out of our harvest!

So there you have it. My somewhat successful attempt to set and achieve goals over the last month or so. Now it's your turn, what are your goals for September?