An update on our 2013 Goals

In efforts to keep myself accountable for the goals I set for myself (as well as our house), I decided that having a monthly review on the progress would help me see how I'm doing and how I can improve.  You can see my original 2013 Goals post here.  Also obvious side note: how is it already the end of January?!

2013 Goal Updates: January
For myself:
- drink more water: I've done well with my H2O intake - over the last year or so I've done a better job of having a bottle or tumbler at work so that helps.  I currently have a 22-ounce tumbler I fill up 3 times while I'm at work plus the water I drink at dinner and during/after workouts puts me well above the recommended daily amount.  Thankfully I've never been a huge soda drinker (although I definitely have my cravings) so that makes this an easier goal for me.  If I'm craving a change I add lemon or a flavored water packet - it's rare, but happens.
- read at least 2 books per month: I read one very early in the month (The Broker by John Grisham) but I'm still struggling to get very far within my second book, Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend.  The 400+ pages are slightly intimidating and it is so dense with historical information that it's hard to just read and enjoy it without feeling like I should be taking notes while making a family tree while reading.
- make three vegetarian meals per week, one of them being carb-free: Yup! The carb-free just a tad bit more  tricky but if I don't feel like getting too creative I just make salads.  I've realized it's easier to be low-carb over no-carbs completely, so I admit it's not perfect and will probably evolve to be more "low-to-no-carb" rather than just carb-free.
- try a new recipe once a week: Yes! Thanks to Pinterest I've made:  

• No-Bake Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Snack Bites - YUM! Go make these now for yourself!
• Indian Stew - added a few more extra spices for some additional kick, but definitely delicious!
• Oven Tacos - sub in ground turkey for even less fat!
• Clean Eat Egg Quiche Muffins - an easy breakfast that are easily freezable (just be warned: Egg whites release a lot of liquid when you warm them up)
• Teriyaki Salmon with Sriracha Cream Sauce - sub brown rice and rather than making the overly-rich sauce just use plain greek yogurt and mix in the Sriracha to make your own, and much healthier, sauce.
• Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Salad Sandwich - I love chickpeas and avocados, so this was a no brainer - definitely delicious and filling
• Tuscan White Bean & Roasted Garlic Soup - I would never make this soup again. I don't know if I did something wrong, but the taste (and texture) just didn't jive with me.  I made it, took it one day for lunch, couldn't stomach it and dumped the rest down the drain :( 

- start a savings account: Nope. Need to get on this but getting our taxes done is our currently priority.
- practice yoga at least once every other week, if not more: I've been attending a weekly yoga class at the gym and I've fallin.in.love with yoga. If I could go 2-3 times a week I would.  I could probably incorporate it 2 times a week and definitely see that happening within the next month or so.
- become more patient: Can't say I've gotten any better at being patient. I have a feeling this will be a life-long struggle for me, since it's definitely not something I just started doing.  Reversing a 20-something years of a habit is hard work!
- become more comfortable with allowing things that shouldn't bother me roll off my shoulders:  Ehhh...I would like to say yes? But really? No. I'm trying...so that's got to count for something! 

For our house:
- paint all the trim white: Negative. It's hard for me to get motivated to paint when I can't open windows/doors. I know, I weird but I'm convinced paint fumes aren't good for my brain cells.
- paint the kitchen cabinets: See above no-painting excuse.
- finish painting the doors (this is actually almost done just need to finish a few doors!): I realize this is a huge reoccurring theme here...
- finish the laundry room: We're planning on installing our utility sink soon, which I hope will kick-start this project.
- install new shelving in the laundry room: We'll need to finish the laundry room first...

Conclusion:
For myself: not too shabby! Minus the reading I'm happy overall with how I've kicked off 2013.  Are there areas for improvement? Always!  Becoming more of a patient person and one that doesn't let little things bother her so much is something I've always struggled with, so I know it's not going to change over the course of 31 days.  I am working on making a conscious effort to remind myself of these things before losing it, though.  A perfect example? Road rage.  It would be like I was flipping a finger switch anytime someone would cut me off, almost hit me or swerve like a maniac.  Now? I just let them go. Pass me if you want! I'm sure where you are headed is SOOO important.  Instead of becoming cray cray I just invent names for the people and quietly (ok, sometimes not so quietly) tell them their new name from the safety of my car.

For our house:  Obviously our house has taken a back seat.  After all the painting (and repainting!) we did in the Fall/early Winter we both became slightly burnt out and decided to just take some time to enjoy the holidays and our home for a bit.  With Spring around the corner I hope know our motivation will pick back up!

How are your goals (or resolutions) going?

Miley modeling the scarf I'm knitting (knitting is a new thing for me so no judging...k?)