2022 Goal Group - February

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Good morning and Happy February!❤️

It's time to set February Goals. Revisit your yearly goals, check your calendar, obligations, and weather and determine what is feasible for you. Choose small goals that will be possible while challenging yourself or putting you out of your comfort zone. Do not set goals that you are not truly interested in or are so far out of reach there is no way you can attain them. We only have 28 days in February so remember to adjust your goals and timelines if necessary.

Remember, we are taking small steps to work toward those bigger goals. Each day, week, and month will get us closer to achieving things we never thought possible. 
 

Use this thread to ask questions, discuss speed bumps, share victories, and to support others. Use of the word "Fail" is prohibited.

Let's go out there and rock the month of February.❤️

 

Here's an example goal breakdown.

2022 Goal: 500 miles Biking

January: 75 miles on bike

January Week 1: 25 miles on stationary bike to be ridden at night while following a Kaliegh Cohen video

January Week 2: 25 miles on stationary bike to be ridden at night while following a Kaliegh Cohen video

January Week 3: 25 miles on stationary bike to be ridden at night while following a Kaliegh Cohen video

January Week 4: ?? miles on stationary bike to be ridden at night while following a Kaliegh Cohen video

Goal progress: 0/75 miles completed; 0/500 miles completed

Did I meet January's goal? If no, why not? How can I do better next month?

Edited February 1, 2022 by Granny_Weatherwax

[Granny_Weatherwax]

February Goals

20 hours Outside

90 miles on Bike

50 kilometers Walk/Hike

4 CEUs Tennis

4 Books

I am also going to work on touch ups and decorating in the rooms I have painted and paint the kitchen trim. Continue working toward two other goals.

Things that I know will limit me - tennis is all still indoors and my time on court keeps me from being outside but that's okay. 
Things I have done to help me - moved the exercise bike to where it is easily accessible and more comfortable to ride. Set aside time each week for CEUs and CASA training. Found a nice walking route that gives me 7.5 km.

[wintermom]

Now that the daylight hours are getting longer, it's a lot easier to do outdoor activities after work. It's also going to gradually get warmer! 

My goals this month are to use my new winter hiking boots a ton with hikes, dog walks and snowshoeing. I'll also mix in some cross-country skiing for more intense work-outs. Tennis is also staring back up after the recent lock-down, but that's only twice a month.

I'm dropping my piano goal. It's just too tough with everyone working from home to find the opportunity to play without disturbing someone. 

Edited February 2, 2022 by wintermom

[Guest]

I am taking this week off for goals. I will re-group this Sunday and will post my Week 2 goals. 
 

This week will just be vague stuff; I.e., try to do some writing, watercolor, house stuff (taking down Christmas decor; put up Valentine’s), try to watch a movie with dh. But I’m not holding myself to specifics at the moment. 

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

Can I jump in a month late? I was planning to join in January. I had worked on my yearly goals, started breaking them down, and then….life. So I never posted. But I have been following along with what others are doing. I tend to quit when I don’t achieve exactly what I set out to achieve but I really want to learn how to just adjust and keep moving forward.  

So here’s my 2022 goals:

1000 Hours Outside - I wanted to do this last year but lost track after just a few weeks. Trying again. I was hoping for 31 hours in January but managed 11.5. That’s more hours than I would typically spend outside in a winter month so a success even though I didn’t reach my goal. For February I think 20 hours will be a more realistic goal. I’m going to order some flannel lined pants. It has been really cold here and a think some warmer pants will make it easier to be outside. I can’t exactly fit leggings under my current jeans right now. Which brings me to goal #2….

Lose 20 pounds - I really need to lose about twice that but 20 seems achievable. I didn’t lose anything in January. Goal for February will be 2lbs. I don’t have the mental space for full on “dieting” right now but I’m going to try to achieve this through smaller changes: Drink 64oz water a day, fruit and/or veg with every meal, and daily exercise of some kind. Ties into #3….

Exercise 5 days a week - February goal: minimum of 15 minutes. Can include walking (I’d like to work up to a daily walk), practicing karate, workout videos, stretching. I’ll probably need to plan ahead the night before as I don’t have a consistent time available each day. 
 

Declutter and deep clean house and out buildings - We moved in here over 3 years ago and never quite finished settling some things. Plus all the stuff that has gathered over the years. Most of this will happen over the summer but I’d like to do small areas during the school year as well. February goal: declutter my bathroom and closet. It’s a busy month so I think that’s all I’ll be able to do. 
 

Reading - I’ve thought for a couple of years now that it would be fun to do the Mensa for Kids reading list. I still need to look at this one a bit more and come up with a goal that is concrete and measurable. 
 

February Week 1 Goals (Does week 1 go through Saturday or until the 7th?)

1000 Hours outside - 3 hours     0/3 so far

Weight loss - Lose .5 pounds by drinking 64 oz of water a day, eating a fruit and/or vegetable at every meal, and smaller portions

Exercise - 15 minutes, 5 days a week                  
    1/5 completed

Decluttering - Clean out under bathroom sink

Reading - Define reading goal

Edited February 7, 2022 by 2ndGenHomeschooler

[Eos]

OK, I've lost my brain/planner and it's throwing a serious wrench in everything.  Organizing is risky!

[mom31257]

@Eos, yes, organizing can cause some disruptions!! Hope you find your planner! 

My February Goals:

• Lose 2 pounds. I didn't meet my goal last month. Being my age may be making it harder, so I want to readjust. 2 pounds a month would make me happy. 
• 4 new recipes. I already tried one last night, so I'm 1/4 of the way there. This is an easy goal because I like to cook. 
• Continue using my bullet journal every week 
• Avoid sugar except for my coffee and special occasions since my birthday is this month
• eat at least 5 veggies a day; This is a goal I set in the healthy eating thread.  
• Continue walking at least 4 days a week; We have a lot of open space in our house, so I walk inside if the weather isn't good. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I was sitting here looking at all of the pretty snow - we've had 8 inches in the last 16 hours - and I thought to myself "You have an outdoor goal. Go outside and shovel." So I shoveled walk ways for the dogs, cleared the deck, the front porch, and the front sidewalk.  I also cleared out the end of the driveway where the plows made a berm so DH can pull in when he returns from work. 

I probably would have stayed inside and let DH do it with the snowblower but this way I got hours toward my outside and activity goals. My silver muzzle was happy to be outside for a few minutes and the puppy loved playing in the snow. It was a triple win.❄️☃️

[Granny_Weatherwax]

12 hours ago, Eos said:

OK, I've lost my brain/planner and it's throwing a serious wrench in everything.  Organizing is risky!

Have you found your planner? Or your brain?

[Granny_Weatherwax]

@2ndGenHomeschooler - You are more than welcome to jump in and out as you need to.

As far as the week, mine run from Mon-Sun because that is how my current planner is set up. You can choose how you count your days.

I have some similar goals as you. We can do this. 2022 is our year!!

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

12 hours ago, Eos said:

OK, I've lost my brain/planner and it's throwing a serious wrench in everything.  Organizing is risky!

My family calls my planner my “brain” too! And yes! It’s a problem when I lose it! Hope you find yours soon. 

9 minutes ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

I was sitting here looking at all of the pretty snow - we've had 8 inches in the last 16 hours - and I thought to myself "You have an outdoor goal. Go outside and shovel." So I shoveled walk ways for the dogs, cleared the deck, the front porch, and the front sidewalk.  I also cleared out the end of the driveway where the plows made a berm so DH can pull in when he returns from work. 

I probably would have stayed inside and let DH do it with the snowblower but this way I got hours toward my outside and activity goals. My silver muzzle was happy to be outside for a few minutes and the puppy loved playing in the snow. It was a triple win.❄️☃️

We got a couple of feet of snow over the weekend. I got quite a few outdoor hours in shoveling it. We have a very long driveway (about 350’) and a large parking/turn around area (holds 8-10 cars). We don’t have a snow blower so it’s all hands on deck for shoveling. We were short a couple of shovels this year so we gave the kids the option of house cleaning or shoveling. A couple chose to work inside so I was able to go out and shovel. I don’t mind it actually, especially if I know the inside chores are also getting done. 
 

I dropped my girls off at ASL class today and headed to a local trail to do some hiking rather than taking the extra time to drive home. Another hour outside. And hiking through melting snow is excellent exercise too! 

[wintermom]

2 hours ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

I was sitting here looking at all of the pretty snow - we've had 8 inches in the last 16 hours - and I thought to myself "You have an outdoor goal. Go outside and shovel." So I shoveled walk ways for the dogs, cleared the deck, the front porch, and the front sidewalk.  I also cleared out the end of the driveway where the plows made a berm so DH can pull in when he returns from work. 

I probably would have stayed inside and let DH do it with the snowblower but this way I got hours toward my outside and activity goals. My silver muzzle was happy to be outside for a few minutes and the puppy loved playing in the snow. It was a triple win.❄️☃️

Shoveling snow can be an intense work-out. Well done! 

My strength work-out was carrying out all the garbage bins and recycling to the end of the driveway this morning. First I had to shovel a place to place them for the garbage truck. I intentionally carried each load rather than wheel them. It was very satisfying! 😊

Edited February 3, 2022 by wintermom

[Eos]

3 hours ago, 2ndGenHomeschooler said:

Hope you find yours soon. 

Whew, found it!

[Eos]

3 hours ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

Have you found your planner? Or your brain?

Yes, finally found it under dd's backpack, whew.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

It's time to assess progress for last week and set goals for the upcoming week. How did you do?

Remember, it's not about perfection or attaining the goal as quickly as possible. It's about breaking your big goals down in to manageable pieces so you can make progress. If you are stressed about reaching your weekly or monthly goals, reassess. Look at your lifestyle, your abilities, your resources, your desire.

I'll post my Feb Week 1 progress later (my weeks run Mon- Sun in my planner).

 

[wintermom]

I've been doing very well with my goals this week. I've gotten lots of good exercise completed, including adding stretching and strength work back into my regular routine. Healthy eating has also been going much better this month. 

My goals this upcoming week are to try and fit in a outdoor activity during an extended lunch break a few times. It just feels so great and adds energy to my day!

[Guest]

I really needed the breather of a week off from my “official” goals. I went to the memorial of my friend who died of Covid; I did a eulogy. 
 

I have set my goals for the coming week:

Watercolor: work on “For the Love of Books” painting. This is an original work and it will take several days; it may take two weeks to complete. So “work on” is my goal, not “finish.” 

Writing: Write at least 1,000 words on the Ruby fantasy book. 
Also, do at least three lessons in Writing Academy. 
 

Watering my grass: watch the second HP movie with dh. It was actually his idea to watch all the Harry Potter movies with me from the beginning. We watched Sorcerer’s Stone this past Friday. 
 

House: work on daughter’s bedroom. I have ordered a bed (actually based on the thread in which a member asked for bed recs) and already spent a few hours today going through her stuff. I don’t plan to paint her room, or, at least, not until late this year or next. Unlike my son’s room, her paint was refreshed some five or so years ago. So it’s not as urgent as his for painting.

I also plan to call a cleaner and get a price for cleaning her wedding gown so I can sell it.
 

Bonus goal: finish a digital photo album and order it.  

[Granny_Weatherwax]

My week 1 update:

Outside hours 3.17/5

Bike Miles 27.5/22.5

Walk km 9.4/12.5

CEUs 3/1

Book 1/1

I wasn't outside as much as I would have liked but I did really well on my CEUs for tennis and my volunteer training (about 12 hours online). I am happy with the number of biking miles. I was concerned about my wrist  but should have given more thought to bum comfort. I'm going to have to ease back into the long rides. 😀 The snow storm followed by more subzero temps made it easy to choose indoor activities. Other accomplishments include making 100 + valentines for local nursing homes. It was fun to be creative and use up some of my craft supplies.

My goals for Week 2:

Outside 5 hours - will be accomplished by walking the dogs when possible

Bike miles 25 - will be accomplished while listening to music

Walk km 12.5 - walking the dogs

CEUs 1 - already selected and registered

Book 1 - already selected and ready to go

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

Mixed results for Week 1. The week didn’t quite go as anticipated especially the last few days. 
 

1000 Hours outside - 3 hours     3/3 ✅

Weight loss - Lose .5 pounds by drinking 64 oz of water a day, eating a fruit and/or vegetable at every meal, and smaller portions

It’s hard to tell how much, if any, weight I lost. My weight fluctuates too much. But I think I was down a bit. Looking for a steady downward trend. Until this weekend I did ok eating produce with each meal and making my portions just a little smaller. Never got to 64 of of water. 

Exercise - 15 minutes, 5 days a week   ✅           
    

Decluttering - Clean out under bathroom sink

Reading - Define reading goal

The last two didn’t happen. Will add them to next week. 
 

Week 2 goals: 

1000 Hours Outside: 6 Hours     I’m going to try to get outside for a morning walk most mornings plus a couple of longer afternoon walks to get me to the 6 hours. 

Weight Loss: Another .5 pound. Focus on water this week

Exercise: 15 minutes, 5 days this week    Mostly walking but I need to do some karate practice as well

Declutter: Bathroom sink cabinet

Reading: Choose first book

[Eos]

Last week ended up being a lot of outside time for me, though I did truly finish my organizing tear.  A family friend was here and that was pretty distracting for everyone, but he's gone now and I'm going to reel us all back in.  

Homeschool: after an absurdly hot argument over taking notes on Moby Dick, dd17 apologized for immaturity and moved on, which was great. We're reading the book Fabulous Feasts aloud to each other and having fun with the medieval language.  Going well.  Will hold on and continue. She had a great SAT tutoring session and I think real progress is being made in her EF skills.

Creative projects: still in the phase of questioning my intention here, but moving forward.  I like the space I've cleared for command-and-control space but not for creative work.  Maybe if I just do some of it here I can see whether that's a reasonable assessment. Will try tomorrow in the wintry mix and see.

Fitness and weight: I've been dong a nice amount of outside exercise.  I've found that four miles is my sweet spot for feeling like I've worked, whether hiking or walking.  We've done some great sledding.  Eating has devolved as I made some ridiculously rich meals and treats and ate everything I felt like eating.  Will do better.  I don't have a real goal here because I know what I need to do.  Ahem.  

Board work: had the right talk with the Director, sent the emails that needed sending.  Had success with convincing a friend to apply for Planning Board.  Will send an agenda for our meeting next week, and will check in with members individually about the retreat they are attending this weekend.

[ScoutTN]

My word for the year is progress.

Goals for February:

• Continue active budgeting and extra fund toward mortgage principal.
• Continue working on memorizing Scripture
• Begin working in my yard and garden
• Get some exercise, a walk, 3 x a week and one hike during the month
• Plan a date with Dh
• College research
• Other things not sharable on a public forum.... keep plodding along. Am seeing some small progress.

[Ditto]

I have not been good about posting but I am working consistently on my goals.   Of course, as with most things, it is mixed progress.  Overall though I feel very positive that I am moving in the right direction.   I now do a small workout most days of the week.   My eating got off track for a few days during January but is now solidly back where it should be, and I have lost about 3 pounds since Jan 1st.  Of course, I wish that I had lost more, but moving the scale down is good and I will take it.   

This year I am prioritizing self-care and rest (rest is my WOTY).  Each morning I start my day deciding 1 thing I will do for self-care.  Exercise is one of those things and that is definitely helping me get into the workout routine.  Another thing I am working on is positive thinking.  With my marriage falling apart, and the abandonment of, yet having to continue to live in the same space, it is very easy to get/stay angry and bitter.  I do not want to be a constantly angry bitter person.  By focusing on positivity and self-care it is helping me reframe my thinking.    I gave my marriage my all and tried desperately to save it.  While I wasn't able to save it, I can save myself, and that is what I am working on now.

I am also working on building a life outside of this house and my marriage.  That is hard and definitely slow going, but it is going and that is what is important.

On 2/2/2022 at 7:04 PM, Granny_Weatherwax said:

We can do this. 2022 is our year!!

Yes!  2022 is our year!

[Granny_Weatherwax]

It's Sunday and time to review last week's progress and set goals for the coming week.

My week 2 update:

Outside hours 3/5

Bike Miles 25/22.5

Walk km 10/12.5

CEUs 1/1

Book 1/1

I am happy with my progress. It seems like I'm not doing well with walking and getting outdoors but I'm okay with it still. My tennis lessons are increasing and I am on court much more than I anticipated. I am getting out of the house with lots of exercise just not outside yet. I also had some inside days with my DGD who has had a cold. I do not regret caring for her and aiding my DD when it's needed.

This week I met my bike riding goal by setting my laptop on the handlebars of my stationary bike and pedaling through a zoom meeting. My camera doesn't work so I didn't have to worry about the other attendees seeing me pedal. I loved it. 

I am pleased with steps I am taking with goals I am not posting about here. So pleased. They are pushing me outside of my comfort zone and I am meeting them head on. 

Looking ahead:

I am on court a lot this week and will have to work on getting outdoors early in the day for outdoor time and walking. I'm setting the goals the same as before. I refuse to increase those and put myself in line for feelings of guilt or shame.

I have not selected my CEU yet but will complete on Monday. Monday mornings have become my time to complete my CEUs. It is a great feeling to have a routine of drinking a warm beverage with the morning sun streaming through my window while the birds (and squirrels) enjoy the bird feeders outside my office windows. This new habit also sets the tone for my business and on court activities for the week. It is so easy to plan lessons and network when my focus is on tennis from the jump.

Reading is an area of joy. I am focusing on non-fiction and have been pleased with my books thus far. The couple of fiction books I have thrown in have been guilty pleasures. I have been asked by a colleague to read and write a review of a non-fiction book he wrote. It feels great to have an adequate knowledge base and to be able to write a professional review of a book I am enjoying.

Week 3 goals:

Outside hours 5

Bike Miles 25

Walk km 12.5

CEUs 1

Books 2

---

I hope you are making satisfactory progress with your goals. Don't be afraid to adjust as needed. If you are frustrated or need to decompress, feel free to vent or ask questions here. 

[mom31257]

This past week was very different for me. It was my birthday, and I traveled to my sister's for an overnight stay and to meet my best friend and spend some time with her (she lives where we moved from). So, I didn't keep up with everything like normal. 

I decided to weigh before my birthday and haven't since. At that point I had lost 2.4 pounds this year. Maybe slow and steady is good. I would rather lose 15 pounds and keep it off than lose 30 only to gain it back.  I enjoyed walking the last couple of weeks because we had some beautiful days. I've definitely eaten more veggies this year. 

My goals for this week:

• Lose some weight, even a small amount
• Find a new recipe to try 
• Continue using bullet journal
• Valentine's is tomorrow, and I don't know if dh will get me any sweets. Evaluate that when I know. 
• Eat at least 5 veggies/legumes a day 
• Walk at least 4 days a week

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

I made some more progress in week 2. 
 

Outside hours - 4/6

Exercise days - 5/5

Water - still haven’t made it to 64oz a day but averaged probably 48oz. Better than last week and definitely better than my usual. 
 

I didn’t weigh myself or make any progress towards other posted goals.
 

I also made some progress on some personal goals that I haven’t posted here. They are major challenges that have an emotional/heart component, but I pushed myself far outside my comfort zone this week in the pursuit of those goals. That took a lot of my time and energy leaving less for the other things, but that’s ok. These other things are definitely the most important. 
 

I’m not setting any goals for this week. My grandmother fell Thursday night and broke her hip. Her body couldn’t handle the shock and she died yesterday. I’m leaving as soon as I can be ready this morning to head out of state for the funeral and to help my parents wherever I can. I’m hoping to get some outside hours in while I’m away, especially as I think time outdoors will be helpful for me this week, but we’ll see. 

[Eos]

I completed most goals for the last two weeks, but like you  @mom31257it was my birthday last week so I just ate the delish pot de creme made by dh and did not give it a second thought! Finding my planner brain for the win. I've given up (for now) on the goal of defining my creative work space and embraced moving stuff to the dining table and back.  I did take over an unused dresser and that is now my staging center.

This week's goals:

Creativity: Remind dh to finish my boards, order more magic sculpt, order letters.  I found out I can use oil paint instead of patina spray so I'm happy about that.  Start a carving project. By March 1 I will be done with the smallest board, and have painted the largest. 

Homeschool: nudge dd to finish the planning and lists for the medieval event she is planning.  Continue USH and nudge her on the timeline notes.  She has created beautiful, organized, informative file cards for dates so can move them and interweave them against the wall rather than a static narrative.  Sign up for SAT math class. By March 1 be into Renaissance and finished reading 400 Souls. 

Health and fitness: continue D3 and B12, lightbox, continue outside time.  We tapped 30 maple trees, so the slogging and hauling through the swamp will be a priority.  By March 1 be at target weight.

Volunteer and education: chair meeting tomorrow, lead discussion on strategic planning goals and raise the discussion of assessment strategies.  Zoom book group tonight.  By March 1 I want to be searching for funding, done with phase one strategic planning.

Short-term project: help dd25 sort out her plans.  Possible come-to-Jesus moment, though likely not.  By March 1 she will be back in Switzerland or not!

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

@2ndGenHomeschooler - I'm sorry about your grandmother. Sending gentle hugs

[wintermom]

Last week was good for getting in my outdoor activities. I skied twice, skated once, snowshoed twice, and walked outside at least once daily. I've also been keeping up my indoor strength and stretch almost daily. I usually skip it on the days I ski, as the strength work includes push-ups, and skate skiing it very demanding on the upper body. I've increase the number of push-ups and the speed I can complete them, which is very motivating.

My biggest motivator for outdoor walking is the new winter boots I purchased a few weeks ago. They are super comfy, not too heavy and provide great arch support. It really makes walking such a joy so matter the weather. 😊

Healthy eating has been pretty consistent, with one off-day when my allergies exploded and I needed a boost of salty snack. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

One non-shared 2022 goal reached today.

This is one DH and I were doing together. We had a "shoot for" goal of June, a "Hope for" goal of March. We reached it today!

Doing a happy dance, celebrating, and then focusing on the next goal.

Setting goals, determining smaller monthly steps, and making plans on how to achieve those steps is working. Writing it all out and being intentional is key.

[mom31257]

Dh gave me sweets, and I need to tell him to please not do that in the future or to only get Lily's chocolate or something like that. I've had too much sugar the last week with both my birthday and Valentine's so close.

Oh well, there's always another day to start afresh, right?  I am determined to keep going and not give up, despite my own slips and setbacks. That is honestly my biggest goal of all. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

@mom31257 - I love Lily's chocolate but only one store in my town carries it. A few years back, Lily's Salted Caramel and a Zevia Lemon Lime was my treat of choice. I need to get back to that. 

[Tiberia]

Sorry I haven't posted for a while:

Feb. so far:

Work out Goal:

Weekly: Work out 3 hours per week, to include Tai Chi, Strength, and Cardio, and anything else 

This has been going really well in Feb. I'm very happy with my progress.

Weight loss goal:

Lose 12 pounds in the year

So far, no weight loss.

Eating goal:

Eat Gluten-free and wheat-free in January to help support DH's health

Still Gluten-free and enjoying it!

Drawing goal:

draw one picture per week/about four per month/ 50-52 per year

On track so far.

Piano:

Play piano one hour per week/four hours per month/50 per year

Generally on track.

Russian:

Watch one Russian movie per month. Find a workbook/curriculum I like, and set a new goal when I find it 

I'm just about to bail on my Russian goal. I need inspiration.

Overall, things are going well.

[Guest]

I didn’t report here last weekend, although I talked about how Watering my Grass was going well. It’s greener than it’s been in a long while. 
 

Watercolor - I am on track or exceeding expectations here. I just completed my tenth painting this year and I was very pleased with my “For the Love of Books” original work I did. I’ll put that in post. 
 

Writing - I have not been meeting my goals with this for the last couple of weeks. I just do not have as much time as I wish to get *everything* done. When I’m doing well with my painting and house goals, I’m not writing. If I’m writing, I’m not getting my house tasks done. It’s frustrating. I *did* work on framing the beats for the Ruby story, and I am listening to “Story” in audio format, so I plan to apply what I learn. I just learned something really important about scenes today. 
 

Watering Grass - as I said, this is going well. This weekend was difficult because I have had a migraine since Friday. We watched part of a movie but I kept turning it way down because of noise so we bagged it. 
 

House - my daughter’s bedroom is almost complete. I bought a platform bed and a Zinnus mattress. (The mattress worries me because it has not fully decompressed yet, a week later. I hope this thing pops up the rest of the way! I have ordered bedding which should come tommorow. 
 

Wonder - I didn’t officially include this on my goal list for the year, but at the end of the year 2021, I assembled a group of twelve ladies to be in an Adventure Club. Each member takes a month and plans some fun activity. We did our first activity last weekend, which was a hike and lunch at a historical inn on the Civil War trail. It was SO great! And our March and April adventures are up in our FB group, so we’ll be visiting two museums in DC. I’m so excited about this! The ladies are fun and nice and it’s a good way to “force” myself to do stuff because it’s hard to make myself do things if I have to brain through every logistic, but it’s easy if eleven months of the year, someone else is doing that part! And the company is nice. 🙂 

Here’s my painting: 

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Love the painting

You have such talent. I hope you continue to share your work.
I'm glad you are making headway on most of your goals. I am having similar pangs. If I focus on one, one or two others are neglected. For me, it's the biking and walking combined with tennis.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

It's Sunday. Time to look at how you did on your weekly goals and make plans for the final week in February. Are you making progress? Why or why not?

 

Weekly update:

Outside 5.7/5

Bike  25/25

Walk 13.9/12.5

CEU  1.5/1

Book 2/1

 

For the final week of the month:

Outside 5 hours

Bike 25 miles

Walk 12.5 k

CEU 1

Book 2

Instead of using my planner as a diary/tracker, I actually wrote tasks to accomplish by the end of each day. I also added in an extra page for errands, shopping list, calls and emails, and expenses. I've created a page for professional contacts and notes for our upcoming conversations and training. 

 

[Eos]

I'm happy with most of my goals for the week but it was a doozy in the parenting dd17 section.

Homeschool: actually pretty good, finished all the medieval era, lost track on US history, dd moved forward on note-taking for Moby Dick.  But.  What an emotionally challenging week.  Each winter I become Demeter mourning my Persephone as she travels to the Underworld that is the local high school and takes up lodging there.  The pomegranate seeds that pull her back each year are the ability to participate in show choir and one-act plays for three months.  The gossip, unkindness, and bullying form Cerberus at the gates. I will beg her to avoid next year and she will not agree.

Creativity: much better, I completed prepping one plaque and began another. Today I will order some more materials.  Also, I carved a spoon and loved everything about doing it.  Will continue.

Fitness: great adventures in the last of the snow and ice, including some breathtaking "luge" runs with dd25.  I cooked one meal that was delicious but way too fatty, and have been eating vegan, gf, and sugar-free for the last two days with good results.  I believe I will hit my March 1 goal of my target weight.

Volunteer and education: will send the agenda for our meeting tomorrow, will respond to the request for feedback on the new Director.

From least week, for accountability:

Creativity: Remind dh to finish my boards, Done order more magic sculpt, order letters.  I found out I can use oil paint instead of patina spray so I'm happy about that.  Start a carving project. Done By March 1 I will be done with the smallest board, and have painted the largest. 

Homeschool: nudge dd to finish the planning and lists for the medieval event she is planning.  Continue USH and nudge her on the timeline notes.  She has created beautiful, organized, informative file cards for dates so can move them and interweave them against the wall rather than a static narrative.  Sign up for SAT math class. By March 1 be into Renaissance and finished reading 400 Souls. Mostly not done

Health and fitness: continue D3 and B12, lightbox, continue outside time.  We tapped 30 maple trees, so the slogging and hauling through the swamp will be a priority.  By March 1 be at target weight. Done

Volunteer and education: chair meeting tomorrow, lead discussion on strategic planning goals and raise the discussion of assessment strategies.  Zoom book group tonight.  By March 1 I want to be searching for funding, done with phase one strategic planning. My bad, nobody wanted to meet last week so will meet tomorrow.  This will push back the dates.  Zoom book group was great.

Short-term project: help dd25 sort out her plans.  Possible come-to-Jesus moment, though likely not.  By March 1 she will be back in Switzerland or not! Done.  Yes, a come-to-Jesus moment and she has a ticket for the 28th.

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Eos

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

No progress on goals last week, except an additional hour outside. But with the unexpected trip out of state I had taken the week off from my goals. 
 

This week I have some catch up to do, especially with homeschooling so I’m just going to work on a couple of my personal goals and try to pick the rest up in March. This means that most of my February goals won’t be achieved but I made progress on some of them and I guess that’s the nice thing about the monthly goals being smaller chunks of the yearly goals. Things can just b end shifted to a different month. 
 

4th week of February:

Outside: 6 hours

Daily walk: 30 minutes/5 days

Weight loss: Not planning on losing anything (this is the week my weight will go up a few pounds due to hormones) but I’m going to work on drinking lots of water and try to weigh myself most days so that I can average my weight each week. My weight fluctuates so much it’s hard to keep track of weight loss. My sister is going to try comparing weekly averages and I think I’ll join her with that for a month and see how it goes. 
 

I’m not going to work on my decluttering goal this week. There’s too many other things going on. That’ll move to March. 
 

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

1 hour ago, 2ndGenHomeschooler said:

<snip>

This week I have some catch up to do, especially with homeschooling so I’m just going to work on a couple of my personal goals and try to pick the rest up in March. This means that most of my February goals won’t be achieved but I made progress on some of them and I guess that’s the nice thing about the monthly goals being smaller chunks of the yearly goals. Things can just b end shifted to a different month. 
<snip>

Yes, exactly. This is why we shouldn't beat ourselves up early on. We know we will wobble and life will happen; but we reassess, change our monthly goals to meet the new plan, and push forward.

Kudos to you for acknowledging your need for time off and to know you can adjust and still make progress.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

@Eos - I'm sorry you struggled with DD.  Sending gentle hugs 

Good job on progress toward other goals.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

It's the final Sunday of the month. Only two days left in February. Time to assess your monthly and yearly goals.

How are you doing? On track? Stumbling a bit? 

Take out your journal or calendar and begin planning March. Look at your obligations, weather, and resources. Plan your monthly and weekly goals and how they will take you toward your larger yearly goals. Need a break? That's okay. Plan your break and assess how it will change your goals in other months. 

I sat down one day this week and worked on making my Happy Planner more useful for me. I mapped out March and a bit of April. Listed all important dates, scheduled some off/down days, and wrote in other information that will be important for reaching my goals.

I'll post my February progress tomorrow night.

[Tiberia]

February Month in Review:

Work out Goal:

Weekly: Work out 3 hours per week, to include Tai Chi, Strength, and Cardio, and anything else 

Workouts have been going very well. I've attended Tai Chi and YMCA classes consistently this month. I've been going on walks as the weather has allowed. I hope to start swimming in a month or two.

Weight loss goal:

Lose 12 pounds in the year

So far, no weight loss, but I think the workouts are helping change body comp.

Eating goal:

Eat Gluten-free and wheat-free in January to help support DH's health

DH is not gluten-free anymore, but I am continuing with it, with a cheat day every now and then. I'm happy with this. 

Drawing goal:

draw one picture per week/about four per month/ 50-52 per year

Doing ok with this, but I'm starting to lose steam since I have little or no talent. 

Piano:

Play piano one hour per week/four hours per month/50 per year

Generally on track, and this has become a nice stress-reliever for me lately.

Russian:

Watch one Russian movie per month. Find a workbook/curriculum I like, and set a new goal when I find it 

I'm just about to bail on my Russian goal. I need inspiration. But the war on Ukraine has given me a renewed interest in learning Russian, in case we get some refugees here (most/all Ukrainians speak Russian as a second or first language).

I feel like I've gotten back on track this month after some bad weather, sickness, family issues, a very sick dog, not to mention ongoing stress with world news and the pandemic. 

I hope you all are well and continuing to press forward, even a little bit at at time. Thanks for helping me stay on track with things that are important to me this year.

Edited February 27, 2022 by Tiberia
added color to help reader

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Tiberia said:

Drawing goal:

draw one picture per week/about four per month/ 50-52 per year

Doing ok with this, but I'm starting to lose steam since I have little or no talent. 

Not that it matters what a random friend on the internet thinks, but I hope you keep your drawing goal. 🙂 Are you following any type of program, or just drawing whatever? 
 

Also, what a prescient time to have made a Russian goal. 

[Tiberia]

11 minutes ago, Quill said:

Not that it matters what a random friend on the internet thinks, but I hope you keep your drawing goal. 🙂 Are you following any type of program, or just drawing whatever? 
 

Also, what a prescient time to have made a Russian goal. 

Re: Drawing. I don't think I'll give up, just need to do it and not be discouraged. I have a book, but my drawings never end up looking like the examples. My animals generally look weird. Like "it looks like a cat, but there's something wrong with its face..." I did a couple of nice bird drawings last year, with and without YouTube tutorials. Maybe I'll stick to birds for a while because I have some success there. If you have any recommendations, I'd surely take them. I'm mostly interested in drawing animals. I like the watercolors you do, Quill!

Re: Russian. I have been interested in all things Slavic/Russian since Jr. High, a long, long time ago. I took Russian in high school and college, and got to an intermediate level, but dropped it as an adult. Now I'm interested again, and it's the only foreign language that clicks with me. I have had trouble getting vocabulary back, and would like some kind of fluency, rather than just random word recognition. My heart is breaking over Ukraine, and my YouTube Russian teacher is also getting some hate from ignorant people, so I'll probably find renewed purpose in my Russian studies. Maybe I'll get back to Duo lingo. (I'm jomama61 there!)

Thanks for the encouragement, Quill. I appreciate your random online friendship🤗. Your journey has been an encouragement to me!

[Guest]

Ok, so here’s my February summary:

Watercolor: This is going well. I have never missed a week yet and have done three original paintings this year; one more than my goal of at least one per month. For March I will keep this goal the same; at least one per week, at least one original per month. 
 

Writing: This has been bumpy. On one hand, I have done many more consistent writing-related activities than before the goal group. I joined two Reddit groups and two FB groups and signed up for Writing Mastery Academy. I have watched lessons every week and do all the writing prompts, which are a lot of fun; sometimes I really do get a kick out of what ideas come out in the prompts. 
But I do want to be more reliable about actually sitting down and writing scenes for my book. Ideas are always the easy part; it’s much harder to put the ideas into a story. For March, I have a goal of writing one scene beat per week. And still doing the writing classes and prompts. 
 

Watering my grass:  This one area is so hugely improved over a year ago. My yard was practically dead. I thought it was possibly not rectifiable. But it is so much better. I do think my decision to water my own grass has made a big difference, but I think other things went into the changes too. I don’t think I’m the only one who decided we either needed to water this damn grass or burn it down. We did not ever talk about it and (God, no!) never said, “We need to work on this…what should we do to make it better?” For March, we will continue watching movies together every week. We will do other things as they are available; for instance, we went on a walk around a lake today, 3 miles. Eye contact still a priority. Make our menu and cook together. 
 

House: I’ve more than met this goal. I have revamped both grown kids’ rooms. My goal was one project every two months but I have finished two projects. I think for all of March, I will focus on selling or otherwise getting rid of unnecessary things. There’s still a bunch of wedding things I need to sell. I put two dessert displays on FB wedding consignment but no interest yet beyond one inquiry about price and if I was selling as a set. 
 

Wonder: This is my newer category. In Feb, I went on my first Adventure Club outing with seven friends. My friends who are scheduled for March and April have already posted their activities. I have bought my March tickets to a DC museum. And I also just bought tickets to see The Little Prince on Broadway in May. So that should be pretty Wonderful. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

My February summary. Losing days this month is frustrating but I'll deal with it. I fell short on many things but achieved splendidly in others. I have a few off thread goals I am working toward and reached one of those early and made great progress in a couple of others. I have a meeting today with someone who can help me make progress toward one significant yearly goal. I'm a bit anxious as to what will happen but will go into the meeting with an open mind and a long list of questions and requests.

Monthly progress for the goals shared here:
14.87/20 hours outside

77.75/90 miles bike

38.32/50 km walk/hike

6.5/4 tennis CEUs

5/4 books read

What influenced my progress or lack thereof: My indoor tennis hours increased with multiple private lessons every weekday. It is difficult for me to get in biking and walking when I spend so many intense hours on the tennis court. I am not tracking my indoor tennis hours for this goal group but I really should just so you all can see how much time I spend on court. I have found that, as my body ages, I cannot do all of the activities I want to do and I need longer rest periods in between intense bouts of exercise. This is something I need to consider when evaluating my goals. I may have to abandon or adjust my expectations. The question is: can my current tennis, biking, walking goals continue concurrently? Lots of acetaminophen and ibuprofen are needed to stave off the pain from old injuries. I also used the multiple sub-zero and below freezing days as an excuse to remain indoors. Easy to do when I was spending hours a day on an indoor tennis court and getting lots of exercise (my dogs, not so much).

Progress toward 2022 Yearly Goals
29.37/1000 hours outside

87.75/500 bike miles

80.62/1022 km walk/hike

12.5/25 CEUs

12/52 books

 

[Eos]

I feel overall happy with my February goals and accountability.  Thank you @Granny_Weatherwaxfor this thread, I would not have done it without!

I'm expecting a challenging slog up March Hill in terms of homeschool.  By the end of March, I want to still be on speaking terms with dd17.  Homeschooling would be good too. By this time with my other three, we were coasting and everything was pretty great, my fourth child not so much.  Our fabulous plan created last week was deemed not workable on Sunday, so it's back to the drawing board.  

Creativity: I will start painting my boards today.  All supplies have been ordered but I need a little oil paint. Everything else is on hodl til I get this project done, though I have been carving and will continue.  By the end of March I will be done with the smallest one and well on my way with the other two.

Community: By the end of March we will have hired a consultant and found funding.  In my dreams.

Fitness: continue time outside, continue smart eating.  

Head down, chop wood, carry water is my only real goal for this month.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

February Goals: 

Outside - 14/20 hours

Exercise - 15 min/5 days a week.   I think I achieved this. Except the week I had to travel unexpectedly. I lost track a bit but I’m pretty sure I got the 5 days a week and most days were more than 15 minutes.

Weight loss - Goal was 2lb, I think I lost one

Decluttering - I still didn’t make any progress on this. But DH did a little decluttering so maybe I’ll claim that. 
 

Reading - Nothing. I’m considering dropping this one but I really want a “fun” goal. 
 

The big goal I achieved this month was one I didn’t share. I earned my second degree black belt on the 27th. I spent a lot of time the beginning of the year working on preparing for that test. 
 

I’ve made progress on another unmentioned, personal goal as well. This one is by far the most important, but also the most challenging in every way. 
 

Is there a separate March thread or do we post March goals here? 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

@2ndGenHomeschooler - Congratulations on earning your 2d degree black belt. That is a wonderful accomplishment.

I will begin the March thread (which I forgot to do yesterday). Thanks for the reminder.