Weekly Goals #32

Hello all! I hope you had a lovely Easter if you celebrate it or just a lovely weekend! I had Friday and Monday off and my weekend was oh-so-relaxing...I'm not looking forward to putting that nose back on the grindstone tomorrow. 

On Friday, H and I went out for lunch at a local Cajun place and tried to go golfing, only to find that the driving range was closed. After a quick google, we found out that the owners of the range just up and left a few weeks ago. So no golfing (I was not-so-secretly relieved)! On Saturday, I did lots of exam review + visited my long-neglected lover (aka, the library). Sunday was for church with my family and lunch with kids. Then yesterday, H and I went out again to get us some Genghis Grill (which is delish, by the way). It was just a very laid-back, happy weekend. Also, it should be noted that I watched approximately six episodes of Breaking Bad this weekend...

But even with all of that awesome quality time with Netflix, I still managed to kick butt on my weekly goal! Which, if we recall from last Monday, was to exercise for at least 45 minutes three times + my two soccer practices. Check, check! Well sort of. My first two workouts were about 35 and 40 minutes each because I procrastinated and had to get home for dinner. But yesterday, I got a solid hour and a half in, so that felt good! So I'm considering this week a success!

I have two goals this week: stay on track with my exam prep + finish my book! I've made a daily schedule of which sections to review for each course and I'm already behind! :/ I just need to focus on putting in the time so I'm not super stressed out the night before! Secondly, I'm reading Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and unfortunately, I'm not liking it as much as I hoped. But I've heard great things so I just need to keep working through it. As soon as I finish it, I'll post a recap with The Memory Keeper's Daughter and Reconstructing Amelia.

What are your weekly goals?

Weekly Goals #29

Hellooooo loves! Happy Monday! Well, I'm finally back from my trip to Colorado. Though lovely, I feel like I've been gone forever. I've hardly opened up my computer in a week and a half and it feels just weird-weird-weird. I'm still getting back into the swing of things so I'm keeping things super short and casual today.

Last week, I made a goal to exercise while on vacation. But I sooorta underestimated how much of an exercise skiing is in itself! Did you know that you can burn upwards of 400 calories an hour skiing? Yeah, for real, you can believe how excited I was to learn that, especially considering that some days I skied from 9 till 4. That's a whole lotta calories to get rid of! Needless to say, I got them all back with some Nutella ;) So I'm totally fine with not exercising officially all week since I walked around town lots + skied. 

But I'm not gonna spoil too much since I have a little recap planned for later this week. Just know that my awesome week included not only skiing, but also tubing, good food, drama and dogsledding. Yes. And if I can convince him, H might share a little bit about when he went snowmobiling!

Until then, let me share my goals for the week. I've got a lot to do to get back in place for the coming weeks. I'm missing classes again today because I'm in Tennessee. I'll need to be super focused to get caught up on classwork. In addition, I didn't write any blog posts for like ten whole days (they were all scheduled! gasp!) so my stock of prewritten posts is down to nil. This week I want to get back to my normal schedule of being at least three or four posts ahead. 

That's all today--what are your goals for the week?

Weekly Goals #28

(Yay Images)

Hey hey hey nuggets! As we speak (aka I write, you read), I'm in a hotel room in sunny Denver, getting ready to leave for Breckenridge! I'm so excited to spend the week with H and friends skiing it up + being cute little snow bunnies! H would like to make it known though that he will never be a "cute little snow bunny," but I think we all know the truth. 

Even though I'm on vacation + not working this week, I think it's really important to focus on goals + living focused. So let's recap goals!

How did I do last week?

Pretty dang good, if I do say so myself! Starting on Monday, I forced myself to wake up at 5:20 (ughhh) before classes and do my Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred workout. Obviously, that's super early, but it's actually forcing me to go to bed earlier, which I love. And the workout (though I'm still on level one) is getting way easier than it was when I started. I consider myself in decent shape but I actually had to take a rest + modify some of the moves the first few times around (because I can't do pushups for a whole minute). But I'm proud of myself for making it a priority + working out four times this week even though I really, really didn't want to some days.

I also got completely ready for Breckenridge! I've got some great posts planned for you this week, some of which are guest posts from fabulous people and some of which are my own. I hope you really enjoy them! And I managed to pack all my stuff and get on my flight early Saturday morning. And I didn't forget anything except my sleep mask, which is totally fine because I'm always the person who forgets absolutely everything. Like on a recent trip, I forgot my iPhone in the car, my keys on the plane and then my toothbrush at home. So I'm doing alright! Go Allie.

What are my goals for this week?

Obviously, I'm on vacation so I'm taking it pretty easy this week. The one thing I will say is that I want to make sure to exercise this week. I will be skiing + I'm not sure how much that will wear me out though. So if I'm just exhausted on ski days, it's fine if I don't work out, but I'm still making it a goal to pay the fitness room at our lodge a few visits, even if it's just for a short jog. 

I'm also going to be reevaluating some things about my blog in the coming week, so be on the lookout for another survey coming up, even though I just had one in January. It's not out yet, but just a heads up. And again, it will include a giveaway (for something good!) so be sure to take part. Plus, I'll love you forever if you do. 

That's all lovebugs! Talk to me--what are your goals? Do you exercise on vacation?

Weekly Goals #27

(Death to the Stock Photo)

What. a. week. Let me tell you, this has been one of those weeks that I'm just ready to be done with + forget about. As someone who occasionally-borderline-obsesses over getting things done, it's hard for me to acknowledge that sometimes there are weeks when things just don't come together. But I'm learning to accept that + it's okay. 

I'm committing myself to making this week the exact opposite. I'm gonna get stuff done + I'm gonna be ready for my trip to Breckenridge, CO (!!) + I'm going to be happy + calm + all sorts of good things.

How did I do last week?

Sucky. I'll just say it. I mean, I could totally get out here and make all sorts of excuses why I basically did nothing all week, but I'm not even going to. I didn't run. Not even once. I think I need to admit to myself that I can choose not to run + still exercise. I have this thing where I don't accept a workout unless it includes running. But I hate running. So I just don't work out at all. But I actually like doing other workout-y things, it's just running that psychs me out. So whatever. I've got that to work on.

BUTTTTTTT I did manage to finish my website for a drunk driving prevention campaign. It's not public but I just needed to tell y'all that I finished it because that's some exciting stuff.

My goals for this week:

Get all ready for my trip to Breckenridge! I think I've all but forgotten to mention my trip but I'm leaving on Saturday for Colorado to get me some mountain air! I'll have posts planned out + I'll be responding to comments + emails (a little more slowly), but I don't plan on writing any posts while I'm there. I've got a few more posts to write and my bag to pack but then I'm ready to go!

Try a few new ways to exercise. Maybe not "new" exactly, but not running. I'm thinking about at-home conditioning, maybe a Jillian Michaels DVD, a bike ride if the ice all melts, and kickboxing if I can get someone to go with me. I'd love your input on this--how do you workout, especially outside of a traditional gym? 

Aaaaand, I've got a science bit for today!! Yay! I don't know how many of you actually read/like this section, but I know I really enjoy sharing the bits with you + hopefully you find yourself learning new things along with me, even if you're not a "science person". This one is totally cool + even you non-science people might find it interesting! 

What does sand look like when you magnify it 250x? This magical picture. 

Isn't that the coolest? Just consider this the next time you're walking on a beach...you're walking on billions of teeny-tiny gems just like these!! Please tell me someone else thinks this is cool. Anyways, if you're interested, you can see the whole collection of images of sand under a microscope. It makes me wonder what other cool things there are in the world that we're totally unaware of!

Alright, that's it. Take care, polar bears!

Weekly Goals #26

Hey loves! I hope you had a fantastic, utterly stellar weekend! I had a pretty great one myself. Saturday, I woke up early, on my own (which is the greatest feeling ever) and got right to work. I've really grown into my Saturday morning routine (which I described in a recent productivity post) + I'm actually getting stuff done on the weekend! It's so lovely.

Saturday night, I went out with H on our quasi-Valentine's Day date. We made yummy pancakes, and he indulged me by making mine super underdone, just the way I like them. Then we headed off to a concert for some local bands. We had a great night!

Last week, in my weekly goals post, I really enjoyed sharing some of the things that made me laugh that week + a lot of you did too! Let's be honest, Monday's just need more laughter. Here's some more silly things to get you through today!

 

How did I do last week?

Last week was just crazy. Classes were pretty much insane and my computer just decided to be a douche on me, basically all week. Not cool. Point is, my wishes didn't go all that great + I'm just trying to make excuses. I made a goal to go running and ended up just going once. But ya know, I didn't specify how much sooo I was sort of successful? 

My goals for this week:

But I finally found a plan that I think should be good for me. I'm past a couch to 5K plan, but a 10K is a wee bit ambitious these days. In my previous/better running days, I was using Hal Higdon's 1/2 marathon plan. Obviously, that's not a good choice for me either, but I did find a couch to 8K plan that I'll use. Because I'm not training for any specific race, I'm definitely not exercising six days a week, because that's just unrealistic and I'll get frustrated with myself if I set the bar that high. My goal is to run two miles on Monday and two miles on Wednesday. I definitely hope to step that up in the coming weeks but, this week is pretty busy, plus from Thursday on, I'll be in Michigan and there's no way I'm running outside there. 

My second goal is to actually finish that nonprofit website, you know, the one I meant to finish like three weeks ago? To be fair, I don't actually have a deadline until the end of February, but I want to finish it as soon as possible. 

That's about it! What are your goals for the week?

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Weekly Goals #25

Heyyyy nuggets! Happy Monday. Yeah right. Actually, I had a pretty good weekend so I'm not too stressed going into Monday. On Thursday, my computer just decided to peace out on me + wouldn't turn on or cooperate with me. Let me tell you, I spend a whole lot of time on the computer and that was super stressful. I was panic-emailing all my clients telling them I'd be back as soon as possible + I'd try to make sure I didn't lose their designs and in general, trying to stay sane. Thankfully, all my clients are lovely + rational people + no one got mad at me :) On Saturday I got my computer up-and-running so I worked through the weekend to catch up on lost time. 

Despite all that, my weekend was really nice. I had a lovely date with H that involved watching SVU (fact: I'm actually addicted to watching SVU) + eating a whole lot of Qdoba. So duh, that was good. And that put together with the fact that I got some nice sleep + eno (hammock) time, I'm one happy girl! 

In my effort to keep things that way for the rest of today, I've decided to share some sort of funny things along with my weekly goals on Mondays. Guys, I'm telling you straight: the humor section on Pinterest = GOLD. I'll tell you a thousand more times; it's just beyond great. Please tell me someone else thinks this is as hilarious as I do: 

This is how I felt every. single. moment of the Superbowl.

Guys, I'm just sitting at home alone, laughing out loud. I feel like a weirdo.

Okay, let's be serious. Back to the actual point of this post now. Since it's Monday, it's time to set my goals for the week and recap how I did on my goals from last week. 

How did I do last week?

Last week, I made three goals: to continue writing posts ahead of time/stick to my editorial calendar, be at least 80% done with my drunk driving awareness campaign site for a local law firm + to continue practicing journaling. 

Number one? Booyah. I'm not as far ahead as I would like to be, but I'm currently about five posts ahead of schedule, which I have to say, feels AWESOME. I never really understood the point of writing ahead of time before I tried it, but I'll admit that I'm officially a believer. Now, whenever I'm in the mood to write, I'll sit down for a few hours and crank out 2-3 posts, just like that!

Goal number two (making progress on my charity site) was pas bon this week. I only finished two pages out of ten for the entire site. But I'm okay with that. My "due date" that I've made for myself is still more than a week away + with all my computer issues, my design time had to be focused on my more immediate clients. 

Goal number three was also a success! I'm really not a big fan of journaling, but I'm learning to like it. I journaled three times this week + I'm really proud of myself!

My goals for this week:

A few days ago, I shared my goals for all of February. The hardest of those goals for me will be to continue building a habit of running, so I'm going to focus on that this week. I really have a love-hate relationship with running. I hate the actual act of running, but I love the pride that comes with running further than I have before, the strength I feel in my body + the endorphins. This week, I'm going to run three times, even if it's a short, mini, 15 minute jog. Whatever gets me outside + moving.

I'm just gonna stick with that for the week! That'll be tough enough.

What are your goals for the week? Do you run (help!)?

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Weekly Wishes #24

Hello loves! Happy Monday! Ew. Mondays. I saw this on Pinterest the other day and just about peed myself since I'm pretty sure that's me on Mondays. Poor lady. Side note: if you ever need a good laugh, the humor section on Pinterest is gold. Gold, I tell you. Last week, I just pitched a hissy fit because I was stressed about my move (which okay, I know isn't for like eight months, but still) and generally made everyone around me miserable. Half an hour on Pinterest? I'm just peachy. You know it's sad when Pinterest cheers you up more than friends...

Annyyyways, I'm gonna attempt to start my week off right with some of those weekly wishes. But let's recap. Last week I made two goals: successfully transition back into classes and stick with my new checklist system. I think I aced both of them! I didn't have to stay up too late with class work and I used my checklist every day but one! And since it seems like some of you are curious about this mysterious checklist system, I'll be sharing it in the next few days!

Moving on, I'm setting a few goals for the upcoming week! Firstly, I've been basically Wonder Woman since last weekend, actually getting things on my editorial calendar and written ahead of time. Someone please congratulate me. I want to continue writing posts in advance so that things can be a little more consistent around here.

I also have a project that I'm working on that I'd like to work on a lot this week. I'm making a drunk driving info site for a local law office + I've got a few more pages and some code to finish up. My goal is to finish or be at least 80% done by the end of the week!

My third and last goal (because even three goals might be more than I can handle) is to practice journaling. I go in and out of phases where I journal regularly and then not at all. All in all, I've more or less decided that journaling isn't the thing for me. I generally get impatient with it and it frustrates me to go back and look at what I wrote in the past. But with the current transitions in my life with moving and all, I think journaling is an important habit for the stage I'm currently living. I've been focusing on just taking fifteen minutes ever day or every other day to reflect on my day, not only the bad things but also the good. This week, I'd like to journal at least a page every other day.

What are your goals for the week? Do you journal?

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Weekly Wishes #23

Oh man, I hate to say it but I am not looking forward to today. After a long Christmas break, it's back to classes. I have to say, I really don't like starting off a day on a bad note or without anything to look forward to, but to be honest, I'm not looking forward to anything about today before I go to bed. Oh well.

But anyways, it's, of course, Monday, so I'm sharing my weekly wishes! Before that, let me recap last week's wishes. I made two wishes: give H a random compliment everyday and dance with him at the wedding we were going to last weekend. 

H and I liked to be silly-sweet with each other so giving random compliments wasn't hard, I just had to be intentional about it. But the other one, dancing at the wedding, was going to be super hard for me. Luckily for me though, there actually wasn't even any dancing at the wedding at all, so I didn't achieve my goal but I didn't exactly fail. I will admit, I'm just a teensy bit disappointed since I had really gotten myself mentally ready for looking like an idiot, but I think I can deal. 

This week, like I mentioned, school starts back up. And while I usually love most of my classes, I'm just not feeling it this week. So #1 I want to make a smooth transition into classes. I'll be working hard to stay away from procrastination so that I can get things done without stress or enormous amounts of gummy bears (which I sometimes adopt as my coping mechanism of choice). 

My #2 goal for the week is to stick with my new checklist system. I made this big checklist just yesterday to help me keep track of various good habits in my life, from flossing to exercising to sleeping early. So my goal for this week is to not worry about checking off every box, but mostly just remember to keep the checklist accurate and updated. If the system works for me, I'll be sharing it with you in the next few weeks! Sorry if this project sounds super vague so but just know that I'm super excited to see how it'll work!

What are your wishes for the week?

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