Buttercups & Burlap

School’s out for summer! And I am looking forward to the three Rs; re-prioritize, recharge and re-organize. My goals this month are centered on those principles. Even though its summer, I am continuing to set three monthly goals, which I started doing in January.

1. Work-Life Balance
   I have a lot of work to do this summer to prepare for the upcoming school year; sometimes I literally wake up and sit at my computer working all day and late into the night for days and days on end. That is SO wrong! First of all, it isn’t healthy and second of all, what a crappy way to spend the summer. I have made the goal that I will only work my regular school hours (8:25am-3:04pm) on days in which my husband is not home and whatever I get done over the summer is what I get done and I will have to do it throughout the school year rather than doing it all up front before the year begins. This will be the first year that I haven’t had everything prepared for the upcoming school year, not going to lie, I am a little nervous about that.
   
2. One Vacation
   We have a lot happening at home, so between all the school preparation, home renovation and our schedule in general we don’t have any trips planned. We used to spend most of our summer bouncing around the province camping and fishing. We haven’t done that in YEARS; because life just keeps getting in the way. This month I am going to take a trip, even if it is just a few days away with a friend. I am tired of being the only one at work during the first meeting who says “I did nothing this summer… again.”
   
3. De-Clutter
   This is a throwback to my March goals. I was unsuccessful so I’m trying it again! Time to simplify my life and get my house in order.

What about you? What goals have you set for yourself this month?

So June is over. I don’t know how that happened but it did. Unfortunately, I didn’t really even get started on my “oddball list of goals” until the middle of the month. A family member who had a massive heart attack was convalescing at our home and every routine or hoped to be realized routine went out the window. However, I endeavoured to salvage the month after that.

1. I never got used to the quiet.
   -I didn’t attempt to shy away from my usual habit of having background noise —it fact I embraced it, took solace in it even. A streaming service or cooking show from the Food Network was always going in the background. To some extent to impede tense conversations.
   
2. Weeding the garden was hit and miss.
   -They haven’t really taken hold yet unlike last year but I am on track with it… for now! 
   
3. I had to try really hard to get back into working out.
   -My workout routine fell apart at the end of May because we were traveling to the coast and back and forth to the hospital. And, in general, being so upset tired me out so any extra time I had, I simply wanted to sleep. I was up a few pounds because I stress ate or I ate convenience food. I struggled even to get my suggested zone minutes and the cardiac health gains (as indicated by my FitBit) I made hit a back slide. HOWEVER, I started to turn things around —even if I could do a workout like I planned I tried to limit my stationary time and walked more at work even when I didn’t have supervision. I started jogging for about 10 minutes in the morning before starting the day and I was able to hit my zone minutes and my cardiac health with up one level; one more to go! 

What about you? How did you make out this month?