Goals & Getonits: At the Half!

With six (nearly seven!) months behind us it feels like 2013 has grown wings and has taken to brisk flight! This seems like a good time to check in on my Goals and Getonits. 

I know it is simply a matter of semantics, but I do not use the term resolution. As I said in my original post - a resolution is easily broken and allows little room for negotiation or failure. Goals and getonits are statements of intention in which effort is directed, but are flexible and allow for setbacks, failures, detours and happy accidents. I know the progress I have made looks more like the image on the right than the left.

 

Let's check in on my intentions for 2013:

  

Areas of (mostly) steady progress:

Clean eating/ Being a smarter consumer

Overall, Ler and I have done a better job of paying attention to what we put in our grocery basket and bellies. Now, this does not mean we've avoided all junk or skipped out on cake. I require cake. However, we've been following some simple advice from Michael Pollan's book Food Rules. That book was a total "duh! I knew that" kind of read, but Pollan put everything into straightforward, easy to remember rules. Our top rules we focus on:

• Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. We love our vegetables at chez refeathered.
• Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup. I am amazed where it shows up! Diced tomatoes? Why?
• Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients. Much like the above, but more general.
• Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce. Since I teach third-graders, I have a very clear reference here. 
• Break the rules once in a while. I require cake. And chocolate. And a cocktail.

I've become a label reader- yes, that person in the grocery store. I feel it's worth the few extra moments to read. It has certainly been enlightening and encouraged better shopping habits. Not only do I look at ingredients, but I look at where the food is coming from. I try to buy local and seasonal. However, this is easier said than done. The agri-business that is our food supply is a quagmire and will require our constant vigilance. This is not a "Boom!-crossed-off-the-list" goal, but we are forging some good habits in the process.

 

Move! Running 3 events

This goal is a prime example of the little scribble trajectory above.  January & February were good months- I got out 2-3 times each week and generally felt great.  March through mid-May was less spectacular. Life got very busy- hosting the area solo & ensemble festival, half dozen concerts, band tour, operas and musicals, freelance work, bridal showers and birthdays. My running schedule fell to shambles and I got crabby. I got back on the saddle in May and have not looked back! This summer has brought some fabulous runs, as well as some ugly runs (I loathe you 92% humidity). I am determined to keep on it as the school year kicks into gear. I have three races planned, and possibly two or three more before the year closes. 

20 Push-Ups

Half way! My little chicken arms are getting stronger. Yoga is helping fo sho.

Write a blog.

You are here. This is happening. Thanks for reading.

Feather my nest.

Slow and steady. Little projects here and there in my nest. I have some new endeavors (and failures) to share soon.

Areas that need more attention:

Be more present in the now/Today is not a to-do list. 

I tend to get lost in the imaginary scenarios of the future or the "someday whens." I also get so wrapped up in my "to-do" list and the minutia that I let a beautiful day slip away with out pause. I am thinking of starting a journal or sketch book to help me hit the pause button more often. I love to walk through the neighborhood without my i-pod and just soak in the scenery, and think I should do this more as well. I need to remind myself to just take a moment and see the day for what it is.

Stop working by 7 p.m.

Yeah...about that. In all fairness I am doing better than when I first started teaching, where I would be at school for 14-15 hours everyday and devote most of my weekend to school work. I leave at a much more reasonable hour, but I do work at home well past 7. For a while I was opposed to bringing work home. But then I was never home. Honestly, I much prefer to have a cup of tea and kitty company than sit in my windowless cave of a classroom.  I have gotten better at asking myself "Must this be done right now? Is this a top priority? Or are you being your Type-A-Everthing-Must-Be-Done-Two-Weeks-Early self?" I am sketching intentions for the upcoming 2013-14 school year in hopes of striking a better life-work balance. 

 

Watch less, read more/Eat more meals at the table.

I've been reading more, but I still watch the same. Ler got me hooked on Arrested Development, and I rediscovered my love for Futurama & Star Trek Next Generation. Also, Ler likes to snuggle up on the couch and eat dinner together. Although a show is on, we are not mindless zombies staring vacantly at the glowing laptop and slopping food into our faces. We are talking to each other and enjoying the company. The show ends up being background noise. Perhaps we can strike a balance? Dinner at the table and dessert while perched the sofa? We shall see...

So friends, how are your 2013 goals and getonits shaping up? Do share!