May 2015 Goals

Hello!

A little later than anticipated but here is my round up of my April goals and how I did! Also, goal setting for May too!

April Outcomes:

Once Upon a Time Sampler – No progress on this one sadly! I didn’t manage to get those last two frames in because I was spending all of my time working on my Barcelona Sunset as that is my priority right now. I am staying with my parents this weekend though so I am packing my sampler with me since I obviously can’t work on my Mum’s present! I have saved this month’s design to stitch while I am here but if I get that done before the end of the weekend I might have time to add a frame too.

Barcelona Sunset – I am so close to finishing this quarter right now! i just have a block of grey across the bottom that no matter how much I stitch it just doesn’t seem to get any smaller! However, I should be on track to finish this quarter by the end of next week at the very latest (since I am losing this weekend!) so then I’ll be ready to tackle the final one.

Cut Thru’ Caravan – I didn’t officially set this as a goal as I am prioritizing my Barcelona Sunset project right now, but just as an update, no progress on this one this month!

Crochet – No crochet this month either! I really have been funnelling as much of my spare time as possible into Barcelona Sunset, I really want to get it out of the way before I tackle too many other projects. I also haven’t seen a crochet project that immediately takes my fancy to work on right now, so I’ll keep looking but I want to find something really inspiring before I force myself through a project that I don’t really want to do.

#Postcirlce – I have now caught up and written letters to all 5 of my #Postcircle penpals and they will be in the post on Monday! I’m so pleased I finally managed to sit down and reply to all of the lovely letters. The responses on my end were a bit brief but at least everyone has a letter coming their way now and I am determined to keep on top my responses by replying as soon as a letter comes in so that I can dedicate plenty of time to it!

Exercise – So this goal has actually exceeded my expectations! I wanted to try and do an exercise DVD once a week, along with daily walks on my lunch break and my pole dancing class. However, I started doing Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred [DVD] which is an intense 20 minute work out once a day for 30 days and so far I have stuck to it almost every day! It has massively helped with my weight loss and I am feeling so much fitter than when I first started! Each day that I do it I notice that I am struggling less and I am currently working my way through the second of three levels. I’m really pleased with my progress and I am surprised I have the discipline to do it every day! Clearly the way forward is to do short intense workouts regularly to keep me motivated and to see the results quickly. I have already found a few alternatives for when I complete the 30 days so I can keep my routine going!

Slimming World – Slimming World has been a massive success for me so far! I’m thrilled with the results that I am seeing! My first 5 weeks have seen me lose a total of 8lbs – I can’t believe I’ve lost over half a stone already! Clearly my increased exercise programme is giving my weight loss a huge helping hand, but the way Slimming World works suits me perfectly. It’s not a diet, but a lifestyle change that is designed to help you achieve a healthy weight which is really rewarding. I’m planning on writing a separate, more detailed post at a later date, but for now all is going well!

Reading – This month my aim was just to read one book and really enjoy it! It sounds like a strange goal but after studying literature I’ve been struggling to work out what I actually LIKE to read as I’ve just been told what I have been reading for the last few years regardless of my thoughts on it! I did achieve this however with The World’s Wife. I have a love/hate relationship with poetry a lot of the time, but if I find a collection that I love I will read it again and again. I have dabbled in The World’s Wife when I was at school but I never really ‘got’ poetry then, and it wasn’t until I saw carol Ann Duffy doing a live reading last year that I really wanted to go back to it. I was so engrossed in The World’s Wife that I read it all in one day! I haven’t got stuck into a book like that for a long time! And the good news is I am also now hooked on The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House so it looks like I may have been bitten by the reading bug once more!

Get Organised – This is a strange one because I haven’t yet got back to using my Filofax, however I do feel like I am (marginally at least) more organised. I have been listing a lot more this month though and lists always help me to get more done! I’ve also had to be more organised over the last fortnight as James has been away at conferences in the US, so I’ve had to keep on top of the housework myself – it takes so much longer when there is only one person! I think this has helped me to use my time more effectively, however, I do still want to create a more structured approach to make sure I’m using all of my time effectively.

Spring Cleaning – This one didn’t get done! With James being away the last two weeks I thought I would make a really productive start on our spring cleaning, but because the regular household chores were taking me so long I just didn’t have time to do anything extra! Fortunately James is back tomorrow so we can make a start together 😉

May Goals:

Once Upon a Time Sampler – This month I just want to get the May design filled in. It would be nice to get those last two frames in but I’m really pushing to progress with my Barcelona Sunset, then once that one is out of the way I can fill in all of the additional elements on my Storytime Sampler. My main goal with this project for now is just to make sure that I don’t fall behind! As long as I’m getting the block filled every month that’s enough for now!

Barcelona Sunset – This month I want to make a lot of progress with this one again; ideally finish half of the remaining quarter. That’s is as soon as I get to this never ending grey section anyway!

Cut Thru’ Caravan – Again I’m not setting myself a goal for this one this month. Once the Barcelona Sunset is out of the way I will put all of my efforts into this one to try and get it done for Christmas! Eek!

Exercise – I’m really hoping to keep up with my exercise regime this month I’ll come to the end of my 30 day shred, so I want to find an alternative that I can do regularly to keep up a similar level of exercise per week. I have recently bought the Jillian Michaels – The Ultimate Box Set – 5 DVD’s to give me a few alternative workouts for when I finish. The workouts on these DVDs are slightly longer, so I may not do them every day but every other day instead. I will also have to start doing some running as i have signed up to a 10k charity run in July!

Slimming World – After seeing some great results from my first few weeks I’m really hoping to stay on track with Slimming World. If I can keep my weight loss up at a similar rate I should be close to reaching the one stone mark by the end of May which would be brilliant! I’m aware that the more weight I lose, the harder it will get to lose the weight quickly, so I’m not setting a specific weight loss target because I don’t know how my body will react once it gets used to the diet and fitness programme. As long as I am still seeing improvements week on week in my weight loss and general fitness I will be very happy though!

Reading – This months I aim to finish two books. I say finish because since I am already half way through The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher I want to be able to count it as a finish! I am enjoying reading right now and I don’t want to stop enjoying it again by forcing myself through books just to reach a goal. So to read and enjoy two books this month would be an achievement that I am happy to cross off the list!

Get Organised – As with last months goal, this month I want to plan and use my time better, probably using my Filofax but this month’s goal also has another meaning. I want to organise everything from my time, to our house (see below) to our finances. It is coming up to a year since we moved into our home, so all of our bills etc will need renewing s owe need to get on top of this but I also want to sit down and work out a financial plan to help us establish some savings for our own house, get James out of his overdraft and potentially save for a big holiday with my parents next year! That will be a day sat with a calculator then!

Spring Cleaning – With James home again it is really going to be time to have a good spring clean! I’d like to send a fair few bags to the charity shop and declutter the house as some rooms right now just always seem a mess! It would be nice to have a thorough clean and tidy this month to make it feel fresh and homelike again…I’m fed up of climbing over stuff to get anywhere!

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