Its a Hero

dreams

june dreams and goals.

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How is it possible that we’re already ten days into June!? It seems impossible. And scary. I have a feeling this year summer is going to fly by! Well it’s a brand new month, so I have brand new dreams and goals!

June Dreams and Goals:

1. Go on a wine tour. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while and the opportunity is going to present itself this month! 🙂

2. Visit Pittsburgh. It’s been almost two years since we drove to Pittsburgh for a fun-filled day. I’m hoping we get to go back this month.


3. Finish 3 new books. I want to finish reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, a book for the yoga book club, and another book which has yet to be determined.

4. Go with the flow of things, both at work and in my personal life.

5. Workout a lot. I feel so much better when I work out consistently.

6. Do yoga twice a week. I love how I feel after class, but sometimes getting to the studio is the hardest part.

7. Continue to eat meals from home rather than going out to eat. I’ll allow one ‘cheat’ day a week where I go out to eat!

8. Take more pictures. I’ve been slacking.

9. Go on more dates. With the BF, of course!

10. Stick to my budget. Or at least stay closer to it!

11. Purge unused items. Perhaps for a garage or yard sale? We need to create more space in the house.

12. Take Oscar to the dog park. Just Oscar; not Pepper. She doesn’t play well with others.

13. Tackle a few new recipes! Baked goods, dinners, lunches, etc.

14. Focus on my goals. Reevaluate my Day Zero list and my 2011 thus far {does this fall into “contemplate the meaning of life,” R? 😛 }

May Dreams / Goals:

1. Eat meals at/from home every day of the week but one. We didn’t do this every week, but for the most part, we only ate out once to twice a week. It was the BFs birthday this month, so we did go out fora few ‘birthday celebration’ meals.
2. In an effort to clean out the pantry and our freezer; buy nothing from the grocery store except perishables: fresh produce, milk, bread. For the most part, I did well at this! I did restock a few necessary items in our pantry. And then we made a trip to Trader Joes and kind of re-stocked our freezer with TJs items. Oops!

3. Read three new books. Major fail on this one. I’ve been oh-so-slowly 

reading the Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. But I didn’t even finish ONE BOOK in the month of May. Shame on me!

4. Try two new recipes. I don’t think I did this either. I think I might have tried one new recipe, but I can’t even remember what it was.

5. Work out even more than I did in April. Success! 
I have been kicking my own butt!

6. Spring clean. Big time. I reorganized the pantry; and started the landscaping. But the rest is coming along slowly but surely!

7. Keep up with keeping the house clean during the week. I did a decent job at this. There’s a definite balance that I try in keep and it doesn’t always work out.

8. Get a haircut. Done! I love my new haircut! The length and color is amazing!

9. Plan the rest of our cruise. 
We haven’t planned the rest of our cruise yet at all. Still.

10. Book a massage. I have yet to book it. Life seems like it’s been so busy lately!
I really need to make this appointment. My sanity is dependent on it.

11. Plan a special day for the BF’s birthday. Done! 
I pretty sure he had a great birthday! 

April Goals/Dreams

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Be sure to enter my Shabby Apple dress giveaway here!

I am beyond words excited about the month of April. Why? I have no idea. It’s not March? We are one more month closer to actual Spring weather?? One more month closer to vacation??? The possibilities are endless!

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April Dreams/Goals:

1. Get my passport. This one will be easy, considering, it’s in-process. But I want to actually have it in my possession. 🙂 

2. Continue working out a lot. Five days a week, here I come! 

3. Make sure that at least one of those 5 workouts a week is a yoga class.

4. Keep up with cleaning and organizing during the weekdays so I can spend my weekends relaxing.

5. Save money! Spend nothing but money on food and gasoline, if at all possible.

6. Continue taking vitamins. 

7. Keep setting daily/weekly intentions.

8. Finish 3 new books! I’m on a roll lately.

9. Back up my phone and my laptop. This should be a regular occurrence. But it isn’t. 

10. Book plane tickets for our upcoming vacation. 

11. Clean out my kitchen and reorganize.

March Dreams/Goals Wrap-Up:

1. Workout a LOT. This is a must for so many reasons. My goal is at least 5 days a week. I didn’t quite make it 5 days a week every week. But I religiously worked out at least 4 days a week. There were two weeks where it was 5 days.
2. Attend at least one yoga class a week.Success! I made it to at least 1, usually two, classes a week.
3. Eat healthy! I pretty much did this. With the occasional lapse in good-eating judgment.
4. Drink only water. Major fail. I drank diet rootbeer, wine and decaf coffee in March. Oops.
5. Finish at least 2 new books. Done! I finished The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and All We Ever Wanted Was Everything. They were both fantastic books!
6. Seriously this time back up my iPhone. Oops again. I seriously need to do this. I’m a slacker.
7. Spend even less than last month. Ehh. Didn’t quite spend less than February, but didn’t exactly spend much.
8. Really back up my computer this time. I have the external hard drive. All I have to do is hook it up. Sigh. Annnnd still didn’t do this. To be honest, it felt like I hardly opened up my computer at all in March. I literally just came home from work and read my book. Nothing else.
9. Continue to set intentions. If not daily, weekly. I was very good about this. And yoga helps. 🙂
10. Be a regular blogger in the month of March! Success!
11. Apply for a passport! Done!
12. Stay healthy in every way possible! This means taking vitamins, keeping junk (food) out of my body, and staying calm in stressful situations. I did pretty well at this. Of course, there were exceptions {as usual}.

What are your goals for this lovely new month??

march goals/dreams!

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I’m so happy that March is here. February was long, and cold, and… depressing! 
I’m curious. Was it just me, or was February extremely long and dreary? As you might have noticed if you follow me on Twitter, I was a little bit down. I’m starting to feel better. I’m sure the days of sunlight have helped.
I know I’m a day (or two. or three) late, but I’m ready for my monthly goals and dreams!
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March 2011 Goals/Dreams:

1. Workout a LOT. This is a must for so many reasons. My goal is at least 5 days a week.
2. Attend at least one yoga class a week.
3. Eat healthy!
4. Drink only water.
5. Finish at least 2 new books.
6. Seriously this time back up my iPhone.
7. Spend even less than last month. I’ll explain later.
8. Really back up my computer this time. I have the external hard drive. All I have to do is hook it up. Sigh.
9. Continue to set intentions. If not daily, weekly.
10. Be a regular blogger in the month of March!
11. Apply for a passport!
12. Stay healthy in every way possible! This means taking vitamins, keeping junk (food) out of my body, and staying calm in stressful situations.

February 2011 Goals/Dreams:
Overall, I think I did OK. I traveled out of town for two weeks during the month, so it was rough to keep up with everything all of the time.
1. Spend more time ‘offline’ for the sake of sanity. I’ve definitely done this. It’s been therapeutic. Don’t get me wrong; blogging can be equally as therapeutic. But I have needed some time away.
2. Kick lots of butt at the gym. For two weeks I did. The other two weeks I was out of town, and it was exhausting. And I didn’t do much working out while I was away from home.
3. Read three new books. Not quite. I read one and a half books. Yes, half. But that’s because I decided to start, of course, a long book. With zero time.
4. Go to 2 yoga classes at Cleveland Yoga. I went to one yoga class at Cleveland Yoga and one yoga class at a new studio in Akron, instead of Cleveland Yoga! I went to Bliss Yoga! And it was ahhhh-MAZING!
5. Continue keeping things simple. I’ve done a decent job at this. Of course, not always have I been able to keep things in perspective to ‘keep it simple.’ I think it’s something we have to remind ourselves on a daily basis.
6. Spend less. And only spend when necessary. Done! I was very good about watching my spending habits. But, again, it’s good to keep this as a continuous goal.
7. Update my iPhone at least 2 times. Didn’t happen. Why is this so hard for me to do? Ugh.
8. Back up my computer. Didn’t do this either. I need to get my technological act together! Tee hee!
9. Set intentions for the day. I was fairly good about this. Sure, there were days when I forgot. But I tried to make a conscious effort to remember.

february 2011 dreams/goals.

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It’s February already? Seriously?

I’ve had a crazy couple of weeks. Between starting my new/(old) job and traveling for training, I am exhausted. So things have been quiet on the blog front. Things may remain that way for the next week or so… at least until I can get settled into a routine. 

But that’s not going to stop me from setting a few goals this month.

It’s all about keeping it simple in February.

February 2011 Dreams/Goals:

1. Spend more time ‘offline’ for the sake of sanity.
2. Kick lots of butt at the gym.
3. Read three new books.
4. Go to 2 yoga classes at Cleveland Yoga.
5. Continue keeping things simple.
6. Spend less. And only spend when necessary. 
7. Update my iPhone at least 2 times.
8. Back up my computer.
9. Set intentions for the day.


January 2011 Dreams/Goals:

1. Keep a daily food journal to see how the food I eat impacts my health. I did OK at this. It was difficult to keep track of everything. But I know I should do this all the time, not just in the month of january.
2. Read 3 new books with my new Kindle. I read two and a half. So close!
3. Drink nothing but water and tea throughout the month. Didn’t happen. Wine was my friend in January.
4. Find time to do things that make me feel good, whether it’s taking a bubble bath or going for a run or to yoga. I worked out a lot and made it a point to relax. I’d say this was a success!
5. Really figure out how to fit an at-home yoga practice into my life. Too many changes in my routine for this to happen.
6. Spend quality time with the people who matter most. I definitely did this. I spent a lot of quality time with BF, my mom and dad, BFs family, and my sister.
7. Find new ways to organize at home. Ehh. We’ll revisit this one.
8. Keep things simple. I definitely tried. There were moments where I could have stressed a lot more, and I didn’t.
9. Plan less. Just enjoy the beginning of a new year. I’ve been semi-successful at this. The problem is, when you live in a society where everyone around you is planning, how do you avoid being caught up in it? It’s been a struggle. But I’ve definitely been more flexible in regards to scheduling.
10. Spend money on nothing but food and gasoline. Success. But pretty much without having a choice.
11. Continue to stay on top of cleaning the house during the week so I can relax on the weekend more. I’ve definitely let up on my strict cleaning schedule. And that’s a good thing. Cause I was spending all of my free time cleaning.
12. Clean out our pantry and get rid of anything old or expired. Done. With a lot of BFs help. But this needs to be a monthly occurrence.
13. Set an intention every morning for that day. Did not do. Should have. And just didn’t.
14. Back up my computer. Fail. Fail. Fail.
15. Update my iPhone once a week. Fail again. Ugh.

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little bits of happiness.

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I read in a magazine once that playing the lottery once in a while {we’re not talking every day here, folks, or even once a week} increases an individuals happiness. I’m guessing it has something to do with being filled with hope and anticipation, even if for just a fleeting moment.
So when I saw that yesterdays Mega Millions was at $355 million, I thought, why not? I bought four tickets!
It makes you think how much even a fraction of that money would change your life.
Let’s say just $1 million of it.
What would you do with $1 million?
– I would pay off all of my debt.
– I would pay off the little bit of debt that my parents have.
– I would take a series of nice vacations with BF. Perhaps Hawaii and Europe?
– I would pay off a couple of other big ticket items for other people.

– And then I would put the rest into savings and continue working!

So what would YOU do?

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January 2011 Dreams/Goals.

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Hello, January! I’m excited to see what awaits me this month. I don’t mean to sound cryptic, but I’m hoping big things happen soon! 
I’ve got a new set of dreams/goals for this month. They are less concrete than last months. And I’ll get to Decembers eval in a moment.
First, onward!
January Dreams/Goals:
1. Keep a daily food journal to see how the food I eat impacts my health. 
2. Read 3 new books with my new Kindle.
3. Drink nothing but water and tea throughout the month.
4. Find time to do things that make me feel good, whether it’s taking a bubble bath or going for a run or to yoga.
5. Really figure out how to fit an at-home yoga practice into my life. 
6. Spend quality time with the people who matter most.
7. Find new ways to organize at home.
8. Keep things simple.
9. Plan less. Just enjoy the beginning of a new year.
10. Spend money on nothing but food and gasoline. 
11. Continue to stay on top of cleaning the house during the week so I can relax on the weekend more.
12. Clean out our pantry and get rid of anything old or expired.
13. Set an intention every morning for that day.
14. Back up my computer.
15. Update my iPhone once a week.
Decmeber Dreams/Goals Review: 
I did OK. I didn’t do awesome. But that’s what happens with the holidays, I suppose.
1. Blog on a daily basis from today through the end of December. I missed one day. I really couldn’t do it. I was exhausted from the holidays and stressed and crying. I just couldn’t. But I came close!
2. Read at least 3 new books. 2 out of 3! I still consider this a semi-success considering the amount of events we had going on during December.
3. Spend Christmas Eve with BFs amazing family and have a fantastic time. Done.
4. Attend my family holiday party and soak up as much family time as possible. Done.
5. Spend one hour a week reflecting, writing and/or meditating. Not really done. I’m being honest. And it would’ve been easy to lie. 
6. Finally figure out my 2011 budget. Yes, but only half-hearted. I’ll explain later.
7. Find a way to fit in more daily exercise, even if that means running during my lunch break. Thanks to the weather, December has been my least active month in a very long time. We got hammered with snow and I felt like I was either a) digging to get out, or b) trying to get some place. And when I wasn’t doing that, I was just happy to be safe and at home.

8. Organize my photos on my computer and back them up. Not done. Sad.
9. Finish my holiday cards and send them out. Done.
10. Bake at least 4 new cookie recipes and blog about them. Done. I made oatmeal cookies, rugelach cookies, cut-out cookies, and sugar cookies.
11. Continue to sleep earlier, rise earlier and sleep more! I think I did OK at this. 
12. Continue to stay on top of house duties during the week to make my weekends more enjoyable. Done. But I want to continue this for sure! 
13. Go to at least 1 yoga class a week and create an at-home practice. I went to as many yoga classes as I could. Again, the weather made it difficult. But I definitely did not do well at creating an at-home practice.
14. Start the second part of our detox program. I didn’t do this at all. I was eating yucky food all month and I just didn’t see the point in continuing the detox of it at that point.
15. Bring lunch to work every day. Do not eat takeout at lunch at all. Looking back, this was rather unrealistic. So it didn’t happen.
16. Continue without any caffeine through the month of December. Done!
17. Keep a food diary from now until the 31st. Make note of not only what I eat, but how I feel afterward as to better help my stomach issues. Not done.
18. Take vitamins every day from now through the end of December. Not done.
What dreams and goals have you set for this month?

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