March/April Status Update

Thanks to a trial that took over my life from March 1-22, and then a post-trial brief that lasted until last week, I decided to combine my March and April updates into one.

1) Exercise Intentionally: run a 5K

Fail.  I tried to work out one evening during the first week of trial and nearly fainted because I was so tired and had barely had time to eat all day.  In April I really tried to get back to the gym, but did not do a good job finding time.

2) Eat Intentionally:  record what I eat

Fail.  I didn't have time to record what I ate, let alone KNOW what I was eating since virtually every meal from March 1-21 was eaten out.  On the ironic side, I lost 5 pounds in the three weeks I was in trial, partly because of stress and not having enough time to eat.  Not a recommended way to lose weight, though.

In April, I didn't fare much better.  We did cook a lot, but I was out of the habit of recording what I ate and never really got back into it.

3) Buy Intentionally:  spend less than $60/month on myself.   

Fail.  I'm not even going to try add up what I bought these past two months, but for learning/shaming purposes, I will group by needs and wants.

Needed: 

• Navy heels from DSW - $25
• 3 cardigans (white, navy, green) from Talbots - I think they were $30 each

These four were wardrobe staples that I needed for work.

Lacking in discipline:

• Nordstrom Rack color-block dress - $50 (I should have returned this)
• Necklace - $22
• Banana Republic Coral Dress - $80 (I've gotten double use out of it (work and casual), so it turned out to be an ok purchase).
• Nordstrom Rack pleated dress (work) - $40
• Wedge Sandals - $80
• Banana Republic white jeans - $50

Birthday gifts (to myself):

• Wallet - $60
• Makeup - birthday gift from my mom

4) Learn Intentionally:  read 6 non-fiction books in 2013.

On my drives to Cleveland and back, I continued listening to The Power of Habit.  I ended up switching to the audiobook for Team of Rivals on my way home, so I am still not finished with The Power of Habit.  Not that I didn't like it - I am really enjoying both - I'm just a bit schizophrenic with books.

Finished Infidel - fascinating!  I'm really sad noone had finished this by the time we met for book club, because now I really want to discuss it with someone!

5) Give Intentionally: begin volunteering.

Fail.

A Very Belated February Status Report

Holy moley, I am a whole month behind on these updates since I spent the majority of March in Cleveland, OH working on a huge trial.  This could be a joint February/March status update, but because big things happened in March, I want to do a separate post.  So, here we go for February (from what I can remember):

1) Exercise Intentionally: run a 5K

Generally a success, especially considering how busy I was in February.  Although, after March I am nowhere near being ready to race!

2) Eat Intentionally:  record what I eat

Success! Despite crazy hours at work, I still cooked often and ate well, recording mostly everything that I ate.   

3) Buy Intentionally:  spend less than $60/month on myself.

• 2 sequin dresses - $50.  Nordstrom Rack was having a super sale on their holiday dresses, so I got a silver sequin dress and a gold sequin dress for $25 each.  I wore one to Peter's Casino Royale themed 30th birthday party (more pics to come!), and ended up keeping the second gold one to wear at a gala I went to in March.

Happy 30th, Peter!

• Formal dress rental from Rent the Runway - $80. I had a formal work event to attend at the end of February, and decided to use a coupon I had for Rent the Runway.  So much fun, and I was obsessed with this dress!  Unfortunately I never got a good photo of the bottom of the dress. :( 



The American Heart Association's Gala

• White work blouse from Banana Republic - $24. Before leaving for the trial, I desperately needed more plain blouses to wear under suits.  I tried on a lot of stuff at BR, and this was all I ended up with.  Is it just me, or is the quality at BR not what it used to be?  I had a hard time finding 100% silk shirts that weren't completely see-through.  And I wasn't going to pay $70 for a polyester blouse.     

Total:  $144.  So, again, generally a fail of staying within budget, but I'm loving the part of the experiment that makes me aware of every little thing that I buy.  

4) Learn Intentionally:  read 6 non-fiction books in 2013.

I finished listening to No Easy Day on audiobook, and was glad to have that background before I saw Zero Dark Thirty. I also started listening to The Power of Habit, which is also excellent on audio.

5) Give Intentionally: begin volunteering.

Fail.

January Report

Wooohooo!  Time for my first status update on my goals:

1) Exercise Intentionally: run a 5K

Generally fail.  I hate to start with a "fail" because I feel like I've actually done a good job of being active this month.  I started out the month with several Couch to 5K runs, and was feeling pretty good with it.  Then we went skiing, and when we got back I went to the gym, but went to Zumba and spinning class instead of running.  I also did one day of Jillian's 30-day shred, and holy cow, I am still sore.  Between all of this, I think I've "worked out" at least every other day this month.  So, I don't feel badly for missing this goal, but without doing the Couch to 5K training, I am no closer to running the 5K (without stopping) in May!

2) Eat Intentionally:  record what I eat

Success! I've been using the Lose It! app and recording what I eat.  I love that I can upload recipes I've made to help calculate my daily caloric intake.  I've made a ton of veggie-focused meals lately and will share those soon!  I definitely don't meet my calorie goal each day, but recording everything has made me realize that eating 4 cookies can really be a calorie suck.  These delicious cake-batter ones were worth it though.   

3) Buy Intentionally:  spend less than $60/month on myself.

Semi-success.  I'm still figuring this one out:  what counts as personal spending and what counts as joint spending?  Do I count personal spending "needs" in this group?  What exactly is a personal spending "need?"  For example, I had to get new ski gloves for our trip because the pair I've had since 1998 finally died.  Did I need new gloves?  Not in the strictest sense, because this was for vacation.  But I wasn't going to be able to ski without them.  I hate to count them towards my budget because I wasn't planning on needing them. . . but isn't that the point of a budget?

Per usual, I bought a few things this month and then returned them.  I still find myself buying things because they are a "good deal," and then realizing that I do not need them, or, if I want them, they are not exactly what I was looking for and I only bought them because they were cheap.  This is what happened with these awesome navy chevron pillows (still looking for the picture I took on my phone).  They were such a steal at HomeGoods, and super well-made, but they weren't exactly what I was looking for for the living room (to replace the pillows Stella ate), and while they looked super cute on our wicker chairs, I hadn't been looking for pillows for those chairs.  I also bought a black sheath dress from TJ Maxx that I haven't decided if I'm keeping or not.  It's a perfect work dress, and I've been looking for one for a long time, but I don't actually need more work clothes and I'm trying to decide if that's what I want to spend my money on this month. 

In full disclosure, here is what I bought:

2 books on Amazon.com:  $16
Chevron throw pillows: $50 - returned
Black sheath dress:  $40
Ski gloves: $80 (these were more expensive than they could have been, but considering I had my last pair for 14 years, I figured I should get exactly what I wanted)
Total: $136

Even though I went over budget this month, I still count it as a semi-success because the budget is making me to think hard about what I purchase. 

4) Learn Intentionally:  read 6 non-fiction books in 2013.

Success.  I'm still reading Catherine the Great on my kindle, and also started listening to No Easy Day on audiobook in preparation for seeing Zero Dark Thirty.  No Easy Day has been really good so far, and has a great narrator.  I find myself staying in my car after I've parked just because I want to keep listening. 

5) Give Intentionally: begin volunteering.

Fail.  Seriously, have not had time to give this any thought yet. 

Intentionally

For the past two years I've felt as though I've been "coasting."  I recently realized that, beyond being a good wife, friend and employee, I don't currently have any major goals.  Which feels odd and disconcerting, considering I have spent the past 29 years working towards something.  In 2010 I graduated law school, got married, and started my new job.  By 2011, I figured out a routine (or what there is of one when your husband works ridiculously random days/hours), and even started up an old hobby and first love, horseback riding.  2012 was a bit of the same.  We traveled a lot, I felt more confident at my job, but I started to feel a bit... discontent?  Like a cliche, New Year's found me contemplating my life and my goals. 

So, after giving a bit of thought to the areas of my life I want to improve, I came up with a theme to apply:  be intentional.  I've really enjoyed reading the blog C'est Law Vie this past year, and following along as she updated her progress monthly.  I hope you all with follow along here, too.  I could use the encouragement!

1) Exercise Intentionally: run a 5K

I have never been a runner, but I have signed up to run in the Flying Pig Marathon's 5K race on May 4, 2013 with a friend of mine.  I can currently barely run a mile without stopping, so my goal is to use the Couch to 5K app on my iPhone three times a week.  I should be finished with the program early enough that I can switch to running outside in the months before the 5K.    

2) Eat Intentionally:  record what I eat

I recently started using LoseIt app on my phone and calculating my recipes.  I obviously can't always record everything, but so far writing everything down has helped me realize when I've grabbed way too many mini candies from the legal assistant's desk. It also motivates me to cook more and eat out less, because it is impossible to guess how many calories are in restaurant meals. 

3) Buy Intentionally:  spend less than $60/month on myself.

P and I have started to (finally, for real) budget our personal spending.  We've always had a combined shopping budget, but we never kept track of who spent what, so there was no real accountability.  I've now created a separate category for each of us on our Mint account, but I'll also post here what I buy each month. 

4) Learn Intentionally:  read 6 non-fiction books in 2013.

I have always loved to read, and this was something I purposefully pursued last year (maybe last year's theme was "find something to fun to do outside of work"?).  I even joined a book club last fall started by one of the other residents' wife.  Last year I read 22 books:  you can follow me on Goodreads. I discovered that I enjoy listening to audiobooks when I workout and in the car, which helped with my overall number.  Included in last year's books were a few non-fiction reads:  Nelson Mandela's autobiography (in anticipation of our trip to South Africa), Unbroken by Laura Hildebrand (listened to on audiobook), In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson (listened to on audiobook), and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller (listened to on audiobook, also in anticipation of our Africa trip).  I highly recommend all four, and especially the three audiobooks because the narrator in each really made the book.

This year, I want to intentionally learn something new by challenging myself to reading 6 non-fiction books.  Ideas include:

• Catherine the Great (currently reading)
• Infidel  (book club selection for April 2013)
• Team of Rivals (hoping to listen on audiobook)
• The Ghost Wars, the Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, Bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
• Pathologies of Power by Paul Farmer
• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
• Africa:  A biography of a Continent
• The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory

5) Give Intentionally: begin volunteering.

Finally, I want to commit this year to getting involved here in Cincinnati.  I've checked out both City Gospel Mission and ProKids in the past, but have not moved forward with figuring out a sustainable way to be involved.