It's the most fabulous time of the quarter in which I update you on how well or how well or poorly my 2026 quarterly goals are going.
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At least one trip with Dr. BB and Hannah
No progress made.
At least two trips with friends
April: Yes! I went to Chicago with Bestest Friend.
At least two trips to Michigan to visit my high school friends
No progress made.
Make homemade ice cream
No progress made. I am making a note in my July and August goals to prioritize this. It's summer!
Do one creative thing a week
April: Not really. I went to a museum and filled out a page in my journal by coloring it every day to track CBWC participation, but I didn't really do much.
May: Just a journal page. Why did I put this on my goal list again?
June: Egads. I filled out a page in my journal by coloring it daily to track if I lifted ten minutes every day. This goal is not going well so far this year.
Become a regular reader of at least five new blogs in 2026
April: No progress
May: No progress
June: I added a blog to my reader, so that's 20%.
Leave an average of five blog comments on other blogs every day
April: 19/30 - Egads.
May: 19/31 - At least I'm consistent?
June: 20/30 - Well, sorry friends. Some days I truly don't have the time.
Send at least five postcards every month
April: The sum total of mail I sent in April was three birthday cards. That's all!
May: Five birthday cards, a happy new job card, the mystery book package, and three pieces of bureaucracy for the month. Not a single postcard.
June: Three birthday cards, a Father's Day card, and a bill. That's it for the whole month. Should I just send every blog reader a postcard in July to get this average up?
Track how many people come to yoga this semester
April: We met seven times in April (5, 4, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1)
May: We met four times in May and there were 2 people there each time.
June: No meetings in June because my work is nuts in June. We'll pick back up in July.
Use a new journal to track goals, plan out the year, and take time to notice things I'm grateful for
April: Yes, I do like this journal format a lot.
May: Yes, it's great.
June: I've been slacking on planning every week, but still tracking goals and doing a grateful list every day.
Take a good photo every week and print them out once a quarter
April: I ordered photos on May 1. It's so fun to look back at the photos I choose.
May: Photos ordered on June 6 and placed in my journal on the 7th.
June: YES!! I really am loving this part of the goal. So many photos are just on phones these days, but these one see the light of day.
Take photo of five places at least once a month
April: Two of the places I take photos of are flooded, so I did what I could.
May: I did it!
June: Done.
I sort of hate doing this goal, but I think I'll like the results. This is January - June of the water tower. January - March on top and April - June on the bottom.
Pay myself and charity first
April: No progress
May: I did add to savings, but didn't do any charitable giving. I'll make it a priority in June.
June: Nothing new, just regular savings. But my husband and I had a talk about splitting things differently, so maybe in the next quarter.
Reread
April: I reread two books this month!
May: I reread Love Lettering.
June: Not a single reread.
Do a buddy read
Gratitude practice
April: Since I have been consistently using my new journal, this has been incorporated into my evening routine and I love it.
May: Yes! Still using my journal for this.
June: I love doing this every night.
Be consistent in working out (at least 80% of days of 30 minutes of intentional movement)
April: 24/30 (80%) days - Nailed it.
May: 25/31 (80%) days - Yes!
June: 26/30 (86.7%) days - Now we're doing it.
Spend 750 hours outside
April: 45 hours, 33 min
May: 48 hours, 37 minutes
June: 46 hours, 8 minutes
I wanted to make this goal work, but it just isn't going to. If I want to do other things, including working out and cooking, this time goal is just not going to be met. I'm going to keep tracking for the rest of 2026, but if I can't get to sixty hours in JUNE - peak OUTDOOR TIME IN WISCONSIN - I can't make this goal work in my life.
Get on the same page as my husband about home repairs, investments, and a will
April: New fact to me: my husband is horrified by our yard. Guess what moved up in our list of priorities?
May: We did something about the beds around our house and fenceline. Now we have do deal with a water softener and the crumbling retaining yard in our backyard. These are not things I necessarily had in mind at the beginning of the year.
June: Water softener installed. The retaining wall is still a discussion. We've gotten two quotes, but really need to talk with our neighbors so no one is surprised by it.
Do two more iterations of CBBC on my blog
I have no intention of doing this until fall.
Date night with Dr. BB every month
April: We went to see a friend's band play one evening.
May: Literally nothing. *sigh*
June: We went to Frostie Freeze? Does that count? (I'm counting it.)
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Just April goals:
Complete journal project through 2020: I only did it though February.
Figure out taxes: We figured it out. It wasn't pretty and it felt gross to write such a big check to the federal government in 2026, but it's done.
Participate in CBWC: Done!
Organize one tote from my mom's house: Look, I know the totes have been there since October or something. I KNOW. I just...don't want to deal with it.
Clean out the photos in my phone gallery: You would be horrified. I'm horrified. And yet there still remains 4165 images in there.
Just May goals (every single one is a rollover goal):
Complete journal project through 2020: Done.
Organize one tote from my mom's house: I think you all know this didn't get done.
Clean out the photos in my phone gallery: I got it down to just over 3000, but there's still a lot to do.
Just June goals:
Complete journal project through 2021: I did through June, so this will have to be a rollover goal to finish in July.
Organize one tote from my mom's house: I did it! I cleaned out one tote and now that (empty) tote is in the basement. The second (and last tote) is harder because it's photographs, so that's a larger organizational project. Maybe over the winter?
Clean out the photos in my phone gallery: I didn't do this at all. Rollover goal to July.
Lift weights for ten minutes every day: 26/30 days. Not too shabby.
Message my accountability buddy every day: 25/30 days. I'll take it.
No candy: There is so much candy at my job in June and the first year I worked here, I was on a sugar high all the time because I kept helping myself to candy. So no candy. I had ice cream three times and a cake ball someone made, but that was about it as far as desserts. I immediately ate a chocolate Lindt ball on July 1, though, so I don't think I've learned any real restraint.
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I don't think any of this is terrible. It is sort of fun to look at it every month/quarter.
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Do you think you could get 750 hours outdoors in a year? When's the last time you sent a postcard to someone?
Ha ha no I don't think I could get 750 hours outdoors in a year. I hike a lot and I have a dog, so whatever time that totals is good enough for me.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I sent a postcard was at the end of June! I have a loose goal to send postcards to everyone on my blog list once a quarter and so far I've sent postcards three times so I'm ahead of schedule. I say once a quarter but it's really "when I feel like it".
I really need to do better. I'm GOING to do better on sending postcards. It's not hard!
DeleteBUT THE PANTS ARE HEMMED.
ReplyDelete(They are, aren't they?)
Someone hemmed them. (It got hired out. LOL.)
DeleteA date to Frostie Freeze totally counts.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the validation. It's not a "big date," but it really does stand out for me in my June memories. The weather was perfect and we walked over there and it was great.
DeleteI don't think I could hit 750 hours outdoors. We spend a lot of time outside on summer weekends but not enough to offset how little I'm outside in the cold winter months! I am sure you exceed my time outside since you go on walks w/ Hannah year round!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was just over 560 hours for me last year. I think I'm going to be even less this year, if I'm honest. Oh, well. This just doesn't work for my life right now. That's okay.
DeleteA couple things here. Maybe we should agree to make July the "postcard challenge" month. I also had a goal of sending postcards this year and I'm failing miserably. I mean, how hard is it really??? I just have to do it!
ReplyDeleteAlso... when both my parents were gone and I had to go through their stuff, there were some things where I found it easier to deal with after time had passed. Like for example... there was a bunch of really personal stuff, like my mom's eyeglasses. Obviously you can't donate those, and I just couldn't throw them in the trash (too soon). A couple years later I was going through the stuff and was like "why the hell am I keeping old glasses?" and was able to be much more ruthless about throwing things away. So... give yourself a break if you're just not ready to deal with some things.
Challenge accepted. I'm going to send postcards this month. I'm going to go to the post office tomorrow and I'm going to buy 30 postcard stamps and see how many I can use!
DeleteThank you for the encouragement about not worrying about going through stuff right away. The photos are going to be a real bear to go through, but maybe sometime. I'd like them to be in roughly chronological order, but that seems like a real effort. Maybe I should wait.
Oops, a dog hit my hand and it published early! I so get your commentary in this post. I have 50k pictures in my phone gallery; I should be ashamed but I’m just not because life just keeps life-ing, haha sigh. I also have a garage and office full of my mom and aunt’s totes and antiques and stuff…. I recently made a plan to get a dumpster Labor Day weekend and just go at all of it. It’s my version of just tearing the bandaid off. PS: Frostie Freeze is a valid date night and it’s so hard being a person in this world sometimes, I think you’re doing great on your goals just by having goals.
ReplyDelete50K!! Oh, wow. I don't even know how I would go about dealing with that.
DeleteWhen my mom died, my sister and I did fill many many dumpsters of things. *sigh* Now it's all stuff I decided worthy of transporting from Michigan to Wisconsin, so it's harder to just toss it. But it's also hard to go through. I guess we'll see if/when I get to it.
I love your last questions! 750 hours a year outside. Yes! I would say that currently I am spending at least 10 hours a day, and if you count camping (are you talking daylight hours only?) it could be as high as 24 hours a day. However, when I was in Bangkok, it was a STRUGGLE to get even one hour a day because no matter what time it was, even midnight, it was hot and humid! I can handle it, but I don't really want to. As for postcards, I am usually pretty good, but usually I do them in batches of like 10-12 when I am feeling really motivated or get a good country or city to send from. My last ones were sent a couple of weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteI understand your reluctance to go through your Mom's boxes. It took me a long time to do this with my own stuff and it would be even harder if it was for a loved one, especially if they were no longer around. I am impressed you've already done as much as you have, frankly.
Okay, I have RULES about what I count. Does that surprise you? I have to be outside for more than five minutes, so getting to my car or walking into the grocery store doesn't count. Tent camping counts as outside time, but not RV/cabin camping. Being in a car with all the windows down DOES count, as does time in a screened porch. I try to be pretty strict.
DeleteI love getting postcards from bloggers. I put them up in my office and use them as a selling point to my students that they should study abroad/do a student exchange in the US. I really appreciate it when I get them!
I think maybe during COVID I could have (and might have) spent 750 hours outside. But not now.. Work puts such a damper on some of my life goals... although my next show is in an outdoor theatre, so maybe I'll get ahead?
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose it will make you feel better, but my in laws passed away in 2016/2017 and there are still bins of inherited stuff in our house. I know there are a lot of memories and feelings there that make it hard to process, so I don't mention it to my Husband. But I do periodically think, "The kids are going to need that closet soon...."
I think during COVID I could have, too. I worked from home and worked on the porch a lot. Oh, well. It's not my current life.
DeleteI think I fear this bin getting tossed in the basement never to be dealt with and then I'll forget about it. I need to just buckle down and do it, but I don't think I'm quite there yet. Maybe in a few months.
I spend a lot of time outside, but I have no idea how MUCH time. It's at least 90 minutes a day, but in summer it's way more, what with gardening and yardwork and how I like to read on the deck. So I probably could do 750 hours. I suppose I could track it but between us I HATE tracking my time.
ReplyDeleteTaking photos of the same place in different months is really interesting and I feel like I should do that! But what place? I mean, the creek where I walk Rex is the obvious answer. I like seeing the seasons change.
Gratitude journal! Yay!
You know what, Nicole? I also hate tracking my time. It's super annoying. I will not be doing this next year.
DeleteAlso, I really hate having to take photos of the same place over and over again, too. What was January Me thinking? That suddenly I'd enjoy all these things I didn't enjoy before?!
I don't know if I could do 750 hours outside! I *like* being outside, but that's a lot and I am just all around pretty terrible at setting and keeping goals so it's better if I admire all your goals and all your progress.
ReplyDeleteEngie, I have 7,077 photos in my phone album. I don't even know where to begin.
Okay, I think I'm going to begin with the earlier photos and work my way to current day. That's my strategy. I have a folder for every year and I'll just download the photos into the appropriate folder and take all but the most precious off my phone. The problem is that this is going to take HOURS. Maybe a good project for if I'm a passenger on a road trip?
DeleteHmm...750 hours in a year is, what, two hours a day? It SEEMS reasonable...until you remember winter and Wisconsin. I think it's do-able, but you'd really have to spend a lot of time outdoors in the summer to offset the cold weather months. I was trying to figure it out in my head, but I don't think I'd hit that goal either.
ReplyDeleteFrostie Freeze is totally a date, though!
Honestly, I found it easier in winter. The rain and bugs are real limiting factors in the summer. *sigh* I don't think I can do it.
DeleteThe bugs for sure. I almost cut my outdoor walk short yesterday because the black flies would not stop harassing me.
DeleteYou're doing your best and it all seems pretty awesome, Engie!
ReplyDeleteI hope Dr. BB's health stays great so you can go on more dates.
Well, you'll notice our dates have been pretty tame these days. Nothing too exciting or adventurous over here.
DeleteThere is no way I could hit 750 hours outdoors. That's an average of 2 hours outside EVERY DAY? Nope. I'm lucky if I get outside for longer than 15 minutes these days. (It's so miserably hot.)
ReplyDeleteLast time I sent a postcard was last week! But don't be too impressed. I had to play catch-up after I didn't send a single postcard in June, oops.
Yeah, it turns out that, just like last year, I'm more of a 1.5 hours a day kind of lady. Oh, well. I guess now I know.
Delete