Wow…I’m really late reporting my progress for my February goals and setting my March goals.  In my defense, I was in Arizona visiting my parents the first weekend in March and that’s all I got…this weekend I should have done it, but just had a bout of the lazies.

Goal:  Start seeds for my garden.

Result:  YES!  I did it.  I planted 174 starts and I already had to transplant most of them this past weekend.  I’m shocked at how well some of them are doing and a little bummed about a couple…my zucchini and bell peppers.  I’m hoping they will both take off really soon.

Goal:  Create a home maintenance and repair list.

Result:  I did this too, but I’ll admit it was the last weekend of the month before I completed it.  It was way more daunting than it sounds…and, a bit depressing too.  But, I have a complete list now.  Oh…and, I also went through and put blue tape on all the paint blemishes.  This will help when I get to the item on my list, “repaint the interior of my house”, which I hope will be sometime this year.

I broke the list into three categories:  “deep clean”, “repair & maintenance”, and “remodel”.  My next step is to categorize the items by price.  I’m thinking about “under $10”, “$100 to $1000”, and “over $1000”.  Obviously the “deep clean” items I just need to get done ASAP.  Then I’ll start tackling and prioritizing the other categories.  It does feel great to have a list to work from.

Goal:  Watch less TV at least in my bedroom.

Result:  Epic fail.  While I failed at this goal, I did learn something very valuable.  I like falling asleep with background noise.  Once I realized I was accidentally falling asleep on the couch more than I would have liked or staying up too late, I decided this was one goal I was willing to forego.  It just didn’t make sense to exchange “watching TV in bed” for “staying up too late”.

Goal:  Make sure I eat fruits and/or vegetables with every single meal.

Result:  Honestly, I’m not sure how I did on this goal.  I know for sure I started the month great and I did a pretty good job the rest of the month.  But, when I set this goal I didn’t think about how I would track it.  Oops…that’s one of the key elements of goal setting…make sure it’s measurable.  I’ll have to keep SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) in mind for future goal setting.

Come to think about it…that’s probably why I failed at my TV goal as well…it wasn’t realistic.

Beyond the Goals

I accomplished a couple of things beyond the goals I publically stated in the month of February.  I wasn’t sure that I could go an entire month without spending any money on “eating out” and Starbucks.  So, I privately kept these to myself.  The good news…I did it.  I actually ate out twice during the month, but both were provided by work.  The last weekend of the month (when I was visiting family) I also ate out a couple of times, but that was also provided by either my parents or my grandmother.  My contribution was making them all dinner at home.

This is huge.  I live alone and making dinner every night almost seems wasteful, but I did it.  To help me accomplish this I planned ahead and found recipes to try.  I don’t plan to avoid “eating out” in March, but I do plan to continue keeping it at a minimum.

I’m still going to count February as a successful month.  I know I wouldn’t have done as much during the month had I not set these goals.

March

• I need to plan my garden layout. As I mentioned above, I started a lot of seedlings and that doesn’t even include the seeds that get sown directly outside. Because of this and my limited gardening space, I need to think things through carefully and optimize my garden space.
• Along the lines of gardening, I also need to “spring clean” my yard. This includes cutting back the dead stuff from last year, weeding, rototilling, and revitalizing my lawn. I actually looked this weekend and although it’s quite a bit of work it’s not as bad as I thought it might be.
• I want to distribute some donations I’ve accumulated. I have a box for Goodwill, an old computer, some ink cartridges (not really a donation), and oddly enough some hair (I grow my hair long and donate it every couple of years to Locks of Love). I’m sure there is more that I’m not thinking about. It’s time to clear this stuff out of my house.

I’m keeping the list a bit short this month because I’m worried that “spring cleaning” my yard might turn into a lot of work.  It always looks easier than it is.