Monthly Goals - October 2022

[Raenia]

Bit of a late start this month, as I was away for the weekend, but here we go!

October goals:

1. Read 8 books
  a. 1 Philosophy
  b. 1 History/Natural History
  c. 2 from TBR - dropping this lower than usual as I have a lot of sequels and rereads lined up
2. Do at least 35 sit-ups per day (average)
3. Spend time outside 24/31 days
4. Complete "Foundations of Yoga" playlist (45 sessions)

Creativity:
5. Sewing TBD once machine is fixed
6. Bake something each week
7. Try a new recipe
8. Applesauce canning?

Social:
9. Plan apple-picking
10. Visit Ren Faire?
11. Prepare for friend's Halloween Party
12. Celebrate Samhain

[Rosy]

Here we go again - October started off with us still cleaning up tree branches from hurricane Ian. May take another two days. We still have one board up covering a big shed window.
Needless to say, it halted all activity for three days dealing with chaos and emergency supplies and general clean-up.
We dodged the bullet in Tampa Bay - so I'm not complaining at all.

GARDEN
The hurricane brought us cooler temps, so fall gardening is now in full swing.
1. Secret Garden area is - DONE!
2. Party Central Area w gazebo - DONE!
Took us both only three days to clean up, reorganize, and weed.
3. ALL - Garden Furniture - Scrub - DONE!
4. Fountain - Clean up Slime - DONE!

5. NEXT UP: POTAGER - my veggie/herb/flower Garden. Work in progress!
Started the weeding yesterday... we'll see how far I get with general clean-up and starting a fall garden.
This will require planning and a couple of trips to the garden center.

6. Simultaneously - working on the Tropical Garden area. It has the most damage and will require more chain saw work and a day of outside help.
It got hit by a fallen tree during the hurricane. We managed to clear most of the area already and help arrived today:).
Besides needing to cut down two banana trees and seasonal clean-up, fertilizing and mulching, this part of the garden is only three/four old.
So it still requires seasonal assessment and adjustments based on what works and what does not.

The Potager and Tropical Garden are my priority this month but I plan on cleaning up the porch and front garden(s) before the end of the month.
The garden areas by the carport and in front of the house, the back forty - habitat area plus the sheds and storage areas all need a lot of work.
We'll see how it goes - there are several unfinished projects left over from the spring. I plan on getting as much as possible of the actual fall garden done in October and then deal with projects, sheds and storage in November.

What makes me happy is that we can already enjoy the garden now:) to have brunch in the Gazebo on the weekends or a glass of something in the Secret Garden. This is the first time we have been able to open the windows since Spring...

DECLUTTERING - ongoing in all areas of the house and expanding to shed and carport!
1. Keep on clearing and cleaning up the bedroom whenever the mood strikes - shelves and closet. 
2. STUDY - good progress in Sep but I'd like to finish the Study completely this month, incl. the closet, china cabinet and the hellish storage area.
Paper - filing and organization ...
Clear the clutter, the table and below the table...
Clear out CDs and movies...

3. Clean - re-organize - donate glasses - china, etc from china cabinets in both the study and living room.
Possibly start on the big shed - declutter books, art supplies, party supplies, and get rid of anything not used in three years.
Inventory: emergency supplies and look for expired food.
Carport - total clean-up - IN PROGRESS!

TAX - this week!!!

SAVING - hoping to exceed my monthly goal once again - we'll see.
Goal: $1707 - DONE!

SOCIAL
1. Three phone calls to friends - stay connected with old friends.
2. Two outings with friends - Anniversary Party and a ladies lunch.
3. One or two outings with Mr. R. - music or festival, dinner at a restaurant.

CREATIVE
1. Designing a wall display for the study - with prints, pictures, art, jewelry, mementos, plates??? and plants??? as well as appropriate lighting.
2. Installing a rainbow glass and bead art curtain hung on a carved wooden Balinese piece in the study window.
3. I plan to review some old travel photos to print and frame for the study and the hallway and I'd like to get back into photography again - we'll see.

We'll see how it goes - I've been wanting to do a cool wall display in the study for ages, at least a year. My Pinterest board is overflowing with inspiration:) and I'm finally almost there. I've been pondering and selecting all along. I'm also adding one good size (glass?) shelf for display and choosing a new recliner, daybed or chaise to comfortably recline and read or watch movies on my new TV since the study is primarily my hangout.
Lifestyles change:) and I'm happy to let go and free up space for the things I enjoy right now.

HEALTH and FOOD
Cut out the overindulgence with sweets.
Eat something raw or a salad with every meal.
Make those medical appointments.
Keep up with two meatless days a week!

[LinneaH]

Late as always but I do want to join, so I am happy there is an October thread. October will be rather tough, both time-wise and mentally, so I will be kind to myself when setting some goals.

I will continue to use the "life wheel" model, focus on ten important areas of my life and set goals in each of them. It works well for me to structure my goals this way.

• Family: try to getting the kids more involved w/cooking dinners and baking. Try hard at less screen time for the kids. See what can be done about them (not) sleeping in their own beds. Prepare for DS2 November birthday.
• Sleep: continue trying lights out 10.30 pm if working next day.
• Apartment: Sort out the electricity app for the new phone (5-10 min task). Take care of outdoor plants areas. Reduce paper, go for at least 4*15 minutes. Hang four pictures.
• Food and nutrition: continue bringing lunch to work.
• Health: Find place for DS1 skin screening. Get through the dentist appointment.
• Family and friends: contact JH and plan a meet-up. Host dinner on the 27th. Invite someone over. Visit grandparents.
• Everyday life and lifestyle: Continue walking. Morning and evening yoga as much as possible - create a tracker.
• Commitments - community, travel and studies: Study for the Oct 23rd test and prepare for the day. Apply for language course no later than Monday 10th.
• Exercise: Run once (short). Gym once. Watch karate videos once. Go swimming once w/o the kids and once w/them.
• Finance: Bring lunch, decrease eating out, try to stay within budget.

As always:
Green: completed
Blue: progress
Orange: at risk
Red: did not complete

[getsorted]

I am trying to keep it simple:

-Only shop once a week, only spend $50
-Count all calories six days a week
-Use the elliptical 3 times a week for 15 minutes.

[Raenia]

Week 1 is wrapping up, and I think I'm going to have to lower a few goals and let October be a bit of a rest month for me.

1. Read 8 books - 3/8
  a. 1 Philosophy - Requested
  b. 1 History/Natural History - Requested
  c. 2 from TBR - 1/2, next requested
2. Do at least 35 sit-ups per day (average) - 50 (excluding days out of town)
3. Spend time outside 24 20/31 days - 3/6
4. Complete Half of "Foundations of Yoga" playlist (45 23 sessions) - 2/23

Creativity:
5. Sewing TBD once machine is fixed - No news
6. Bake something each week - granola x1
7. Try a new recipe
8. Applesauce canning?

Social:
9. Plan apple-picking
10. Visit Ren Faire?
11. Prepare for friend's Halloween Party - Working on costume ideas with stuff I already have
12. Celebrate Samhain

[Serendip]

Okay--I've been up visiting family so have kept it simple this month
 (and am including things I've completed since they were definite goals)

-help my parents with firewood done!
-dehydrate apples, clear trees so bears don't break branches (done!)

-keep grocery costs under $100/week starting tomorrow
-do two hikes this month

-complete a mandatory online course which I've procrastinated starting
-submit different course credits (find associated paperwork)

-pay $500 in tax instalments
-put another $500 into RRSP

[Rosy]

GARDEN
1. Secret Garden area is - DONE!
2. Party Central Area w gazebo - DONE!
Took us both only three days to clean up, reorganize, and weed.
3. ALL - Garden Furniture - Scrub - DONE!
4. Fountain - Clean up Slime - DONE!
5. Veggie Garden-Potager - now 60% done! Work in progress!

DECLUTTERING - ongoing in all areas of the house and expanding to shed and carport! - NO PROGRESS! YET...

SAVING - hoping to exceed my monthly goal once again - we'll see.
Goal: $1707 - DONE!
YAY - EXCEEDED GOAL by $1700.  Total Savings $3400.

SOCIAL - so far so good - even added a friend's birthday party to the mix.
1. Three phone calls to friends - stay connected with old friends.
2. Two outings with friends - Anniversary Party and a ladies lunch.
3. One or two outings with Mr. R. - music or festival, dinner at a restaurant.


CREATIVE - No progress this week since I concentrated on the garden.
1. Designing a wall display for the study - with prints, pictures, art, jewelry, mementos, plates??? and plants??? as well as appropriate lighting.
2. Installing a rainbow glass and bead art curtain hung on a carved wooden Balinese piece in the study window.
3. I plan to review some old travel photos to print and frame for the study and the hallway and I'd like to get back into photography again - we'll see.

HEALTH and FOOD - On track so far
Cut out the overindulgence with sweets.
Eat something raw or a salad with every meal.
Make those medical appointments.
Keep up with two meatless days a week!

[Serendip]

Okay--I've been up visiting family so have kept it simple this month
 

-help my parents with firewood-DONE
-dehydrate apples, clear apple trees-DONE

-keep grocery costs under $100/week starting tomorrow--so far, pretty good. I only $34 spent this week but my SO bought a bunch of things for me
-do two hikes this month (one so far)

-complete a mandatory online course which I've procrastinated starting signed up at least
-submit different course credits (find associated paperwork)--DONE

-pay $500 in tax instalments -$0
-put another $500 into RRSP -$0

[Raenia]

Slightly late week 2 update:

1. Read 8 books - 5/8
  a. 1 Philosophy - In progress
  b. 1 History/Natural History - On deck
  c. 2 from TBR - 1/2, next on deck
2. Do at least 35 sit-ups per day (average) - 33, need to be more consistent
3. Spend time outside 24 20/31 days - 11/15
4. Complete Half of "Foundations of Yoga" playlist (45 23 sessions) - 8/23, falling behind

Creativity:
5. Sewing TBD once machine is fixed - Fixed!
  a. PJ repair
  b. Skirt alteration
6. Bake something each week - granola x2, whole wheat bread x2, lemon muffins
7. Try a new recipe - Lemon muffins
8. Applesauce canning? - Apple picking scheduled

Social:
9. Plan apple-picking - Scheduled
10. Visit Ren Faire? - Didn't work out
11. Prepare for friend's Halloween Party - Working on costume ideas with stuff I already have
12. Celebrate Samhain

[Raenia]

Week 3 update:

1. Read 8 books - 8/8
  a. 1 Philosophy - Done
  b. 1 History/Natural History - Done
  c. 2 from TBR - 1/2, next started
2. Do at least 35 sit-ups per day (average) - 40, doing much better
3. Spend time outside 24 20/31 days - 16/21
4. Complete Half of "Foundations of Yoga" playlist (45 23 sessions) - 16/23, caught up to pace

Creativity:
5. Sewing TBD once machine is fixed - Fixed!
  a. PJ repair
  b. Skirt alteration
6. Bake something each week - granola x2, whole wheat bread x2, lemon muffins, banana muffins
7. Try a new recipe - Lemon muffins
8. Applesauce canning? - Apple picking scheduled

Social:
9. Plan apple-picking - Scheduled
10. Visit Ren Faire? - Didn't work out
11. Prepare for friend's Halloween Party - Working on costume ideas with stuff I already have
12. Celebrate Samhain

[Rosy]

GARDEN
1. Secret Garden area is - DONE!
2. Party Central Area w gazebo - DONE!
Took us both only three days to clean up, reorganize, and weed.
3. ALL - Garden Furniture - Scrub - DONE!
4. Fountain - Clean up Slime - DONE!
5. Veggie Garden-Potager - now 60% done! Work in progress!

DECLUTTERING - ongoing in all areas of the house and expanding to shed and carport! - NO PROGRESS! YET...

SAVING - hoping to exceed my monthly goal once again - we'll see.
Goal: $1707 - DONE!
YAY - EXCEEDED GOAL by $1700.  Total Savings $3400.

SOCIAL - so far so good - even added a friend's birthday party to the mix.
1. Three phone calls to friends - stay connected with old friends.
2. Two outings with friends - Anniversary Party and a ladies lunch.
3. One or two outings with Mr. R. - music or festival, dinner at a restaurant.


CREATIVE - No progress this week since I concentrated on the garden.
1. Designing a wall display for the study - with prints, pictures, art, jewelry, mementos, plates??? and plants??? as well as appropriate lighting.
2. Installing a rainbow glass and bead art curtain hung on a carved wooden Balinese piece in the study window.
3. I plan to review some old travel photos to print and frame for the study and the hallway and I'd like to get back into photography again - we'll see.

HEALTH and FOOD - On track so far
Cut out the overindulgence with sweets.
Eat something raw or a salad with every meal.
Make those medical appointments.
Keep up with two meatless days a week!

UPDATE
1. GARDEN
Veggie garden/Potager is now 95% some minor weeding, clean is still needed - no more than a days worth of work.
Then it will be ready to be planted and beautified - can't wait to start:).
ALSO - had Garden help so fall clean up continued and more storm damage was dealt with.
The county crew took care of one of the fallen trees.

Something bit me and I got
2. CREATIVE - decorating fun
Halloween and Day of the Dead are happening in the garden gazebo and in the house.

3. DECLUTTERING
CARPORT
The carport got cleared because of the hurricane and bit - by - nasty bit - I am winning the war with clean-up.
Got about 30% of it DONE so far. I call it good progress because I still have so many other projects going on at the same time.
STUDY - taking a stab at it off and on - minor progress.

WHOLE HOUSE DECLUTTERING - PLANS will continue into November.
However, I am trying a new approach something British called TOMM to keep me from going over the cliff with anxiety - just thinking about all that still needs to be done.
I lost a bit of my drive there for both the garden and the house because the hurricane set me back a whole week for the house and I'm still dealing with garden damage almost four weeks later.
All in all, for October I'm 'barely' OK with my progress but if this week goes well then I may be back on track for both the house and the garden. 
This month will determine whether I will meet my year-end goal of having everything back in shape again - garden, house, shed, utility room, and carport.
I know I can't get it all done but I'd like to at least have my house and garden back on track by Dec 31, 2022 - fingers crossed:).

The shed and utility room will just have to wait until January and February 2023. That might give me the chance to take my time and get more radical with decluttering the huge shed and small, totally crammed utility room nightmares.
We'll see how it all goes.
 
4. FOOD and HEALTH
Finally found a Meditterean cookbook that I like at Ollies (outlet store), along with an "I love my Insta Pot" cookbook that had some intriguing and inspiring recipes.
Last but not least I picked up a spiralizer for more raw salads. I got it at a deep discount so I will not feel bad if I decide that I don't like it after all.
9.99 instead of 39.99.
All three were on my list to help me stay on track and consciously cook healthy.

5. SOCIAL
Almost tripled my social outings with friends, with Mr. R, and going out and about. Triple means DONE and I still have two more events scheduled.


Modified Oct 27 - FINAL UPDATE for October -
1. CARPORT - more clean-up and organization and Halloween decoration - MORE PROGRESS.
Not all done - but might still get it completely finished by the end of the month.
2. GARDEN - started on the Tropical Garden area and will continue to alternate between the Tropical Garden and Potager - PROGRESS!

I'm glad I inserted some fun and creativity this month - we are enjoying the new Gazebo decor thanks to the great weather.

[Serendip]

Final update—-sorry on my phone so the colour-coding is too difficult to mess with :)
 

-help my parents with firewood-DONE
-dehydrate apples, clear apple trees-DONE

-keep grocery costs under $100/week starting tomorrow-- success
-do two hikes this month (DONE)

-complete a mandatory online course which I've procrastinated starting DONE
-submit different course credits (find associated paperwork)--DONE

-pay $500 in tax instalments -$0—fail for both of these due to one missed paycheque and some necessary professional fees that I needed to pay. Bummer but will do this next month.
-put another $500 into RRSP -$0

[LinneaH]

First update and it's already the 30th... it has been a busy month, it has slowed down now, but been very tired the last few days. Managed to get a couple of nights of long and good sleep, hope this can continue. Will colour code a bit and then come back w/more comments for final update.

• Family: try to getting the kids more involved w/cooking dinners and baking. Try hard at less screen time for the kids. See what can be done about them (not) sleeping in their own beds. Prepare for DS2 November birthday. I decided to not fuss w/their sleep this month, but instead put both in my bed and me in another bed in the same room. This is not optimal, but gives the best sleep right now. Have not had as much time and energy for baking and cooking w/them as I wanted, but some progress.
• Sleep: continue trying lights out 10.30 pm if working next day.
• Apartment: Sort out the electricity app for the new phone (5-10 min task). Take care of outdoor plants areas. Reduce paper, go for at least 4*15 minutes. Hang four pictures.
• Food and nutrition: continue bringing lunch to work.
• Health: Find place for DS1 skin screening. Get through the dentist appointment.
• Family and friends: contact JH and plan a meet-up. Host dinner on the 27th. Invite someone over. Visit grandparents.We are going to grandparents on Nov 2nd.
• Everyday life and lifestyle: Continue walking. Morning and evening yoga as much as possible - create a tracker.
• Commitments - community, travel and studies: Study for the Oct 23rd test and prepare for the day. Apply for language course no later than Monday 10th. The test was tough, I was so tired after, but I believe it went well. Will know end of Nov.
• Exercise: Run once (short). Gym once. Watch karate videos once. Go swimming once w/o the kids and once w/them.
• Finance: Bring lunch, decrease eating out, try to stay within budget.

As always:
Green: completed
Blue: progress
Orange: at risk
Red: did not complete

[Raenia]

Final update:

1. Read 8 books - 10/8
  a. 1 Philosophy - Done
  b. 1 History/Natural History - Done
  c. 2 from TBR - Done, 3/2
2. Do at least 35 sit-ups per day (average) - 36, as long as I do today I will meet the goal
3. Spend time outside 24 20/31 days - 22/30, probably will do today as well to get 23.  I'm amazed that I nearly made my original goal after such a bad start.
4. Complete Half of "Foundations of Yoga" playlist (45 23 sessions) - 26/23

Creativity:
5. Sewing TBD once machine is fixed - Fixed!
  a. PJ repair
  b. Skirt alteration
6. Bake something each week - granola x2, whole wheat bread x2, lemon muffins, banana muffins x2
7. Try a new recipe - Lemon muffins
8. Applesauce canning? - 10 quarts!

Social:
9. Plan apple-picking - Done
10. Visit Ren Faire? - Didn't work out
11. Prepare for friend's Halloween Party - Done
12. Celebrate Samhain - Celebrated a night early