Happy August 1st – AKA Run Around the House Changing Calendars Day!

It’s that special time in the Blog-o-Sphere where we take a moment to assess our abilities to follow through on preset goals, apply pats on the backs and/or slaps to the noggins, and develop new goals that will make us stronger, better, more organized, and closer to the Pinterest goddesses that we know we are truly meant to be.

Let’s take a look at what my goals were for the month of July 2012:

• Become a real person – HA!  I love it.  Well, on this front I have purchased and mailed out birthday and anniversary cards, which for me is huge because I’m not with it enough most of the time to remember these dates until Facebook reminds me.  That’s a soul-sucking way to live, BTW.  Also, I’ve started to plan out our meals about three days in advance, making smaller and more frequent trips to the grocery store.  I’ve also cut back on some “luxury” items to save up some cash.  Big girl decision:  Do you really need to have access to reruns of Six Feet Under and unedited Sopranos?  Sorry, HBO.

• Begin researching homes and the home purchasing schtick - 

As it turns out, I’m actually right on pace here.  Dear Hubby and I have been scouting the area for suitable neighborhoods, talked with our new friends at our credit union and mortgage department, and have some exciting plans to view some homes in the near future!

• Reestablish the art of the Date Night with my husband – while I don’t know that we have a specific day of the week picked out, we have been really enjoying making something special out of each day/night.  For example, for the Olympics opening ceremony, we made dinner together including some delicious oatmeal raisin cookies!  Not bad for some dudes on a budget!  Also, we’ve made some friends and have a trivia night at a local watering hole.  I’m sure that once the school year starts, we’ll have a more traditional style date night, but for now this is great.
• Start a “Dining Room Table” fund – I don’t know how soon we are going to actually be purchasing a dining room set, but we do have some cash for it when we’re ready.  Our old bedroom set was sold just after we moved to FL, so as soon as we have a dining room in a house, we’ll be ready to buy.
• Register for classes for the Fall semester through the University of Cincinnati. - Ummmm…yea, as far as this goes, because our priority has changed to housing, we are going to put a pin in my masters program.
• Run 130 miles in July - I actually ended up with 142.33  miles while my goal was 130
• Devote myself to putting in quality weights routine - I have made a concentrated effort to make sure that I am not slacking on the strength training department.  I have seen some amazing results in my body since taking the extra time to get in two to three quality sets of effective workouts.  With the addition of Snap Fitness and their amazing equipment, I have been able to blast through this goal.
• Look into local running clubs in Jacksonville. - I did investigate the running clubs, and I believe that I will be trying out some of the weekend groups soon.  Many of the running areas are just far enough away that a morning run may be out, but once the afternoon weather starts to cool off as we get into the Fall months, I will look into evening runs.
• Reading: I have the following books on my list that HAFTA get done this month:

July Highlights

Dear Hubby and I moved to Florida!!!!

We bought a zoo joined a gym!

I signed up for the St. Augustine Half Marathon and Jacksonville 5k Stadium Challenge

We visited some friends

Made some changes to our lifestyle of the rich and famous and spent a lot of time at the beach

August Highlights

• Setting up shop and kicking off a new school year!!!!!!  I’ve been spending more and more time planning out my classroom and curriculum (on Pinterest and Donald Trump’s bank account)
• My sister-in-law, Jeannie, will be here in two days to visit us!

Weird how Dear Hubby and his sister look nothing alike, right????

I am very excited to have her come to FL and show her around.  This will be the first time that Dear Hubby and I will have a guest, one that’s been invited at least.

• The start of the 2012 football season!!!!  The past two years in Alaska, without any other football fanatics, have taken their toll on Dear Hubby.  I love football, more than the average wife I’d say, but you have no idea the depths of passion and commitment that this man has for the sport and his teams:

Being in a new state, a totally new divisions and conferences means that we’ll have a new perspective on the games.  We are a Big Ten family; we know our rivalries of interest to be Michigan State vs Michigan & Ohio State vs Michigan.  Now I’m going to have to learn about the Southeastern Conference, SEC, and who the hello to root for in this jumble:

I can tell you that I had a pair of pajama pants made out of Florida Gator material when I was in middle school, so I guess I’ll go with that.

Also, we are about twenty minutes away from the Jacksonville Jaguars and their stadium, although I don’t know how much support they’ll get from us.

We’ve spent our entire lives waiting for the Detroit Lions to make the kind of progress that they’ve been making in the past five years; I don’t know if I can start over from the ground floor with a team that I don’t have a vested interest in.  Any excuse to tailgate I suppose.

August 2012 Goals:

School/Work:

1. Setup a successful and engaging classroom, designed to facilitate learning from a star-shining curriculum.
2. Meet and greet all my new co-workers and students; lay the ground work for productive and meaningful relationships.

Home Front:

1. Save, save, save.  Budget, Budget, Budget.  Constantly ask myself: “At the end of the month, will I be glad I made this purchase?”
2. Narrow down our “Must Haves” and “Deal Breakers” for our future home.
3. Preplan meals for the upcoming week and make shopping lists for them.
4. Use more coupons and help from this blog.

Personal:

1. Run 135 miles in August.
2. Continue to preplan my workouts in my calendar.
3. Not die at the 5k Stadium Challenge.
4. Read the following books:

The Perks of Being a Wall Flower by Stephen Chbosky

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Sold by Patricia McCormick

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak