Feb Eval, March start!
Okay Feb, with all your extra shifts picked up, events, and some serious drama going on at home. Hit me with your worst. March and I got you.
Evaluation:
Fitness:
- I want to get stronger. 5 day routine.. 10-20 minute burn out arms and legs x2/wk, a cardio/abs work out 35min-1hr x2/wk, and 1 new video/work out style x1/wk.
Jan: I think I want to jump back into P90X, as I enjoyed that series immensely.. I'm going to blend it with Fitness Blender. I'm switching things up as my schedule is, but going to try to mostly alternate.. Cardio (1 from P90X, one from FB) and Strength Training (sticking with shorter FB ones this month) days. I'm going to focus on Football Agility training and parkour training for January for the new work outs.
January posted a couple challenges for me. It was blisteringly cold many days of the week, several snows, and my eczema flared up each time the temperatures went way down. I did the best I could through it, but I will continue to keep this same goal for Feb because I could not get out to do agility training or parkour in the cold. I did do well with the weight lifting sessions, the cardio was based on how badly I felt like I wanted to set my skin on fire haha. I think Feb will be better all around as long as the current weather trends hold out.
Feb: Hah! P90X?! P90X!?!?! I didn't even X! I did get into some decent working out the first half of the month, but the extra shifts slowed me down. I didn't get to any parkour training AGAIN. My goals are too high, which sounds incredible silly to me because they seem so simple. 5 days, with only real length work outs 2 days? I dunno maaan. I'm going to try again. I think it does sound do-able, even with the things getting into my way that have been. One more go-around. If I can't hit the 5 day mark at least 2 weeks in a row by April I'll know I'm putting too much on my plate.. I just don't see how, I used to do this every single day without fail. I think my lazy bones are settling in and I need to just shake those bad boys out.
March goals: Weight lifting 10-20min 2x a week with FB, cardio 30ish min 2x a week with P90X and FB, and new training ... maybe once every other week with parkour.
- I want to become more flexible. Complete a 30 day beginner yoga challenge and 90 day yoga challenge. 1 Stretching video post work outs x3/wk. 5 minute bed stretch routine on work days.
Jan: I'll start with a 30 day challenge in February... Since I'm doing a HEMA challenge in January, I'm going to start this off by stretching post work outs in Jan and start trying to incorporate the work day bed stretching at least the first morning. Some life events got in the way of some of this. I did get some stretching done, and learned some new techniques, but not nearly consistently. I think I'll be doing Fightmaster Yoga's 30 day challenge. I started today and did alright with it, so we'll keep it going. The days I did stretch I did it after working out--so I think the 30 day challenge + 30 min stretching on weight lifting and cardio days will be helpful. The 5 min bed stretch I found a video I liked and have been working on it.
Feb: Actually, did not start out so bad on this! I got to Day 8! One out of every 3 days I was stetching fairly consistently, even at work! I'm keeping up with it, and though I 'fell off' a bit, it's still right there waiting for me so I think I got this. I did not stretch as soon as I woke up at all @_@ I simply forgot about this. I don't know if this is really important to me vs getting a decent stretch session in. The goal was to get something even if I skip a day. I think it's a bit too early to cut out, but if I forget about this tidbit again I think it'll be safe to throw it out, particularly if I'm stretching better overall.
March goals: 30 day yoga challenge video series to completion, and continue to try 5 min bed stretch routine when waking up.
- Go to all of my doctor appointments no matter what.
Jan: I have none in January! Yay! Starting off the year easyyyyy. I will, however, go through and re-evaluate my packets and plans. I already evaluated my dental coverage today, and ensured I had the best one I could possibly get. So now I'll just do the same with my VA packets and ensure all the paperwork is in a row.
Feb: Again, no MD appointments this month! Apparently there's new stuff going on in the VA, but I did not get an appointment with my VSO yet.
March goals: Hopefully get an appointment with my VSO and set up some dialogue about where I am at paperwork wise and what my timelines are looking like. I also actually DO have a doc appointment in March so.. there's that!
Food:
- Focus more on eating appropriate portions, reigning in snacking. Curb free food habits, make snacks vs buying them. Try intermittent fasting. By May consistently eating 12-1300 calories of food itself.
Jan: Whew I crammed a lot into this bullet point. ... I am going to intermittent fast though... I'm going to try a noon-10pm routine to start with, and see where it carries me. It isn't quite the 16off/8on that that system calls for, but it gives me flexibility to start with. I'll still stick with 2 meals/2 snacks and carry it from there. I ended up very quickly being in a 1pm-10pm schedule, and that has worked really well for me. 9 hours vs the 8, but considering I sometimes eat at 2pm or stop eating at 8pm the wiggle room is plenty for me. Not worrying about 1 entire meal has helped tremendously, and I always felt sort of forced into breakfast.. while I still eat breakfast, I just do it at 1pm instead of at 'breakfast time'. Overall I think this is beneficial to me, I don't feel lightheaded or dizzy or lazy or hungry (except just before the first meal, pretty normal.) I ended up with 2 meals and 1 good snack and 1 light snack a day, and it has worked really well. The best part is, I don't eat anymore/less per meal than I did before, so I think I've cut a good 400ish calories out of my diet just by skipping a meal and curbing my snacking. I did not try out the food app, but I might try that this month and see if I can calculate my caloric intake in Feb to see how I am eating. I did join the 1200isplenty reddit subgroup and I think there is some inspiration to be drawn from there.
Feb: I did this in Jan and Feb and omg it was awesome. IF is one of the better things I've done, and I definitely feel better overall. My meals have been largely consisting of 1 light meal (200-300 cal), a heavy meal (500-800 cal) just a couple hours later, and a light snack closer to bedtime (100-200 cal). Not only have I been more aware of how much I am eating, but I have noticed changes in my body too. I don't feel so heavy, and it looks like I've lost a pound or two though I haven't weighed myself. I don't feel lightheaded, or headachey, or hungry either. My tummy starts growling by 2pm, and I've already been able to narrow the window to an even 8 hours per ultimate goal on every day except for work days where my light snack might not be consumed until 11pm or even midnight because of busy shifts. Now, I am still overeating the days I don't track as consistently (having to go back and recall items and write them in, I noticed I get closer to 1400 cal) or don't get an opportunity to drink as much milk, but overall I'd say this is my biggest Feb win. It'll be interesting to see if my eczema calms down with the decreased weight. Also my budget game is strong, stayed under $40 this month per week.
March goals: Continue IF, and tracking calories.
- Smaller plates when serving food, asking for a to-go box at the beginning of a meal out.
Jan: I didn't eat at restaurants that provided much food (a small pho soup, or a kids meal at a fast food joint) so I didn't flex those carry-out options this month, but I'm okay with that. I think this month not being bombarded with it will give me some time to reset and attack anything that comes my way head on. I want to choose healthier restaurants and fast food options in general too. I did have to wash more smaller plates than larger ones this month, so I believe I have done a good job of passively swapping those out.
Feb: I didn't go to many restaurants here either! The only day I did was Valentine's day, and while I did not take a to-go box home and did not order 100% the healthiest thing ever (sushi appetizer AND chicken katsu plate) overall this wasn't a huge issue. I did take some cookies home from work once during V-day too. Honestly, I feel like I might not even need this goal anymore with IF, it seems redundant, so I'm going to cut it out entirely. IF is working plenty for me, I'ma stick with that. I'm only keeping in the empty tupperware goal for work as that is a source of unnecessary eating habits for me.
March goals: Stick with it, ask for a to-go box if a big meal at a restaurant comes up.
- More fish in meals and protein in my diet.
While I'm at it, I'm going to cut the cooking experimentation out of my goals too. Trimming it all up here to what's truly useful to me.. and with me staying under budget, feeling good, eating well, I'm happy with my results and don't need to rock that boat anymore. I AM still going to experiment.. just not with particular arbitrary categories. I am making some bagels next week on my first week back to myself from skinnytaste, pickling some daikon for the first time, etc. I don't feel the need to add onto my plate and am going to focus on other goals. I'm not having any trouble at all eating fish more frequently in some way, shape, or form, and protein intake is good, so I'm trimming this out.
- My water intake. A small cup of water/tea with each meal, and a cup of water when I first wake up.
Jan: I think I'm going to kick off the habit by buying some of those tiny water bottles and putting them in the bathroom and by the bed. That way I'm reminded to drink them and will at least grab it and drink it as I walk around the house. As I get accustomed to it I think I'll start to crave it again on my own and won't need them. I have a small jar cup next to the water dispenser, and I'm drinking it as I prep my food vs eating it with the food, but it still counts to me. I'll start recording the times I don't in January. I did really well on this! Until my BF caught on to the fact there were tiny water bottles everywhere and started consuming them too haha. I don't go to regular grocery stores often (every other week.. so twice a month..) so I need to really stock these up. I did start craving water when I woke up though, and did get a cup on my own, so I know it is working. I did alright on the hot-tea side of things this month because of how frigid it was. Feb goals: Stock up for the entire month on water bottles + extras for the BF, and drink a cup of hot tea with a meal. Drink 2 cups of water before I clock in at work too.
Feb: My water intake, despite more shifts, has been pretty good actually. On REALLY busy shifts I've not had time, but usually I can sit down and drink a 2-3 glasses of water at work. I also have been consuming green tea at home (found some premade green tea unsweetened for $0.50 a 2L from Pure Leaf, which is pretty damn awesome.. it's not oiocha good, but close enough) on a fairly regular basis, and find myself running out quickly which is a good thing. As the weather warmed up so too did my desire to drink beverages again. I also have noticed that when I am 'hungry' I can actually drink and feel satisfied, I'm starting to differentiate between thirst and hunger again. Which is incredibly awesome.
March goals: Keep taking in adequate amounts of water. 1 cup when waking up, 2 cups at evey shift or 1 cup with each meal at home. Keep water on hand in the car.
- I need to break the "im so poor I need free food" habit.
Jan: I think I'm going to do something a bit unusual and try bringing some empty tupperwares with me to work. If I see something I WANT to eat but I am not hungry, I will package it up and take it home... if I still want it before it goes bad, cool, if my partner eats it, cool, if not, toss it. We'll see how it goes. There's going to be a lot of Christmas Candy lingering around at work. Since I am orienting to new floors, and only working 2 days a week in January, this was not an issue at all. I did keep an empty tupperware with me though! Not as much Christmas Candy as I thought would be lingering, but I didn't get back into work until the 5th. I haven't been eating at work at all, rather just eating right before I leave and a snack during my break to keep with the fasting ritual. Feb goals: Keep an empty tupperware in my backpack, package any food I think I want and bring it home for later vs eating it right then to keep with the fasting pace.
Feb: This has worked really, REALLY well for me. I keep a tupperware in my car now, and one in my backpack for work. It's saved my butt from cookies and pizza already. My BF ate both haha. This really did work like a charm though, and I'm fairly proud to say there was only one day I ate the stuff at work--and I lacked a tupperware that particular day haha. I was recently at a benefit I was helping host, and while I ate my fair share of food, I did not indulge in Everything and even took items home like chopped veggies and hummus.
March goals: Bring tupperware with me at all times--both in my car, and in my backpack.
General cleaning/organizing:
- Clean up 5 minutes a day.
Jan: I'm still going to have a clean-up day once a week where I go through and put things away in the house and do projects and stuff for a while... but for now: Wash dishes x2/wk, sweep the floors x1/wk, dust x1/wk, laundry x1/wk. I'm going to write it on the white board and cross them out. HAHAHAHA. This was a total flop in Jan. We had a trip for several days, viking fight night, and adult/family issues that we had to address over a week constantly on top of work and other goals that took priority. You'd think a gal would find 5 minutes to clean, but this was absolutely forgotten about. I did keep up with the dishes in a timely manner.. but today is laundry day for the FIRST time in January. hahaha. and it's the end of the month. Feb goals: Take a stab a 5 min cleaning a day sessions. Maybe not assigning a particular role to a day as that might be too much to remember, but SOMETHING to be cleaned once a day certainly.
Feb: Hmmm.. I did so some cleaning some days, and nothing other days when I definitely could have and was lazy as hell. We had a friend come over and we whirlwind cleaned the house into acceptable friend-coming-over conditions instead of the competition to see how could outbachelor each other that we had been doing. It all worked out in the end, and with two people the house gets into shape quite quickly, but I think sticking to this goal overall is beneficial.
March goals: 5 minutes of cleaning each day.
- I'll pick a project, a room, something, and spend the whole month on it.
Jan: "I think I'm going to start with organizing paperwork in January...." I've already started weeding down papers as they come into my life, and I've taken some old folders and gone through and trashed old documents while at work. I'm going to spend a day separating them all out, then take them handfuls at a time and organize them. I did start this alright, but did not work many days and those days were incredibly busy! I got through a tiny amount, but I will continue this project in Feb. I only got one serious document in Jan and that was my W-2. Feb goal: Weed down and sort out papers, scan the ones I can and email them to myself, start a google photos album of papers I might need to reference but don't need a PDF of. Slowly transition all Neat files into PDFs that are either emailed or photographed. Scan documents as they come into my life vs piling them up. Do the taxes this month too.
Feb: Taxes are being worked on, certainly, but this was not completed in Jan. It likely will be in Feb, I can finish up by Wednesday. Grabbing a stack of papers and sorting through them at work is slower going than I thought, but it is a REALLY good system for me so I'll keep it up. Feb I had kept this goal, but I think I'll try out continuing this trend of a few papers and a time and try something new in March.
March goals: Continue scanning in papers and sorting through emails at work, new project of sorting through clothing and toiletries. Getting clothes that need to go to Texas and packaging them up so that I don't even need to pack clothes when I go to Texas I can wear outfits there, paring down clothes I no longer use or wear, mending clothing that needs mending, etc. And going through and replacing toiletries, getting rid of old ones I don't use, and really just sticking to the essential items that I actually like and use. I haven't touched a hundred items in over a year. If I can get around to sorting through and getting rid of military items that'd be cool too. Some of them will go to Texas for work clothes.
Financial:
- I want to max out my IRA this year, my emergency fund as well in a high interest savings account, finance the rest of my HEMA equipment, and truly get started in investing. I've been holding onto my savings right now because of some big picture stuff coming up in the near future.
Jan: I have the high interest savings account picked out, I'm going to transfer funds into there as soon as I build up the fund. Based on my calculations, I should be maxed out on both things by october. I have a feder to pay for with 2 shifts, 2 shifts I need to work to make up for the spending on some of my throat protection and armor, and 3 shifts I need to work to make money for my travels this season... and then I can relax the rest of the year. I'm going to split these up by the month and do 3 in Feb (I can't Jan Im on orientation unfortunately), 2 in Mar, and 2 in April. My money is being collected in my bank accounts, and budgeting has taken over this month. I'm picking up a couple extra shifts in Feb and Mar to help bring in some much needed income to offset things I need for HEMA and traveling. Still waiting on word of what we could do with the land in TX. Feb goals: Pick up those shifts! Pay for the armor being built, and wait just one more month to see if any word on the land. If not, allocate the current savings into IRAs for this year and last year, go ahead and pay off rent for this year, and finally max out my emergency account. All future savings can start going towards investments.
Feb: I literally wrote the check today for rent hahaha. My BF is such a dunce about rent. I'm calling Vanguard and talking to them this week, and getting them to walk me through initial investments for this year. I might be rolling over my USAA retirement accounts to them and keeping it all in one place. I changed my exemptions on my taxes for next year to 0 so I'll get bigger tax returns and not worry so much, and I increased my retirement savings via paychecks so I'm contributing more per paycheck as well without thinking about it. I have a decent 3-pronged portfolio in mind, and I'll be enlisting into some admiral shares and letting those grow. We DID get work on the land... and it was a bust. The guy's kids don't want to sell. Bummer. So we're shopping around, and I'm keeping enough pocketchange around for when we find the perfect spot. I'm hoping I can invest 12k a year into savings, retirement, etc. I think I can. So far, I've saved a paycheck and spent a paycheck each month. The extra shifts were worth the scratch, I'm glad I did them, but will be very glad to take a break in March and April.
March goals: Get everything switched over to Vanguard, put my emergency fund into Ally, start my portfolio, and continue saving 50% of my base paychecks.
Hobbies:
- Work through the first 20 lessons'. First half of the year to work on the first 10 lessons. Lesson 5/6 in Jan, 7 in Feb, 8 in Mar, 9 in April, 10 in May.. The song book 1 in June and July.
Jan: I've started out small here, just practicing the notes and melodies (6 of them) 3 times each a day. It only takes me about 10 minutes to get through them... I just focus as much as I can on proper posture and my movement of my arms. I think practicing an instrument usually takes hours and hours, but as I don't have that and am moving slowly this is good enough for now. The BF was home much of January, it was slow from bad weather. I did work on open strings as I could, but not all the days I could have either. There was a lot of shit going on in Jan. Definitely slowing it down and doing a lesson a month and focusing on the practice of those. Feb goals: Lesson 6. Keep it to one lesson a month. I think just practice lesson 5's music once to warm up before each session.
Feb: I did start this! I printed out the music sheets which helped, and I have a convenient music stand because I'm a nerd, and so I do practice whenever I can. It's been busy this month for many reasons, but I still got a few sessions in.
March goals: Keep it up! Practice lessons 5 and 6, get used to reading the notes and playing, and if I ease into lesson 7 all the better.
- I want to score a winning round in SiS, compete at all in Queen's Gambit, create my leather jacket and put my patches on it, Go to Okoberfecht again, get myself a complete set of useable gear that I can travel with and fight in without any loaner equipment, and memorize at least half of the montante rule sets. Enroll in Sword Carolina Online and start practicing at home.
Jan: I'm registered for Queen's Gambit! Half the battle done... and it'll give me a bench mark on what to work on for SiS. January I will be participating in a 30 day HEMA challenge, our instructor is making anyone who finishes it entirely a beautiful patch to wear. So, January I am focusing on the vest, and the challenge. Feb I will work on ordering the feder and assembling my gear. O.F. is long away from now, I'll mess with it then. I will be incorporating practice of the rules of Montante into that 30 day challenge. It's 30 minutes everyday. On my work days, I will read, as it's easy and accomplished at work on my lunch break. That's 2 days a week. I'll practice Montante x1/wk, Longsword x2/wk watching SCO, and do drills x2/wk. Happy to say, I am 3 days away from completing the 30 day HEMA challenge. Patch well earned. I have a design for my vest, I just need to get an old girly t-shirt to use as a pattern and take it over to my instructor. Turns out I can't really work on that any faster, and my armor has taken priority from recent events, so one thing at a time. Working on the memorization of montante. I have not enrolled in SCO, and might not in Feb either, but I think March will be a good time to start that to help amp me up for SiS. I found out about a new material and I bought some samples for the school to test out.
Feb: I am registered for SiS, and I competed in QG! I lost, but I did it! I had fun. I did register for PHO in Houston but I am thinking maybe this is too much right now and maybe I ought to reign it in and just hang out with friends there vs going as a competitor. Working on my gear, I have a battle skirt now! We have a design in place for my leather vest too, and I know how to stitch leatherwork so I can sew my patches on! I haven't done any montante lately, nor registered for SiS, but we'll see how it goes this month.
March goals: Enroll in SCO maybe, order my feder (YAY!) so I can actually train at home with what I will fight with, and redact my PHO registration and stick with SiS as my focus. Keep developing my armor with my instructor and my leather vest as he gets time. Order a medium jacket so I can actually fit my hips into my jackets.
- Continue going to at least 2 HEMA classes a week.
Jan: Nothing more to add to this plan, I almost always have 2 evenings free for a couple hours.. January is going to be particularly HEMA heavy for reasons described below. MOSTLY got this done, I had a trip that blocked out a week and some legitimate weather issues cancelled several classes, but otherwise I feel like I crushed this goal. Feb goals: Continue to attend HEMA 2 days a week at least.
Feb: I have been working with this best I can around my shifts! Nothing to complain about here.
March goals: 2x a week HEMA training.
- I'd like to go snowboarding once this year.
Feb: We got the gear down, got ready, and... it was cancelled. Unseasonably warm weather (Yay!) means no snow for snowboarding.
March goals: I didn't get this done.
But there's late this year potentially! Go this year still.
- I'm going to try to make 1 hash a month. It'll count as a run day for fitness too, so bonus.
Jan: I did alright, I did go to ONE hash this month. Hahah. I did not make it though, because of my flare up, but I will try again in Feb. Feb goals: 1 hash run.
Feb: Did not. HEMA, drama, etc. came first. Extra shifts on weekends did not help.
March goals: 1 hash run!
- Japanese study - Finish book 1 and start book 2. Work more with anki. Watch 1 show in Japanese a week, 1 podcast a week.
Jan: Going to DL anki on my next work days. Watched A netflix show (Midnight Diner, I love that show), and listened this week to an easy Japanese news cast. Sort of failed on the show and podcast side, but I did work with Anki a lot and it is helping with the vocab quite a bit. I wish I had started it sooner, but my old phone was not operating it correctly. Today is Japanese study, and we've been working on Chapter 6 lately. Lots of Japanese shows on youtube and netflix so I need to make a good effort for that even if it's at work on my lunch break with headphones, and podcast on the way home from work. Feb goals: Work on vocab more between sessions, continue writing note summaries of the chapters as those have been very helpful, try again with 1 show a week and 1 podcast a week with work to see if that helps.
Feb: Anki is awesome! I don't do it EVERY day like I should still, but it is awesome and I am so glad I got a phone that it works on. I'm Copying my vocab lists from the book this week and working even more on vocab expansion in March. Our meet ups slacked this year, but we're swinging back into it. Chapter 7 was seriously problematic for us, and we had trouble understanding it. We're going to move a bit slower it looks like from here on out. Te form and understanding wtf it actually is difficult.. it isn't just "it does this" or "it is this".. it is a whole slew of things with nuances and stuff.
March goals: Get through Chapter 7 and maybe Chapter 8. Work on vocab. Increase listening skills and sentence formulating. Re-do homework and workbook sections.
In summary of ALL of this, March goals are:
Fitness:
- Weight lifting 10-20min 2x a week with FB, cardio 30ish min 2x a week with P90X, once every other week with parkour.
- 30 day yoga challenge video series, 5 min bed stretch routine when waking up.
Health:
- Meet with VSO.
- Continue intermittent fasting 8 hour windows. Track the food eaten for calories.
- Order appropriate portions of food at restaurants, or take a to-go box.
- A cup of water or tea when I wake up, 2 cups at work at least, or 1 cup with each meal at home.
- Keep an empty tupperware in my backpack and in my car for free food.
- 5 min cleaning a day. No assignments, but SOMETHING cleaned once a day.
Financial:
- Weed down and sort out papers, scan and email important ones, start a google photos album of papers I don't need a PDF of. Transition all Neat files into PDFs/photos. Scan documents as they come in. Complete taxes.
- Sort through clothing and toiletries so that it doesn't look like a stereotypical cluttered girly mess in my bathroom and closet. Package up clothes for Texas.
- Allocate the current savings into IRAs for this year and last year, go ahead and pay off rent for this year, and balance investments so that emergency fund and investments are saved in fairly appropriate terms.
- Transfer accounts to Vanguard and Ally appropriately.
Hobbies:
- Continue to practice Lessons 5 + 6 and introduce 7 when I feel confident. Keep it to one lesson a month.
- Build up my armor and gear, buy my jacket. Order the feder.
- Continue to attend HEMA 2 days a week at least.
- Keep an eye out for good snowboarding weather late this year.
- 1 hash run.
- Work on vocab more, review chapters, try again with 1 show a week and 1 podcast a week, improve sentence forming and structure.
(As an aside, I hope I can add costume building to this month! A good Mumen Rider Costume calls to me, and I think I'm going to piece together a legit Duo Maxwell costume.. it's not too hard to put together and with my hair I think it'll be awesome and fastish.)
I never have.
You and your dear friend will be in my thoughts, SASF. *sigh*
