October Goals

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I hope you’ve had a nice weekend so far.  Mine has included some time in the kitchen.

I made something delicious with this

Jar of natural low sodium jif peanut butter

 

Recipe to be posted soon.  Pumpkin Lovers, get ready.

Hint:  Something on the order of these

I also can’t believe it’s October 1.   Where has 2011 gone?

I’ve never posted monthly goals before because honestly, I don’t really set monthly “goals” in my own head.  Yes, I always have things I am working on, projects and tasks I’d like to accomplish, things I’d like to do and items on my radar screen but I don’t write them out because I just keep them all upstairs in my gray matter.  A very loose mental checklist of sorts.

I spent some time pondering what I want to accomplish this month and decided to share some goals for October:

1. Financial

Save money.  I have a specific amount in mind and I’ll let you know if I meet it or not.  I paid off my debt and have been saving money all year, but I’d like to save more before the end of the year.  And no, I won’t be going too crazy with holiday gift purchases.  At all.  Guess I can write off Thursday Things if I want to save more, but I’d rather have zeros in my bank account than random trinkets and knickknacks that don’t amount to much.  I think.

2. Exercise

Do different yoga poses than the ones I usually do; work on poses that I don’t like as much or that don’t come as easy.

black yoga mat on hardwood floorsI have a tendency to practice the same poses over and over at home because I have my little routine and I whip through it.  I need to push myself to practice asanas that are not in my current repertoire.

3. Health

Get more sleep.  At least 5.5 hours every night.  Yes, I get less than this most nights.

This has been goal of mine for ages, including on my 2011 Goals & Intentions list, i.e. New Year’s Resolutions as some people call them, but I have continued to fail at it, miserably.

I’d like to work on this for my overall and longterm health.  I don’t necessarily think it’s healthy to go without consistent sleep even if I can function “fine”.  I’ve trained myself over the years to function on less and less sleep.  I used to be a I have to have 8-9 hours girl.  But life changed, a baby happened, demands come up. 

I always say, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”   But I would like to sleep a little more now.

4. Cooking

Develop, photograph, and blog about two new original dessert recipes

Magic Eight Bars with chocolate chips and butterscotch chipsA few of you have written this week telling me you’ve made Magic Eight Bars which was a fun recipe to tweak and develop.  How could sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and graham crackers ever be bad though?

5. Photography

Give myself another self-assigned project and just get out there and take pictures.  And not of food.  People or things.

6. Blogosphere

Comment on less blogs.  I know many people want to comment on more blogs and I think that’s great.  It mirrors my own journey with reading one blog and commenting on it, to reading and commenting on more and more blogs until commenting has taken on a life of its own and has become a full time job.  And it keeps creeping up.  It’s also one thing that prevents me from getting sleep, which is when I know that I change is imperative.

For nearly the past three years, I have been what I’d like to think is a team player in the blogosphere by showing my support for fellow blogggers and commenting on at least 30 blogs per day and probably 100 different blogs per week.  I have made amazing friends, and have discovered a world that I never knew existed a few years ago.  But that world has grown and grown and grown.

I read probably 50 blog posts a day but don’t comment on them all.  And going forward, I plan to read in stealth and comment on less.  If all of a sudden you don’t see me commenting on your blog anymore, you know why.  I need to pull back from this commenting “job” and reclaim precious hours of my day for work, family time, sleep, and just real.life.

I appreciate each and every comment I get, and I appreciate my all readers, including those who read in stealth.  I wanted to be upfront that going forward I am going to pare way, way down on the commenting.  I am just putting this out there because I have people who used to comment on my blog and then just dropped off the map and they never explained things in any kind of post and I always wondered, was it me?

With me, it’s a time management issue because I can read in stealth about 5 times faster than if I comment.

I’m still reading, just not commenting.

7. Family

Spend more time with Scott and Skylar.  At least two extra hours per week of family time over what we have now.  Just being together is the most important thing in my life and I want more.

8. Friends

Get together in person with a friend at least once during the month.  That doesn’t sound like much, but I have said before that it gets harder and harder to make time for friends when you’re not in school, and when you have a job and a family, but I need to do this for myself to recharge my own batteries so that I can continue to give to my family and others.

A coffee meetup does wonders for the soul.  Even just an hour.

Questions:

1. Do you set monthly goals?  Do you write them down or keep them in your head?  Do you get down on yourself if you don’t meet your goal?

As I said in the post, yes, I have things I am always working on and a little laundry list that I keep filed away upstairs.  But I thought I’d write things out, share, and maybe help keep myself a bit more accountable.

If I accomplish none of these goals, sure, I may feel a little blah but I really don’t care that much, either.  Practicing non-attachment is important for me.

Yes, it’s nice to have goals but if things happen that prevent those goals, dreams, ideas, or intentions from becoming a reality, then so be it.

Try again another day, another month, another time.  Or don’t try.  Some things just aren’t meant to be.

I don’t get discouraged or beat myself up if things don’t go according to plan.  Life has ebbs and flows and not all goals are right for certain ebbs.  Wait until there’s a flow, and try again if it makes sense.

2. What are your goals for the month?

Have a great weekend and don’t forget to enter the Bella Bars Giveaway

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

Comments

  1. I like your “goals” post. It’s always nice to hear what others are working on and working towards.

    Good luck :)

  2. I JUST made these! I put dark chocolate chips in half of it. They are sooo yummy. Thanks for the recipe. There is a major pumpkin shortage in norcal, I got the last 2 at target and none of the grocery stores have it! :(

    1. Glad to hear they were a success! and with Choc Chips, too :) I suggested that to a Facebook Fan/reader just a second ago!

  3. For real I hear you on the blog commenting thing! It gets me some hits but I mainly do it because I want to show my support and develop a “kula” in the blogging world. So I like to try to foster that encouragement by commenting on others’ blogs, but to be honest, comments are more heartfelt when they’re meant and thought about so I am going to start commenting only on posts that really call to me. Thanks for the advice Averie! Good luck with your goals :).

    1. yes when I was new in the blogging world, comments were VERY important to get my name out there, and they are still important to show support…but after YEARS of daily support-showing, I need to re-carve out time for my own life :) I know you’ll find the balance and I LOVE your comments to me….they’re always heart felt.

  4. Good luck with your goals! I used to just think about my goals rather than write them down. Since I’ve been blogging and posting them for all to see, and reflecting on them each month I think I’ve become more action-oriented which is really great for me.

    I need to do some self-assigned photography projects! Fall in New England is a great time for that :)

  5. Oh I am so ready for that recipe! Two of my favorite things ;) Great goals!! I need to make some, I never do.

  6. I really need to do my October goals, thanks for reminding me!
    I completely understand about the commenting, I read your blog a lot and I feel bad that I don’t comment more! You have such a great attitude, good luck with all of your goals :-)

  7. No monthly goals. I try to focus on ONE goal at any given time though. I feel like I reallly need to focus. Your goals are awesome though, ALL of which I’d like to do too. Right now, I’m focused on getting stronger and more fit again. After that…I think it will be a new car :)

  8. I love your goals!! Spending more time with family and getting more SLEEP is defintiely something I’m trying to get better at! And I TOTALLY understand on the commenting thing! I used to blog comment so much but now I have learned to prioritise things, which means commenting less! But still reading all my fave blogs like YOURS :)

  9. Oooh, girl I am excited for this recipe. PB + Pumpkin is always a good thing;) In fact, I just made some PB Pumpkin bars again. They’re almost gone, so I could use another recipe!!:)

  10. Holiday gift purchases?! ahhh! I’m not ready to begin even thinking about that. Must get through Thanksgiving next week… then it’ll start feeling like Christmas :|

  11. This may be my favorite post of any blog in awhile. I love your goals! I am so grateful that you have commented on my posts, but I am so proud of you that you are trying to do more in “real life.” As much as I love the blogosphere, I am old hashioned in my beliefs that if you want to talk to someone, call them up and tell them you want to meet them somewhere. You rock, Averie. ;)

  12. I don’t really make set “goals,” but there are things I want to accomplish in life and I do write them down so I can keep them in mind. I think you are amazing for deciding to devote more time to the things that are important to you.

    I feel bad being a “lurker” on so many blogs, but I can’t even begin to figure out how to carve more time out for commenting. I’m writing my first blog post on what will be my website (inspired by so many awesome bloggers like you!) and all of the “tips” say to be an avid commenter. But even if I’m the only one who ends up reading my future blog, I’m good as long as I’m enjoying the process.