I’ve decided to try something new. I was lost somewhere in the blogsophere when I came across a woman’s blog that peaked my interest. Each month, she set her goals- out in the open for everyone to see! What a great idea! Not only are you taking the time each month to sit down and decide what you’d like to work on about yourself, but when you put it out there for everyone to read, you’re also tying in some accountability for yourself.
So, here we are… October 2nd. I think from now on, I will aim to have these monthly goal posts to roll out on the first of each month. How appropriate for me that I’m a day late on my first post in this series. Maybe I should make that my first goal for the month-
Goal # 1:
Stop procrastinating!
I mean, it’s already October and the holidays will be here before we know it. It’s already such a stressful time of year… add a little procrastination to that… and you’ve got one hot mess. One thing that I will set out to do this month is to make a Christmas Shopping Guideline/List. I do this every year, only usually waaaay later. It’s simply a list of everyone that I plan to buy holiday gifts for and then space to fill in things that I buy for them (and I also keep track of how much I spend). My husband and I both have rather large families and Christmas can get expensive, so planning ahead is the best way for me to tackle this task. I’d also like to start shopping and planning earlier too. I always set out with the best intentions of not being one of those last-minute shoppers. And then every year, I find myself over-caffeinated and over-stressed about getting everything finished in time. So for my second goal, I’m going to get started and get organized!
Goal # 2:
Organize a holiday shopping list
Now that we are talking about the holidays… the other thing on my mind besides shopping is… FOOD! Holidays and food are totally a package deal. First up on the calendar is Halloween. Thankfully, I really don’t care much for candy. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll eat it, but it’s just not something that I ever crave or go to snack on. Homemade cookies and baked goods?! Now that’s another story entirely!! Give me all the cookies!
Back to the holidays and food… Living in Ohio, it becomes difficult to indulge in the holiday favorites while still staying in shape. Sometimes it feels like a long, cold, never-ending Winter. I had made plans to start running again, drop some weight and to get into better shape. Well…. after a chaotic Summer, that didn’t quite work out the way that I had wanted to. Going into the holiday season AND Winter with the goal to lose weight and get in shape seems foolish, but it’s what I’m doing.
I told my sister that I would run a half marathon with her in the Spring and I plan to keep that promise. I’ve run a half marathon once before with my sister a few years ago. I wasn’t a runner when I agreed to run it with her. When I first started training for the race, I couldn’t run a solid mile without stopping for a break, but I worked at it and worked at it and then one day something just clicked- and I ran ten uninterrupted miles that day. I really enjoyed running and I want to get back to it. Also, running a half marathon was such an incredible experience. It’s was so fun to run while strangers cheer you on along the path, everyone was so positive and so happy. I look forward to doing it again.
Here is a pic from after the Half. 🏃🏻♀️
For my third goal, I plan to keep things realistic. I want to start running again and ease myself back into it I haven’t had a decent workout in probably a month… 🤦🏻♀️
Goal # 3:
12 workouts this month
12 workouts- that’s about 3 workouts a week. Totally do-able. I’m hoping to do more than 12, but I want to start with something reasonable. Soccer season is winding down and I’m hoping that our family schedule becomes less chaotic as well. If I’m going to be running a half-marathon again in the Spring, I’ve got to get started. Like yesterday. Depending on weather, I’ll soon be forced to train strictly on a treadmill and that has really not translated well for me in the past. Maybe it’s because when I’m on my treadmill, I’m usually in my basement (at the most optimal temperature), fan blowing to keep me cool, water bottle within reach, headphones with my favorite playlist and a tv on to keep my eyes from getting bored. HAHA! So, yeah… that doesn’t translate well to real racing conditions. Especially in Ohio, especially in the unpredictable Spring weather. When my sister and I had run this race, we came dressed in old sweats and quickly dis-robed once the race started. I had no idea that this was what people did for these things! There were literally clothes everywhere at the starting line! I heard that they pick up the clothes and donate all of them- that’s pretty cool, if true.
So these are my goals for the month of October! At the beginning of each month, I will set all new goals for myself along with a re-cap of how I did on the previous month’s goals. I’d love it if anyone would like to join me with your own monthly goals. Leave one (or a few) of your goals in the comments and hopefully we can accomplish them together!
Welcome to Cupcakes and Sarcasm! My name is Maggie and I am the creator of C & S. I am a wife and mom of two beautiful kiddos. I grew up in Columbus, Ohio and now live in Northeast Ohio with my family. I have been cooking and baking since I was a kid. I decided in 2017 that I wanted to share my passion (and recipes) with all of you! On this site, you’ll find easy and delicious recipes- both savory and sweet. I’ll also sprinkle in some stories of parenting and our adventures along the way.