Stephany Writes

Categories: Goals

Monthly Goals | August 2019

July seemed to fly by but I’m also like, “Fourth of July was this month?!” It was a long but quick month for me and full of fun, family time, birthday celebrations, and lots of rainy days. I set five goals for myself and I’m happy with my progress, even though I didn’t accomplish everything on my list.

1) Follow my budget. I’m marking this as complete, even though I could have tried harder with my budget this month. But I am finally operating on a monthly budget system rather than a biweekly one (which I used since I get paid biweekly, but always led to me feeling like I was living paycheck to paycheck). It is working out SO much better and makes me feel so much less stressed about money. I’m going to spend the next few months just keeping track of my budget and where money is going for things like eating out, entertainment, shopping, etc., so I can figure out a realistic budget for those extras.

2) Participate in #24in48 (and read for at least 18 hours). Not complete, sadly. The weekend of the readathon wound up being super busy, even though I thought it would be plan-free. I barely had a moment to myself, much less 18 hours set aside for reading. Hopefully, I can participate the next time around!

3) Eat a healthy breakfast. Complete! I am so proud of myself for this goal. Breakfast has long been a struggle of mine, but in order to keep hypoglycemia episodes at bay, I need to consume a lot of calories and protein during this meal. I started making avocado toast with a fried egg, and it’s been perfect. It’s so satisfying and keeps me full for at least 3-4 hours.

4) Do a ClassPass trial. Not complete. July was a very busy month for me and I just couldn’t find a good week in the month to do the trial where I could make the most of it. I did find some great PopSugar workout videos on YouTube that I’m enjoying, though, to vary my workouts a bit.

5) Take my vitamins. Complete! I’m back in my routine of taking my vitamins and it feels good. Sometimes, you just need to make something a goal to get back on track.

Three out of five is good enough for me! Here are the goals I’m setting for August:

1) No fast food. I’m trying to add one healthy habit to my life every month, rather than forcing myself to follow arbitrary calorie or points goals. Counting calories/points has never been something that really motivates me, but simple goals like these do! For the month of August, my goal is to cut out fast food. I rely on it way too much when I just need something quick and it never makes me feel good.

2) Have a no-spend weekend. I’ve been trying to plan for no-spend months and it’s just been too hard to coordinate with my life right now. Instead, I’m going to try a no-spend weekend. The weekends are when I spend most of my money anyway, so it’ll be very good for my bank account!

3) Get my glasses cleaned. I have been needing to go to Visionworks to have them thoroughly clean my glasses (as in, pop out the lenses to clean out the frames) because they’re kinda disgusting. Lots of dirt and makeup buildup! Making it a goal is an easy way to make sure I get this done.

4) Get blood work done. It’s time for blood work again! I had blood work done at the beginning of this year and had some concerning results related to potentially being pre-diabetic. I haven’t done all I can to eat healthier or work out as much as I should over these last six months, so I’m nervous about getting my blood work done again, but I need to just do it and see what happens.

5) Work out 25 times. I’m totally behind on my goal of working out 150 times this year. As of today, I’m at 75 workouts and I should be at 88 workouts. By the end of August, I need to be at 100. This means I need to commit to at least 25 workouts this month to get back on track. Let’s do this!

What’s something you want to accomplish in August?

Categories: Goals

Operation Write My Novel | April-June Recap

So, my last “Operation Write My Novel” update was at the end of March. Eeps! Three months later, and I don’t have a great update to give. I didn’t write at all in April or May. Most of my free time in April was spent working on my Ireland itinerary and planning for my first big international trip. And, in May, it took me some time to get back into the swing of things (+ I had a big freelancing article to complete) so I told myself I could take the month off and get back to it in June.

And I did get back to it in June! I wrote… just not as much as I wanted to. I never hit my weekly goal of 3,000 words but I did make some progress in my novel in other ways. Let’s discuss!

June 2-8

  • Words written: 488

I spent part of the end of May and the beginning of June doing some soul-searching about my novel. There was just something that wasn’t right, some plot point or character that needed to be changed. I read over my plot summary a few times and then one morning, while I was in that weird state between dreaming and waking up, that time when you’re not asleep but not fully awake either, it came to me. It’s like I had been waiting to receive the right puzzle pieces – they were just outside the periphery of my mind – and finally, they appeared and the whole plot of my novel clicked into place.

While I won’t get into what the exact change was, I will say that it involved reconstructing the background story of my hero and switching the romance trope to something that makes so much more sense for my two main characters. This change will require going back and reworking some of my earlier scenes (and scraping some of them entirely because they no longer fit the plot), but it’s going to be so worth it.

Once I figured this out, I got so excited about my novel and the work I’m creating. It’s nothing life-changing (I’m writing a romance novel, after all), but hopefully, it will put a smile on people’s faces.

In the end, I wrote just under 500 words this week because I spent more time reworking certain plot points than writing. I finally forced myself to open my WIP and get some words down, and it felt so good to get back to this world I’m creating.

June 9-15

  • Words written: 836

A disappointing writing week for me, especially coming off my brilliant plot change from the previous week. I only made time to write during my writing date and didn’t get as much written as I’d hoped, as my goal is always to write 1k words during these dates. The writing also felt so hard this week. Every sentence felt so difficult. I think it’s mostly due to being out of the habit. Hopefully, once I’m writing more regularly, it won’t feel so hard.

June 16-22

  • Words written: 1,659
  • Things researched: funny trivia names, hard trivia questions, high school plays

Woohoo! This was a good writing week for me, even though I’m still not hitting the 3k word count like I want to. But this was a good writing week for me, as I got >1k words written during my writing date as well as an extra 500 words written earlier in the week. I’m finally feeling good about my novel again and excited to see what’s next.

June 23-29

  • Words written: 736

Another lackluster writing week, but I’m actually proud of myself for getting some words down this week since I didn’t have my usual writing date with my friend, M. (She was out of town.) I had a very busy week, though, and a busy weekend and it was hard to find the time to sit down and write. I really need to make writing a priority again, like I was doing at the beginning of the year. Right now, it’s more of an afterthought.

June 30 – July 7

  • Words written: 940

This was a tough week for me, writing-wise. I wrote about 500 words on Friday night, and then during my writing date on Sunday, I wrote just under 500 words. But, it took me an hour and a half to write those 500 words during my writing date! The writing was just not flowing and I kept getting distracted by all the people at Starbucks. I also had a lot of self-doubt as I was writing. I hated my story, I hated my writing, and I hated this goal I set for myself that I’m never going to achieve. It was a lot of, “Who are you to think you can write a novel?” It’s part of the writing process. Even Taylor Jenkins Reid herself says she often wants to throw all her writing in a fire at times, which is comforting. Writing is complicated and messy and hard! And it’s okay to feel like I’m the worst at it, as long as I keep pushing forward and writing even when I want to throw my WIP in the fire.

Categories: Goals

Monthly Goals | July 2019

Woohoo, time to review my June goals and set some new intentions for July. I had a fairly good month for my goals, achieving 3.5 out of 5. For the goals I didn’t achieve, one was half-completed and the other wasn’t done because I was trying to be more conscious of my budget, so I can’t be mad about that. Let’s review:

1) Stop using my phone at stoplights. I was fairly successful with this. There were a few times I slipped up, but generally, I kept my phone in its holder and didn’t use it. (I would keep my phone in my purse but I use it to listen to podcasts/audiobooks while driving, so it’s usually within reaching distance for me.)

2) Use up at least half of the Sephora samples + face masks I have. Okay, well, I did not use up half of all my samples and face masks, but I did use up a good number. Right now, I’m finishing up the last sample cleanser I got from one of my Sephora PLAY! boxes and the last sample moisturizer. I used three face masks in June, bringing me down to nine. But I did not even touch any of the makeup setting sprays or hair products, oops. I always forget about them when I’m getting ready in the morning. So… somewhat complete.

3) Wash and vacuum my car. Yes! I did this last weekend and my car greatly needed a good wash and vacuum. We had a very rainy June, so I kept putting off this task because it feels silly to wash my car when it would get “nature’s rinse,” but it definitely needed a good scrub. Feels so good to mark this one complete, although I wouldn’t recommend washing/vacuuming your car in 100-degree heat. Whew. That was a workout.

4) Buy and assemble a new bookshelf. I didn’t buy my bookshelf this month, mainly because I had some expenses pop up that I needed to take care of. Maybe next month!

5) Figure out my budget. Complete! For the past few years, my “budget” has consisted of figuring out what bills I have due for the current pay period, dropping some money on my credit card and into savings, and using the rest as spending money (and for groceries/gas). It’s not a great system (especially considering I have some bills linked to my credit card that I never accounted for in my budget). So, I found a monthly budget template that I’ll be using going forward. I’m also going to write out a weekly budget at the beginning of every week to make sure I’m looking at my bank account daily and keeping track of what I’m spending.

Here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish in July:

1) Follow my budget. Well, now that I have a new, shiny budget… it’s time to put it to use! Let’s do this.

2) Participate in #24in48 (and read for at least 18 hours). This is a readathon where you attempt to read 24 hours total over two days. During the last #24in48, which was in January, I managed to read 13 hours. This time around, I’m shooting for 18 hours. I’m keeping my schedule clear that weekend so that I can just sit back and relax with my cats and some good books. (The ideal way to spend a weekend!)

3) Eat a healthy breakfast. Breakfast tends to be my enemy when it comes to healthy eating. I do okay during the week at work, but it’s the weekends and the days I’m working from home where I’m eating sugary cereal or fatty breakfast sandwiches. My mission for this month is to cook myself a healthy breakfast every morning so I can get the day started on the right note.

4) Do a ClassPass trial. My gym is still not open (although, the last time I drove by it, I saw they had replaced the canvas banner with their logo with an actual, lit-up sign! Progress!) And I’m kinda getting sick of my only form of exercise is walking around my apartment complex. So I thought I’d take advantage of the free trial of ClassPass and try some different gyms and exercise classes near me. Going to new gyms/classes triggers my social anxiety like mad, but I’m hoping I can power through the fear and get out there. I’m craving a hard workout! (Famous last words, right?)

5) Take my vitamins. I’ve been really bad about taking my vitamins lately. As in, I haven’t been taking them regularly since mid-April. Oops! It’s time to get back to it, especially since I need to get blood work very soon and I need my vitamin D levels to be back in a normal range!

What’s something you’d like to accomplish in July?
Categories: Goals

Monthly Goals | June 2019

I was pretty sure my goals update for this month wasn’t going to be pretty. I kind of… forgot about the majority of my goals, so I’m very surprised by how well I actually did. I could have done better for sure, but April and May were very crazy months with an international trip smack dab in the middle of them, so I’m happy with what I accomplished.

1) Drink at least 16 oz of water every day. Eh, somewhat accomplished? I definitely did not drink water every day but most days I’m making it happen. I could do better, though.

2) Be present in Ireland. Yes! I was really proud of myself for how I was able to be super present while in Ireland and enjoy each day and each moment as it came. I wasn’t wishing the time away like I did on my last big vacation, which just further proves that was a one-off thing.

3) Hang my jewelry organizer. I’m cheating on this one a bit, buuuut my necklaces are finally hung and not sitting in a clump on my bathroom sink anymore. I secured two Command hooks to the side of my bathroom cabinet and I’m using them to hold my necklaces. They’re working out well!

4) Rejoin WW when I’m back from my trip. I can mark this as complete because I rejoined WW… I just haven’t followed the plan in the three weeks since I’ve been on the program. I need to get serious about this, though, because I’m paying for the service. I need to use it!

5) Go to Panera once a week to write. Somewhat complete. I did this maybe three or four times in two months, so not every week like I’d hoped. I want to get back to doing this, though, because I really enjoy it!

6) Check my bank account every morning. Uh… nope. Still in a very bad habit about this.

Here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish in June:

1) Stop using my phone at stoplights. This is an experiment I want to try because I want to be better at doing nothing. I am always multitasking – I listen to podcasts while playing Candy Crush, I watch TV while coloring, etc. And stoplights? If I’m stopped at a red light, I immediately pick up my phone to scroll through Instagram or play a few minutes of a game. It’s ridiculous.

2) Use up at least half of the Sephora samples + face masks I have. So, I’ve been a part of Sephora’s PLAY! subscription for a few years now and I’m pretty good at using my samples (especially the makeup and perfume ones). But lately, I haven’t been and I have amassed a collection. Count ’em: 4 moisturizers, 2 cleansers, 13 face masks, 3 makeup setting sprays, and 3 hair volumizers. It’s time to use these up!

3) Wash and vacuum my car. Y’all. My car has needed a solid wash and vacuum for weeks now but I keep putting it off. Mainly because it’s so hot out and spending time outside is the last thing I want to do. But my car is disgusting and it needs to get done.

4) Buy and assemble a new bookshelf. It’s tiiiime for a new bookshelf and I’m so excited to make it happen this month. I’m nervous about the assembly part because IKEA furniture is notoriously difficult to assemble, but I can do it!

5) Figure out my budget. I’ve been struggling a lot lately with my finances, to the point where even looking at my checking account makes my stomach twist into knots. It makes me feel like such a failure to not have this part of my life figured out because for the love of God, I’m in my thirties and I get paid a decent wage. I shouldn’t be struggling like this! I need to sit down and really get serious about my budget because this paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle I’m living is really bumming me out.

What’s something you want to do in June?

Categories: Goals

2019 Goals | Q1 Update

Happy Friday, my friends! Ooh, I am very much looking forward to this weekend as I’ll be celebrating my friend M and her new husband (!) at her wedding reception tomorrow evening. I still need to find a dress for the event (oops), but I predict it will be a great night filled with lots of love and laughter.

For today’s post, I wanted to give an update on my 2019 goals, since we’re just past the end of the first quarter of the year. I’m happy with the progress so far! Let’s discuss:

1) Read 100 books. In the first quarter, I read 32 books and this puts me ahead of my goal of reading 100 books by 7 books. I’m pretty sure I’m going to crush this goal. 🙂

2) Read 4 classic novels. Complete the A-Z Instagram challenge. I’m kicking the goal to read four classics off my list in favor of completing the A-Z Instagram challenge in which you try to read 26 books over the course of a year, each with a title starting with a different letter of the alphabet. It’s been fun so far!

3) Reread the Anne of Green Gables series. I read the first novel in Q1 and I’m starting the second novel soon.

4) Dye my hair purple. Not yet! But it’s coming soon.

5) Save $1,000 in an emergency fund. So far, I have a little more than $300 saved and it’s in a savings account that’s not attached to my bank, which helps me to “forget” I have that money lying around.

6) Get something on the walls of my living room. Uh, no. I haven’t even looked into this yet. Every now and then, I look at Wayfair to peruse their collection of wall art but haven’t looked too seriously yet.

7) Take control over my dermotophagia. Yes and no. I’m trying to get better at noticing when I’m picking at my skin and have also started putting a Band-Aid around the finger that I’m compulsively picking at, so I’m trying!

8) Redo my bathroom. Complete! I took care of this in March and love it. 🙂

9) Visit the Grand Canyon. Visit Ireland. Obviously, my mom and I decided to travel to Ireland rather than to Arizona since we got a crazy deal on flights, so I’m changing this goal to reflect that.

10) Visit Washington DC. Not so sure I’m going to complete this goal in 2019, but I’m keeping my options open. Maybe!

11) Build a necklace collection. Slowly but surely, I’m doing this. I add maybe one new necklace to my collection every month and have five currently.

12) Pay an extra $500 toward my student loans. I paid $100 extra toward a loan in Q1 to pay it off (it was my lowest student loan; I still have about $11,000 to go so I’m nowhere near completion here).

13) Go to a movie alone. Not yet – haven’t found a movie I’m interested enough to see yet. Nothing has grabbed my attention!

14) Work out 150 times. As of today, I have worked out 37 times, which means I need to log 13 workouts by the end of the month to keep on track. Hopefully, I can do it! My workouts right now are just long walks (45 minutes or longer) since my gym won’t be open until the end of the summer and I haven’t found a good at-home workout option (suggestions welcome!).

15) Lose 40 lbs. Ha, nope. I haven’t gotten on the scale since January but I am guessing I’ve gained 5-10 lbs during Q1. It’s been a weird season.

16) Give Eloise a sibling. Complete! Lila joined our little family in mid-February and she is the most perfect addition.

17) Start saving for a new apartment. No progress so far.

18) Do a spending freeze once a quarter. I failed at my spending freeze in Q1 but I’m hoping to double-up in Q2 to make up for it.

19) Develop a daily water-drinking habit. Still not very consistent with this. Hopefully, Q2 is when I make this more of a habit.

20) Buy two bigger bookshelves. Not yet, but it’s definitely time for at least one new bookshelf.

21) Complete Project 365. I’m going strong with this one, even though I want to quit the project every other day. Ha. It’s hard to take pictures every day, especially on days when nothing exciting happens. (Which is why there are lots of cat photos.) But I’m hanging in there!

22) Develop a skincare routine. Ugh, no. I still need to figure this out!

23) Start a vitamin regimen. In progress. I am currently taking a multivitamin, Vitamin D supplement, and iron supplement. I would like to add fish oil and a probiotic to the mix soon.

24) Replace all of my underwear. Have not done this yet – oops.

25) Write my novel. I’m trucking along! I wrote nearly 25,000 words during Q1 so I am well on my way to marking this goal complete.

26) Try 10 new foods. I haven’t been keeping track of this goal like I should, but I do know that I tried plantains and asparagus in Q1. I did not like the plantains, and the asparagus was fine but not something I ever feel like I need to eat again, ha.

27) Track my money on Mint. I’m all set up on Mint and set up some budgets for certain categories, but I’m not tracking it too closely right now.

28) Get all of my skin tags removed. Complete! I did this during two different dermatology appointments and it cost $150. But I swear, the minute I got them removed a bunch of new skin tags appeared. Frustrating. I’m going to try the apple cider vinegar trick some of you told me about since they’re smaller and hope that gets rid of them.

29) Sign up for a paid dating service, and commit fully to the dating process for six months. I haven’t done this yet, and I’m not sure if I want to. I hate the idea of paying for dating but the men on Bumble haven’t been very impressive either.

30) Find a new therapist. Visit five new-to-me parks around the area. This was a goal I set originally at the beginning of the year when I was in a weird spot with therapy, just not really having the breakthroughs I wanted. WELL. The appointments I’ve had in Q1 have been amazing and I’m no longer wondering if I need a new therapist. So, instead, I’m replacing this goal with a more fun idea of finding some new parks to go for walks!

How are you doing on your yearly goals?