Today was much better than yesterday. Of course, that was a pretty low bar to clear, but hey-o, I did it!
Now that I am in a better headspace, today is feeling like a good time for a (wait for it…) 2020 Goals Checks! I previously wrote about my 2020 Goals in this January post. I like having goals, so for shits and giggles, let’s see how my 2020 goals are faring during the current Covid-19 Shit Storm.
- Track My Values: I have not formally written about my values in my journal for several weeks. It’s a good exercise, so I’ll do that this week.
- Limit Refined Sugar: [insert hysterical laughter] Yeah that’s not happening. I was letting myself have a little more sugar before we were sheltering at home, but now all bets are off. That said, I have been using the Noom app to help me lose weight, and I am logging everything I eat. (Except that one time a few days ago that I ate half a container of Nutella right before going to bed. I had no interest in logging “a disgusting amount of Nutella.” In my defense, I felt very sick after eating all that Nutella so I probably won’t do that again for at least two weeks.) So long story short, I am letting myself eat more refined sugar, but I am not going overboard.
- Try 20 Paleo Recipes: Nope, still haven’t done this and now that I am using Noom, I don’t think I’ll be trying Paleo recipes anytime soon. But we are trying lots of new recipes in the Novak household these days because we have to get creative with our grocery store purchases. The selection in the meat department has been limited, so we are most definitely eating new things. (I’m looking at you, Taco-Seasoned Ground Turkey. You better be delicious.)
- Soda Once A Week: (Take the hysterical laughter from Goal #2 and amplify that by a power of 100.) I am drinking. All. The Goddamn. Soda. And if you try to take my Diet Coke from me while I am living through a fucking pandemic, I will go all honey badger on you and have zero regrets.
- Hot Yoga 100 Times: This remains to be seen. I was doing so well! But the Hot Yoga studio I attend is closed (as are all the exercise studios in California), so this goal will depend upon (a) when Hot Yoga is safe to do and (b) when my kids go back to school so (c) who the eff knows?
- 11,000 Steps/Day: Ha! This is one goal that shelter-at-home is actually helping! I was only averaging 10,359/steps in my January post but now I am averaging 10,944/steps each day. Thank God we are still allowed to take walks.
- Meditate 250 times: I’m not going to take the time to count how many times I have meditated, but I am definitely on track here. I start every morning with the Calm meditation app and so long as there is a PANDEMIC, I will be meditating my ass off.
- Read 100 Books: I’ve already read 33 books in 2020, which according to Goodreads, puts me 11 books ahead of schedule. Interestingly, I have not been reading as much the past week because I need to watch Schitt’s Creek. Some people drink booze. I need to laugh.
- Declutter the House: Covid-19 is definitely pushing this goal forward. I can’t spend this much time in my house and not clean up the messes. Otherwise I’d have to play make believe with my kids and that shit is just not happening.
- 50 Blog Posts: This goal was languishing until the pandemic shit all over my mental health. Now I have discovered that blogging centers me and keeps me feeling okay (“feeling terrific” left the realm of possibility when my kids’ schools shut down). I may hit 50 posts before this shit storm is over. Oh god, I hope not.
- Finish Rough Draft of Fantasy Novel by July 31: I might actually pull this off.
- Knit Three Sweaters: I really just want to keep crafting but now is a damn good time to work through my yarn stash. Assuming I have the right yarn to make a sweater??
- Do My Enneagram by March 31: I need to rename this goal “learn about the enneagram.” I have indeed read about the enneagram, and I think I know my type. I need to write more about this in another post but suffice to say, I am a bit obsessed with the enneagram and eager to learn more. This goal gets a big fat ACCOMPLISHED!
- Try Reiki: When the pandemic is over. I don’t think Reiki works with social distancing. I’m sure there are folks willing to do Reiki over video conference but I want the full experience.
- 20 Creative Bug Classes: I still want to do this and now is the time. Pippa and I have been doing the Mo Willem’s art lessons on YouTube (the man is a national treasure), and I think we’d enjoy doing these classes together as well.
- Daily French on Duolingo: Yup. Love this app. Love learning French. I should write something in French now to show off but I’m feeling too lazy to do that. Okay, fine, I’ll write something: cheval. Happy?
- Learn World Geography: I am still playing with the same app to learn geography and I now know where places like Yemen and Suriname are.
- Learn Human Anatomy: Eventually.
- Memorize Periodic Table of Elements: Who am I kidding?
- Memorize U.S. Presidents: I’m making progress here.
- Photo Albums: Pandemic seems like a good time to finish my backlog of Shutterfly photo albums, eh? I actually worked on the 2019 album today while Pippa did her math. (Don’t get excited. I’m starting with 2019 and then I need to work backwards in time and tackle the 2018, 2017, and 2016 albums.)
- Promote My Memoir: Pandemic does NOT seem like a good time to promote a memoir about anxiety, depression, and OCD, eh? Folks, do not read my book right now! It’s about mental illness! Read something light and hilarious and save my memoir for post-pandemic, thank you very much.
- Visit 20 New To Me Places: Pandemic has completely fucked this goal in the ass. Thanks, Covid-19!
- Listen to 20 New to Me Podcasts: On the other hand, the pandemic definitely has me listening to more podcasts.
Whew. That was cathartic but exhausting. Thank goodness Nathan is making dinner tonight.