Almost There: goals
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

2013 Report Card


2013 was without a doubt one of the more eventful years in both of our lives. SO. MANY. CHANGES.

It was wonderful and busy, and now that it's 2014, it seems like a good time to take a second and reflect. At the beginning of last year, we listed out some goals we each had for 2013, so it sharing the results of those seems like a good place to start.

Holli Anne's Goals:

FIRST of all, can I just say that 2013 was the best and craziest year of my whole life! I got married, moved to two different houses, started two different jobs (and my husband got a new one, too), wrote the first draft of my first book ever...oh, and got pregnant! Phew! It was a tad overwhelming attempting to keep up with...well, any of that. But, I did manage to accomplish some of the goals I set out at the beginning of the year, and that was pretty exciting.

1. Start running regularly again.
  • A - I did the Couch to 5K program to get started and was back up to running three miles on a regular basis. Unfortunately, due to some intense pregnant leg pain, I had to ditch the running toward the end of the year. I'll be back, though!

2. Take care of my health better in general: Taking all the medicines doctors tell me to take (I rebel against them), eating something green everyday and to drink more water.
  • A - I've definitely been sick a lot less this year and overall feel in good health, physically, spiritually and emotionally.

3. Get on a "normal" sleep schedule (the 8-5 work schedule my soon-to-be husband is on would be good).
  • A - I'm not going to lie. I didn't think I'd do this ever, but thanks to some day jobs of my own, I'm on an awesome schedule. I even find myself waking up without alarm clocks on the weekends ready to go.

4. Quit doing things I just like so I have time to do the hobbies I LOVE.
  • B - I did this one for a while, but with lots of working, I've slacked on hobbies sometimes and find myself vegging out on things I don't really love doing (i.e. too much TV!)

5. Keep writing the book I started late last year.
  • B - I DID finish the first draft of this book. But then I haven't really been brave enough or dedicated enough to give it the work it needs to be readable, so that's why I don't get all the credit on this goal.

6. Be a good wife come March 9, and to make our new home look awesome!
  • B - Well...I'm a pretty good wife, probably! And our 2nd new married home is starting to come together, so that's good.

7. Start the vegetable garden I've been scheming.
  • D - I sort of started a vegetable garden, but it did not produce so well.  

Tyler Anne's Goals:

1. Visit the gym more than 0 times a week and also start up running again too. I used to be an avid runner but man have I been slacking!
  • C - OOPS! The most I do is walk with my boo or pull ups with my nifty pull up bar! Beyond that it's all still BABY STEPS!

2. Cook more and healthier. If you know me then you know I tend to shy away from cooking anything that takes more than 30 minutes.
  • B - I definitely eat healthier and have lost the weight I set out to lose! Occasionally, I even cook! (Though, let's be real...Boy Tyler is the star of the kitchen!)

3. Also get on a more "normal" sleep schedule. I'm trying to make my schedule less night-heavy so I can, you know, see the sun occasionally.
  • A - Considering I used to go to sleep just before the sun rose, my sleep schedule now has definitely improved! Other than a few upsets from reading a really great book that keeps me up, my sleep schedule is as normal as I'm going to get it! So, YAY, my first A!

4. Up my photography. I want to learn more and let my camera get a good workout.
  • C - For the first half of this year I rocked this goal's FACE. Then...not so much. I intend to fix this in 2014.

5. ALSO finish my book! (Holli and I are such twins!)
  • A!!!! This is perhaps why I did so poorly on all other goals. Not only did I finish an entire book (in one week, no less), I was asked to pump up the word count and then resubmit it to an interested editor! I can't give out details on who, but when I hear back I'LL LET YOU KNOW! Oh and this is the only book I've ever 100% finished. So, you know, that's a big thing!

6. Snail mail it up! I want to write some personal letters to family and friends! So personal, so awesome!
  • -F - I was reaching with this one, BUT, I'm sending out New Year cards because I TOTALLY spaced on Christmas cards...whoops!

7. Keep working hard on Almost There! (Not hard because I love it!)
  • B - I didn't do EVERYTHING I wanted (because of the whole writing thing) but I'm happy with the behind the scenes planning I've done as well as ALL of the 2013 posts! I hope you like them too!

- The Annes

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Running: A Couch to 5K Mid-Review

(Photo from deviantart.com)



Hey, I'm running again! 

If you aren't one of my close friends that sentence probably means nothing to you, so I'll try again. 

I used to run 3 miles a day. Everyday. It was the best part about many of my days, in fact, and somewhere along the line I got out of the habit.

I started cutting back on my hobby during my first full-time job, where I worked far from ordinary hours, then cutting WAY back during grad school to pretty much no running at all. 

It's not that I've been completely lazy the last number of years since college (I don't wanna talk about how long it's been, OK?!). I mean, I've actually started back running SEVERAL times. This is how that venture always goes:
I run. It's hard. I keep running and a few days later I love it again. I'm hooked. I run everyday. BAM. Injury. (I actually have a stupid IT band issue that I have to be leery of). 

This time, I want it to count. I want to be running like I used to (and better!), but I want to ease into it. So I decided to give the ole Couch to 5K Running Plan a go, and yesterday was my half-way mark.

It's not a huge venture, but it's pretty awesome considering I tried to do this before my wedding and ended up doing week 1 four times (Hey, it was like the month before!). 

Anyway, since Almost There is all about chasing your dreams, I thought it'd be a nice time to talk about the latest aspiration I'm literally chasing. In case any of you have similar hitting the pavement goals, I thought I'd give my mid-Couch to 5K Review.

Time Consumption: A+ 

The program is basically a lot of walking mixed in with some jogging for the first few weeks. It takes 20 to 30 minutes a day, three days a week. Not really a time consuming experience. Week 1 starts off with 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for 20 minute intervals and week 4 includes a lot more running for 2 miles. 

Difficulty: A

I'm not sure if A is the right letter, but honestly, the program is a wonderful pace, I think. It's designed for the non-runner, so getting into it hasn't been such a challenge for me. They even encourage you to repeat weeks if it turns out you need more time before moving on. 

Enjoyability: A+

Of course, I might be biased since I love running, but the workouts vary every week, keeping things really fresh and interesting. 

Overall: Can you guess? A's all around!

I just love it so much. I've even started getting that "I crave running" sense back again. Ahh…young love!

Any other runners or aspiring runners reading our blog? 

—Holli Anne

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The Anne's February Goals


If you're a regular follower of this blog, you know that we are big on goal making. We find that when you make them often and evaluate them in intervals, it's a lot easier to accomplish things. So here are our February goals!

Holli Anne's February Goals:

1. Do something good to my hair more days than not.

2. Dress like I don't work from home more days than not. (It just makes you feel better to dress nice sometimes!)

3. Buy new underwear.

4. Get my little family groomed (fiance-check, next up, me and dog!)

5. Paint my new house, move in successfully and finish planning this wedding.

Tyler Anne's February Goals:
I'm a big fan of doing the monthly goals but I need to get better at it! She Learns as She Goes was the one to originally inspire me to do them! Check out her February goals here.

1. Unpack my perpetual suitcase (A lot of traveling lately!)

2. Complete some Chalkboard DIY projects for the home!

3. Find a nightstand I can love (and that can hold all of my rando knick knacks that I NEED next to me while I sleep)!

4. Bake some red velvet cupcakes for V-day, of course!

Almost There's February Goals:

1. Finish creating and launch our first amazing e-course.

2. Convince you lovely people to purchase said e-course and love it and grow your blog or business!

What are some of your February goals?

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