Just as a reminder, my word of the year is “present.” In January, I was supposed to keep a running thankful list to help me stay present but it didn’t quite happen. I’m going to do that again this month but I’m going to put a little more structure on it. Every night before bed I will write down 5-10 gifts that I was thankful for that day with no repeats. Maybe I’ll be able to stick to it easier with a specific time of day and number of gifts. Then again, maybe that doesn’t promote being present. I don’t know. I’ll try it out.

I was supposed to read the book of Job with Good Morning Girls but that didn’t happen this month either. I got through chapter two. That’s pretty embarrassing. I don’t know what it is about reading the bible that I struggle with so much. This month I’m going to continue reading job at my own pace and be better about it but I’m also reading Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer (affiliate link) to help reshape my prayer life. My goal is to finish it this month.

I actually kept track of what I was eating and ate really well for like the first week of January. I didn’t even have a single sip of soda for the first 10 days of the year. And I worked out Monday through Thursday of the first full week. But that Friday was my birthday and I decided I wasn’t going to work out that day. And I never worked out again. Since I wasn’t working out, I stopped caring about my food too and on January 11th, I ordered a Diet Coke and fell off the wagon. I Failed. Big time.

BUT, part of why I did so bad toward the end of the month was because I knew I was starting Beachbody‘s 21 Day Fix on February 1st! I finally bit the bullet and spent some money because I knew I wasn’t going to get into the shape I want on my own using free Blogilates videos and counting calories on My Fitness Pal. I’m sad it took me so long to admit it, but it feels good!

So this month, I will be following the 21 Day Fix meal plan and doing the daily 30 minute workouts. A good friend of mine from college is my coach and I am part of an accountability group on Facebook. I feel really good about it this time although yesterday’s workout was brutal. But I’m doing really well on food so far.

After the 21 days are over, I’ll be going to Atlanta for work. That week, I’m going to stick to the meal plan as much as possible, but it’s going to be really hard. When I can’t eat off the meal plan, I’m just going to eat really well. And I don’t know how much exercise I’ll be able to do but I plan on taking the stairs a lot and going for walks on my lunch break. My parents got me a fitbit for my birthday and I have yet to hit my daily goal of 10,000 steps. It will happen more though once it warms up outside.

I read Life is Beautiful in January and reviewed it on the blog. After I finished, I started both The Princess Bride and Fervent! This month, I will finish Fervent and The Princess Bride. And I plan to binge watch the entire first season of Fuller House over the weekend after it comes to Netflix on February 26th. That counts as a mental goal, right?

In January, we actually went on a date every week! We met that goal! I actually told Pearson about this goal and he was on board and it was so much easier to stick with when he was on board. In the past I’ve just set the goal for myself and tried to make it happen every week without actually telling him I’d set the goal. What was I thinking?

The first week we went to see Wildlights at the zoo with friends. The week after that was my birthday weekend. We celebrated with The Cheesecake Factory and walking around the mall. We also saw The Complete Works of Shakespeare: Abridged that weekend. The next week we watched all the Star Wars movies throughout the weekend. And the next weekend, we did couple checkup and discussed our relationship.

This month, I want to continue the weekly date nights. One way we’re going to do that is by signing up for a Date Box subscription. I’m very excited! Also, I am reading The Argument-Free Marriage by Fawn Weaver with a group of wives on Facebook. And lastly, since I found out that Pearson’s primary love language is now Words of Affirmation, I am going to keep a list of qualities that I like about Pearson and I will say them to him throughout the month.

In January, I finished Instagram for Success (affiliate link) but didn’t really work on my other courses. I also created good content until the last week when I, for some reason, got into a rut in every aspect of my life and was completely unmotivated to blog at all.

This month, I want to be very involved with #LoveBlog. I am hosting the Instagram challenge so I will post every day there, but I also want to blog about it quite a bit. Another blog goal I have is that I want to schedule every post at least a day in advance. I would prefer to schedule more than one day in advance, but I’ve already failed at that. This will be especially helpful for that last week in February when I’m out of town for work.

Other:

I want to wash dishes (and clean up eating area) right after using them every time. I’ve been doing this lately and it’s so much easier than waiting for the dishes to pile up!

Also, I’m going to be in bed by 11:00 every night. 10:30 if I want to read in bed. The idea is that I will be asleep by 11:30. If I want to get up when my alarm goes off, this is a must. I simply require that much sleep. It’s really unfortunate.

What are your goals for February?
Thanks for reading!