Goal Check-In #3

It's time for another check-in on my 21 Before 21 goals. It feels good to be able to report some success. 

1. No soda for the rest of the year.

Still going strong!

2. Finish reading Jesus the Christ. 

I'm on chapter 18. I admit, I'm dragging a bit. It's not exactly a page-turner for me.  

3. Try 10 new recipes. Done!

4. Get a haircut. Done! But I'm almost due for another one.  

5. Don't eat out for a month. Done!

Nicky's contract allowed us to go out to eat by invitation, so during the month of October, I went to Chick-Fil-A once and Cafe Rio once by invitation (it's all Christie's fault). Scotty ate out a couple of times for work. But other than that, we made it the whole month. 

Our first opportunity to go out to eat was on Monday, which happened to be Zoe's birthday. I let her choose what to have for dinner - she could either choose a place to go eat or choose what we cooked at home. She picked McDonald's (of course), so after a month of not eating out, we ended up at Mickey D's.

6. Finish the closet doors in the basement. Done!

This is the second set of doors. You can see the first set here. 

Someday maybe we'll have a matching washer and dryer, but it's not a priority right now. 

7. Get the door hung on the storage room.

Haven't started. 

8. Hang the closet doors in the kids' bedrooms.

Haven't started. 

9. Weigh less on December 31 than I weigh today.

I weighed myself the other day, and I think I was 2-3 pounds lighter than when I set these goals. I'm not focused on losing weight right now, but I'm working on some lifestyle changes that should result in some slow weight loss.  

10. Walk 250 miles. 

I didn't realize how lofty this goal was (I should have gone with 200). I'm currently at 91.14. I have only been counting intentional walking (i.e. going for walks) and not my daily steps. 

11. Do 2,000 push-ups.

I'm at 736.

When I started, I was having pain in my right elbow, so I decided to do the first 500 push-ups on my knees. Now I'm doing them on my toes, and my elbow is no longer giving me grief. 

Yesterday I did 20 push-ups in one set on my toes. It felt amazing to be able to do that, and I'm so happy to be seeing some progress. 

12. Do a DI run. Done!

13. Clean out the garden. Done! 

14. Try something new. Done!

15. Finish 9 books.

I've finished:

• The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
• Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
• Find Me by Anne Frasier
• House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
• The Dilemma by B.A. Paris

16. Clean out the box of junk that's been sitting on the window seat in my bedroom since July. Done!

17. Go to the doctor. Done! 

18. Complete a study of temple symbols.

Still working on this. 

19. Buy a dishwasher.

I think I'm going to make a modification to this goal. A new dishwasher shouldn't be a priority right now, and appliances are back ordered like crazy, so I'm thinking about changing this goal to saving up a certain a mount of money to use toward a dishwasher later. 

I'm still thinking about it...

20. Finish a self-reliance class.  Done!

Our final session was last week. 

21. Hang the sign over the washer and dryer that's been sitting on the floor for two months. Done! (as seen in photo above)

In unrelated news, I found an arrangement for my plate racks that I like much better than before. 

Then

Now

I said I was going to leave them alone until after Thanksgiving. 

I didn't. 

And while I'm sneakily segueing into the topic of home decor, I'll add that since we A) finished our basement, allowing us to move some furniture around and B) found something to hang over our kitchen table, I was able to move my beloved window frame back to the living room where it belongs. 

Then - window frame on the kitchen wall

Now - window frame on the living room wall

If you look closely, you can find little treasures from Eva and Zoe:

Peek a boo!

They're always hiding things around the house. 

A few weeks ago we got some updated photos taken of the kids, so I was excited to get them up on the wall as well. 

Four children who are always well-groomed and get 

along fabulously whilst happily tossing leaves in the air

If only I were as excited about Nicky and Daisy's closet doors as I am about decorating my walls. That would help me a lot with my goals.