May Goals + Highlights

TGIF everyone! We made it through another week and another month. It seems like things are slowly starting to open back up, so maybe next week we will be living in a new normal once again. This year has been a RIDE.

I started sharing highlights of my month in these posts early this year, and of course the biggest thing that I'm thankful for in April is that my friends, family, and I all stayed safe and healthy. We're all (thankfully) being very safe and limiting exposure. After reading about the horrors of the disease (especially reading about all the scary side effects) I'm more thankful than ever for my health.

Another highlight of the month was trying out new things. I've been keeping myself busy with new hobbies and experiments in the kitchen- this month I learned how to make crepes and macarons (in honor of our expected trip to France last week - see above for my second attempt with pistachio), and also researched a ton about gardening. I also connected with friends through new programs and apps (House Party is the most fun in my opinion!). 

Here's a look at how I did with my goals in April, and then I'll share my new goals for May. (BTW- when I first posted this, I had the month as April. Wow...time is strange right now!!)

Be Active Daily

I'm very proud to say that I did, in fact, hit this goal. I tried a lot of different classes on the Peloton app (PS- add me if you're a member! My username is gub117). I also discovered a lot of new routes near my house and explored lots of different neighborhoods. Still trying to avoid parks and popular running routes, so this has been really fun!

Work on Two Crafts

Also achieved this one with a few fun projects.  First- I reused a piece of wood that Dan cut down from our wood pile and I finished it as a tray for our favorite bottles of liquor. 

Second- I sewed a ton of face masks to donate to doctors and nurses, as well as some friends.

Third- I tried my hand at macrame and created a wall hanging for my redone office/spare bedroom. I want to add another tier so it doesn't look so bare, but I like how it looks!

Support a Local Business Every Friday

I'm not sure why I only made this a goal for Fridays, because I ended up supporting different businesses a few times a week. Here a few of my favorites that I was either able to buy from or donate to! I would suggest that you all think of what businesses you'd be bummed if they had to close down, and do what you can to help them out at this time. This whole situation is making me re-think my spending, and wanting to support local instead of going to chains or huge corporations.

Soergal's Orchard
Paul's Family Farms
Convive Coffee
La Prima Espresso
Cinderlands Brewery
Eleventh Hour Brewing
Wigle Whiskey
Pittsburgh Winery
Thorn Hill Tap House
Erie Brewing
North Country Brewing
Keystone Steel Co
Southern Tier Distillery and Brewery
McTighe's Drive Thru Beer

Work on a Vegetable Garden

We made a ton of progress on this in April! Not only was I able to mark out the area, but we were also able to build raised garden beds, add in soil/compost/manure, and plant some seeds. I hope that next month I'll be able to share some seedlings, but I'm VERY excited. Next steps are to build a fence around so we don't have animals munching on our food, and building some support for our taller plants. More to come!

And now onto my goals for May! 

Read 4 Books

I have so many books that recently got checked out to me (always happens where they all come at once), so I need to get serious about reading! I want to read 4 books this month, which is about one per week. I'm already about 50% in to one, so I think this should be doable.

Finish Cross Stitch Project

As soon as quarantine started, I began a new project with a pattern that I bough off of Etsy. It's taken a ton of time and has helped me stay busy and distracted. I've been slowing down with it recently, so it would be nice to finish it up this month.

Run 75 Miles

In April, I ran about 50 miles but didn't really have any goals- just ran when I felt like it. This month I want to be more intentional with my running and try to hit 75. Let's see how it goes!

Hang in there!! We can do this :)
linking up with Kristen for What's New With You?