August Goals and Highlights

Good morning!! It's been a minute since I've had a goal post (or even gave myself structured goals), but I'm finally feeling settled in our new home in North Carolina. I didn't want to push myself to do too much and burn out (which unfortunately is a very common thing for me..downfall of being an Enneagram 7) but I'm ready to get back to having a routine and things to work on. 

There are so many things that I could have as my highlight of July, from exploring our new town to making new friends, but it was probably going to Myrtle Beach with my family for a week! I don't know if we've all spent that much time together since I graduated college, and we got to have a lot of fun together. Plus, I got to spend a ton of time with my nephew and even got him to say my name (I had him call me GG since that's easier to pronounce than Gretchen). It was a great trip!

Now let's see how my annual goals are doing!

2021 Combined Miles

January -  44 running miles and 218 bike miles for a total of 262 miles

February - 32 running miles and 206 bike miles for a total of 238 miles. 

March - 36 running miles and 113 bike miles for a total of 149 miles.

April - 31 running miles and 118 bike miles for a total of 149 miles.

May - 26 running miles and 97 bike miles for a total of 123 miles.

June - 33 running miles and 59 bike miles for a total of 92 miles.

July - 50 running miles and 85 bike miles for a total of 135 miles.

So far, I've done a total of 1,148 miles, and have 873 to go. I'm still ahead of schedule so things are looking good - just need an average of 174 miles each month (which will still be tough but doable).

Get Ready to Sell!

I can officially say now that we've sold our house! We closed on July 19 and luckily everything went really smoothly and the timing was perfect! We listed the house the day that we moved out to drive to North Carolina and had showings immediately. We got a couple of offers right away (not as many as we expected, but as one of my friends who just sold a house reminded me- all it takes is one offer!), and only had a few minor things come up in the inspection. We were able to do everything from North Carolina thanks to using Docusign for almost everything, and only needed to get a few papers notarized and mailed back. All in all it was much easier and quicker than I expected, probably because we had the most amazing real estate agent! If you're also selling or buying I would definitely recommend Sean and would happily refer anyone interested.

Music Challenge

Each weekend I picked out a different album to listen to (based on this list from Rolling Stone) and it's been a great way to discover new (to me) music and have a "soundtrack" for the weekend. So far I listened to (new ones from last month in bold)-

Kid A by Radiohead

Purple Rain by Prince

Thriller by Michael Jackson

The Low End Theory by a Tribe Called Quest

Who's Next by The Who

The Doors by The Doors

Revolver by The Beatles

To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar

I Never Loved a Man the Way that I Love You by Aretha Franklin

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen

Funhouse by The Stooges

VooDoo by D'Angelo 

Reasonable Doubt by Jay-Z

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie

Paid in Full by Eric B. and Rakim

Kanye West - College Dropout

The Band - Music from Big Pink

Sly and the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin On

Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels in a Gravel Road

Unfortunately I lost my list when we moved, so I need to make a new one (or just pick random albums from the list. More to come in August hopefully!

Here are my goals for August-

Visit all the Parks in Apex

I shared this on Instagram, but one of my goals for the rest of the year is to visit all of the parks in both Cary and Apex. Since there are a lot less in Apex, and that's the town I live in, my goal is to finish off that list in August. So far I've visited seven of the parks and have four to go (which includes smaller neighborhood parks).  I have a fun post planned when I cross them all off so be on the lookout for that!

Try a Meetup

As everyone probably knows, it's not easy to make friends as an adult! Even though everyone we've met has been incredible friendly and nice, it's been a challenge to go from chatting to actually making plans and hanging out. Luckily I've been able to make some friends at the run club I go to on Wednesdays, but also want to branch out and make friends with different interests! I joined a few groups on Meetup and have RSVP'ed to a couple of events in August, so I'm putting this out there so that I actually go through with them. I'll definitely report back and will hopefully have good stories to share.

Find New Doctors

Fun part of moving is finding all new doctors and providers. I finally got to the point back in Pittsburgh where I really liked all of my doctors and was regularly going to appointments, so finding new ones is going to be a challenge! I'm hoping this month to set up some initial appointments and have one more item crossed off my move-in list.

Paint n' Picnic Once a Week

I finally upgraded some of my paint supplies and got a sketchpad and new brushes! I've wanted a spiral bound pad that I can take out and paint on the go, so now I want to make it a habit to go somewhere beautiful, bring a little picnic, and paint once a week. Even if I don't create masterpieces it'll be fun just to try something new!

What are your goals for the month?

How has your summer been?