March Goals and Highlights

Happy March to you all! February is always such an odd month- the shortest one in the year but always drags on. I feel lucky that the weather in North Carolina this month was amazing- I'm so used to the dark and cold days back in Pittsburgh so this was an amazing difference. I can definitely tell a difference in my mood and outlook with having more sun (and warmer days!)

Of course, this month was not all sunshine- it's been so terrifying and heartbreaking to watch all of the news coming out of Ukraine. I can't imagine what the people there and Ukrainians around the world are going through right now and my heart goes out to them. I use my blog and all my activities as an escape and a reminder to enjoy the small things (and to be thankful for my life)...the future is always uncertain and has really felt that way recently.

In the spirit of escape- here's a look at how my annual goals are going-

Spend More Time Outdoors

• 1000 Hours Outside -
• January - 54 total hours, breaking down to 41 hours running/walking/hiking, 5 hours reading, and 8 hours socializing/misc. 
• February - 52 total hours, breaking down to 31 hours running/walking/hiking, 7 hours reading, 13 hours socializing/misc, and 1 hour biking. As I mentioned yesterday, I spent a ton of time outside reading on the warmer days, and also got to spend time with friends outside when we went to Charlotte a few weeks ago. Hoping to get some more biking hours this month, and maybe even some kayaking!
• 2,022 Outdoor Miles - 
• January Running - 106 miles, Walking - 25.97 miles, Biking - 0 miles
• February Running - 101 miles, Walking - 22.4 miles, Biking - 10.7 miles
• Visit all the gardens and free museums in the Triangle
• This month I visited the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to check out the Exquisite Creatures exhibit. It was amazing and I might go back again to check it out a second time! It's a traveling exhibit so if it's coming to a city near you I would highly recommend checking it out.
• I also visited a pop-up museum in Dix Park about the history of the park (which used to be a plantation and also home to an insane asylum) and black architects and laborers from North Carolina. It was a really interesting exhibit and I learned a lot. Looking for more opportunities like this!

Donate to a Different Charity Every Month

Reminder to check with your company if donations are matched! I was able to double my donation just by submitting this through my work system.

January - Autism Center of North Carolina - improves the lives of individuals with autism, supports their families, and educates communities. 

February - Black Girls CODE - builds pathways for young women of color to embrace the current tech marketplace as builders and creators by introducing them to skills in computer programming and technology.

Read all the Goodreads Best Books of 2021

This month-

Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson - Best Humor - 3/5. Some parts were laugh out loud funny and it was an engrossing (and sad at times) story- I just didn't enjoy the stream-of-conscious writing style or the disjointed chapters.

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas  - Best Debut Novel - 4.5/5. This book seems to be very hit or miss (according to Goodreads) but I really enjoyed it!  A little slow and repetitive at the beginning, but once it got going I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down.

Previous months-

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Best Historical Fiction - 5/5. Fun story told in flashbacks and culminating in a disastrous star-studded party in a Malibu beach house.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - Best Science Fiction - 4/5. Good starter sci-fi book for people who want to get in the genre! Gets a little tedious in the middle but fascinating book about a scientist who tries to save the earth from extinction.

The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman - Best Poetry - 5/5. The inauguration poem for President Biden. Beautiful words but even better to watch Amanda perform! Makes me want to get more into poetry.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry - Best Romance - 5/5. Lovely, sweet book to satisfy your wanderlust and just enough cheese for any rom-com lover out there.

Re-launch Etsy!

Made some progress on this in February- I now have 64 followers on my Instagram, 98 followers on TikTok (and 1,634 total likes on my videos- both up a bit since January). I also had a few videos get over the 1,000 view mark on both and a lot of interaction! My favorite painting this month was a piece that I did for a friend in honor of her late mother- it was such a special piece and I was honored that she asked me to make it (you can see it above- she told me that yellow butterflies are a symbol for her mom that she kept seeing and those are her mom's favorite flowers).

I also added two new pieces to my shop and hope to add a few more in March!

Let's talk about some of my February goals now-

Frugal February

Did a great job with this! As usual there were a few things that popped up that I did have to spend money on, mostly my trip to Charlotte for the Hot Chocolate race. I tried to be more frugal than normal- only getting one drink if we went out or skipping out on things at the expo- so I would call that a win.

Leave 10 Reviews

Done! Here are the ten reviews that I gave and can recommend all of these places - 

Southern Peak Brewing (small neighborhood brewery in Apex with a great outdoor space)

Ratatat Tats (place that I got my most recent tattoo! Had a great experience and already had a few friends go there for their own tattoos)

Chatham Hill Winery (met here for book club and it was a great spot)

Esteamed Coffee (cute little shop in downtown Cary that hires adults with disabilities. Great mission and the coffee is fantastic)

Scratch Kitchen (one of my go-to places for dinner in Apex! Great atmosphere and food)

House of Hops (this is where my run club meets and it's one of my favorite bottle shops)

Common Grounds (one of my favorite coffee shops to work from- I love their coffee)

Fleet Feet (where I got my most recent pair of running shoes! Great service and they also host group runs)

Eva Perry Library (my local library!)

Riccobene Associates Family Dentistry (my dentist- honestly love them and had a great experience on my first visit so I had to give them a shoutout)

No Caffeine

This goal was surprisingly really easy to do! I thought it would be tough but I actually didn't miss out on my morning coffee at all. I drank a lot of tea and didn't really feel any crashes or have any headaches like I used to when drinking coffee. This also went along well with my Frugal February goal, because I didn't have any desire to go to a coffee shop this month like I usually do. If you're looking for a good morning tea I've been liking Moroccan Mint from Trader Joes- the mint gives a nice zing to get your day going but is caffeine free!

Organize Spare Room

Honestly I completely forgot about this goal so I did not accomplish this..maybe next month?

And finally- some March goals! Honestly my main goal for the month is to get outside more since the weather is looking great, and I also have a fun trip planned with friends. So, I'm keeping my actual goals a bit loose this month. Here's what I'm planning on focusing on-

Play Tennis

If you know me, you know that I LOVE to watch tennis (probably my favorite sport to watch lately) but I can't play. Every few years I'll hit for a bit, but never got into it. This month I want to go out an actually try to play a few times, and maybe even try to find a group where I can learn how to play this summer?

Mins Challenge

It's that time again- time to declutter! I love doing this challenge once a year- on day 1 you get rid of 1 item, day 2 you get rid of 2 items and so on. It's such a great way to declutter quickly!

What are your goals this month?