2024 Midyear Check-In

And just like that...half of the year is over! It's hard to believe we're already in July, but at the same time this has been such a busy year full of tons of fun adventures and changes in my life that it also feels like it's been the longest year ever. I just got back from a whirlwind trip to California to help crew and pace a friend that was doing the Western States 100 mile race (so much fun!). Now I'm back to recap the first 6 months of the year and check in on my goals. Let's go!

Fitness

Run a trail race. I guess I can technically check this one off- while I was in California I entered in a fun race that started at base camp in Olympic Valley (where the 1960 winter Olympics were held) and finished 1,800 feet higher at High Camp. It was a really tough but fun run/hike and had the most gorgeous views! I'm also entered in an actual trail race in October so I'll definitely check this off later this year.

International triathlon. I completed a sprint tri in June, and I started to train for my International triathlon! For context- an international is a 1500 m swim, 25 mile bike ride, and 10k run. I found a local one in October and am nervous and excited about it.

Bike the entire Neuse River trail. This goal is going to be TBD- I just found out that there's a large section of the trail that's under construction , so I'm trying to decide if I want to still bike it and use the detour, or just do another long bike ride somewhere else.

Month of yoga. Did this in January!

Day hike. Did this in Argentina- read about it here!

ANNUAL GOAL: Try a new class each month. So far so good- I've tried a lot of new exercises this month from HIIT intervals, TreadX, hot yoga, rock climbing, and more!

Personal

Learn a new language. I'm still doing really well with learning Italian, and am starting to look for some language exchange programs so I can start getting more real-world experience. 

Monitize hobbies. This year so far I've done three vendor markets and also have done a number of commissioned pieces. It's been so much fun and I have a few more markets coming up that I can't wait for.

Catch up on scrapbooks. I finished up one scrapbook, and now just have to work on my Slovenia trip and Argentina. I just ordered all the photos from those trips so I should be able to catch up soon!

Volunteer. I found an amazing volunteer gig transcribing interviews for a local library, which talked to various community members about their experience during Covid and how it affected them, focusing on minority citizens. It's been really eye-opening and emotional hearing all of the stories and I'm really proud of the work that I've done.

Meal plan/prep weekly. I have gotten really good about this and have a nice routine going, so I'm going to mark this as complete!

ANNUAL GOAL: Phone free day monthly. I have done really well with this goal, and actually deleted social media apps off of my phone! It's been really great to just have a break and not be tied to my phone as much as I was before. I'd say this was a very successful goal.

Family

Make a budget. There have been a couple of factors that have impacted this - hello inflation, tied with not getting any kind of raise in my annual review like expected and planning more trips than usual- so this is kind of a fail. On the plus side, we're continuing to save and put the max allowed in our retirement accounts, and also are over 20% owned on our house (goodbye PMI!) so we're still making everything happen, but not following a strict budget.

Go on a backpacking trip. We haven't backpacked yet but did get to go beach camping this year. 

Declutter challenge. Not yet, but I think August will be my month to do a challenge. This year has been so hectic with traveling every single month so far, so it's been hard to commit to a month long challenge.

Deep clean entire house. So far I have over half of my rooms deep cleaned! I have our living room, entry way, kitchen, laundry room, and bonus room to go. 

Organize garage. We just ordered bike racks and have cleaned out a lot of the debris from our bathroom remodel, so I think this will be complete really soon!

ANNUAL GOAL: Date night every month. I'm really happy that I made this goal, because we've gotten to do some really fun dates so far this year. I've also been super busy this year between all my travel, work being insane, and having a busy social life, so it's been really important to set aside quality time with Dan. Here are the dates we've done so far:

January- Movie! We actually went to this old theatre in town that was playing Lost in Translation. We got some lattes to bring in and had a great time watching a movie we both enjoyed. It definitely felt like we stepped back in time.

February- Bike to a brewery. We went on the Neuse River trail and tried out Salty Turtle Brewing which was really good.

March- Outdoor picnic. Since most of this month was dedicated to our trip to Argentina, we cheated a little and counted our hiking meals for this one.

April- Crafts and Drafts. We visited a local shop that lets you pick a craft to do, and also has tons of fun drinks and food. It was fun to do an activity like this together since I usually craft alone, but Dan really liked it too!

May- 4 Course Dinner. This one was really fun- we had to pick 4 different places to eat for each course of dinner. For drinks, we went to Vault Craft Beer, then had appetizers at Oro Restaurant and Lounge, dinner at Transfer Food Hall, and dessert at Amorino Gelato. So much fun and we got to try some new places downtown!

June- Baking Challenge. We each bought a boxed dessert mix at the store and had to get two additions to mix in. I got a oatmeal chocolate chip mix and added mini PB cups and drizzled with almond butter. Dan got Reeses brownies and topped with ice cream and whipped cream.

Fun

Beach day trip. I didn't get to this in the spring but might do this on a random day that I need a mental health day at work over the summer, or even wait until the fall when the beach isn't as busy. But I have tried to do more lake days and it's been a lot of fun!

Spa day. Big no on this one so far and don't really have any plans yet!

Outdoor concert. Dan and I went to Sum 41, and I also saw Babyface with a few friends. In a few months we also have tickets to see Earth Wind and Fire which I CAN NOT wait for!!

Read best fiction of 2023. So far I've read  8 of the top 10 fiction books from Goodreads. The last two that I have to read are The Collected Regrets of Clover, and Pineapple Street.

Attend a local festival. In the spring I had two friends from Pittsburgh visit, and we all went to Brewgaloo together. It's a huge beer festival and we had a really fun time sampling all of the beers. I'm also going to the Fourth of July festival in Downtown Apex this week when my family is visiting which is always fun.

ANNUAL GOAL: Monthly cooking challenge. This has been a lot of fun to try out different cuisines! So far I've mostly done Asian foods (my favorite has been Vietnemese), so I'm hoping to expand a bit in the second half of the year to try some African or European or Latin American foods.

How are your goals going?