Goal update

Just over two weeks into our fitness goals for January, here's where we stand:

• Matt has done 9 of 14 workouts for January.
• I have completed two weeks of 60 minutes of workouts, and am 30 minutes into this week's goal. I slipped a little bit on stretching last week, but caught up over the weekend. Remembering to my stretching every day is what I need to focus on now.

So, that's good progress! There's a pedicure (for me) and a trip to Mi Tierra in San Antonio (for us both, plus friends) if we achieve our goals this month.

Other goal updates:

• I wrote a letter to our Compassion child in Nicaragua. I didn't have a lot to say, but hope I was friendly & encouraging. It seems like he's doing well in school and has gotten to do some fun things as part of our sponsorship (he wrote to us about going camping). It's always fun to think up flat objects that I can send in the envelope to him (can't send anything of real value or weight, since it will either be stolen or will be too heavy to mail). Last time, I sent Spider Man band-aids (I haven't heard if he got them yet). This time, I got some stickers. I don't think 13-year-old boys in the US really get fired up about stickers, but Jose Luis adheres various stickers to each letter he gives us, so I figure stickers work for him!
  
• I am almost half done with my very difficult Hawaiian applique block, where I'm learning valuable skills I can take into the larger quilt that's on my goals for the year. (see previous post)

What else is new around Matt & Becky's world... Let's see:

• We drove out to Llano (about 90 minutes from here) to Cooper's BBQ on Saturday. Cooper's is always one of our favorite BBQ spots (regardless what Texas Monthly said recently, in dropping them out of the top 5).
• We got tickets to see two favorite bands together in Houston in February: Switchfoot and Seabird.
• I had lunch last week with Shan Reed, a family friend from growing up in Madison, SD. She was in town while on home-assignment from her role as a missionary in Japan.
• I'm still having trouble with my feet, but I'm able to stand up a lot more. I'm able to cook dinner from scratch most nights without my feet suffering too badly.
• Matt continues to work hard, on all kinds of project to make the internet a safer & better place to live (or something like that!)
• Oh, and I'm also now blogging for work. It's a mix of behind-the-scenes info, random inspiration, and some spiritual content. Check it out if those things interest you: Etcetera. Whatever.
  

2010 Goals

While eating some yummy BBQ at Rudy's tonight, Matt and I wrote down some goals for 2010. I don't intend to share all of them but I thought I'd mention a few, just to keep me going.

• Short-term fitness goal: workout 60 minutes per week and do my stretches 10 times per week. If I do this through January 31st, I get a pedicure! (and then I can set a harder goal for next month)
• Short term household goal: get the Styrofoam out of the garage. Part of me blames the city of Austin for this problem, since it's so hard to throw out trash, but I can't use that as an excuse any longer! Once I finish this, I get chocolate truffles.
• Yearly goal: Write to our Compassion child in Nicaragua at least 6 times this year.
• Yearly goal: Design & finish sewing a Hawaiian applique wall-hanging (which will be larger & more complex than the pillows I've made thus far).
  

Here's a Hawaiian Applique block I designed -- was to be made into a small pillow, but my mom suggested I finish a few more and turn them into a table runner.

Accountability April Update

It's past the middle of April, so here's an update of how I'm doing with my April-resolutions. I hope the others who are trying this are doing well at theirs!

Soda:
I can count how many times I've had sugary soda since April 6th. So, this resolution is going well! I've had it twice at Rudy's, twice at the Round Rock Express, and twice while doing home improvement. And, three of those were Sprite, which at least is caffeine free. I'm feeling just fine without it. In fact, when I've had a glass of Sprite since, I've noticed severe heartburn afterward. There's good motivation to not drink it anymore...

I haven't bought any soda for myself to keep around the house (just stuff Matt likes). I've filled the fridge with a pitcher of homemade tea, lots of nalgene bottles of water, and also grape juice, so I'm doing fairly well at avoiding my urges to consume mountain dew while at home.

Rudy's BBQ and the Express games are my two weak points - Rudy's because they have Mello Yello on tap (yum!) and the Express because it's cheaper to refill one of our plastic cups with soda than it is to buy a bottle of water, and they don't sell unsweet tea. Oh well... I've been sneaking in a bottle of water and I think that's fine (the people around us often bring in coolers, so I don't think anybody can complain about a single bottle of water).

Mail Sorting:
I got caught up, but have slipped behind on this again. I think that's because Matt is picking up the mail these days. He brings it in and sets it down - where I've been trying to sort it immediately. This really is just a bad excuse. I need to do better about that. I've made a mail sorting station near the recyling bin, which I like. We used to keep the mail in the dining room, which made the house look cluttered from the front door. Hiding the mail near the kitchen seems to work better for me.

Other Things
It wasn't a specific goal for April, but I would like to report that our house is cleaner and less cluttered right now than at any point thus far in our marriage! (Other than our desks...) Today or tomorrow, I'll be taking a huge load of stuff to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Feels nice to have fewer piles around the house.

And, we're virtually finished with our bathroom re-do project. I need to caulk a bit today, then Matt will seal the stone later this week. After that, all that's left are a tiny touch up of paint, hanging art, and installing cabinet handles. YAY!!!