Goals | May

All right, I'm not gonna lie. I've been putting off this post these first few days in May.... 1) because I was in Indiana this past weekend, and was a little busy but, 2) because I didn't do as well on goals in April as I wanted, and I've not been looking forward to staring at it on paper and showing my lack of accomplishment to the world. BUT. The point is that I had goals, and do again for this month. And that some - even if not a lot - of progress is most definitely better than none. Right? Yes, that's what I choose to believe and thus have a whole new, clean slate for May and will hopefully achieve more than April. :)

With that said, lets take a look at how April went (items in bold are what I accomplished):

PERSONAL GOALS

• Continue working out at least 4 times a week (only exception being when I was in Indiana...)
• Brainstorm and accomplish 1 for-the-home art project (it was more home decorative than artistic, but still! It counts. See photos below. :)
• Make at least 5 meals without Aaron's input (including but not limited to pan broiled rosemary lamb chops with a side of veggies, coconut chicken with mango salsa, mexican chicken with black beans, rice & fresh tomatoes/onions and lemon-pepper chicken with sauteed asparagus & onions!)
• Have girl time with at least 4 different friends in person
• Call or hand-write at least 2 far-away girlfriends
• REALLY Finish writing Thank-You's (except for 3 that Aaron, specifically, needs to write...but since that's out of my control, I'm still writing this off as a success!)
• Mail the last Thank-You's
• Order Wedding Album (another step closer! But still making final decisions on layouts...)
• Finish catching-up on personal photo editing & uploading (I made some progress, but it's nearly never-ending, it seems...)
• Organize iTunes & all Music folders on computers
• Help my Mom pick out frames & wedding photos to print when I'm in IN at the end of the month! :)

BUSINESS GOALS

• Get all receipts from March in order
• Blog at least 2 times a week (trying this again!)
• Finish researching Business Insurance options & decide on a company/policy
• Organize all 2010 pictures on all computers/hard drives
• Finish researching and choose a company for online backup & off-site storage
• Research new laptops
• Research new desktop monitors
• Make a list of prioritized purchases

Ok, clearly my business list is TERRIBLY unaccomplished. BUT, what wasn't on the list is that I shot two weddings and some bridal portraits and traveled to Indiana for the weekend. All of which took time and were accomplishments in and of themselves that I should have thought to put on the list.... Needless to say, I will be adding many of these back on May's list....

But first, check out the latest Watson apartment decor!

I've dreamed of having a plate collage for a long time. (It was always one of those, "When I get married and have a place to decorate...." sort of dreams) And I'm SO excited that I finally have the start of one. :) I hope and plan to have a wall decorated with only plates, at some point, but for the size of the space we have, right now, I really like the plate and picture combination. The best part is that Aaron already had this picture, and most of the plates were found for really cheap at thrift stores (only two were bought for regular price from Pier 1).

I love how perfectly our place mats (that we got as a wedding gift) and the napkin holders (that I also found for cheap at a thrift store here in Richmond) go with the look and feel of the collage.

It all makes me so happy, and I still periodically squeal with delight and thank Aaron for hanging it all up for me. (Our interior decorating styles/preferences aren't very similar at all....so the fact that he not only is ok with this, but helped make it HAPPEN is very sweet. I have a pretty great husband. :)

Ok, now that we've seen my current apartment happiness, lets get on with goals for May:

PERSONAL GOALS

• Continue working out at least 4 times a week
• Brainstorm and accomplish another for-the-apartment decorative project
• Make 2-3 meals per week, without Aaron's help (8-10 for the month)
• Have girl time with at least 4 different friends in person
• Call or hand-write at least 2 far-away girlfriends
• Mail the last Thank-You's
• Order Wedding Album!
• Make more progress catching-up on personal photo editing & uploading
• Work on organizing iTunes & all Music folders on computers
• Sort through all clothes & shoes and get rid of some!

BUSINESS GOALS

• Make detailed weekly to-do lists
• Total all receipts/costs from January - April
• Get mileage for both cars up to date
• Blog at least 2 times a week (trying this again!)
• Finish researching Business Insurance options & decide on a company/policy!
• Finish researching and choose a company for online backup & off-site storage!
• Finish researching laptops/desktop monitors
• Make a list of prioritized purchases!
• Edit one bridal shoot
• Edit two weddings
• Shoot two weddings
• Prepare for & lead the photographic team at TeenPact (the organization my husband works for) National Convention

May is definitely a full month, especially with National Convention. But here's hoping I can still get a LOT of goals accomplished!

How did you all do with your goals in April? And what are you hoping to accomplish in May?