February: Reflection & Rejuvenation

Photo courtesy of Nikki McClure’s 2010 Calendar

It’s February. Hooray! I always like the start of new months. It represents a mini-moment of reflection and rejuvenation. It’s like a little version of New Year’s all over again.

What should I celebrate about January?

1. I rekindled my creativity by making a bag (during a craft date with a new friend, which was a lot of fun).
2. I made an effort to collaborate with colleagues to improve my teaching.
3. We hosted dinner three different dinners for friends, attended two different dinner parties, and planned a funky night out at the Museum of Fine Arts.
4. I published our neighborhood newsletter.
5. I met all of my consulting deadlines.
6. I weathered the stress of buying a new car and administering five days of standardized testing to first graders.
7. I finished the final revisions on my book proposal.
8. I ran approximately three times a week.

What should I aspire to in February?

1. I want to do a better job of tracking our spending, using our index-card method. This approach works really well for me, but it’s hard for me to keep track of Matt’s spending when he goes on an errand. We have a new system for putting receipts in a particular place, so it should get easier.
2. I want to completely organize my classroom (i.e., library, curriculum shelves, and closet) and get my word wall up.
3. Invite someone over for dinner that we want to get to know better.
4. Maintain a happy and content life, despite lots of upcoming potential stressors.
5. Schedule appointments with the doctor and dentist for regular check-ups.
6. Undertake at least one home-improvement project (probably getting a consistent fence all the way around our house).
7. Run consistently (four times a week) and do 15 minutes of yoga the other three days of the week.
8. Maintain regular posting on three of my blogs.
9. Try to consistently eat balanced meals.
10. Make another craft.
11. Find a marriage counselor so we can make sure our relationship is as strong as possible before we have a baby.

Argh! So many of these things have been on past to-do lists. I just want to get them done so I can cross them off once and for all. That’s okay. I need to focus on the positive.

I’m excited about the month!