August Small Goals

August Small Goals

I feel like summer just started, and here we are. I’m not too upset about it being August already. After the crazy heat waves we’ve had, I won’t be sad about lower temperatures, but I’m suspecting we have several more months of summerish weather anyway.

This was what I wanted to accomplish in July. It didn’t go very well.

1. Have an excellent time traveling with friends for the first time. DONE! I’m so sad this is over. It definitely did change the dynamic, but it was so fun to have a larger group and go on a trip with these particular friends.

2. Finish the bedroom. Definitely not done. As we got into it, we decided we’d need new windows, the trim needed to be scraped and sanded, and Chad decided to demolish this half-assed shelving unit that was attached to the wall. I’m hoping windows arrive this month and we can knock it out. Turns out this one isn’t a small goal at all, but rather the carrot on the end of a stick.

3. Meal planning. Done-ish? I got started on this in a fit, making a giant batch of turkey fried rice and another giant batch of cilantro lime rice to eat with chicken throughout the week. I don’t know what it is, but I tend to be kind of all or nothing on the food production front. I’ll spend an entire Sunday afternoon making a bunch of different things to eat throughout the week, and then I’m all cooked out for awhile. I’d love to manage this in a more sustainable way.

4. Start learning D3.js! Also done-ish! I’m not doing D3 yet, but I did start working through Data Visualization with JavaScript, which I bought with a gift card that I won at Write/Speak/Code. I like it because it takes you through a bunch of different libraries you can use for data visualization, so by the end I’ll have been exposed to D3, but also have exposure to a bunch of other less complicated options, too.

5. Post here regularly. Not done. Chalking this one up to travel and the reentry to real life. Punting to August.

On to the next.

1. Finish the bedroom. Ugh. Will I ever be done with this.

2. Finish chapters 1 and 2 of Data Visualization with JavaScript. These chapters are hefty, y’all.

3. Buy some coasters. I’ve never had coasters, and since all my wooden furniture is second hand, I haven’t been too precious about keeping it pristine. The refrigerator we have now has an ice dispenser in the door, so I’ve been drinking lots of melting ice, with is also condensating all over my coffee table and nightstand. I also have this huge mental block around coasters. They’re not totally necessary, so what if I spend money on some, but there are other ones I’d rather have instead? Do they all have to match? Why is this such a weird and big deal for me? (I’m now realizing I have similar feelings about buying coasters and getting a tattoo. That’s totally unreasonable.) I think I’m going to buy this set from Ugmonk to get started. It’s been on my wishlist for years.

4. Work on an ebook idea! I’m not ready to share more about this one yet, except to say that it came out of some feedback I got on a last-minute talk I did a few days ago at the Philly ‘Burbs WordPress Meetup.

5. Post here regularly. Take time to write, photograph, and share. I want this space to be a community and a record of the story I’m living, more than it has been lately.


Comments

One response to “August Small Goals”

  1. Coasters can be such a fun thing to collect! We have several sets. Though, ours look pretty terrible and need an upgrade. I think most of them were gifts? I know we have a floral set, a Star Wars set, and a cork set with wildflowers or something on them.

    So stoked about your e-book!

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