Personal: August Update of My 2022 Goals

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So it seems that White Cabana has evolved into a goal update blog! Here we go with my August update:

  1. Write with my fountain pen. Yes! I still love this pen. I haven’t used it for my every day note-taking, but I do use it regularly. I love it especially for card writing!
  2. Complete house projects. We didn’t have much on our to do list in August. We maintained the garden. That’s about all.
  3. Stay active. I’ve just been walking here and there.
  4. Host people. People drop by all the time, but we didn’t host any specific events or large gatherings in August.
  5. Travel. It seems that August has just come and gone so quickly. We barely made it to the cottage. We’re postponing/cancelling our fall trip, which is a bit of a bummer, but it’s for a good reason.
  6. Read more. Sort of. On audio, I listened to Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang. It was great. I also listened to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and it was wonderful. Angelou narrated it, and her voice is so powerful.
  7. Tame garbage. Reduce waste. Heck no. Who has a solution? I very much dislike our indoor and outdoor garbage sorting processes.
  8. Floss regularly. Yes. On it!
  9. Stop procrastinating. Yes. Like Juy, there has been no time to procrastinate this month. I have too much on the go!
  10. Have fun! Yes. Work life and family life have both been fun…even among the stress of busy days getting ready for fall activities and work!

Previous updates: January, February, March, May, June, July.

Personal: June Updates of my 2022 Goals

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The sun is shining, and I have been enjoying the warmth of summer. I’m happy to share this update of my 2022 goals.

  1. Write with my fountain pen. Yes. Last month, I thought my TWSBI fountain pen was broken, but after contacting a TWSBI representative, I was able to get all the parts in place. Yahoo! It really is a beautifully functioning pen.
  2. Complete house projects. Yes. This month marked the one year anniversary of our home purchase. Yay! We celebrated with a dinner of Popeyes and Veuve Clicquot. While sometimes I think that we haven’t made many drastic changes over the last year, in fact, we have. We have made each room a little bit more functional and aesthetically pleasing for us. Each room feels a bit more settled, and while the design process is slow, we have made movement. This month, I focused on my veggie garden. I check on my plants every gosh darn day, and I’m so pleased to see growth. My plant babies are doing well, and I hope they’ll be producing veggies soon. Patience, grasshopper, patience. (This has been very hard for my impatient self). I have found doing any work in the garden very calming and relaxing. Nature heals, as they say, right? My beau hung the hammock recently, and it’s a really perfect place to relax. We also have a new kitchen counter, sink, and faucet, which makes me so happy. What a difference this change has made. We’ve also ordered a few new light fixtures, which my beau will install soon. Finally, the toilet roll holder I ordered in February has finally arrived; this was the last necessary piece in our powder room refresh.
  3. Stay active. Sort of. Walking. Walking. Walking. That’s about all.
  4. Host people. Yes. One of my longest friends came for a visit at the end of May, which was great. We hosted our first outdoor music night. It was an intimate gathering on a beautiful evening.
  5. Travel. We’ve been fortunate to spend time at my beau’s family cottage regularly. We also took a tour of Port Credit on Father’s Day (it honestly felt like a vacation!). That said, I’m itching to escape Ontario!
  6. Read more. Yes. I’ve been enjoying audio books on my long drives and walks. I just finished Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. It was excellent. Read it. In my academic life, my book club is reading Academic Ableism by Jay Dolmage.
  7. Tame garbage. Reduce waste. We are trying. This is hard, but we are trying.
  8. Floss regularly. Yes. Daily.
  9. Walk regularly. Since I’ve got “stay active” on my list, I’m going to cross this one off to avoid repetition.
  10. Stop procrastinating. Yes. I think writing down my to do lists and having a lot on the go at work is keeping me accountable.
  11. Have fun! Yes. Seeing family and friends and making some plans for the summer had made daily life fun!

Previous updates: January, February, March, May.

Personal: March Update of My 2022 Goals

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It’s the end of the month, which means I get to share an update of my 2022 goals.

  1. Write with my fountain pen. Yes. I still use it daily. It’s so pretty.
  2. Complete house projects. Sort of. Our powder room refresh is nearly complete; I’m waiting for the shipment of a delayed towel bar/toilet roll holder. Our kitchen refresh is also on hold while we wait for a delayed sink. Delays have been common since the early days of the pandemic, so I’m not surprised. We have been scheming a refresh of another bathroom, too, so that might happen in April.
  3. Practice yoga. No. I wonder if I should take this off the list. I think I’ll change this to “stay active.”
  4. Host people. Yes. We’ve continued with our nearly monthly music night, which brings together a great group of people and fun music. We also hosted dinner with new friends (met via Facebook marketplace if you can believe it…story for another day).
  5. Travel. No travel in March, but something is in the works for April. Oui, oui!
  6. Read more. Yes. I’m flying through audio books on account of my commute, which has been great. I listened to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (read by Tom Hanks), The Vintage Caper, by Peter Mayle, and The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris. All three were good, but I really enjoyed my time with Tom Hanks! I’ve also been reading a lot for work.
  7. Tame garbage. Reduce waste. Sort of. I’m making slight improvements, I think. It’s hard!
  8. Floss regularly. Yes. Daily. How have I never added daily flossing into my routine before? It just makes sense. Let’s see what my dentist has to say!
  9. Walk regularly. Yes. I feel like I’m doing okay with my walking. There’s room for improvement, and I anticipate better weather will motivate me to get outside more.
  10. Stop procrastinating. Sort of. Some days I just need a break from my computer.
  11. Have fun! Yes! March was a good month overall. And I hope the positive flavour continues into April, too!

Previous updates: January, February

Personal: February Update of My 2022 Goals

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We’re at the end of the month which means I’d like to share an update of my 2022 goals.

  1. Write with my fountain pen. Yes. I use my fountain pen daily for both mundane notes and important correspondence.
  2. Complete house projects. Yes. Our second TV area is coming together, and we made progress on our main floor powder room.
  3. Practice yoga. No. I did well in January, and then I took a complete break. No bueno.
  4. Host people. Yes. We continue to host quite regularly. It’s been fun to spend time with friends for short and long visits.
  5. Travel. No. Not this month.
  6. Read more. Sort of. I’m just slow-going these days. I read Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly, and I laughed out loud.
  7. Tame garbage. Reduce waste. Sort of. I’m definitely more aware of our waste production, and I’m doing better at minimizing food waste, too.
  8. Floss regularly. Yes. Daily. I still don’t know why I waited so long to get into a daily flossing habit.
  9. Walk regularly. Sort of. I’m so tired of winter that these days the weather has to be just right for me to go for a walk.
  10. Stop procrastinating. Sort of. Going into the office has helped me to get my marking done in a reasonable time frame.
  11. Have fun! Yes! I’ve had a really happy month, and there have been many days filled with laughter. Hooray!

Previous updates: January

Personal: January Update of My 2022 Goals

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We’re wrapping up the first month of 2022, so this is the first check-in of my 2022 goals.

  1. Write with my fountain pen. Yes! Using my fountain pen daily.
  2. Complete house projects. Yes. I made good progress on my office this month. We also started working on a second TV area thanks to friends who gave us a TV they no longer needed.
  3. Practice yoga. Yes! I completed 24 days of yoga this month. I followed Yoga with Adriene‘s MOVE series this month, which I enjoyed.
  4. Host people. Yes! We’ve hosted several impromptu dinners this month, and it’s been really great to spend time with people in person on a small scale.
  5. Travel. Yes! We traveled outside of Ontario this month. Our short getaway gave me so much energy! And it was a very safe – not scary – trip.
  6. Read more. Sort of. I’ve started a few things, but I haven’t finished anything yet (besides magazines).
  7. Tame garbage. Reduce waste. No. Not really. I am conscious of our waste production, but I haven’t taken any concrete steps to reduce waste.
  8. Floss regularly. Yes. Daily. Why haven’t I done daily flossing ever before? I can’t wait to go to the dentist next and when they ask, do you floss regularly? I can finally say, yes! (Fun fact: Only 43% of Canadians age 12 and older reported that they floss daily.)
  9. Walk regularly. Yes. While we were on our trip, we walked 20K km every day. It was amazing. Back home, I’m walking generally everyday, too.
  10. Stop procrastinating. Sort of. Work was quite busy this month, but I packed it all in, and I reduced opportunities for procrastination.
  11. Have fun! Yes! The most fun days were the ones when I imagined we’re not still living a pandemic, lockdown life.

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