Monthly reflection and looking ahead.

A note: I’ve been so sick for the past two days, horizontal all day Saturday and got up today to take a shower. A nasty cold. But am feeling well enough to reflect back on January and see what’s on tap for February.

Note #2: a sloppy post entirely self-serving.

January

Many people talk about how January felt endless. I did not feel that this time. I felt that it went by kind of fast.

-We celebrated our big little boy! SIX years old.

-My husband was away twice so two stints of solo parenting

-Two theater performances: Sa Dance with my daughter, Drum Tao, solo. Both at the same theater

-SNOW

-Snow DAY

-YMCA! It was a great decision, since after I signed up, I started going after work (to swim or to lift) and on weekends (cycling).

-Made a switch from Acorns for savings and started dollar-cost-averaging weekly into stocks on Fidelity. That’s not my retirement I’m playing with, those accounts are separate.

-I read/listened to six books.That’s a lot for me since I’m a very slow reader/listener.

-Passports renewed for me and kids (what an ordeal)

-had a nice voice call with one of my sister-friends.

-Checked in/chatted with all of my sister-friends via WhatsApp, shared pictures, all of us typed kind of long messages about grey January.

-Had my annual physical+annual bloodwork done

-Saw a sports medicine doctor for my right knee pain (a long overdue issue) and was recommended to start physical therapy. I have good space between the joints but the knee keeps hurting when I walk a lot. Interestingly, when I cycle or do elliptical, there are no issues.

-Had a date night!

-The biggest delight was me signing up for the YMCA and starting to exercise. I always said that I hate it and I guess I still do but now I do it. I just drive to the Y, get out of the car, change, and exercise. Having exercised makes me feel so much better- physically and mentally (which, for me, is very important).

-We also FINALLY ordered shades for the dining room. As you can see in the pic below, no curtains or shades are present in the dining room windows. See, we repainted the dining room and redid the dining room floors during our kitchen renovation. But the window treatments took a long time!

February

First and foremost, my priority is to recover completely from this nasty cold!

Highlights for February include

– my husband’s 45th birthday!

-two (confirmed) date nights, one on the 13th, another on the 21 of the month.

-annual conference for teachers of world languages in NYC, three days of learning and awesomeness. I usually stay over in the city for two nights and make it a retreat of sorts for myself. Take myself out to dinner, see a show, get a massage.

–Valentine’s day. I know, Hallmark holiday etc, but I still enjoy it. I love chocolates and I love cards.

On a smaller scale…

-one faculty meeting- with our new principal!

-weekly physical therapy for my right knee

-live theater performance… Need to find one, the problem is, February does not have that many weekends… one weekend is Valentine’s Day, another is for T’s birthday celebration… the fourth and the final one is my trip to NYC for a conference.

-celebrations that may be worth exploring: Lunar new year, Mardi gras, first day of Ramadan coincides with Ash Wednesday. President’s day.

-exercise after work- alternate swim and weights. Hoping for 2-3 times a week, plus twice on a weekend.

-kids’ activities after school: BJJ and piano

-kids’ activities on weekends: gymnastics

–Sunday skates, whenever possible. The big snow storm last weekend and my cold this weekend threw a wrench into those plans.

-parent-teacher conferences for my kids (end of February)

-think more deeply about So.Carolina for spring break

Note: I have to wait until March 1st to book anything since there is a possibility of snow and my district may take days away from spring break if they use up more than three snow days.

-think more deeply about Northern Italy road trip

Note: need to think about dates, prices, etc. also decide whether I can/should add lake Bled. Also decide for how long. The longer the trip, the more expensive it is. The longer the trip, the slower (read:more enjoyable) it can be.

---

Below is the annual goals list, I pulled it up to place it in front of my eye balls again.

And that’s a wrap.

---

Would love to hear one delight from January.

And one thing you are looking forward to in February.