2011 Goals Check-Up: February

Yes, I'm alive! (And learning how to make Kung Pao chicken)
Eep! I can't believe that I haven't posted for over a month! This has probably been my longest hiatus since I started getting "serious" about this blog. As some of you may know, I have just returned from a 3½ week trip to China, and the weeks prior to that were hectic as I rushed to finish everything before I jetted off. But now I'm back and will finally have a chance to get through the backlog of recipes that I have from *cough* December...

But first, goals!

7.5 hours of sleep per night and Drink as much fluid as necessary to have clear pee - During the last check-up I noted that I would try setting some more rigid goals (i.e. specific bedtime, specific amount to drink) to see if that would help. The week before the trip I averaged 5-6 hours of sleep per night and probably did not drink a water bottle's worth of water per day. During the trip we were more lenient with our sleep unless we really had a place to get to (though we later learned that this may not have been the best choice and many attractions closed earlier than expected!) but drinking enough fluid was very difficult!

Continue increasing number of blog posts per year - I only posted two posts in February :( and I'm jetting off again in three weeks so I doubt I will have the time to clean my backlog... but it exists and I will try, and it will get done eventually.

Read at least 12 books this year - Sadly I didn't get through very much of The End of Overeating during the trip, instead choosing to wile away any free time I had on games on my cellphone or B.'s iPhone. I'm about halfway through now and so far it's been a pretty interesting read. Will probably share a review when I'm finished.

Have something nutrition-related published in/appear in mass media (i.e. nutrition/health/food magazines, newspapers, radio, TV) - I was on Breakfast TV on February 8! I was so nervous that it went by very quickly and I didn't get to say everything I wanted to, but it was still a great experience. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) they didn't put the clip up on their website so I can't share it with you, but hopefully they'll invite me back and I'll do a better job!

Win a kickboxing/Muay Thai fight - My trainer is currently away this week, but I will still be going to class and perhaps when he returns will start to gear up to fight in June (or if I don't lose focus too much when I'm in Cuba, I may fight as soon as late April!)

Cook at least one recipe from every cookbook I own - Aside from the recipes I mentioned last month I don't think I've cooked from anymore cookbooks. I did receive a free copy of Cook!, the new Dietitians of Canada cookbook as a version of my Garden Patch Muffins appear in it. I will try to cook from it and share some recipes, though since my trip I've had a strong interest in learning to cook some good Chinese food too...

Put my savings/RRSP somewhere where I can make more money - On hold till April.

Create more/Participate in another creative/reflective project this year - I brought my journal while we were travelling but in the end it ended up being used as more of a expense record than a journal. #reverb10 has been sending out monthly #reverb11 prompts so for now I will start with those. The Dietitians of Canada conference is replacing its Dietitians as Artists initiative from last year with a "Dietetics Cinema", and will hold the Dietitians as Artists exhibit next year. I hope by that time I will have a full "artist's journal" type thing to share, or at least some scans that I like.

Set aside one weekend every month with no commitments - The China trip was the longest that B. and I have spent together day in and day out. I don't know if it's the stress of travelling or the faster pace of China, but I felt tense throughout the trip and I was often worried or upset over something or another. B. was great about putting up with me and overall it's a great trip. I'm looking forward to a different mode of travelling (staying at one resort vs. travelling from city to city) when we head to Cuba in April.

Rewards
I achieved one of my resolutions! (Having my nutrition work in mass media.) I guess I didn't really reward myself other than going on the trip. Despite the stresses, overall I had a great time, saw beautiful sights and ate delicious food. I can't wait to share some of our 3000+ (Seriously, B. was stopping to snap a photo every five steps we took) photos with you! And even when I was stressed, it's much nicer worrying about things like where we were going to go next as opposed to taxes or getting enough sleep for work...