Helga without the H

We’re almost halfway through the year, and so I figured it would be a good idea to check in on my progress for this years’ new years resolutions. I know most people maybe come up with 1 or 2 resolutions per year, then halfheartedly give up on them like a week later. But not I! When I put something in writing and formalize it publicly, I tend to go through with it. I’m heavily motivated by structure combined with public shame (and by “public” I mean literally maybe 3 people, two of which are internet strangers.) Anyway, here we go!

As a refresher, here is the full list. I make a big list, and then give myself a letter grade, so in the end I get basically a report card, complete with a cute little GPA.

1. Visit Museums: B+
   I’m right on track! So far this year I have visited and reviewed a whopping 10 museums! If I continue at this rate, that would be 20 museums by the end of the year. According to my January self, “If I can get to 20, that’s freakin’ awesome.” On the other hand, two of these museums were total stretches. Also, I’ve barely hit any of the main museums I was really hoping to go see. So hopefully I’ll visit all of those and will give them the full attention they deserve.
2. Write Book Reviews: A+
   Aww yeah! This year I’ve read and reviewed a whopping 10 books! And the reviews are, for the most part, pretty comprehensive (none of this 1 sentence nonsense.) Check out my progress here.
3. Publish my 3rd novel: D
   Ugh. This one is a bit stalled. I personally have made zero progress since the start of the year. The draft has been with my extremely gifted and amazing editor this whole time. I’ve checked in from time to time, and my most recent progress was heavily hinting that it would be awesome to receive the finished edit before my birthday (which is coincidentally coming up very soon.) I guess I could be more pushy and aggressive, or could fire the editor, all of which would boost my letter grade slightly. However, this editor is one of the smartest, most talented editors on the planet, and is doing this job free of charge. So I think I’ll stick with her.
4. Write the draft for my 4th novel: F
   I literally haven’t written a single word. Not even an outline. I’ve been thinking about it, though! Which ain’t worth a hill of beans. Total failure.
5. Establish a solid new fitness/gym plan: C+
   The ClassPass plan has really been working out! After testing out a few classes at a few different places, I’ve fallen into a pretty consistent routine: strength training at one local gym, and hot yoga at a local studio. I typically make it to yoga once a week, and strength training once or twice a week. Both are walkable from home, which is a huge plus over my old gym. I also still have volleyball once a week. And probably my biggest thing is that I’ve been consistent and focused with my running training, which usually consist of 3 runs a week totaling at least 10 miles, aiming for more like 12-15 to reach 50 miles per month. I’ve been good about getting the weekend run on a trail whenever possible, ran my second Ragnar, am registered for my 3rd, and just 2 hours ago I ran my longest distance ever (10 miles.) Plus I’m still playing volleyball once a week, walking over 10K steps every single day, and seeing my awesome chiropractor regularly. So fitnesswise, I’m doing awesome! But there is work to do. Ideally I would do more yoga and strength training each week, because once a week, while better than nothing, is still less than ideal to be truly beneficial. But right now I already feel like I’m cramming in a lot, so finding the right balance is key. I’m fine with yoga once a week, but could definitely use more of the strength training, and probably need to find motivation to do work at home on my own. Also, the strength classes are targeted at a very different clientele than my old gym, which means the actual workouts are significantly more consistent (one of my main goals in switching gyms) but also are significantly less intense. So far I’m making it work, but there’s room for improvement.
6. Become Better at Gardening: B
   Knock on wood, but this once’s going surprisingly well! Technically I started early when I planted a bunch of spring bulbs in a new raised bed last fall. BUT the good news is that the bulbs all bloomed! I had an insane amount of flowers! Too many, in fact. They were totally overcrowded. And the tulips, which are what I was most excited for, only bloomed for a couple weeks before a windstorm blew all the petals off. Doh! The big question is, will the flowers come back next year? Will I succeed in moving some of the bulbs to spread the love? We’ll see. But wait, there’s more! I’ve been diligently reading and attempting to follow my month-by-month gardening book, which is both enlightening and super overwhelming. My biggest new project has been transforming my front garden by ripping out the old weeds and weedguard, building a rock wall around it, filling it with several inches of soil, and planting some annuals. I also planted annuals in my window boxes and hanging basket out front, and planted some herbs in the backyard raised bed. So far the flowers are all thriving (knock on wood!!!). The herbs, well… not so much, but I’m holding out hope for my sad little basil plant. I feel like I have a lot of work still to do, but I have been putting in the work, so we’ll see.
7. Complete Some Home Projects: D
   Oof, almost nothing has happened here. If anything, we’re moving backwards, because a plumbing mishap has resulted in a hole in our ceiling whose repair now needs to be added to the list. The other big home stuff involved paying someone else to replace a bunch of windows and repoint some brick after they started leaking in a rainstorm. We have done one big fun project, though! The same weekend that I build the rock wall (not sure whether to put that in gardening or home project resolutions), we filled the joints in our front walkway. It was a very fun project that involved power-washing (always a blast, literally) and sweeping a mysterious sand-like substance around while my husband kept hosing everything down.
8. Get (and Use) a Library Card: B
   I got myself a library card in January! I’ve been using the associated Libby app to check out audiobooks and ebooks. I am yet to go into an actual library to pick up a physical book. The Libby app has been a pretty frustrating experience so far. Most of the books I want are not available in the app. The few that I did want were not immediately available and I had to place a hold to get in line and wait. Once I got books, they were due back very quickly (2 weeks, which is short for a slow reader like myself), and could not be renewed unless nobody else was waiting. Twice now I’ve had to several weeks to finish a book I’d started. The good news is that so far I’ve actually read several books through this! The bad news (beyond the above-listed frustrations), is that I’m not sure what I’ll be doing after I get through the remaining couple books that I liked. So we’ll see if this one tapers off or not.

Okay, so those scores were kinda all over the board. But considering how resolutions usually go, I’m really happy with myself for making some sort of strides for almost all of them. My midterm GPA is: 2.3125, which according to my high school system 20+ years ago, is a C. Smack dab in the middle. Could be better, but could be worse.