August 2016 Goals

Happy August, everyone! Alas, it is the last month of the summer and the last month before another crazy busy year begins. I've really enjoyed the summer and am not looking forward to seeing it go, but I'm feeling like I'm just about ready to take on the year. These next few weeks are critically needed but once they pass I'm hoping I'll be in a good place to take on the 2016-2017 academic year! Now, onto my goals for the month...

Read four books - I have four books I want to read this month, and I'm actually already reading all four of them! I have a vacation at the end of the month and I am planning on reading until my eyeballs fall out. I can't wait. This month I'm hoping to finish reading Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (I'm listening to the audiobook on my commutes), The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson, Sick in the Head by Judd Apatow, and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Register for the Green Mountain Marathon - With how good I'm feeling in my training lately, the time has come to officially register for the Green Mountain Marathon. It's always a great (and scary) feeling when you're officially registered and really lights a fire under you. I'm looking forward to this fall and hoping it's my best marathon yet!

Get special events for first two months of the semester ready to go - This is a work goal - I'm responsible for our special events calendar that is planned by our office so I would REALLY life to get all of September and most of October good to go before September 1st, so I'm able to just focus on working with my students - the most important part of the job! I'm pretty sure I can make it happen. Just gotta stay focused!

Complete a painting - I haven't painted in a good long while and I figure my vacation would be the perfect time to pick up the brush again!

WATCH AS MANY OLYMPIC EVENTS AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE - Guys. The Olympics officially start tomorrow. And I am SO EXCITED. The summer games only come around once every four years and I love them so much that I really want to watch as much as possible before they're over yet again. I'm especially excited for my favorite events - the gymnastic and swim meets, the track and dive meets, and all the sports you don't typically see on TV like fencing and weight lifting and synchronized swimming and the marathon, of course! I cannot wait for the events to get started!

And those are my 5 (yikes) goals for August. I'm really looking forward to having this month to gear up for the school year and to squeeze every last drop out of summer that I can! I hope everyone has a fantastic August and make sure to click "read more" to get an update on my July goals!


I had 3 goals for the month of July and I completed them all!

Read at least 3 books (DONE) - I read FIVE books in July (like a boss), and it was a bit wishy washy on what I rated each of them. Some I LOVED, some I HATED, and it didn't seem like any were in between. I'll be reviewing all of the books I read in the summer time in September, so be on the lookout for that! The books I read this month are Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, We're All Damaged by Matthew Norman, The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg, and, of course, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany. (May or may not have read the whole thing within the first 24 hours....)

Get up to half marathon distance in my marathon training (DONE) - I read 13.1 miles on July 30th and I am right on track with my marathon training which I am thrilled about!

Continue meatless weekdays (DONE) - There were a couple of slip ups but for the most part I stuck with this and honestly it's just second nature to me now. If it's the weekday, I'm just not eating meat. It's actually been pretty easy and I think I have Brett to thank for that - he's made it so easy and he's been so supportive in this choice that I don't even really have to think about it!