2019 Goals | September Recap and October Goals

Here’s how I did for my September goals:

Plan 1 more trip for 2019.
We have another trip to take. I’d like to plan it sooner than later.
This goal was not completed but progress was made.

15 days to move in day
New time line, and a little more time to get ready.
We got close enough by the time needed. Sometimes that’s all you can do.

25 days to enjoy Local Summer
We’ve got a lot of time to enjoy the best of what the beach has to offer and we plan to make the most of it.
Nailed it!!

30 days to quit nail biting
I know I will prob never fully quit, but I can make more of an effort. September seems like a good time to make a hard push.
I knew this was not a goal to be completed but progress was made.

Move 45 plus plants
Every few month I move and repot all the plants. September is a good time to give them some love.
This goal was partially achieved. I decided that many of the plants would be happy where they were for Sept.

Did you achieve your goals last month?

On to October":

Finish 1 house project
There are so many to choose from? Should we finish remodeling the kitchen, cleaning the basement, fixing the roof, decluttering the house, wallpaper two walls, repaint the bathroom? The list goes on! Hopefully this month will see one project finished!

Read 2 books
I’m half way thru one, but I want to keep my momentum up!

Eat out 8 times only
I want to get better at cooking at home, saving that money, and eating out less. We do not go out as much as many people, but I’d like when we do to be more mindful.

Move 45+ plants
This month, as it gets colder, I really will have to move the plants back inside and around.

Inbox to 500
I’m back on my computer clear out goals.

Mad Cat Garden | September

September saw the garden wind down considerably. We had hoped to get a Fall/Winter garden going, but we waited to long and ran out of time. It was hard to find plants, too late to sew seeds before we knew it. Lesson learned for next year!

But in early September, our compost patty pan was still going strong.

We had already cut back most of the cat nip, but some new buds started growing thru the cracks in the patio. Tom took full advantage.

Broccoli never took off for us but someone was enjoying it all Summer. Poblano peppers were a favorite throughout the growing months and were still going strong in early and mid month. We thought September saw the last of our favorite summer pepper meal, but at the very end there are still more poblanos to be had. The flowers we planted in Spring are still blooming and attracting pollinators!

Tomatoes are still reddening and ready to eat in mid Sept. We planted some last Summer radishes to enjoy in Sept/Oct salads.

In mid September, a new fancy blueberry bed was made and planted.

Most of the peppers we planted in pots got too dry in the heat this year. Unlike last year, in which they thrived in pots. My take away there is all good things in the ground! Almost everything in bed survived and did well.

We planted one milkweed this year and by end of Sept it is still going strong with flowers, pods, and visitors! We have been capturing seeds and planning our milkweed empire for next year!

September was a slow month in the garden, a natural winding down. Our second year garden has been so different than the first year’s. We are excited to remember the lessons we have learned and make plans for the third year! And yet we do not know what to expect!

Did your garden go as planned this year? What is the biggest surprise you encountered? The biggest challenge you faced? The biggest victory?

September in Review

September is a month to look forward to each year. But it’s also a month that flies by. We traveled this month, relaxed, spent time with family and friends, changed our household, and didn’t get as much rest as we had hoped. We swam, and enjoyed local’s Summer as well as working hard.

We tried to get to the beach as much as possible, #septemberswims being high on our list of priorities. We even dipped our toes in a far away lake.

Our home life changed with the addition of a new house member, so taking care of the house and the cats were key. We got to meet up with friends, new and old. We got to take care of new cats and visit with some we had missed!

Traveling and exploring were a theme this month. We visited new places near and far.

September was an indulgent month, with travel and good food and drink. We might have spent too much, but we enjoyed ourselves! It wasn’t all a joy ride, we also spent money on things we needed like a new car!

Here are some things I learned, or relearened in September:
- You can get used to just about anything as long as you have a positive attitude.
- I love to travel, but being home is just as nice.
-Drinking more water is always best.

Local’s summer was as good as can be. What will October bring?

2019: Goals for the Rest of the Year

In August, I sat down and looked at the goals I made in Jan 2019. Find my reflections here. I find that reviewing my goals “mid” year, helps me think about how I want to spend the rest of the calendar year and what I want to focus on.

Here are some goals I want to concentrate on on for the rest of 2019:

Plastic Free/Zero Waste
I want to make sure that I keep up this goal for the rest of the year. When we went away recently I felt good about how much it was on the forefront of trip goals.

Home Improvement
Especially now that we have a roommate, I ant to make sure to complete a few of home projects before the end of the year.

Health/Weight
I’m getting old and want to make sure I’m making various aspects of my health a priority.

Mindfulness/Creativity
In this aspect of my goals, I have been failing. I would love to take some time to concentrate on this for the rest of 2019.

Exploration
We’ve done really good at this this year, I don’t want to fall short for the last quarter.

Paring Down
We still have boxes never unpacked from when we moved into this house. Now that we have someone else living here, it’t time to really pare down.

What are your goals for the rest of the year?

Mad Cat Capsule | Summer 2019 (July, August, September)

I have gotten to the place with my capsule wardrobe where I’m pretty tired of making them. I still really like having a capsule, but actually making it is tiresome. I certainly have enough clothes to make 10 or more capsules so making one only requires going through my stock. Even that has become quite overwhelming. Part of the reason to make a capsule is to have less options and pare down to only having clothes that you love. I love so many of my clothes that, while each time I go through my back stock I do let go of several items, there are so many that I cannot let go.

For my Summer wardrobe, I sort of wanted to go through every item of clothing, but I only made it about half way. Not only did I have enough clothes for my current capsule, but I was exhausted from looking through all the clothes. I gave up mid way and decided that most of the items that were in my Spring Capsule would work for Summer as well.

The result of which is that I never felt like Summer was a true capsule. Sure, I had a limited amount of clothes that I re-wore, instead of buying new or adding to my closet from the back stock of clothing I already own. I had this feeling a bit in Spring as well, Even though they were almost opposite conditions. In Spring I made the capsule a more fluid capsule, taking things freely from the back stock.

Instead of listing every items of my Summer Capsule, I’m sharing some of my key pieces, either those that I really enjoy or were the most worn.

For future capsules, I oscillate between the idea of only using my favorite pieces, most of which were in many of my capsule, and the idea of returning to my stock pile and creating a totally new wardrobe. I also have become aware that I require less items in my capsule over all. Having less items means that I might get a little more bored with my wardrobe and also that I use each piece more over the season.

What was your plan for your capsule this Season? Were you satisfied with it? What will you do differently next time?

I bought the tank tops at least 15-20 years ago. Still good and fun to wear!

A hand me down sweater that didn’t get much wear until Sept, but it’s getting wear now.

New favorite jeans, silk/linen thrifted pants (fully lined), perfect summer shorts now 10+ years old.

On My Mind on Friday Morning

Some good celestial photos here.
We are looking forward to going to some of these Fall festivals.
Strange toilet theft.
I try not to get involved in too many internet/clothing store/racist broohahas but this misunderstanding about a child models messy hair was very interesting to me.
A few times since moving to NJ we have had issue with brown scale insects killing house plants. With the latest house plant, I’m trying to clean them off with rubbing alcohol. Has anyone had any luck with this technique?

After cleaning with alcohol last week this plant is looking much better!

Mid Year Goals Review

Although August is not the mid year, that is the time when I always want to review my goals. August is a rough month in my profession. It’s the busiest, moat stressful month in many ways, the time when tensions are high and work is exhausting. In life, August might be one of my favorite months; it’s hot, summery, and reminds me on some of my favorite adventures. These two sides of August always put me in the mood for relections of the past and plans for the future. So Last month I took some time to look back to Jan and see how my goals for 2019 are shaping up.

Here are the goals I set:

Seek Balance in Life/Work/Art
I make this goal every year and I’m still working on it.
I do make this goal every year and this year was not a good one for fulfilling it.

Create More Than Consume
I’ve become very aware at how much time I spend on my phone and the internet and how little time I spend concentrating on creating. This year, Creating should be the priority.
I would say I’m failing at this goal as well. But I have worked in the garden, taken care of the house, and created systems, worked on the blog, and other creative endeavors. Over all my tally of creativity is low.

Become Better at Being Plastic Free and Zero Waste
One of the best things I’ve done for myself in the last few years was start my Zero Waste journey. Here’s to a more good work in 2019.
I have made strives in this area, at least mentally. When I started ZW was with a sort of mental fever, making me feel terrible as well as good. This year, I feel that I don’t stress quite as much about it, but now I just need to get better.

Blog / Youtube
I dabbled in YouTube in 2018, but this year I want to make it a regular part of my life. Blogging is also a priority.
Zero work on youtube, but I’m happy so far with the progress I’ve made with this blog. I would love to create more plans and be better at blogging in the future. I wonder if I will ever feel satisfied in my blogging habits?

Habit Building / Monthly Goals
In 2018 I tried to build new habits and set monthly goals, in 2019 I want to make sure to do more.
I went strong on this goal until the middle of the year. I hope to get back on track now that it’s fall.

Home Improvement
There are a lot of things we want to do to improve the house. Some we have started, others need starting and all of them need finished! I hope to get a lot done this year!
We did some work on this this year, but haven’t tackled any of the really big projects yet. Since we will soon be sharing our home, some of these will take on a new priority.

Be a Better Wife
I never thought I would be a wife. Now I want to become better at it. This has to do with lots of things that I will go in to depth another time.
I honestly have no idea how I’m doing at this goal.

Travel / Explore
We did OK at this goal last year, but I want to do more!! There are a lot of local areas and some more far afield that I want to go to.
I think we are doing really well at this goal! We have upped our travel game this year and we have more planned for the remaining time of 2019.

Read One Book per Month
Another goal that I set every year is to read more, but this year, I want to set the goal to read at least one book each month.
I’m not sure I have really read or listened to one book per month, but I would love to take a look back and see. I have been reading again, and I love it.

Create one Tattoo per Month
I only created a few tattoos in 2018, I want to make sure to do more in 2019.
Nope.

Study Japanese
I love to learn languages and I miss studying. I want to get back in to the habit of this and be able to converse with more people.
This goal totally fell off the map for me. I decided I’m not really interested in this for the rest of the year (ever?).

Lose 20lb
OK, I usually don’t include goals like this. I usually don’t make them!! But this year, I need to get serious about my health and losing some weight is part of that.
I have worked on improving my health a little this year, so far and I have improved my weight. I wonder if I can fulfill this goal by 2020?

Save Money
Pretty standard.
Despite having to make a few large purchases, I think we’ve been doing well at this goal. I think this would be a great topic for a more detailed post.

Looking back at these goals I feel very detached from some of them. This year as not really worked out how I planned. Now that I have reviewed these goals, I will take some time to contemplate what I want to get done in the rest of 2019.

How are your 2019 goals shaping up? Do you have a point in the year where you feel the need to review them?

On My Mind On Friday Morning

Very cool bug/star wars mashup.
A little late for summer crowds, but this is a cool guide to ice cream in NJ.
How some cats reacted to an earthquake.
I do love Gillian Anderson.
An interesting full moon this month. And here are some #shittypicsofthemoon.

Mad Cat Garden | August

August was the best garden month so far!

We still had some items in pots and containers. This year they didn’t do as well as the previous year. Perhaps it was too hot and sunny.

Most things in our back beds were growing like mad. Tomatoes and poblano peppers were ripening up and the bushes were laden with them. Shishitos were starting to grow. We transplanted our corn and it survived! Our arugula, lettuce, and spinach had long overgrown.

Our morning glories that come back every year really started growing and getting in amongst the beds. They really enjoyed the bamboo trellises we made.

Some of our blueberries didn’t fruit as much as the previous years. We are thinking we will recondition the beds and repot those in containers. Some of the bushes fruited well, but we ate few berries. Most went to the squirrels and birds.

Our compost squash is growing huge! It’s a white pattypan! Mid month was when everything we grew produced fruit and veg. We ate well and varied.

Although our front bed looked quite scraggily the entire month, it produced many tomatoes! We really aren’t sure why this bed was so thin this year. Compared to last year, when it was super lush, it looks terrible! We wonder what next growing season will bring.

For our second year of gardening we are very pleased with how everything turned out in August but also very surprised. This summer’s garden has not been what we expected. But there is still nothing better than eating meals grown right out your own door. We already have many plans for next Summer.

How was August in your garden?

The City of Falling Angles

One of my goals in 2019 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

I bought the audio book of The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt at the Wall book sale for $4.

I love the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, based on another of Berendt’s books. I read that book many years ago, so when I saw this audio book I was happy to snatch it up.

Having always been fascinated with Venice, John moves there to see what it’s like to be one of the locals. He unintentionally comes at a time of upheaval, right after one of the grandest opera houses burns to the ground. The characters he meets living in Venice all have something to say about the Teatro de Fenice.

This book doesn’t so much have a concise story line, but a meandering group of stories and experiences. This is what Berendt is known for; observing and gathering these stories and tidbits and making a book with many interesting characters that happen to be real people. Like in Midnight in the Garden Of Good and Evil, this book loosely follows a trial, and that trial doesn’t end in a satisfactory manner. The City of Falling Angels gives an amazing, mysterious and magical picture of a Venice, which seems to be lost or stuck in a history all it’s own. Although the reader is not overly exciting, perhaps a little flat, Holter Graham does a fine job at conveying all the people living there. This book’s main character is the city it’s set in and how it effects all living in it. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in true mysteries that are not gorey, books about Venice, real life personalities, or books about unique cities.

This book made me want to read more about Venice, more fiction and true stories about or set in that city. Do you have a favorite city to read about?

Bullet Journal Check in | July Before and After

I’ve been Bullet Journalling for quite a few years now. It’s a daily practice that keeps me on track with tasks and goals. It has also become a treasured and comforting daily routine.

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at at a July’s monthly spreads as they are before being filled in and after they are totally full. Many of my pages have not changed in the years I have been practicing, but some change depending on the journal I’m using or the monthly tasks I need to complete.

The monthly calendar is an overview I reference every day.

I like to have my monthly goals and tasks laid out close near the calendar to reference. These are routine goals that are usually the same each month, or long term goals that I don’t want to loose track of.

My monthly habit tracker changes seasonally.

Since starting this journal, I’ve created a new blog log and content calendar.

I try to use a sleep tracker each month. In this journal, I try to keep more detailed notes about each night.

The expense tracker is not always the most accurate of my trackers, but I do like to keep a record of what I pay out and what comes in.

The rest of the month is occupied by my daily spreads. In this journal, I have been trying to use this space for daily tasks and make space to write a bit of diary each day.

And below are all the pages filled in after the month.

I don’t need my bullet journal to be neat and tidy, I like the way the pages look full and messy. Is your bullet journalling style neat and clean, or rough and messy? Are your favorite pages empty or full?

2019 Goals | August Recap and September Goals

Eat cleaner and vegan 1 day per week.
I want to improve my health and food sustainability and being mindful about what I eat is a great start! Eating vegan three days a week was far too ambitious, but I’m hoping I can do 1 day each week.
In August, I was much better about eating clean, but still can’t get a grip on eating vegan, even one day a week.

Plan our next 2 trips
It’s that time again, gotta get planning so we can get moving!
I finished planning and booking one trip! I have some ideas about the next one.

3 days a week for the yard and garden
August is all about doing Summer things.
I would say this goal was well fulfilled.

4 days for email clean out
I want to put aside one day each week or there abouts to clean up my email which is getting out of hand again. I struggled with this in July, but in August I want to get back in it.
Nope.

Beach or swim 12 times this month.
Something I have really been wanting to do, but have had a block about. Since we live by the beach and have access to it, I want to use it bc I know it makes a difference in my life. September is the best time for beach in my opinion, but we have access to a pool for the rest of the month and I want to use it!!
We did good on this goal this month. We swam quite a few times, in the ocean and in the pool.

31 days to move in day
Looks like a friend might move in with us for a while. I have a month to prepare.
Our deadline got pushed back, but we have made a start at this goal.

Plan 1 more trip for 2019.
We have another trip to take. I’d like to plan it sooner than later.

15 days to move in day
New time line, and a little more time to get ready.

25 days to enjoy Local Summer
We’ve got a lot of time to enjoy the best of what the beach has to offer and we plan to make the most of it.

30 days to quit nail biting
I know I will prob never fully quit, but I can make more of an effort. September seems like a good time to make a hard push.

Move 45 plus plants
Every few month I move and repot all the plants. September is a good time to give them some love.

What are your plans for Sept? How have your monthly goals been shaping up for 2019?

August Plant Update

We had lost of opportunity to observe plants this Month. The weather was amazing and we mostly stuck close to home. We were excited about that garden (more on that soon) and kept an eye on pollinators. We took many long walks, so we were also able to check on the neighborhood.

Our first milkweed pods!

Our first monarch caterpillar!

Wesley Lake and the swan boats from afar.

Sunset lake and one of it’s residents.

Overlooking Deal Lake.

A distinct color.

Magnolia fuzzy pods.

A little truth about me.

We are so happy that we still get to see so many flowers!

Overcast but wonderful beach day.

Moon over the West side.

Moon over the East side.

Summer was in full swing in August. I was happy to be mindful about the plants and animals around me. What was August like where you live?

September is usually a time of change and transition. I’m excited to see what it brings.

August in Review

I never intend for August to get away from me, but it always does. Bc of my seasonal job, bc of Summer, bc Of my husbands seasonal job, bc of the warm weather, August is always a very busy month. Work is a focus, but we also try to get some beach and nature time in, see family and friends, and prepare for the rest of the year.

There were plenty of #watchercats out and about in August. Despite the heat, you could find them peering off of porches, or out from air conditioned houses. There were butterflies and bees around all August long.

We were able to visit with friends and family a bit even though it was a hectic month. BBQs, small adventures, farmers markets and more were more fun with company.

We spent a lot of our free time this month hanging out in our city by the sea. We took time to walk on the boardwalk, observe the city, enjoy the beach.

August was busy and lovely, but tiring also. I am so excited to celebrate local’s summer and September.

August Life Admin Day 8/7/19

Life Admin Days or reset days, are days to get your life back on track; days to dedicate towards marking off your To Do list. Tasks can be small but those that you keep putting off, or large which you have trouble getting done. To take a life admin day, is to take a day to commit to getting it all done if possible.

I love the idea of Life Admin Days, bc some weeks it’s too hard to chip away at these tasks over several days. It’s nice to block out time to get things done. My general rules for a LAD are as follows:
Schedule the day before the month starts.
Have a LAD early in the month.
Make a list several days before.
Use a time limit to get things done.

I’ve started writing my Life Admin Day list in a spare space in my Bujo. This helps it stay present in my mind, Each morning, I can add to it, or remove tasks if I complete them before the official day. On the Day of, I can leave my bujo open and it serves as a reminder and reward. I love checking off lists!!

Sometimes even when you follow all the rules things don’t work out the way you plan. Although I love the idea of a Life Admin Day, and enjoy the practice of them, I find it’s hard to actually get the done. Having only one day off in a row, and only one day for chores and getting things done, makes it difficult for me to utilize a Life Admin Day to it’s fullest potential and get everything done in that one day.

Recently I have had to take two days to get much done on my list. No matter how much time I set aside, or how much I try to focus, I can’t seem to get one good day or set of hours to get everything on my To Do List. Now I try to get as much as I can the first day, and pick up the slack the nest day. I will continue to use a Life Admin Day (or Days) in my monthly routine. Even if I can’t cross everything off my list, it is helpful for me to get some things done in a set amount of time. LADs keep me intentional and on task.

Have you been practicing Life Admin Days? How do you find they work for you? Have you developed any tricks to stay on track?

On My Mind on Friday Morning

Let’s look at two of everything today!

Two beautiful photo essays on bugs (and sea bugs).
Two distinctly Jersey vids.
Two thought provoking videos about how to reduce pollution and increase breathable air in cities.
Two articles on how milliennials spend money that I found dry but interesting.
Two pictures of Irving. He’s a two sided type of guy, sometimes sweet and gentle, sometimes mean as a snake.

Mad Cat Garden | July

July saw the garden really take off. Here is the record of last month progress.

The flowers and cat nip were still going strong.

We moved the corn out of a bed and into the ground.

Strawberries and raspberries growing but slowly.

Spinach and arugula went nuts. We plan to take them all out when and replant for fall.

The last picture is of our compost squash. We had to wait until August to find out what it was!

What’s your best growing garden items this year?

Bone Island Mambo

One of my goals in 2019 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

I picked up Bone Island Mambo by Tom Corcoran at the Wall Library Book Sale, which is held twice a year.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I selected this book. I knew I liked the cover, and I knew I have an affinity for noirs set in Florida. I only found out this was the third in a series when I started writing this review.

Alex Rutledge is a freelance photographer, ex navy officer, a Key West transplant of 25 years, and, it would seem, a magnet for trouble. While innocently taking pictures of the island’s rapidly growing and changing commercial landscape, Alex is attacked and run off the scene. Only hours later a body is discovered at the exact spot. Was he being distracted so he would not see anything he shouldn’t? Was he being implicated? Why and how does he always end up in the middle of things?

The author clearly loves Key West, has an extensive knowledge of photography, motorcycles, cars, and other techy interests which he sprinkles throughout this (and I imagine other) Alex Rutledge novels. Unfortunately, his expertise, such as it is, takes precident over the the actual plot of this novel. He seems to care more about constructing a self aggrandizing fantasy than making a readable approachable book. I find this a common problem in many modern mystery novels. Write what you know is the old saying, but some many writers take it as permission to create a perfect version of themselves; perfectly attractive to the opposite sex, all knowing, devilishly clever and witty, endless stamina. This seems to be what Corcoran is more interested in writing about. Although, the action in this book is compelling, little of it adds up to solving the mystery, and all of the clues feel a bit thin. Bone Island Mambo has some interesting characters, even the seemingly ineffable, perfectly smart and shockingly talented Alex. I may read another in the series, but bc of the many holes in this novel I can’t say I would recommend it.

Do you have a novel you’ve read but haven’t liked? Do you have a least favorite detective?

Something Nice: Garden Meals

One of the best things about Summer is the eating the garden profits.

Tomatoes and our first corn!

Potato poblano tacos with home made pickled onions and salsa.

Home made salad with home grown tomatoes and spicy peppers.

Tomatoes and mozz with balsamic. Our favorite Summer meal.

On My Mind On Friday Morning

I really enjoyed this photo essay on food.
And this mix of moon images.
Severe and dangerous floods in India led to one tiger getting a good nap, at least.
Beauty in Asbury Park.
In sad news, on one of our recent walks, we came across a newly dead cat on the sidewalk. We had a private memorial right there and then. I recognized him as one I had spotted a few weeks earlier. He’s been on our minds the last few days. I prefer to remember him like this.