19 in 19 February Update

March is here so time for a review of how February went for my 19 in 19.

1. Be more organised, plan ahead and waste less time
I'm trying! Really I'm trying. Reading isn't a waste of time is it?

2. Work on the garden
Still not much to be done yet but I did get the grass cut.

3. Plan a lunch date/date night with Nick once a month (theatre/cinema/meal/outing)
Checking back it looks like we only managed one outing this month - a walk and a Pie & Mash lunch. I'll have to up my game!

4. Eat at 6 new-to-me restaurants
Still 5 to go so I think I'll have to combine this with #3 in March!

5. Complete the A – Z blogging challenge
Sign up opened today so I'll be making sure I do that and I have done a bit more prep.

6. Family weekend away for my birthday - in June
Woo hoo! Have booked the accommodation. A big tick on my to do list!

7. Look after my health – eat well, sleep well, play well
This is looking better. I realised that my Fitbit wasn't always correct when recording my sleep and then I also realised that I could edit the sleep log. Now I'm getting nearer to have at least 7 hours most nights although I'm still waking up quite a bit. Switching to decaf tea at the end of the day has also helped though because although I'm still waking I'm finding it easier to get back to sleep.

8. Visit my brother
At some point!

9. Visit the beach
When it's warmer!

10. Complete my reading challenge (52 books for the year)
Still on schedule for this. In February I read:

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - John Le Carre
Look for Me - Lisa Gardner
The Chosen Ones - Howard Linskey
Why Mummy Swears - Gill Simms
The Hourglass Factory – Lucy Ribchester
The Queen of Bloody Everything – Joanna Nadin
The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae – Stephanie Butland
The Search – Howard Linskey

As always, details and reviews can be found on my Goodreads site.

11. Keep a journal
This still needs work - it's not an established habit.

12. Blog at least once per week (plus regular memes)
I managed 25 posts this month so definitely on track with this.

13. Organise/Take more photos
I did some organising this month but this is a huge task. I have broken it down into areas so I just need to pigeonhole the time to carry on with it.

14. Update my clothes/accessories/make up etc regularly
I'm planning on sorting out some of my summer clothes in the next month or so - I have several pairs of trousers that need shortening.

15. Do more crafting – move the sewing machine!
We've moved the sewing machine! It's a start. Although the room it's in is a bit of a dumping ground for the stuff I've earmarked to donate/dump. Two steps forward one back for now.

16. Try out a new recipe or do a bake each week
We're still doing Hello Fresh so we've had new recipes most weeks. I also prepared a Lamb casserole with apricots when I had friends for lunch at the beginning of the month plus a chocolate tart which I hasn't made before. I realise some might view using HF for new recipes a bit of a cheat but for me it's as much about trying as in tasting new things as it is about cooking.

17. Visit/see Noah every month
They came to us this month - our son was taking part in a half-marathon at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic park. It was a hectic weekend with them and the dogs here plus we had a get together with the other two Grandsons and parents on the Saturday. Of course I wouldn't have it any other way!

18. Make progress on the house plan
Need to chase up the roofer. Note to self!

19. Lose 19 pounds
Still 1 down 18 to go. I need to take this one more seriously.

Not a bad month overall, especially as we have also managed to rearrange furniture in the house. Something I've been meaning to do for a long time. As usual there was a lot of Grandparenting going on.

The google group I set up for the readers in our family seems to be a hit. We had a lot of interaction about the books we read in January and one of my DILs beat me to e-mailing around yesterday to look at our February reads. Hopefully the enthusiasm will continue. One of the nice things I like about it is that one of hubby's sisters can participate in it. She (and her husband) is blind but she reads a lot of books. We often overlook that although they are very proficient with e-mail and computers they can't use Whatsapp. We have a Whatsapp family group that is a constant chain of messages nearly every day. We have to make a point of making sure they are included especially if it's anything important. With the book group being on e-mail it's easy for her to let us know what she's been reading and I know she enjoys being part of it.