Image Credit: OJ Benson Notes

Hello, May! It’s nice to see you! Everything is in bloom, the beautiful spring colors are back, it’s riding in the car with the windows down weather!!

Here are my goals for the month of May:

1. Drastically curb my spending habits.
2. See Solo: A Star Wars Story.
3. Finish prepping the Lady Lounge for the new standing desk.
4. Schedule the replacement of our ductwork and HVAC system.
5. Finish the book I’m currently reading, plus write the Book Review.
6. Work on a goals list with Al for the remainder of 2018.
7. Update the Household Bills spreadsheet.
8. Visit the farm!
9. Prepare for P.E.O. State Convention.
10. See the Virginia Symphony Orchestra perform the music to Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets live.
11. Publish my first “Down The TBR Hole” post.
12. Continue progress on my 2012 NaNoWriMo endeavor.

Here’s the breakdown:

Drastically curb my spending habits.

• Maybe, just maybe, if I write everything down here on the blog, I can actually make this work.
• My pledge, to myself, is to spend as little money as I possibly can during the month of May.
• This means doing everything I can to: (a) not buy any more new clothes [both for Laura Beth, and Laura Beth’s American Girl dolls], and, (b) not eat out as much for my lunches.

See Solo: A Star Wars Story.

• This movie looks really good. We’re looking forward to seeing it at the end of the month!

Finish prepping the Lady Lounge for the new standing desk.

• I just need to: (a) clear out the remaining boxes, (b) sell off my box of American Girl items that are duplicates or things I don’t need anymore, and (c) give the room a good deep clean.
• We may not necessarily buy the standing desk this month, but the room will be ready for it.

Schedule the replacement of our ductwork and HVAC system.

• This is one of the big home improvement projects that’s been hanging over our heads for a while. After we suffered for nearly two weeks last summer without A/C, it’s time to suck it up and get everything replaced.

Finish the book I’m currently reading, plus write the Book Review.

• I’m motivated to break out of my reading slump!

Work on a goals list with Al for the remainder of 2018.

• This is something that Al mentioned recently, and we just need to sit down and do it. The plan is to make a “map” for the rest of the year, and plot out what goals we want to accomplish every month, whether it be something for the house, traveling, and so on. I have a good feeling about this!

Update the Household Bills spreadsheet.

• I’ve fallen behind again. I’m determined to get caught up, and stay that way!

Visit the farm!

• We’re excited to head to the Vardaro Farm again this month!
• Look for an Adventure Time post after the trip.

Prepare for P.E.O. State Convention.

• I’m headed to P.E.O. State Convention again! This time, it’s in Blacksburg, Virginia, near Virginia Tech!

See the Virginia Symphony Orchestra perform the music to Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets live.

• My parents weren’t able to use these tickets, so they gave Al and I first dibs.
• We didn’t have the heart to drop $100+ on tickets when the symphony performed the music to Harry Potter and The Sorceror’s Stone back in November, so my parents’ loss is our definite gain.

Publish my first “Down The TBR Hole” post.

• A friend of mine commented on how long my TBR had gotten when I published the latest recap in April. It’s gotten out of control!
• So, inspired by my friend Destiny at Howling Libraries, I plan to take a virtual chainsaw to my list, and definitely clean it up!
• Here’s an example of one of Destiny’s posts: Down the TBR Hole #27
• My post will probably be a little different than hers, but I’m excited to do this!

Continue progress on my 2012 NaNoWriMo endeavor.

• I made AMAZING progress on the novel during Camp NaNoWriMo during the month of April!
• So, I’m not setting a specific goal here, but I want to keep writing, as consistently as possible.
• I’m definitely signing up for Camp NaNoWriMo again in July – I can’t wait!!

Do you have any goals for the month of May?

If so, I’d love to hear about them! Comment below!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Image Credit: BeautyBeyondBones

Welcome back! April was a relatively busy month. But, the weather has finally started to stabilize, several rains have washed away the nasty pollen, and we’re already a full quarter through 2018. How crazy is that!!

Here’s the link to my April Goals post:

• Getting Personal #113: April Goals

Ready?

Here we go!

1. Give blood. — Accomplished!
2. Celebrate Dad’s birthday! — Did not accomplish.
3. Participate in Camp NaNoWriMo, April 2018. — Accomplished!
4. See Avengers: Infinity War. — Accomplished!
5. Continue working on my Lady Lounge. — Accomplished!
6. Read at least two books. — Did not accomplish.
7. Enjoy time with Melissa! — Accomplished!
8. Attend the TAPA Spring Luncheon. — Accomplished!
9. Attend Olivia’s bridal shower! — Accomplished!
10. Visit LanternAsia with Al, Casey, and Beth. — Accomplished!
11. Attend the P.E.O. Family Gathering. — Accomplished!
12. Update my TBR. — Accomplished!

Here’s the breakdown:

Give blood. — Accomplished!

• We celebrated our 18th Anniversary blood drive on Saturday, April 7th.
• I was able to give a Power Red donation for the first time! Yippee!
• What is Power Red? — Power Red is where you essentially donate two units of your red blood cells. Everything is spun through a centrifuge, and you’re given back your platelets, plasma, and some saline. You have wait 16 weeks to donate again, which is okay because I’m going to be out of town for the June blood drive. I don’t feel guilty now!
• For more information: Power Red Donation – American Red Cross Blood Services

Celebrate Dad’s birthday! — Did not accomplish.

• Dad’s birthday fell in the middle of the week. We’ve offered to take him to dinner at some point, but our family experienced a series of crises the week after his birthday (Family illnesses, and Mom and Dad needing to travel down to care for said family).
• So, we’ll officially celebrate some time in May!

Participate in Camp NaNoWriMo, April 2018. — Accomplished!

• I feel SO GOOD that I did this!
• I can’t wait to do it again in July!
• I’m writing a Getting Personal post about my experience, so look for that on May 2nd!

See Avengers: Infinity War. — Accomplished!

• Al and I went to the Peninsula Movie Bistro on Saturday, April 28th.
• No spoilers, but if you’re a fan of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), this movie is a must. We’re already planning to see it again in the next week or so.

Continue working on my Lady Lounge. — Accomplished!

• Oh, man! I’m so excited!!
• Al’s dad delivered the custom doll cabinet he built for me on Saturday, April 14th. So, I hustled my butt and got all the boxes cleared out for him during that Thursday and Friday.
• The last piece is to move the remainder of the boxes that are along the wall where my standing desk is going to be. Almost there!!
• Look for an upcoming Home Improvements post soon, with photos!

Read at least two books. — Did not accomplish.

• With the aforementioned family crises toward the beginning of the month, I’ve been so exhausted by bedtime that I fall asleep pretty quickly.

Enjoy time with Melissa! — Accomplished!

• Al and I drove up to Richmond on Sunday, April 29th.
• We had such a nice visit. Her mom made amazing paella, and then we hung out with Melissa for several hours, just catching up. I didn’t want to leave! We finally left, reluctantly, at 8:00 p.m. to drive home.

Attend the TAPA Spring Luncheon. — Accomplished!

• The luncheon was held on Saturday, April 14th. It was a gorgeous day!
• One of my sorority sisters, Beth McOsker, was honored as the “Greek Woman of the Year.”

Attend Olivia’s bridal shower! — Accomplished!

• Olivia’s shower was hosted by my mom on the afternoon of Saturday, April 14th. It was so wonderful!

Visit LanternAsia with Al, Casey, and Beth. — Accomplished!

• We went to the Norfolk Botanical Garden on Saturday, April 21st.
• Here’s the link to my Adventure Time post: Adventure Time: Norfolk, VA Edition (Round 4 – LanternAsia 2018)

Attend the P.E.O. Family Gathering. — Accomplished!

• The Family Gathering was held on Saturday, April 28th.
• Although I arrived a little late, it was a very spirited, positive discussion. We met until noon, and everyone came away with several great ideas!

Update my TBR. — Accomplished!

• Here’s the link to my TBR post: Getting Personal #115: Sixth TBR Recap

Final Thoughts

• I was able to put Accomplished next to 10 out of 12 goals! Yippee!!
• The two goals that I did not accomplish: Family illnesses suck, so much. But, it’s okay. We’ll get through this!

What about you? Did you have any goals for the month of April?

Come back tomorrow to see my May Goals!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂