The Month of Me - A Review of June

As you may recall, I decided June was going to be a month of me. I was going to focus on improving myself in a couple different areas. I was joining Weight Watchers, not eating out at all, only reading devotional and inspirational materials and exploring my faith a little more. Here is a re-cap.

Weight Watchers: I would say this aspect was a success. I lost about 12 pounds and for the most part stuck with the diet plan...until the canoe trip. But 12 pounds is 12 pounds and I am not complaining. And after about a week off track, which started with the canoe trip and ended the day after the 4th of July, I still managed to lose over a pound. I was gonna be happy if I didn't gain more than a pound, but I guess adding the gym to the mix, which I started last week, really paid off.

No Eating Out: I would also consider this a success, although I didn't make it the entire month. I made it all the way to the 27th without eating out. But we were starving when we got home from canoeing and too tired to make dinner, so we ended up ordering a pizza. I think that was it though...unless there was something after the 27th that I can't recall (we have eaten out a couple times in July and I can't remember if I did anymore in June). I know for a fact that I didn't eat out before the 27th.

Only reading devotional or inspirational materials, or materials on a topic where I would actually learn something: Hmm, well I was successful in not reading any frivolous books, but I am not sure this was really a success. I did read some devotional/inspirational materials and I did read some on a health topic of interest, but this didn't necessarily replace my frivolous reading before bed and during Lily's nap time. True, I did read before bed, but the books just didn't grab me like the novels I usually read, so therefore I read much less and some evenings I actually just watched more TV. Definitely not what I was figuring when I made this goal. My purpose was to actually read some of the huge stack of books I have been *meaning* to get through when I wasn't distracted by a novel. In reality, I just read less. So therefore I am still trying to get through the same books. I just need to be better disciplined. Perhaps I should force myself to take a half hour each day while Lily is napping to get through this material. Probably would mean less Face Book time...which would actually probably be a good thing. I also have only a little over a week to finish the book I am supposed to be reading for book club. We meet on the 21st, and since I normally fly through novels, I figured no problem if I only had three weeks. The book, however, is just not doing it for me. The kicker - the author of said book is actually going to be at our next meeting to discuss his book with us. I would just not go, but since I already paid for the book...plus, I like my night out of the house.

Focus on my faith: I would say this is still a work in progress, which is exactly what I anticipated it would be. We had to put Bible Study on hold for two weeks because of Lily's swim lessons which majorly messed with nap time, making plans for the rest of the day hit or miss. We were only able to meet three times, but I did go over some of the material on my own.

I would consider June to be pretty successful in terms of my goals. For July, I am going to continue with Weight Watchers and exploring my faith. I am going to try not to eat out too much, but if we do, oh well. I am going to try to devote time to my "other" books. I am going to try to hit the gym at least 4 times a week. Seeing as we are already almost half way through the month, I am not going to beat myself up if I don't reach my goals. How about you? Does anyone else set monthly goals for themselves?