Hello September! My Goals and Plans

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Happy September 1st! It is that time of the year again when I like to go over my goals for the year and see how I am doing and discuss how I want to spend the rest of the year. I think of September as a mini version of New Years in the sense that it is when school would usually begin and we'd go back to school shopping for clothes and supplies and feel the fresh start. Yesterday I was out and about shopping for a dress for my engagement photo shoot that I will be doing tomorrow and saw so many people out shopping looking for clothes for back to school. I used to get excited to buy new clothes and supplies to start the new year at school. I've decided to review my resolutions for the year and to make goals for this month to achieve them down below.

1. Read 15 books

I have read 5 books so far and I am currently reading two wonderful books. They are What to Expect Before You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory. I am almost finished them so I will be at seven books soon. I will need to read a lot in the next four months to meet my goal.I really love making reading goals each year because I learn a lot from reading books on different topics and also enjoy reading fictional books which interest me and make me laugh and bring me joy. I would also like to start reading more books related to career development as well and might make that more of a focus in 2020.

September: finish reading two books and start on a third

A book I am currently reading and others I would like to read this year

2. Use less plastic:
I have been thinking of this resolution lately and I have definitely cut back on using plastic this year. I would like to do even better and I have been thinking of documenting my plastic use a bit more so I can improve even more using less one time use plastic and buying more long term use items like reusable straws, containers, and reusable sandwich bags.

September: do a plastic free week or month to try even harder to cut out plastic.

3. Knit a shawl

I bought yarn to knit the shawl but the pattern I found called for very long circular needles that I could not find. I think I will either look for a different pattern or keep looking for the length of needles I need for the pattern. I will be starting a shawl very soon though and especially because this was one of my resolutions this year and there are only 4 months left!

September: start knitting a shawl


4. Complete 12 knitting projects

I have knitted 5 projects so far. I will work on finishing the spiral socks and start the shawl. I have some ideas for Christmas knits as well.
I have finished the first spiral tube sock and have started on the second one.

September: finish knitting socks and start on shawl

Making progress - almost done the first sock!

5. Find and secure a wedding venue

I found the venue we will get married in not too far from where we live and we will be having the ceremony followed by the reception at the same venue. I knew it was the right venue for us after the first tour. I have been getting into wedding planning lately and we have most of the vendors now. I just need to make the final decision on cake, hair and makeup, and flowers but I have been in contact with all three. In eight months I will be married to the perfect man for me and I can't wait to start our married life together.

September to October: secure vendors for flowers, cake, hair and makeup. Begin looking for decor items to place at the venue. Take engagement photos and send out save the date invitations.

Cute mug from Winners

6. Get to my goal weight

I am currently not at my goal weight. I have been making progress slowly over the year to losing weight and lately I have been seeing some progress. I will be trying very hard to get closer and will continue to work hard to attain this goal before my wedding next May.

September: lose 10 lbs (min), eat clean, workout 3-4 times each week

How are you doing with your New Year's resolutions? Does September also motivate you on achieving your goals?

Thank you for visiting! Have a good long weekend

Hello September! Goals and Knitting Updates

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. Happy September! This week has been so busy at work and just in life. I was cross-training at work on a new task and it has been my main focus for the past two weeks. My Sister's wedding is next weekend so I have been preparing for that by working on my Maid of Honor speech and getting some things ready. I have also been going to the gym four times each week and this week, two times a week being with my personal trainer.  My trainer has continued to deliver on workouts that keep challenging me, so I really appreciate that and it has been keeping me motivated. I am feeling stronger and the workouts are getting easier, and I am also losing weight which I am so thrilled about!

Since it is now September and it has been getting a bit cooler outside finally, it makes me think of the start of things and new beginnings. I am thinking more about my goals and where I want to be in life lately and it always happens this time of year. I will revisit the resolutions that I made in January, and also add some more to focus on for the rest of the year.

New Year's Resolutions Update:

1. Get a job ✅

I got a full time position in June this year! I started off on a contract and worked hard hoping to secure a full time position. I let my team leader know I was interested in working there, and enjoyed the work. I was not sure for awhile if I would get it because my contract got extended along with some other people on contract and they said it would be extended on a month-to-month basis so I figured I would be done in the Fall. I was very surprised and happy when my team lead pulled me aside one day and offered me the position there in the same role. I love my work and feel it is the perfect fit for me!

2. Get in shape and eat healthy 
I have been working out with my trainer at the gym twice each week and working out twice on my own. I have also been trying to eat cleaner. This has been more recent and I am feeling more positive that I can achieve my fitness and health goals. I hope to continue losing weight and getting more toned and feel my best!

3. Read 20 books
I have read 5 books so far this year. I have started some and stopped as well that I will pick up again. Currently I am reading Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella and hope to finish this one soon and start up another one to add to my list of finished books.

4. Knit different projects 
I have knitted fingerless mittens as a new project and would like to also take on knitting another new project or some smaller knits before the end of the year. I am thinking it would be fun to knit a shawl this fall.

5. Try cooking new vegetarian and vegan dishes
Because I am vegetarian (but eat fish once and awhile) I wanted to come up with some more delicious recipes this year which would be fun to try. I haven't been as experimental in my cooking lately and have not cooked a new vegetarian or vegan recipe in awhile. I am thinking of getting some new recipe books soon to get some more inspiration and ideas on what to make. I am going to Veg fest in Toronto this weekend so I hope to get more ideas and inspiration.

I hope to make more progress in these goals by the end of the year. It really helps me to review my goals at this time of the year so I still have time to work on them and feel more successful at the end of the year by making more progress.

Some more goals I would like to work on for the rest of the year are:

• Learn to play an instrument - Maybe ukele? Any ukele players out there to give me advice on buying one?
• Learn a new skill - I love the look of cross-stitch, it would be fun to give it a try

Knitting Progress and Reading Updates:

I have been working on knitting fingerless mittens and have made some progress and finished the first mitten. I will be starting the second one this week to finish them soon in time to wear for cooler weather. 

Ravelry Pattern: Ribbed Fingerless Mitts by Kathy North

I haven't been working on the decadent socks lately. I was having problems with it and had to keep frogging it. Below is a photo of what it looked like where I left off. I love the colors and the pattern is interesting. I will pick it back up once I am finished the mittens and sewing up the Wool and the Gang top then I can devote more time to figuring it out.

I am currently reading Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella and it is a good read so far. I just haven't been reading as much lately and want to get back into the routine of reading before I go to bed and setting time aside to do that. 

Joining along with Ginny over at her blog Small Things for Yarn Along and Nicole at Frontier Dreams for Crafting On.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Let me know in the comments below what you want to focus on as goals for the rest of the year, or how you are doing in your resolutions. I would love to hear about your goals too!

Have a great day!