10.14 Goals Roundup

Let's see how I did on my October goals, shall we?

1. Read a book: I picked up "Swimming to Elba" from my local used bookstore at the beginning of the month and enjoyed reading it. It was a good, fast read, but not one of my most favorites. I have a running list of books I want to read, and the used bookstore, while they do have a lot of books, just doesn't seem to have any that I'm looking for. I think I'm going to have to start resorting to other methods for finding books.

2. Run at least one mile a day: Thanks to #streakingwiththeCOOLKIDS, I've been consistently running throughout the month. I ran everyday in October, and did much better than my initial hope. I ran a total of 81.8 miles for the month!

3. Take donations to a thrift store: Check! Since Lauren and I moved to Philadelphia in September, we've had a bag of donations just sitting in our apartment, waiting to be donated. I got tired of seeing that bag everyday at the foot of my bed, so I walked to the nearest thrift store one day and checked this item off of my list!

4. Sew something: Wahoo, I finally took out my sewing machine and made something. I sewed something for Marissa's belated birthday, and also used my sewing machine for some Halloween cards.

5. Go to a local fabric shop: I think this was the first thing I completed off my list. There's a little section of Philadelphia called "Fabric Row", so one Friday Lauren and I scouted out the area. There are about a dozen fabric shops within that neighborhood, some being a lot better than others. I found maybe three shops that I would actually go to again. I'm so spoiled by the fabric district in San Francisco, that Philadelphia's "Fabric Row" just didn't live up to the hype. However, I am glad that I ventured out and tested this city's fabric sources.

6. Make something with beads: I had multiple ideas on how I wanted to use my beads, but I didn't have the right tools to make my thoughts come to life. This is something that will have to get done back in Sacramento in December.

7. Try zumba and yoga: I started attending zumba classes towards the beginning of October and have continued to go at least twice a week since. I tried yoga for the first time towards the end of October though, because I just finally purchased a yoga mat. Yoga isn't my favorite thing to do, but I actually like going to zumba...more about this later!

8. Start swimming laps: Completely failed at this. I didn't even consider going swimming. Just the thought of putting on a swimsuit and being in the water for an hour was enough to push this goal out of my mind. I realize that the pool is heated and indoors, but I can't stop thinking about how cold I would be getting out of the pool, drying off, and walking home with wet hair.

9. Use my juicer and ice cream maker: I'm so sad I didn't entirely complete this goal. I did use my ice cream maker to make Minimalist Baker's pumpkin pie vegan ice cream to indulge in on Halloween, and it was delicious. I never thought to use cashews as a base over the traditional canned coconut milk which is used in most creamy homemade vegan ice creams. Sadly though, I slacked on using my juicer. For over a week I was planning on making apple juice but never did it. I had the apples and everything too.

10. Summer Sampler blocks 11-15: Sadly I haven't cross stitched at all this month. I was so good the previous months though, but this month I started to get back into knitting, pushing cross stitching to the back burner. I'm okay with not finishing (or even starting) this goal. I've been wanting to be more interested in knitting and now I finally am, and I hope this interest will stick!

Score for October: 6 out of 10

Not bad, not bad. But I know I can do better in November!