Balanced Life Monthly Goals - March Review and April Goals/The Late Edition

Better late than never, right?  

March started out well, I was joyfully anticipating my daughter's visit home, getting the house clean and tidy before she arrived, and planning to do a few fun things with her.  She arrived on a Friday and by Monday, I had discovered that I had a blood clot (it looks like I actually had two blood clots, on above the other; fortunately, both were superficial) in my leg!  Which led to an unscheduled visit to the doctor's, daughter extending her stay (which was wonderful!), and some concern and anxiety about my health, which affected several other areas of my life, as well.  March concluded with phone issues which lasted well into April! I was too distracted with writing about the phone issues to sit down and review my monthly goals, until now!

Here is my review of my March goals, followed by my goals for April: 

Health, Self-Care & Well Being (8.75)(6.0):  The goal is good health.

- Focus on continuing to improve my health through diet, hydration, adequate sleep, etc.
- Attend my medical appointments
- Continue to take my medications as prescribed

- Continue to take necessary precautions against viral infections

I had a blood clot (possibly two) in March, which required a visit to the doctor and being put on blood thinners.  My blood pressure was good when checked at the doctor's office and my weight was fairly stable (it has been fluctuating within a 5 lbs. range for at least a year).   There was no one cause for the blood clot, but, rather a combination of causes.  I am very thankful that the blood clot(s) were superficial and happened when daughter was already here to help me.  However, I am really not pleased with my health section and realize that I need to work harder to improve it.

April Goals: One of the areas of focus in April will be my health, I am obviously not doing as much as I should be in this area.

Spiritual (10)(10):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.
- Continue with daily prayers, meditation, being grateful, positive, and joyful
- Continue to cultivate non-attachment by being more giving

I continued with daily prayers, said even more fervently due to the health issues, and remembered my father on the anniversary of his birth with special prayers for him.  I didn't visit the temple, however, but, I still feel that I am living a spiritually meaningful life.

April Goals will be more or less the same, with daily prayers, meditations, and remembering my step-father on the anniversary of his birth.

Daughter (10)(10):  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her.

- Celebrate her birthday!
- Look forward to and enjoy her visit home

- Continue to keep in daily contact via phone calls, texts, and video chats before and after her visit home

My daughter came home for what was supposed to have been a week long visit which got extended by two additional weeks, due to concern over my health issues.  It was wonderful to have her home for three weeks, even if she had to work from home during the extended stay!  We celebrated her birthday by treating ourselves to several take out meals and a couple of shopping trip to a crafts supply store and the dollar store which is closing down, soon.  Plus, there were daily phone calls, texts, and video chats before she came down to visit.

 

April Goals include continuing to maintain a close relationship with her.

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies (10)(10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.

- Engage in daily joyful activities

- Engage in leisure activities
- Do crafts and pursue hobbies

In March, I spent plenty of time relaxing and enjoying joyful and leisurely activities, daily.  I read, made a couple of spring time decorations to give as gifts, participated in a photo challenge, and crocheted.  

April Goals: I plan to continue to engage in fun, relaxing activities including reading and crocheting.

Finances (10)(10):  The goal is financial security.

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose
- File my income taxes

I went over the March grocery budget because daughter stayed home for three weeks instead of the planned one week and I didn't increase my grocery budget to include having an additional person for most of the month, but, I will deduct the amount overspent from the April grocery budget.  I also splurged a bit on take out and other treats, as we celebrated daughter being home for her birthday, but, I had already planned and budgeted for that.  I filed my taxes as planned, continued to spend mindfully, and lived within my means in March.

April Goals:  April goals include continuing to budget and spend mindfully, with purpose.

Garden (10)(10):  The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant.

- Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed); M will continue to visit twice a week

The garden did really well in March with lots of flowers and new growth on the fruit trees.  We did quite a bit of pruning and weeding.

April Goals:  To continue with maintaining the garden.  To start planting the vegetables I want to grow this year, including corn, tomato, okra, and green beans.     

Family/Friends/Community (10)(10):  The goal is to have a close connection with family and friends and be involved with my community.

- Regular phone calls and emails, etc., to keep in touch with family and friends
- The occasional in person visits as and when I feel comfortable with doing so

- Participate in the blogging community and the online organizing community

March was a good month for family, friends, and community.  There were several family birthdays, including my daughter's, my sister's, sister's grandson's, two cousins', all of which resulted in phone calls, messages, and cards being sent, in addition to regular calls and emails, etc.  There was also a phone call from a cousin in Australia, who is planning to visit later this spring.  

Daughter and I visited with two of my cousins one afternoon to enjoy some treats and receive some clothes that the cousins had decluttered and we had a brief curbside visit with friend R.  We also received visits from neighbor S who brought us treats and Easter dinner.  

April Goals: April goals will be the same as above. 

House (8.5)(8.5):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming.

- Clean - Clean the house as needed 
- Organized - Continue to find a place for everything and keep everything in its place
- Well maintained - Keep "erasing the evidence"; implement daily and weekly cleaning schedules
- Decluttered - Continue with the decluttering process

The house was cleaned prior to daughter's visit in March and maintained (more or less) for the rest of the month.  I was very appreciative of the robot vacuum which made it possible to vacuum while I was still recovering from the blood clots.  I didn't declutter quite as much as I could have and brought in more clothes and a piece of furniture (the plant stand).  There's always room for improvement, but, I am content with the current state of the house. 

April Goals: Will be the same as above.

Time Management (8.0)(8.0): The goal is to spend my time in a mindful manner.

- Spend time purposefully, mindfully

- Continue to focus on making my schedule work for me

- Procrastinate less

Time management continues to be a challenge.  But, the important things are getting done - I filed my taxes without procrastinating until the last minute, paid my bills on time, and dealt with various issues as they came up.

April Goals: Continue to manage my time in a mindful and efficient manner!

March was a rather wobbly month.  On one side, I had a wonderful month with daughter being home, plenty of interactions with family and friends, the garden thriving, plenty of leisure time, etc.  On the other side, there were health issues which threatened to throw everything into disarray.  

My focus in April will be to improve my health.