That Was Fast

I knew it was going to happen like this, but damn. One month already down. So how are we doing?

• Alien Hollywood research has ground to a halt, though the stack of books to read grows. I have almost five thousand words of a Tapestry sequel and a ton of notes. Y'know, just in case. (Evernote is awesome for this stuff.) Three of my critters have sent their feedback. That's enough of a pool for me to start actually reading it and getting the brainwork of revision under way. Cue panic.
• Not happy about the drop-off in reading. I'm going to try a new app this week and see if gamification works on me. However! I set myself a goal of reading two books per month this year, and got through five in January, which is slightly awesome.
• Home life is good. The unending battle against chaos holds steady. We've been diligent about cleaning, and we've been making time to get out, to see people and do things. We have a new stove... in our living room, but hopefully that will be installed later this week. The end of this painful saga is in sight. RIGHT?
• Workouts holding steady at 3-4 times a week, which means either running, weights, or yoga. Haven't been pushing very hard. Haven't weighed myself at all, which is either denial or mature acceptance of my body setting in. Have been paying more attention to stretching. It would be nice to see my flexibility improve this year.
• January was Finance Month, and we did pretty well. I spent quite a bit on books, and there was that one splurge, so the slush fund grew less than planned. The dedicated savings funds are looking good. This may be a manifestation of my overall tendency to be goal-oriented; I do much better at tasks that have a tangible payoff ("save enough money to buy X") than general ("save money"). Now we just have to keep on with good awareness of where it all goes.
• In assorted non-themed "to do" items, I decided not to finish a story that has been languishing for a long time; losses, cut. We got rid of two boxes of outgrown kids' clothes and two of toys. All of my cute new containers have been put to work in the kitchen.

February is Photograph Month. The goal, again, is to plan a series of small, do-able tasks in one area I've been neglecting. For this month, I want to try taking more pictures (maybe I will post some here), send out pics I owe to to relatives, and get some prints made.