There is a reason the picture above is of a beach. The reason is that I am officially over cold weather.

Please remind me I wrote that in six months when we’re on our second straight month of triple digit temperatures and I’m complaining about how hot it is.

But for now, bring on the sun because all this dreary, rainy, grey-sky weather is wearing on me. I’m severely lacking in Vitamin D. And we don’t even have any snow or negative degree temperatures. I have a new found respect for all you mid-westerners and east-coasters.

In Texas, we shut down if there’s a 10% chance of rain and the temperatures are anywhere near freezing. So, there’s that to chew on while you’re shoveling 3 feet of snow in -8 degree weather and then heading to work like normal people.

Anyway, I digress. It’s February. Which means it’s almost March, which means springtime. In an effort to not jump too far ahead, here we go with a recap of January… let’s just say it was touch and go this month. 

Goals for January: 

– I received The Artist’s Way for Christmas. It’s a 12-week self-guided workshop to uncovering your creativity. I want to start that this month. Started it, and am loving it! Morning pages are my new favorite thing.  

– Purchase a nice camera: the first step to upping my photography skills. Haven’t gotten to this one yet. We had a few unforeseen expenses this month so it got bumped. February! 

– Complete my 2014 Annual Review. I found a template for an annual review last year, and loved it. It’s a guideline to help you think big picture about what you want this year to look like, what are your desires, your dreams, and then gives you the framework to plan out how to get there. It’s simple, but eye-opening. The template I use can be found here if you want to check it out! Mostly done, but I have a few other things I’ve been wanting to add for about a week. 

– Finish A Sun Also Rises. Find a good fiction book to read next. I’m thinking maybe this. Done! And ASAR is maybe one of my favorite fiction books I’ve read. My friend described it as “the Wes Anderson movie of novels” and I think that’s so true. If you like Wes Anderson, you’ll love this book. 

– Have a “dreaming” date with Taylor. We celebrated our first anniversary the last weekend in January, and got to spend a few days really dreaming of what we want the next year to be. So fun. 

– Limit alcohol and desserts to the weekends. A little holiday cleanse 🙂 Ehhh… let’s just say I did pretty well on the alcohol part, and not so great on the dessert part. I have a killer sweet tooth. 

Goals for February: 

– Purchase a nice camera. For real this time. 

– Get a membership at Austin Public Library. Our new house is right next to one! Taylor and I are both hard copy book people, so what a great way to save some money and not have to read off a screen 🙂 

– Read one book. 

– Paint the TV stand in our living room a different color. 

– Go on weekly walks around our neighborhood with Taylor and Rio. 

– Limit pressing snooze on my alarm to ONE time.*

*One exercise in The Artist’s Way asked us to list out five subtle bad habits that could be holding you up from unleashing your creativity. Pressing snooze multiple times in the morning is one of mine. It takes me longer to be up once I get out of bed, and gives me less time in the morning to prepare for my day. My prime creative time is in the morning- if I sleep too late, that time disappears. So, this goal is geared toward breaking that habit. 

Crazy that it’s already the second month of 2014! What are your goals to keep you going through this dreary winter weather?