A Look Back at January + Goals for February

Posted February 1, 2017 by shooting in Uncategorized / 32 Comments

 
Linking up with GretchRuns and See You In a Porridge for What’s New With You? and Nicole at Feed Your Fiction Addiction for the Monthly Wrap-Up
Hey everyone – if you’re new here, I’m Lauren! I focus a lot on entertainment (especially books) but I’m slowly adding in more lifestyle, etc. I want to make the blog about all things that I enjoy so hopefully you’ll like it too! 
January was a really long month, I have to admit. I went back to work after a couple weeks off for the holiday. It was nice to get a break, but I’m part time so I didn’t get paid. That’s the big downside, so getting paychecks again is really nice. 
There are a lot of political posts going around. Not all of it is about politics though. Many are just about equal rights. I wrote up my own thoughts on Facebook and I shared it on my blog. If you haven’t seen it and want to, check it out here. That’s all I’ll say about that here though. Let’s move on to the rest of January…
Shannon from It Starts At Midnight has monthly book giveaways and I won her December one. I got to choose any book that was released that month – following a certain price point- and I chose Books for Living by Will Schwalbe. It looks great. It’s essentially about the books that you love in your life. Perfect for me!
Garth Brooks
I saw Garth Brooks in concert this past Sunday. I’ve never seen him live, and he hasn’t been to Cincinnati in 20 years, so it was great to finally go. I went with my sister – my ticket was part of my Christmas gift from her. We both had an amazing time. Randy Houser was there for about four songs to opening up, as well as one of the backup singers. She’s a singer/songwriter herself and played a few songs, including “Red High Heels” which Kellie Pickler sang – her and Kellie wrote the song together. Her was is Karyn Rochelle, and she was great. 
Garth Brooks
Then you finally get Garth who is just insanely energetic. You could really feel the intensity and it was easy to see he was having a great time. I can’t imagine having his energy though! His wife, Trisha Yearwood, had a set in the middle of the show and it was great seeing her too. 
Trisha Yearwood
They sang a song together before Garth left the stage.  I’m a big 90’s country fan so I grew up on people like Garth and Trisha. She sang a few songs and then it was back to Garth! He played all the classics, including favorites of mine like “The Dance” and “The Thunder Rolls.” The show was sold out so it was amazing to hear everyone singing along. Definitely a favorite concert of mine. I’d totally see him again if I get the chance!! 
If you have any questions about the show, let me know! I’m happy to share more. If you want to see more photos and a lot of videos, visit my Instagram
I took this picture a few weeks ago, I believe? Anyway, I figured I’d use this to explain that I’m taking part in a weight loss program led by a local hospital. I have meal replacements for two meals – I’ll mostly use them for breakfast and lunch. These are either shakes or soups. There is a pudding option, but I’m not really a fan of pudding. Anyway, the other meal – probably going to be dinner most of the time – is something I have to do myself. I also have to do my snacks. I get a certain amount of starches, lean meats, fruits, veggies, and fats to use throughout the day. I have a list of food options and how much of that item you can use to reach your fruit or your veggie for the day. For example, I get two fruits a day. One small apple is a fruit, about 17 grapes is a fruit, etc. 
Anyway, I’ve just started but I’m determined to lose weight and become a lot healthier. Diabetes runs in my family and I really don’t want to get it. There are other things I really need to work on too. I was thinking of doing a post here and there about my journey and how things are going. Would you be interested in reading something like this? 
I’m also linking up with the hosts for The Monthly Goals Link Up
Normally you would go over your January goals, but I didn’t really make any. I’m just going to go into my goals for the month of February.
+Read at least 5 books. I read 10 last month, but February is a bit of a shorter month and I never know how long a book will be, so I’ll go realistic! 
+Lose around 10 pounds. They say you can expect to lose a couple pounds a week on the program, though I know it can be a bit more in the very beginning. I’m not sure what I’ll end up losing, but I figure it should be around 10 pounds by the end of February. It will be interesting to look back and see! I know once I start seeing results that it will make all of this a lot easier. 
+Keep utilizing my planner. I got a Happy Planner from Micheal’s for the year and I’m doing really well using it. I want to keep this up, as well as using more stickers, etc. to help liven it up and make it more fun! I plan on keeping the planner at the end of the year as a look at the previous year. 
I think those are it for the month! What are you hoping to accomplish in February?

32 responses to “A Look Back at January + Goals for February

  1. Yes, it definitely feels nice to get a monthly paycheck. As of now, I focus on my small business so technically I don't receive 'monthly paychecks' anymore, hence, I'm still earning money, though. 🙂 Good luck on your loss weight program! I'm working on my weight and on what I eat too. For my height, I am technically overweight, and since I model clothes for my fashion business. I have to stay fit as much as possible too. Well, I wish you luck on your goals this month! Happy February!! ♥ Hope to hear from you soon!

    Love, Airish
    Gorgeous Glance
    http://www.airishabella.blogspot.com

  2. The concert sounds fab! And I'd love to read about your weight loss journey. Good luck, I know first hand what a constant struggle it is! And I'm like you diabetes is in my family, so I really need to stay on top of it.

  3. Loved reading this post and getting to learn more about you! Congrats on the journey to lose weight! I am terrible about what I eat, but I've been trying to eat cleaner during the week and on the weekends I am not so hard on myself. It has been working so far. I would love to see Garth Brooks in concert, I need to look up to see how old he is now… and congrats on winning the book giveaway! I always get so excited when I win freebies!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

  4. I can't believe I wasn't yet following you on Instagram! Am doing so now 🙂 Sounds like you had a great time at the GB show… I'm not as much of a country music fan BUT I do love me some bluegrass (kind of in the same vein, right?)

    Hope you're having a great week!

  5. Sounds like a pretty good month, Lauren (political madness, aside). I don't know any of Garth Brooks' music (at least I don't think I do) but I've heard he's puts on a great show. Glad you go to see him! Good luck with the new eating plan. I hope you get the results you want in February. I used a Happy Planner last year (well, for a while anyway) and I loved the decorating aspect but found I didn't really use the planner. LOL

  6. I bet Garth put on a fantastic show! I'm a Happy Planner fanatic too!!! I'm so glad you stopped by my blog so I could discover yours! =)

    AmberIAm

  7. Oh my gosh I would love to be able to see Garth Brooks in concert again! I saw him quite a few years back. Good luck on your weight loss! It can be hard to start eating healthy but once you get on track it is great! I love your goals for this month!

  8. My husband is OBSESSED with Garth Brooks, and he's gotten me into him as well. So cool you got to see him live! I heard he's amazing. Good luck on your weight loss journey and thanks for linking up with us!

  9. Oh garth Brooks would be a fun show. And 10 books- that's awesome. I had a good reading month too- hopefully Feb will be as good. 🙂

    Good luck with your goals this month.

  10. So exciting that you saw Garth Brooks! I love him. I am a huge country fan.

    Planners are great. I've been using Plum Paper since last year. One of my goals is to really keep up with it this year.

  11. Jen

    You got to see Garth Broks & Trisha Yearwood?! Oh my gosh, that's so exciting! I adore their music! Now you have "Papa drove a truck nearly all his life, You know it drove mama crazy being a trucker's wife" stuck in my head lol.

  12. I hope the weight loss program works well for you—it seems like it's probably a great idea to do one that has support (from the hospital). Good for you for wanting to get healthy!

  13. that book sounds really interesting 🙂
    i love that red high heels song lol. i had no idea garth brooks and trisha yearwood were married – shows how out of the country loop i am haha.
    congrats on participating in the program at the hospital – good luck with everything! diabetes runs in my family as well and it's scary.

  14. Awesome that you won the giveaway! 🙂 I am getting ready to read your equal rights post. I am so behind on reading. heheh It's awesome that you are trying out a weight loss program. I hope that it works for you, and if nothing else, in the end teaches you some new ways to look at diet, etc. Because I feel like in the long run those things are so helpful! 🙂 I love your goals, and I love how many books you review, that's so awesome! XO – Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

  15. Can I tell you that I am green with envy that you saw Garth Brooks. He's coming to my city on April 8 which is the day before my birthday so I'm trying to get my husband to buy me tickets.

    I would love to read more of your weight loss journey.

    I also didn't know about the monthly link up for goals so I'm going to look into that for March!

    Tina @ As Told By Tina

  16. Your health goals are so important. congrats on knowing this has to be a life decision and not just a diet. I try to eat healthy, but sometimes it's so difficult not eating the pizza everyone else is eating. We have diabetes in my family too so I have to be extra careful. I'd love to read about your journey and it's hills and valleys.

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