School kiddies aren’t the only ones getting their report cards this week, because it’s time for my monthly check-in too! Before I start, I have to say that doing these has been one of the best routines I’ve adopted this year. So many people – myself included – make new year’s resolutions and completely forget about them a couple of months later. I’m loving my monthly goal setting habit because it helps me to make sure I’m still doing things to contribute towards my year-long goals, while not getting bored trying the same old ways of doing so.

Alright, so how did June go? Well, pretty good for the most part! For full details on my goals for the month, check out this post. Let’s start with the first one…

Earlier last week, I showed you six of my newly re-made and re-photographed recipes. However, since the goal was 10, I still owe you some more proof! In addition to these tasty morsels…

… I also re-vamped the following:

Chicken and Shrimp Paella:

Before:

After:

The Protein-Packed Omelette did not have a photo, but now it does…

5-Spice Shrimp and Rice:

Before…. this recipe also had no face, but now…

Finally, the Berry Green Monster was another words-only recipe, but now it has a photo for all of you visual learners.

I had forgotten how good some of my older recipes are, so I think I might carry this goal into July and re-make 10 more. There are still a few nasties hiding in my Recipes page, so I plan to take care of them while there is plenty of summer lighting available!

Yep, done! I completed the first module and have started working on the second, but it’s a bit difficult to get through them without having other, more important things come up in the process. At the moment, my priorities are elsewhere, including coordinating an online tradeshow, and figuring out how I’m going to do a presentation to my company’s entire worldwide marketing department (no big deal or anything) next month without screwing up.  Howeverrrr…. I set out a timeline for myself to complete the entire course back at the beginning of the month, so I’ll just keep chugging along in the second half of July!

Oh did I ever…

I tested, then I tested, then I test drove some more. I researched and drove 5 different cars, all of which were on my list to try at the beginning of the process. Here’s my two cents on them all:

  • Honda CR-V: Predicted to be the favourite, this one lost miserably! I’m not saying it’s a bad car because I know a lot of people love them, but the interior just seemed really plain and the dealer wasn’t willing to give me any of the add-on features. If he was, it was for more money than I was willing to pay!
  • Chevrolet Equinox: Snazzy interior in comparison to the CR-V, which I drove on the same day. This one had one of the lowest monthly payments and financing rates, but based on my super Sherlock Holmes-like investigations (well, not quite), I learned that their resale value is typically far lower than brands like Honda and Toyota. Finally, it felt a little too big.
  • Volkswagen Tiguan: Oh my. Oh my oh my oh my. Gorgeous car inside and out, all the add-ons I wanted, and it drove really nicely. Only problem was that it cost about $100 more each month than my other choices, had a higher financing rate, and requires premium fuel. Maybe on my next car purchase….
  • Mazda CX-7: Not bad, not bad at all. A rather sexy looking car actually, but you know when something about it just doesn’t feel right? It was also a little big-feeling for my liking, and I felt I’d been treated really well by one of the other dealers so going to Mazda immediately after was a bit of a let-down. Still, it wins an honourable mention for being pretty.
  • Toyota RAV4 – DING DING DING DING! Ladies and gents, we have a winner!

This one was by far my favourite, and it was actually the only car that I preferred in black – a good thing since it was one of the only ones available for the next 5-6 months. (Apparently the Woodstock plant is having trouble getting parts from Japan.) Anyways, this weekend I’ll be calling my besties via my bluetooth phone connection, as my hair flies around ever so gracefully in the cool breeze flowing in through my sunroof, while I sing along like a rockstar to my pumpin’ XM radio beats! (It also has a remote car starter and heated seats, but I don’t expect to need those for at least another 4 months!!) Mission accomplished!! :D

Umm.. ok here’s where things went a bit astray. My specific plan was to do the following:

  • At least 5 minutes of stretching and foam rolling after each cardio workout on all of my workout days (Sunday-Friday)
  • Foam rolling three times per week before bed
  • Using my resistance bands to stretch at work

What actually happened:

  • Foam rolling and stretching after cardio: The foam rolling half of this went really well – I did it after every single run. Stretching however.. not so hot. Often I didn’t have time to stretch more before starting my sessions with Mr Trainer, but really, I should have just given myself more time to fit it in.
  • Foam rolling 3x/week before bed: Gold star!! This went really well and was a great way to wind down and stretch out before bed.
  • Resistance bands at work: #Epicfail. This wasn’t very consistent. To be brutally honest, it happened exactly once. Yes, I know I can do better.

Flexibility is something I feel like I’m not terrible with, but it’s certainly not one of my strong points either. As I get into another training phase with Mr T in July, I know it’s going to be even more important that I stretch properly. On top of foam rolling, I’m planning to work in some flexibility-oriented workouts – nothing unmanageable though. Baby steps, right?

This went quite well, and since the weather is warm and I’ve been craving raw foods lately, big salads made up the majority of my meatless meals. For example, there was these little beauties…

The Ninja Turtle Salad:

An enormous mix of zucchini, chickpeas, white beans, red, orange, and yellow sweet bell peppers, and red onion, all lightly sauteed in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and Italian herbs, on a massive pile of mixed greens.

Meals didn’t go much further than monstrous salads and omelettes, but both were ideal meals on super hot days! There was one particular Monday where I completely forgot about Meatless Monday, but I made it up on the following Wednesday – I’m not a cheater!

So…. to sum up, I definitely know which areas I need to work on (hello flexibility), but on the whole it was a pretty productive month! I’ve got my 5 new goals for July coming up tomorrow, but in the meantime…

  • What were your goals for June?
  • How did you do?
  • What was one goal you did really well on, and where did you struggle?

Have a fantastic day! :)

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