February Goal: A Review

I'm back again with an update on my 2014 Personal Goals. My goal in February was to follow a strict vegan diet. And, for several reasons, I failed this before even starting. I am on a strict budget therefore I was not about to throw out half the food in the refrigerator only to replace these items with vegan counterparts. Another was, I'm lazy. There is a lot more work that goes into living a vegan lifestyle; my normal dinner 'go to' options are not often vegan. I did make an effort to prepare several vegan dinners I originally pulled recipes for and planned once the cabinets were cleared. And most of these were successes. Overall though, I was about 20% vegan. Big fail.

Because straight-up giving up is lame, I opted to ditch coffee in lieu of living vegan. And it was hard. In the beginning. On a normal week, I "allow" myself two cups of coffee. I'm on the fence about the amount of caffeine one should consume and somewhere along the way decided two cups per week was the right amount for a person of my stature. Even more limiting, I drink these cups on Monday and Friday, figuring those are the toughest days for me to battle. The twice weekly coffee boost has worked for me. If I ever need more caffeine, I opt for green tea.

This month has naturally been all about the green tea. And it was during this month I realized just how little I delight in green tea. I do not mind this option on occasion but I will never be a full convert. (That was not my goal, just a simple statement of fact.) I tried it hot, I tried it cold. I tried three different brands (this month)--Adagio, Bigelow Tea, and Mighty Leaf. But I persevered. And I was 98% successful. My one indulgence being three ounces on a gorgeous Saturday while visiting home. I resisted on Friday and Sunday. But Saturday, with the weather being oddly nice, my productivity was at full speed. And coffee--my dad's coffee--was too much to resist.

Further, regarding failing in February, I still have not indulged in a day of solitude nor have I really started learning the Arabic alphabet--my personal and spiritual goals for the year.

There was enough going on in February to keep the calendar full--a second 'brew' experience; my first Washington Capital's game; a Super Bowl party; a brunch with friends; a date at Baked & Wired following by a viewing of Peter and the Starcatcher at the Kennedy Center; a field trip to the National Portrait Gallery; catching the Oscar nominated Documentary Shorts at West End Cinema; discovering Nutella hot chocolate during the second (of three) snow day(s) for 2014 (as of March 3); and a weekend with to my parents' home in Northern Virginia. And while each and every one of these events was enjoyable, I was happy to flip the calendar to March and put this particularly cold and difficult month in the past; my self-diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder was a beast throughout February.

Last, the upside of the frigid weather is I continued to read book after book; I am unable to put down my current read--A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout. This month I finished three more books, placing me at 20% of my reading goal for the year. Better yet, up next: My March goal is to read five books. So weather pending, I should be fairly successful.