Tag Archive | countdown goals

how the half am I?

Jul2

Somehow, we’re halfway through the year? Crazy. So, it’s time to see what sort of progress is being made with the 2012 goals.

The initial goal post.

The “Hey, it’s now April iterim report.”

And on to now. Green indicates the initial goal.

1. “In 2012, I’d like to be able to run 10 miles (or 2 times 5 miles). I started 2011 at 2.5 to 3 miles and am now up to 7.5, so I think this is doable if I’m able to keep my schedule.”

I hit the 9 mile mark on March 31, 2012 (I goofed in the April post and said 2011, but it was 2012). As of June 30th, I slowed down my quarter a month pace slightly but am at 9.5 miles and planning to attempt 9.75 on the next long run. I was having some issues with trying to do too much at once (too fast a speed, too steep an incline, AND increased distance) and was getting discouraged by how long it was taking me because I stopped a lot. Cathy offered me some very good advice…essentially that to achieve new distances, I needed to slow down. Her advice helped a lot. Anyway, I’m confident I’ll hit the ten by the end of the year if not before!

2. In 2012, I’d like to write 200 posts (which would average out to almost 4 a week–giving myself a little break with travel or things that happen that might pull me away)…”

By the end of April, this was modified to 175-200 posts and 3-4 times a week. This will be my 98th post this year, so I’m well within my target range.

3. “I did indeed get…Organize Now! … The book is broken down into 56 chapters with the idea that you’ll do one a week. Not every chapter applies to me, so I’ve decided that in 2012 I’d like to get through 3 chapters a month in my quest to be more organized.”

I revised this in April to acting on 3 suggestions a month. I’d say I’ve had a measure of success with this, albeit not in a formal way. I’ve definitely started tackling organizing projects (my magazines, my dresser, my clothing drawers, my constant clutter piles). I’m happy with what I’ve gotten done, even if it wasn’t what I foresaw.

4. “..In 2012 I’d like to read at least 25 books again (so mostly 2 books a month).”

By April, I’d read 6 books. And, as of right now, I’ve read 14 (more about those in a future post). So, I feel pretty good about this one.

5. “One thing that I’ve put in monthly goals and failed on is taking better care of my hands (they get chapped/cracked in the winter and I wash/sanitize them to death) and they start to hurt/flake/peel. So in 2012, I want to use hand cream on them at least 1 time each day and will do “higher” maintenance (nail clipping/filing/buffing…maybe even a manicure one of these days) twice a month (so 1 time every other week)….”

This one has still proven tricky, but I think I’ve been better. Certainly the higher maintenance has happened. In fact, the other day I decided to go out and have this done.

hot pink manicure

I goofed and touched things before I should have…but it’s been nice to look at my nails!

So, even though I’m not exactly where I want to be with all my goals, I haven’t dropped them all completely…I’m not cringing too much looking at what I wrote I wanted to do in 2012!

How has your 2012 been so far, goal or otherwise?

revisitation time

Apr2

How did this happen? We’re one quarter of the way through 2012! When I planned out my “countdown” goals for 2012, I wasn’t entirely sure how often I wanted to go back and examine how it’s going. I did check in at the beginning of February, but felt once a month was too often. At the moment, I feel like a check in every quarter could be a good thing to do!

So, how am I doing? Right on target with some things and not so much with others. I figure this check in gives me a chance to decide if I want to change or modify in some way.

My goals from the original post (in green), followed by my current status.

“In 2012, I’d like to be able to run 10 miles (or 2 times 5 miles). I started 2011 at 2.5 to 3 miles and am now up to 7.5, so I think this is doable if I’m able to keep my schedule.”

I hit the 9 mile mark on March 31, 2011. I’m still ahead of my schedule (I figured on bumping up a quarter a month, but I’ve gone up by a mile and a half)

“In 2012, I’d like to write 200 posts (which would average out to almost 4 a week–giving myself a little break with travel or things that happen that might pull me away)…”

I think I modified this one by the end of January to say 3 to 4 posts a week, aiming for 175 to 200 this year. I just felt too locked in…too pressured to just post any old thing to meet a number. I think there have only been two weeks so far that had 3 posts instead of 4, so I’d say I’m doing pretty well. I just needed some breathing room!

“I did indeed get…Organize Now! … The book is broken down into 56 chapters with the idea that you’ll do one a week. Not every chapter applies to me, so I’ve decided that in 2012 I’d like to get through 3 chapters a month in my quest to be more organized.”

Well…not so much. I haven’t really spent time with that book since January, when I did really well. But, I have managed to accomplish/implement some organization and tidying. I’m not where I want to be, but I’m better than I was. So, to revisit this goal, I’m going to modify it from 3 chapters a month to looking it over and acting on 3 suggestions/recommendations it makes a month. I think that will help me keep up what I’m doing and it won’t feel like a chore.

“..In 2012 I’d like to read at least 25 books again (so mostly 2 books a month).”

I’m pretty much on target with this one. I’ve read 6 books so far in 2012, which is 2 a month. I suspect a vacation will help with getting a three book month in. The last book I read was This Body of Death by Elizabeth George, which was more than 700 pages! (like reading two books, but I won’t “cheat” and say it was when it wasn’t).

“One thing that I’ve put in monthly goals and failed on is taking better care of my hands (they get chapped/cracked in the winter and I wash/sanitize them to death) and they start to hurt/flake/peel. So in 2012, I want to use hand cream on them at least 1 time each day and will do “higher” maintenance (nail clipping/filing/buffing…maybe even a manicure one of these days) twice a month (so 1 time every other week)….”

This is another instance where I haven’t been 100% perfect, but I’m doing better than I used to. For some reason, I am just bad about using my dishwashing gloves. And I’m not great about applying cream every day. I would say I do manage it more days than not…and although the nails have gotten too long/jagged a few times…I have been better about maintenance. So, I’m going to keep this goal and put more effort into it.

So, my verdict so far is that I’m doing pretty well. I’d like to be doing better, but I’m happy to see that I think I made good choices in my goal setting. I also think the quarterly check in will be useful for seeing what my thoughts are about my goals and progress.

What are your thoughts on where you are now that 2012 is one quarter over?

one month in…

Feb6

I thought it would be good to do a “how it went in January with my goals” post….now that February is almost a week old. Clearly, I decided to invoke my “wiggle room” clause and took a day off from posting (I was tired and uninspired…exactly what the wiggle room clause was designed for). Now I’m raring to go. So, here are the updates (and here is the goal setting post).

Run 10 (or 2 x 5) miles goal. As usual, I’m on track with my running goal…in fact I’m a little ahead. Saturday, I ran more than 8.25 miles…which was my goal for March since I started at 7.5 and planned on adding .25 a month.

200 (4 a week) blog posts. I did pretty well with this in January (18 posts), but one of them was the “wiggle room” post I mentioned earlier. I modified the goal to 175-200 (3-4 a week) because I realized that by locking myself into 4, I might end up really not enjoying blogging because it would feel more like an obligation. This was a good move.

3 Chapters a month of Organize Now! (to help me get more organized). This is a sort of…I read 3 chapters of ON, but didn’t do much to act on the last one (setting up a cleaning schedule). So, I need to do some remedial and catch up work!

Read 2 books a month (I’m hoping to read at least 25 books a year). I did fine on this one, although I took a bit of a break after The Girl Who Played with Fire. I then read a pretty short graphic novel, but I followed it up with The Help, which I finished yesterday (and counts as book no. 1 for February). I basically learned that I need to choose the next book as soon as I finish what I’m reading, so there’s something to be picked up and looked at (and the next book is Books by Larry McMurtry).

And finally, do 1 thing a day for my hands…meaning hand lotion, since they get so chapped and I’m not as good as I could be. Also, higher maintenance twice a month (1 time every two weeks–clip, file, manicure). This one has had mostly positive results. I’ve been good about hand lotion,  but not great about gloves for dishwashing (they’re right there and yet, I can’t always be bothered to put them on). And I did indeed do clipping, filing, buffing, or painting twice this month.

So, on the whole, not bad. Nothing totally fell off the map, which I think is a good start. I will say though, that I thought January went pretty slowly. I couldn’t believe Christmas had only been weeks ago. But with February, I’m wondering how it could almost be a week in already!

How was January for you? If you set up resolutions for the new year, how are they working out for you so far?

…and, now it’s 2012

Jan2

First, it feels weird to know I can’t used the postaweek2011 tag for this post (or can I since I referred to it?).

Although I don’t always make resolutions, I felt that I needed some for 2012 since there’s some stuff I don’t seem to be getting done otherwise. My experience with my countdown goals in 2011 showed me that I can be good about following through…at least sometimes. And I’m also realizing that just like everyone says, having a plan helps (it is funny how I can ignore certain pieces of advice like “don’t just make up in the air goals with no plan to back it up” expecting that I’ll be fine…apparently it doesn’t work that way).

I thought about it, and although I have a number of goals, I decided to select five to write about on the blog for 2012. And yes, they’re in my countdown form. I’m doing this for several reasons. First, I don’t necessarily want to do monthly goals every month…if I do, fine. If I don’t, I’m still (hopefully) working on the others. Second, seeing how some goals made it on the list for each month I had goals, I think it would save me from repeating myself by just setting them up at the beginning of the year.

And here they are

In 2012, I’d like to be able to run 10 miles (or 2 times 5 miles). I started 2011 at 2.5 to 3 miles and am now up to 7.5, so I think this is doable if I’m able to keep my schedule.

In 2012, I’d like to write 200 posts (which would average out to almost 4 a week–giving myself a little break with travel or things that happen that might pull me away). I seem to have found a groove with 4 a week this last month (although sometimes it’s challenging). I had 132 posts in 2011, so we’ll see if I can pull this one off.

and yes, that does mean more pictures of strivingcynic cat!

I did indeed get the Organize Now!  book I mentioned in my “books I want Santa to bring” post. The book is broken down into 56 chapters with the idea that you’ll do one a week. Not every chapter applies to me, so I’ve decided that in 2012 I’d like to get through 3 chapters a month in my quest to be more organized.

I actually managed to get two more books read by the end of 2011, bringing my total up to 25. I discovered last year that I was good about reading books when I set book reading as a goal. So, now it’s a goal for the year. In 2012 I’d like to read at least 25 books again (so mostly 2 books a month).

One thing that I’ve put in monthly goals and failed on is taking better care of my hands (they get chapped/cracked in the winter and I wash/sanitize them to death) and they start to hurt/flake/peel. So in 2012, I want to use hand cream on them at least 1 time each day and will do “higher” maintenance (nail clipping/filing/buffing…maybe even a manicure one of these days) twice a month (so 1 time every other week). Sadly enough, this would be more than what I do for them now!

I’m not sure how often I’ll do checking in posts on these. For now I’ll say quarterly and if I decide to do it more often (I don’t think it should be less…), then I will!

Other areas that may pop up as goals through the year would involve doing more cooking and getting back into my knitting (other things I wasn’t as successful with in 2011).  I can see that a big challenge with these goals (particularly 4-2 will be making and finding time [perhaps this will help me keep off the iPhone a bit too...)].

Happy 2012!  Feel free to tell me about how organized you are, that you’re a  running, blog posting, or book reading machine, or that you’re a hand model…anything to help inspire me (or make me feel better…)!

an “abrupt” end to a good month

Dec1

Another month has come to an end. These months that only have 30 days always feel slightly abrupt to me…like I really should have another day to get things done before it’s over. But, it just doesn’t work that way. And it’s time to review how things went with my [countdown] goals for November.

Get 50 percent of my holiday gift shopping done: I wasn’t anywhere near getting anything done about this for most of the month, but I hit some shops on Sunday and did some online stuff Tuesday night….and I think if I’m not at 50 percent, I’m close. I also realized that without an absolute list (who me?), this is kind of hard to quantify!

Read 400 book pages in November: This one was easy. I read two books, The Boy Who Loved Books by John Sutherland and Shoe Addicts Anonymous, which helped me meet my goal and then some. 

I’ve got my running distance up to 6.1 miles, so I’d like it to be 6.5 (or 3.25 miles x 2): I was able to do this one after having to take a little time away from running when I pulled a muscle in my back. I ran the 6.5 three different times in November, so I was very happy with this one. 

Make at least 2 updates or changes to this blog: Done. New theme (Bouquet), new widgets, new look and feel. There have been a few quirks with Bouquet (I lost my widgets and one day I had no date and no title, and my photo has disappeared a few times), so I may keep playing with it, but I definitely am glad I finally got around to making changes and thinking about how I wanted my blog to look.

I would like to have 1 “spa” experience…whether a manicure, or using the gift card I was given to a local spa, or even a home facial: Hmm..wouldn’t it figure, this one I would say I crashed and burned….I did end up buying some makeup at Ulta the other day…but I was looking for a relaxing/rewarding experience…and didn’t manage it. So, that’s one to focus on in December. 

On the whole, I’m pretty happy with how November worked out. I’m not doing formal goal setting in December (except for the spa-ish thing). I will keep running, keep buying presents, keep reading, keep working on the blog…but I figure January is the mother of all goal setting months, so I might as well enjoy December (as I run, buy, read…).

And now I leave you with my two favorite photos from my November posts.

Favorite non-strivingcynic cat photo:

The “drippy filter” picture from Epic duh! It looks like it could be the opening shot of an infomercial (“Are you tired of dropping coffee grounds on your floor?”) On another note on consistency, Epic duh! is one of very few post titles that starts with a capital letter, or even just has a capital letter in it. I just didn’t notice and when I saw it, I thought it fit the “d’oh” of the post perfectly.

Favorite strivingcynic cat picture:

The sc cat fails to be impressed with me photo from procrastination (it’s making me want to wait). Cats are good at looking unimpressed, but I thought this photo really conveys how unimpressed he is.

That’s it. November, you were a pretty good month…you even brought me pumpkin pie. Sorry to see you go!

How was your November and does the 30 day thing feel abrupt to you? How has your gift buying been going? 

contrary treadmills and simple math made complex

Nov14

Although it’s finally gone away, I thought I’d share one of the sights I saw this week when I left my house.

a small patch of (dirty) snow with autumn leaves

It just hit me one day how odd it was to have these isolated patches of snow with leaves. Probably odder because temps were in the 50s and 60s this week.

can't get enough of dirty snow pics, right?

Anyway, it’s finally gone, and presumably, next time there’s snow there won’t be so many leaves on top. But, you never know.

Earlier this week I had whined about mentioned how I had done something to a back muscle meaning I was taking a break from exercise. These things happen, but I was a little annoyed because one of my goals for the month is to work my distance up to 6.5 miles (from 6.2–I like my increments small). Well, of course taking a break gave me time to heal and I was back in the gym by the end of the week. And, I can now say, one goal down! I hit 6.5 miles on Saturday. I hope to repeat that through the course of the month (Saturday is when I have time to go for distance), but knowing I’ve already been there takes the “pressure” off.

One eensy weensy factor that takes the joy out of my mileage total….contrary treadmills. As I mentioned, I’m going for distance, but not distance in a certain amount of time. So, once I started to hit around 6 miles, these treadmill forays took me more than an hour (I think the 6.5 miles took me 68 minutes [and I do pause the treadmill for breaks periodically, which don't factor into the time]). And I discovered a snag. The first time I hit the 60:00 on the treadmill, the treadmill automatically put itself into cool down mode. I had to restart and calculate how much distance I had left.

The next time, I was prepared for it, but instead of shutting down, the treadmill took the 60:00 in stride and kept going. So, I knew it was capable of going beyond 60:00. The next time, I used the “Personal Trainer” workout option to tell the treadmill that I wanted to go a certain distance or time. And it worked! But this last time, I set the PT for 6.5 miles, and at 60:00 (5.79 miles) it automatically went into cool down. Again, I had to recalculate and start from 0, stopping when I got to .75 miles.

Now, I think I know why it worked the one time I tried it but not the other. I suspect that I gave the treadmill a time goal rather than a distance goal. So, if I tell it 65:00 minutes, it won’t shut off at 60:00. I think next time I’ll tell it I want to run for say, 75:00 and then just put it into cool down when I’ve met my goal. I *think* that will work, but of course the fact that it has worked before just makes it all the more maddening.

I can’t decide what annoys me more about this situation. On the one had is the fact that just as I’m closing in on the end of my run (and it’s not a pretty process; I’m huffing, puffing, and sweaty) I not only lose my groove, BUT I also have to do math to figure out how long I have before I’m done (I can handle running and I can handle math, but the combination does my head in)! On the other hand, as I move toward my goal distance, I do want the treadmill to say “Hey, you ran 6.5 miles!!!! Go you!” Not, “Hey, you ran 5.79 miles and .75 miles.” I want to see the “whole” number, because I’m amazed I got there.

Both factors annoy the hell out of me, but I’m gonna outsmart the treadmill yet (and in the meantime, celebrate meeting my goal).

Have you encountered a contrary machine, appliance, or device? Who won?

onward (and upward?)

Nov3

Have you ever focused so much on an upcoming event in your life to the point that when it’s over, you’re not sure what else to focus on? For the last year, I talked about how I was turning 40. For the last month, I talked nonstop about how this was the month I was turning 40. And now, guess what? I’m 40 (as if you didn’t know).

The good news is that I’m not focusing what age I’ll be anymore (or at the moment), the, well *interesting* news is that I don’t have to contemplate life at 40 so much because I’m there (not much different from 39). In October, I decided not to do goals because I just wanted to reflect on my life and think about where I wanted it to go (yeah, I’m slightly embarrassed by this). Now that it’s November I want to have some goals again.

So far, my experience of goal setting has been uneven. Sometimes I like having the goal because I have something to work towards and report back on (my running distance goals, book reading goals [no book reading goal in October... no books read! that must change], and of course, the goal to volunteer at the animal shelter). Others I feel like I hustle to get done, basically for the sake of reporting them on the blog. So I’m trying to think of goals that are more things I really want to accomplish in a concrete way (some of them seem to be “in my head” goals, where it sounds good when I think of it, but I don’t want to carry it out in reality [I like cooking, but for some reason, the cooking goals I set do feel more chorelike]).

I may have also cornered myself with my “countdown goal” structure (where I base my goals around the numbers 5, 4, 3, 2, 1). But, I do still like that structure, so I’m going to give it another whirl. Yep, all that being said, I want to have some goals for this month. Maybe next month I won’t (sound familiar [again] Cathy?) But I really want my goals to help me get things I want to do done…so my thoughts for November are:

Get 50 percent of my holiday gift shopping done [totally self-serving, it will keep me sane in December if I can pull this off]!

I would like to read 400 book pages in November.

I’ve got my running distance up to 6.1 miles, so in November, I’d like it to be 6.5 (or 3.25 miles x 2).

I would like to make at least 2 updates or changes to this blog (I’ve had this domain for almost a year and aside from new posts, have changed very little despite often saying I’d like to add/change things around a bit).

I would like to have 1 “spa” experience…whether a manicure, or using the gift card I was given to a local spa, or even a home facial.

And those are the hopes for November…I’ll admit to not being sure if I can call 50 percent on presents unless I make lists with the firm idea that I won’t get that person anything that isn’t on it!

Another goal for November? Not to see any of this:

the view from our kitchen on Saturday, October 29

Seriously?

So, going back to the beginning, have you ever spent so much time focused on one event that you didn’t know what to do with yourself when it was over? Please describe!

plunging into October

Oct2

October already? How on earth did we get here? Okay, I know how we got here…but 2011 is moving pretty quickly. By this time last year, I was just moved out of my apartment and in with mr. strivingcynic. Can’t believe it’s been a year.

strivingcynic cat (here kitten) meets a halloween themed twin

And it’s also been a month. A month since I talked about goals for September. So, how’d I do? Mostly great, with one nonstarting exception.

I wanted to run 5.5 miles. Not only did I do this, I got my mileage up to 5.8!

I wanted to read 400 pages. In September I finished I Love Everybody, by Laurie Notaro (80 pages read in Sept.), A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry (193), Read My Pins by Madeleine Albright (176), and I had read 448 pages of The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes. Admittedly, the Anne Perry book literally has smaller pages, and the Albright book has lots of photos. All the same, 400 pages, no problem.

Three new experiences. Two involved cooking…my not-so-great overnight oats in a jar, and my “let’s throw some cocoa in” pancakes.  The other was the tech savvy moment where I rescued an accidentally trashed comment. A milestone for clueless me. Maybe not quite what I have in mind when I talk about new experiences, but they qualify.

Two..make two recipes found on blogs. Crash and burn. Never got around to identifying the recipes. Now, I see great recipes all the time, so I’m not sure what my problem is. I think it’s the “oh…I would have to make a list and plan and go to the store with my list and plan…and I can’t be bothered.” I’m not impressed with myself on this one. I’ll try it again another month.

Clean out one closet. Done….although there are other things I could clean out.

And that brings us into October. What sort of goals do I want to have in October? I’ve been thinking about this a bit differently because, if you’ve been reading this blog, you’ve probably come across some place where I declare that I’ll be “turning 40 soon.” As tempting as it is to keep using that and see if anyone notices that I’ve been 39 forever…October is the month that I’ll be crossing the 40 border (the 4der?). It’s still a few weeks away though.

on the horizon... (road shot from New Mexico)

I’m fine with turning 40 (I think)…I’m more in “how on earth did I get here? it’s really been 30 years since…? 20 years since…? 10 years since…?” and the answers are “yes, yup, uh-huh.” So, I think rather than countdown goals for this month, I’m going to focus on thinking about where my life has taken me so far and where I want it to go next. I thought about tying that into the the number 40 in some way (like Cathy…but I would need more prep time and Cathy’s seemingly endless supply of energy!)  Although I would be interested in say, trying 40 varieties of chocolate cake….

October begins (cake not baked by me)

Have any birthdays been milestones for you? How did you commemorate/celebrate?

some clothes go away (and it’s for the best)

Sep21

I wouldn’t exactly call myself a pack rat, and I’m definitely not a hoarder, but I have to admit, I have a hard time letting go of things…or maybe it’s just I find it easier to hold on. Deciding to let go of something feels like more of a decision to me than deciding to keep it…I mean I can always let go of something I kept, but I can’t get something I let go of back. Right?

And that is why I made cleaning out 1 closet one of my goals this month. It’s just too easy for me to put this sort of thing off. Looking back, I noticed what I said was I wanted to “go through my clothes and get real about what I’ll probably never wear again.” And this is pretty much what happened the other day.

The clothes that made it into the donate pile fell into two categories. 1) Things that I had for many years that, although they were physically still intact were not in the best condition (eg, faded, stretched out); and 2) Things that didn’t fit.

In category number 1, I give you black pants and brown pants. I think I’ve owned them for something like 7-10 years. I have actively been on the lookout for a new pair of each. And in the case of black pants, I actually found one. The moment I brought them in the house I probably should have taken the old pair away, but I didn’t. I tried to let them coexist, but had to admit, the old pair were indeed tired, haggard, and worn out. Although I haven’t found a replacement for the brown pair, it was time for them to go…every time I put them on I knew I was pushing it since they weren’t in the best condition. But sometimes in my head, as long as they were literally not falling apart, they were wearable.

yep, the brown pants are pretty sad...

the black pants drew an observer...

Ugh. I think the wrinkles are from how packed my closet is!

In category number 2 was a very pretty Target/Liberty of London dress that my mother bought me when she found it on the clearance rack several years ago. It was a size smaller than what I normally wear, but she took a chance (because as we all know, the number differs from one store/collection/designer to another…one reason I admire people daring enough to buy clothes without trying them on first). And I tried it on and it didn’t quite fit. And I held onto it for a year or two and tried it on again…I needed to ask mr. sc for assistance getting the zipper up, but it wasn’t happening. I finally realized, it wasn’t even something where I could think “maybe I’ll fit into this one day.” Instead I could see that this dress was never going to fit around my ribcage. And really, there’s not much I can do about that (and if there is, I don’t want to do it). So, the fact that it’s pretty and I’d like to wear it isn’t really enough.

sorry I never got a chance to wear you....

I don’t even remember what else I got rid of…I think it was maybe 8-10 items and there were some things I just couldn’t make the “let go” call on. I have several other closets and dressers I need to go through as well. So, who knows, maybe next time I look through this closet, I’ll be willing to be even more “real.” At least this was a start.

How are you with letting go of clothes or anything else? Do you have any rules for keeping versus ditching?

fail tale (peanut butter version)

Sep14

So, I finally had the opportunity to try another “blog standard” late last week.

You see, I’d say I like my nut butters as much as the next blogger, but there are some real nut-butter-loving people out there in blogland. That being said, it’s good stuff.  Looking back at my “nut butter history,” I have many a fond memory of happily hacking away at a jar of peanut butter with a spoon. More than 20 years ago, when I started to get in shape, I followed weight watchers. I gather now they have a points system, but back then it was all food groups. Peanut butter was considered a combination of “protein” and “fat.” Which was great because even then I wasn’t a big meat eater…but the problem was that WW stated I should have half as many servings of fat  (not many) as protein (too many for  my taste) a day. So, peanut butter became an even bigger treat to me.

Flash forward a few years to when I was doing my junior year abroad. My friend and I carried around a jar of peanut butter when we did our winter and spring breaks taking the train all over Europe (don’t ask me how we were able to find pb back then….it’s never been as popular in Europe as in the States and not every place carried it). It was cheap, healthy, unlikely to spoil….and I ate so much of it that I couldn’t stand the sight of it for the next two years. But then I found myself thinking of it fondly one day and it was if we’d never been apart. Over the years, other nut butters came along–almond, cashew,  and most recently, sunflower seed (okay, I guess that’s a seed butter). So, having more than one type around, it takes me a while to get through a jar…and when I finally did I thought. “Now is my chance to try Overnight Oats in a Jar.”

So, how’d it go? Well, I have to admit, not great. I think I might have gone about it the wrong way. I took my nearly empty jar, put in about 1/2 a cup of oats and one cup of coconut milk. Closed the jar, put it in the fridge expecting it to thicken. Except it didn’t….I think there was too much milk to absorb it all. When I finally ate it, well it was just okay. I wasn’t keen on the textures (soggy..and the pb was a little odd too…maybe like the milk had dissolved it?). It was just cold and vaguely flavored.

a little on the milky side!

doesn't look any more appetizing...

For me the plus side was getting all the pb out of the jar. Of course, I guess I could just go at it with a spoon next time. I do think I’ll try the overnight oats thing again…maybe with yogurt instead of milk next time so that it does get thick. Or maybe you just cook the oatmeal and pour it into the jar so it becomes like a pudding? Hmm.

But, I decided this fulfilled one of my “new experience” goals for the month of September. Even though I have “make two things with recipes found on blogs,” I don’t feel this counts for that one since I improvised and obviously not very well (should have looked it up).

Do you do the oats in a jar thing? How do you prepare it? Do you have a favorite “butter”? Have you ever eaten so much of something you got sick of it?