Goal Update

My new years goals were very simple:

1.) Spend more quality alone time with R

So far I have been doing ok on this goal. We have watched a lot of movies in the basement. And yesterday afternoon, we spent a leisurely (and lovely) afternoon watching Gone, Baby, Gone and trying a new restaurant. But I would like to try to have a date night once or twice a month. I know my family would be willing to babysit and we have a fabulous sitter that we love who could probably also do it. So we need to get more on the ball with this.


2.) Contine to work out at least one hour, five days a week throughout this pregnancy

I am still working out, still running about 8 miles a week. But these past few weeks I have been so sick that I have only managed four times a week. Still, I think this is pretty good, considering.

3.) Eat small portions and dessert only two times a week (try to keep this pregnancy weight gain more reasonable than the last)

I am in no way sticking to this goal on purpose. I do not even WANT to eat dessert, so I don't. I think this one is happening more by default than anything else. To be honest, I don't enjoy food right now with all these stomach issues. So, while I am on track to gain significantly less this pregnancy, I am not sure I did this in the healthiest way.

4.) Work on getting one new client a month, either through essay sales or queries

This is going quite well, actually. I do not want to jinx anything (and these things take so long anyway), but I currently have a few exciting projects sitting with new editors who seem pretty positive about it. So stay tuned. I will say this, though. Making a living as a consumer magazine writer alone is very unusual. 99.9 percent of the successful freelancers I know have to temper their work for consumers mags with corporate/copywriting work. So while the work I am referring to is all consumer mag work, I am also branching out into new kinds of writing that will provide a steady paycheck. I am going to the American Society of Journalist and Authors conference in April. I just became a member recently and this will be the first time I leave Sam, but I am hoping it will be worth it.

I feel pretty good about sticking to my goals. They were pretty small ones, so I knew I could do it. But it is still nice to set a goal and work towards it.

In other news, I have started to feel baby #2 move. For the past couple weeks I have suspected that I have been feeling him move, but I officially felt it the other day. I was sitting at my desk when I felt a familiar tickle. It feels like rippling water. He is actually more active than Sam was at his age.

The only concern as of right now with the pregnancy is weight gain. They would like me to gain about 30 pounds. So far, I have gained 6 (impressive given I lost it all a couple weeks ago). From here on out, I need to gain at least a pound a week to reach that goal. I am, of course, ok with gaining less. But not much less. The last thing I want is a low birthweight baby. Besides, I think 30 pounds is quite reasonable.