Hi, friends! How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was filled with family and food — as it should be. I hope yours was, too. We got to my parents’ on Wednesday afternoon and came home Saturday. While we were there, I got in a few good runs with some nice scenery,

a nice gym workout with my mom, and some quality time with the extended family (unpictured, because I was busy enjoying the QT).

On the way home Saturday, we stopped a few times and got the vast majority of our Christmas shopping done. (No pictures of that, either, as the recipients of those gifts read this blog). Winning.

Today, we did the usual boring Sunday stuff but also got our Christmas tree up, and J did the outside lights while I ran 8 miles. Also winning.

Today is December 1, which means it’s time to see how I did on my November Target Practice goals.

I tag along with Fit.Fun.Femme. for these posts.  I think I’m going to make Target Practice a monthly post, because my goals don’t change much from week to week.

These were my goals for November:

Life: Hang out with some friends. Call the ones who live too far away to hang out with. I went to a party a couple of weeks ago. And I haven’t called anyone, but I have exchanged some texts. Grade: C-. 

Blog: Post a minimum of three times a week, and regularly update Twitter and Instagram. Well. That was ambitious for a month as busy as November. Nope, didn’t happen… unless your definition of “regularly” is everyone else’s definition of “occasionally.” Grade: D.

Health: Finish the Whole30. Figure out what’s been bothering my guts for so long. I got half of this one. I finished the Whole30, but my insides are still messy. I’m not sure what to do next. Grade: B. Because it’s really not my fault that my experiment didn’t work. 

Fitness: While my mileage is decreased, I want to gain some more strength. That probably means actually going to the weight room instead of to the dumbbells in my basement. Hey hey, I actually succeeded at one of my goals! I’ve hit the gym — the grown-up weights section — three times a week for the past few weeks. Score. Grade: A.

And now, for December goals:

Life: Enjoy all the holidays have to offer, rather than letting them stress me out. We all know that there’s a lot of stress that comes in December — a ton of events to attend — some of which we’d maybe rather not –, the end of the semester at work, shopping, blah blah blah. But there’s also a lot of fun stuff  — the events we want to attend, the time with friends and family, shopping on the Internet from the comfort of my couch — and I want to focus on the happy instead of the stressful.

Blog: I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself here (see goal above). I’ll be satisfied with twice a week, but I want to take more pictures and be more active on social media when possible — without letting my online life take precedence over my in-person life.

Health: Indulge mindfully. Because there are some flipping delicious things that only come around once a year, I will eat those flipping delicious things. But I don’t need to eat ALL the things. For the most part, I want to stay Whole30 compliant even though the “official” program is over, and indulge in the treats that are truly worth it.

Fitness: Work out every day in December. That will help balance both the stress and the indulgences. I’d like to do a December run streak, but if anything feels twingy, I’ll cross train instead. No need to create an injury just because I want to go streaking.

Not that kind of streaking. 

Those are my goals. If you see me slacking, yell at me, okay?

Tell me about your Thanksgiving!

What’s your favorite December event/tradition, or what are you looking forward to most this year?