Now that we’ve entered the last quarter of the year, I feel it’s time I evaluate my 2019 goals once more.

Reading: I continue to post my monthly book reviews here, so my progress on this goal is pretty apparent. I’ve read 23 book sin 2019, so I’m just 7 short of my goal of 30 books for the year. I think I can manage it, particularly because I’ve already got 4 more requested from the library. (Here’s hoping they don’t all become available at once!). We’re out of good TV to watch, so I’ve been getting back into my old routine of reading once the kids are in bed in the evenings.

Budgeting: I’ve been experimenting with new ways of grocery shopping lately, and I’m undecided as to whether it’s worth continuing. I consider Whole Foods our “home” grocery store, mostly because I love it, and it’s literally 1 minute from our house. I also love that I can “pre-shop” all my items using the Prime Now app–it makes budgeting a lot easier! Then I fill in each week from other stores with items I can only get there (e.g., Trader Joe’s) or items that are significantly cheaper at that store (e.g., Aldi or Wal-Mart). Our grocery spending seems to be about the same, so it’s not saving us money, but at least it makes me more excited about grocery shopping at different stores each week.

Breastfeeding: We’re in the homestretch here, guys. My work schedule has picked up significantly in September and October, so I had to drop a pumping session, and Nathan is also often sleeping through the night now. My supply is dwindling as a result, but I’m still able to provide a third to half of Nathan’s milk needs, which is better than nothing, I suppose. Breastfeeding is often quite inconvenient these days, but I still plan on continuing until the end of the year. I’d like to give him as much of a nutrition/antibody boost as possible heading into cold and flu season.

Fitness-ing: After several months of running, my dreaded piriformis syndrome is back, so I have been taking a break from my favorite activity since the end of August. This is week 6 of no running, and I’m not sure I feel all that much better. Instead, I’ve been relying on the elliptical, yoga, and stretching. I’ve lost a couple more pounds over the past few weeks doing this, but I’m worried I’m just losing muscle. I’m considering seeing a physical therapist to help identify and treat the underlying issue because I really don’t want to miss out on prime running season here (late fall and early winter). I’ve heard good things about dry needling for piriformis/sciatica, so fingers crossed we can find a solution soon.

Overall, not the sunniest of updates on my progress, but achieving any goal is rarely a linear process. I’m still hoping to finish out the year strong!