Ground Control to Major Caitlin

Wow, it is time for an update! It’s now been 3 weeks since my last blog, so not only do I owe you NINE blogs (sorry!) but it’s also time I update you on then first month and a half of my 365 day project as there’s definitely been many highs and lows!

Let’s begin with some wins!

16. Run the City2Surf – CHECK

So I didn’t entirely run the City2Surf but I did complete it through interchanging styles of power-walking, jogging and running. I was very proud to get to the finish line at the beautiful Bondi Beach after a long 14KM but I began my week feeling rejuvenated and keen to sign-up the remaining Bay and Bridge runs in Sydney this year – this time with a proper training schedule that isn’t interrupted by travel!

17. Read a novel a month – 1 / 12 CHECK

I started my goal to read a novel a month for the next 365 days with a beautiful and heartbreaking tale of regret, inequality, forgiveness and hope. The Kite Runner made me cry (even publicly on the train as I tried to hide behind my iPad!) and laugh and made me feel like I’d felt the gravelly roads of Kabul, Afghanistan between my toes as it so vividly described a picturesque country torn by war and racial differences. I feel connected with Amir and Hassan as if they are old friends and I’m really looking forward to reading Khaled Hosseini’s   second bestseller, A Thousand Splendid Suns, later in the year.

18. Go on a date night once a month – 1 / 12 CHECK 

This has been a hard one to achieve because my hard worker has been coming home well past 10pm on most nights in the past month but we were able to go out for a delightful dinner at an Italian restaurant in the city and enjoy sometime to ourselves 🙂 We’re celebrating our first 6 months of marriage with a night in Manly this Saturday night – I can’t believe it’s been that long already!!

Making progress…

4 & 9. Find a mentor and a mentee

A few weeks ago I participated in some mentoring training at church to become part of our Mentoring Action Team. This opportunity came up at the beginning of the year and instantly jumped out of me as I’m very keen to both find a mentor and also mentor someone as well!! The training held over two nights for six hours was informative and insightful and equipped me with many tools to be an effective mentor! I learnt about the important differences between informal and formal mentoring and I’m keen to begin putting this into practice. Over the next two months I’ll be paired with a mentor and mentee, such a blessing to be led by older women and be an example for younger women too.

12. Amp up my blog hits

My goal was to reach 2,000 hits by December 31 and I’m already at 1,250 which has been a huge encouragement over the past 6 weeks! THANK YOU for reading about my project and travels! It means a lot to me that people are joining me in this adventure. Definitely on track to hit 2,000 by the end of the year 🙂

11. Learn Basic Nepali

I’ve just bought and downloaded what I believe to be the ONLY online Nepali resource out there!! The hardest part of this goal has been finding appropriate resources for teaching myself Nepali, but as of this week I’m ready to go 🙂 I’ve also recently learnt that Nepal is currently one of my university’s biggest markets for incoming international students – and seeing as my current job is to work with these international students I have a lot of potential Nepali teachers to meet!!

Needs improvement…

2. Blog 3 times a week

So it’s quite obvious that I’ve been failing to keep this up, so a big SORRY! This week I came across the idea of a ‘social media calendar’, i.e. mapping out Facebook or Twitter posts day by week by month and I think this may be helpful to do for my blog – mapping out when I know I’ve been to an event or will be doing something that warrants a post and putting a reminder on my phone and calendar to do so!

3. Go to the Gym 3 times a week 

I’ve really failed this goal, with no excuse except laziness! I’ve continued playing netball and we’re into the Final this Saturday but that extra step has been a hard habit to get into it. It’s never too late to make a change though and last night I signed up for Michelle Bridge’s 12 Week Body Transformation  and I’m looking forward to a community of encouragement, nutrition and recipe ideas and workout plans to get me back on track and motivated!

Since I owe a lot of posts I’ll save some stories about my other goals until a bit later, as well as posting the beautiful Kite Runner movie trailer. I’m yet to see this film, it’s on my list for the next quiet night at home 🙂

I’m always up for new book ideas, recipes or even some blog topics you’d like to read about. Would love to hear your suggestions via a comment below! Thanks for doing this with me!