As June draws to a close, I’m sure everyone is echoing the same as me: where is the year going?I usually love June. Well it is my birthday month so that might be why. This year however, the weather has been dreadful and it made me, and no doubt lots of other people, a bit down. Lovely to see June going out with the highest temperatures of the year.
In the past, June has brought us sadness too with the loss of our loved ones. My mother died 4 years ago on 28th June and I will never forget my last birthday with her. As someone who loved birthdays, I know how sad she was that she wouldn’t make my next birthday, my special 50th. She would have loved that. As life has to go on, I find myself remembering my loved ones when I’m doing something that I think they would have enjoyed or been proud of. Mum would have loved boasting about her granddaughter’s graduation and enjoyed the chocolate honeycomb cake we made to remember what would have been her 75th birthday. This year I did something a bit different to think about her on the 4th anniversary of her falling asleep. I completed my 1,000 mile challenge for the year.

The 1,000 mile challenge is a group of lovely people on the Rosemary Conley Online site. We record our mileage though the Fitbit or any other device and post a weekly post. There are some serious places where people record just their walks but this includes all daily activities. To complete in a year, you have to do just over 3 miles a day. As we should aim for 10,000 steps a day, this is very achievable. Now that I have finished my 1,000 miles, my next aim is to complete 2,000 miles. Confession time here: I have a spreadsheet dedicated to working out my stats. How sad am I! Current date for completing 2,000 steps is 18th December.
So apart from turning 53 and completing my 1,000 mile challenge, what else have I achieved in June:
- Completed the lovely Jessica Smith Summer of Strength challenge. Even upgraded my weights to 1.5 kg!
- Read 4 books making my Goodreads reading challenge total 32. 21 books to go.
- Ran 38.22 miles. I aim for 30 miles per month.
- Lost 1.75 lb in weight. Did want to get to goal but a girl has to enjoy her birthday.
Here are my July’s aims:
- Complete my cross stitch – I am going to stitch everyday in July to do this
- Tidy the larder – how can I bake when it’s so messy
- Run a 10k race – I am signed up to do a race at Portchester Castle on 28th July. I can do this!
- Change my running route – at the moment I like running round the block as its like my comfort blanket. My house is never far away
- Get to goal weight – 2lbs to go
- Plan weekly meals
- Arrange walk with Chris
- Re-introduce meat free Monday
- Read 4 books – write reviews
- Paint my nails
My biggest aim is to finish my cross stitch that I started in January so this is my 30 (or 31 as it is July) plan this month. I’m going to try to find an hour each day to stitch. Honestly it isn’t that big so it should have been finished a long time ago. Cross stitch helps me relax so I’m hoping if I can organise myself better, I will be able to do this.

I will let you know how I’m doing.
Speak soon.