I’ve written and re-written the intro to this post. I actually drafted most of this post on the flight home from Ushuaia on Tuesday evening but then Wednesday and Thursday happened.

You know when you do something really awesome, be it a trip, a conference, a workshop, a wedding or something else, and then you feel this sense of emptiness or loss when it is done? That was Wednesday and Thursday for me. I was feeling sad about being “done” Antarctica. I was also feeling a little grumpy. The hubs had to tell me to take off my grumpy pants. More than once. Talk about your basic kind of #firstworldproblems.

So, this morning I woke up and decided that I’m getting out of the right side of the bed. I’m going to celebrate our trip for everything it was, and be excited about all the big things on my horizon! (Projects! Mom’s visit! Iguazu falls! Vancouver! Wedding season! Potential clients! Workshops!) And I’m going to celebrate some of the awesome strides I made towards my 30-before-30 goals this past month!

Item 2: Antarctica

Wow. We got off the boat on Tuesday, and as I mentioned then, I don’t yet have the words. But a penguin jumped on my lap. And here is another picture as a teaser.

Yes. That is a seal on a blue iceberg. Awesome sauce.

Item 6: Learn to Tango

I haven’t made any strides on this goal this month, and I’m only mentioning it because I might abandon it. I haven’t decided yet for sure, but I would really like to concentrate on my yoga practice over the next couple of months in BA. I’m just not sure I’ll have the time (or the budget) to do both justice. We shall see.

Item 10: Web development skills

I’m making strides. Check out my updated photography site. And, because it’s so fun for me to work on blog/blogsite designs, I’m going to start a small front-end web development business. I know, right?! Woohoo!

Item 11: Spanish

My Spanish gets better every day. Woohoo! But not better enough. Boo! For instance, we got a phone call the other day and while I could understand what she was saying to me, I couldn’t respond to her. So, comprehension = ok, speaking = not so ok. My mom is coming to visit and hang out in Argentina next week (yay!), and after she’s gone I might sign up for a week or two of intensive classes to kick my butt into gear! Or I’ll more fully commit to the iPhone courses.

Item 13: Become a better proofreader

This is something that takes constant effort and will be a lifelong goal. However, I did get a clear indication that I was improving this month. When I asked the hubs to proofread my something more post, he had zero (0) edits. And zero (0) suggested improvements. This has never happened before. Ever. In eight years of him proofreading a lot of my material. So, I’m making strides people!

Item 18: Be less afraid

Like becoming a better proofreader, this is something that is going to be a lifelong goal of mine. This is, however, something I’ve spent a good deal of time working on this month and I’m finally starting to see a bit of a difference. It’s hard to explain this one, because it’s mostly baby steps towards dealing with my shyness, but I’m quite proud of what I’ve done this month.

Item 20: Fitness

I started running in BA, and run every second day or so if my ankle feels good. I also do a TRX circuit every second day or so and have regained my abs of steel. Sure, they are under a little layer of excess “skin” but they are tough! I was not so good at fitness on the boat, and really need to get back into it now that we are home. But, this is certainly the best I’ve done all year!

Item 21: 365 Project

Overall this month was the best for the 365 project! I shot at least one image everyday but three. I used my iPhone for all but the last 6 this month. Instead I used my DSLR for awesome Antarctica images!

Item 29: Weekly food posts

I’m rocking it! See: twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and bonus sixteen.

So, all in all, I’m very happy with how I’ve done this month!