August Goals

GUYS...it's officially birth month (hopefully- if this baby is still inside of me come September, you Ryan are going to be dealing with a VERY unhappy Mama-to-be.) In just a few minutes, Ryan and I will be heading to the hospital for our labor/delivery class and tour! Before we take off, I wanted to share my August goals to kick off a new month! 

But first... 

July Goals Update 

1. Settle on a moving date and officially move into the new house. 

Done! We finally settled on a date and moved a few Saturday's ago into the greatest rental home! Since moving, my days have been spent unpacking, decorating, crafting, and preparing for itty bitty Smitty! I guess you could say nesting has officially begun? Better late than never, right?! 

2. Find a new church to attend. 

Now that we're in a house and getting to know a new area to us, we have done some research on nearby churches. Unfortunately, we haven't had a free Sunday to attend any of these churches, but I have a list of places we would like to check out...which is exactly how we found Life church in Quincy. While I don't think any experience can be as amazing as our time in Boston, I've been praying we find a similar type of community to get involved with in Georgia. 

3. Complete a Nursery DIY. 

Check! The nursery is pretty much complete, except for a few odds and ends and some pictures that need to be hung! This month, I created a fabric strip banner  to hang above the crib! 

4. Hire a newborn photographer. 

Done! The deposit has been sent to our newborn photographer and I can't wait to work with her after the baby comes! 

5. Read a new book. 

While I didn't read a new book this month, I did FINALLY finish the Emily Giffin book I started in June. SO...half check?! 

August Goals 

1. Go for three walks a week. 
Our neighborhood is awesome. I literally could not walk the entire neighborhood if I tried. So to say the least, there is a lot to explore. Also, the whole neighborhood has sidewalks making it super walk-friendly. I would like to get out three evenings a week for little walks to get some exercise and maybe meet some neighbors?!

2. Finally get the jeep registered and get Georgia licenses. 
This has been on our list for oh, I don't know... two months now. Nobody wants to go to the DMV, but I think we've waiting long enough. The registration on my Jeep expires September 1st, and I don't really want to have expired out of state tags and a newborn to worry about at the same time.

3. Get the car seat bases installed in both cars. 
This needs to be done two weeks ago. I've heard the hospital won't let you go home until your car seat is ready to go and you have to go to a special place to get them installed so I guess I need to get my butt in gear and make an appointment. Definitely on the goals list this month.

4. Have a baby. 
I mean... obviously. This is a goal of mine for the month, but really... I want this baby to come out when she is good and ready, even if that does mean sometime in early September. (Please don't make me regret typing that itty bitty!)

Alright... off to our labor class! Happy weekend! 

June Goals

Hello and happy June!! 

Ryan and I have officially been Georgians again for just about three weeks. Crazy. While it's still a daily adjustment (all good- but an adjustment none the less) living with my mom, dad, and brother again, I feel like Ryan and I are finding our groove and getting back to a normal-ish life. To keep the normalcy going, I thought it about time to finally start setting some monthly goals for myself again! 

JUNE GOALS

1. Read two new books

Now that I'm finally finished with my masters degree and getting settled into my new life back in Georgia, I have really been missing getting lost in a good book by the pool or at the end of the day. I KNOW I want to read "The Husband's Secret" by Liane Moriarty because I love her work and have heard great things, but I'm not sure what else I want to read! Any suggestions?! 

2. Exercise for at least thirty minutes every day

Well, I'm officially in my third trimester (27 & 28 week post coming soon)! Now that I'm in the final stretch, I think it's really important to continue to move around and exercise as much as possible to make sure my body stays strong. While I am definitely not running anymore, I did join a pretty awesome gym and hope to continue to do some sort of physical activity every day. 

3. Find a new church to attend 

It's definitely not a secret that Ryan and I miss our friends and our church up in Boston. I think a big reason why felt so much like home is because of the community we surrounded ourselves with. Even though we grew up in Georgia, this area feels kind of foreign to me and I think it's important that Ryan and I find a new church community to continue our journey with. 

4. Research and put together my "hospital bag" 
I realize it may be a little early to pack a bag for the hospital, but I have been itching to get organized and prepared for itty bitty Smitty's arrival. Since Ryan and I don't have a place of our own just yet, there isn't much I can do on the home front to get ready for her. We've already transitioned to the new OB office, chosen a hospital, and registered for three classes (labor and delivery, newborn care, and breastfeeding), so I feel like this is one of the only things I can realistically do this month. Plus... now that I'm in my third trimester, things are starting to feel more real and you just never really know when the time will come that I do need to go to the hospital. For now, I will pack a bag, store it under the bed, and keep my little legs crossed for a few more months.

Alright, the goals are written and documented. I'm off to the gym to keep Goal # 2 alive!

January Goals

New month, new set of goals! Before I jump into this months goals, I want to take the time to review how last month went for me. 

Out of my four goals for December, I accomplished 1 and a half of them. I say 1/2 because I only KIND OF completed a Christmas DIY. While I technically "did it myself," the craft only entailed rolling a piece of burlap ribbon down the side of our pantry and sticking Christmas cards to it. Instead of being upset with myself that I didn't accomplish the goals that I set for myself in December, I am choosing to be grateful for the times I was able to spend with our friends and family in Georgia and Boston this holiday season. Yes, I could have exercised more and spent more time reading to myself, but instead I went to and hosted Christmas parties and celebrated the season with the people I love. No regrets, here! 

With that being said, it is the 2nd of the month and the new year and I am ready to refocus on becoming a healthier, better me! Before I reveal my goals for January, I first need to quickly recap last month! 

December Goals

1. Read a new book.

Well... I am about seven chapters into Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. So far it's a really interesting book and I definitely have plans to finish it in January. 

2. Take 15 fitness classes.

Yeah....no. I think I got in 10 classes/workouts, which isn't bad in my opinion! 

3. Complete another Christmas DIY.

I already talked about this above, but my "Christmas craft" for the month was our Christmas Card holder made from burlap ribbon and festive clothespins! 

4. Finally go ice skating in Frog Pond.

Success! For our 2nd anniversary, Ryan made this little goal of mine happen! It was by far the highlight of our anniversary night in Boston! Thanks, Ry Guy! 

Moving on.... 

January Goals

1. Exercise 10 times. 

Realistically, I know that I will be beginning student teaching this month and still have no idea where I will be traveling to every day for the next four months. While it's not really a lofty goal, I do know that I can at least exercise in some form 10 times this month. 

2. Drink 64 ounces of water every day. 

I do not drink enough water a day. I do not. This month, I am going to try to pay better attention to how much water I am drinking and take in a little more each day. 

3. Meal Plan for six meals every week. 

Even if we don't eat six meals a week at home, I want to do a better job of making sure we have dinner options in the fridge this month. I know there will be some nights where we just do not want to cook dinner, but I'd rather choose to go out or order take-out instead of being forced to because I just don't have anything planned. Plus, if we have dinner options in the fridge or freezer, we will most likely choose to just suck it up and eat at home instead! 

4. NO clothes shopping! 

Santa The Schoeff's and the Smith's spoiled me this Christmas. So much so that my half of the closets and dressers are literally overflowing. Really needing a complete clean-out of everything I own, it is definitely a goal of mine this month to not buy anything new for myself! 

There you have it! Here's to a happy and healthy January! 

December Goals

Holy Cow! I know we're two days in, but I still just can't believe it's already December!

November was a great month. I mean any month that we get to see our families is pretty great in my book!

Today, I'm here to wrap up my November goals and move on to my December goals!

First things first, let's take a quick look back at my November goals!

1. Take 3 fitness classes.
I am SO glad I made this a goal because it really motivated me to get my butt up off the couch when it started getting dark earlier and earlier every night this month. I am happy to say that I completed this goal! Every week I went to two body pump classes and a zumba class.

2. Read a book not related to grad school.
Check! This month I chose to read Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Gillian also wrote Gone Girl, which I really enjoyed reading. Although it was a very dark book, I found it very hard to put down at times, which is always a sign of a good book to me. I would recommend it but maybe don't start reading it late at night when you're husband is out of town.

3. Finish my Christmas shopping.
I realize this was a pretty crazy goal to set for myself in NOVEMBER, but since we're flying home for Christmas, I really wanted to be able to bring all of our wrapped Christmas presents for family in the car with us so that our parents could bring them down to Georgia after Thanksgiving. I am very happy to report that our Christmas shopping for everyone back in Georgia is d-o-n-e! What a relief!

4. Complete a Christmas DIY.
The DIY I chose to complete this month was a holiday burlap wreath for the front door! I loved how it turned out SO much, that I made another one for my mom while staying at the cabin! Stay tuned for a little post on my new front door decoration!

Phew, I was busy this past month! Now on to my new goals for December!

December Goals

 

1. Read a new book.

Taking the time to read a book for pleasure last month reminded me just how much I love to read. You can pretty much bet this is going to be a recurring goal every month.

 

2. Take 15 fitness classes.

Along with the above goal, you can pretty much count on seeing some sort of fitness goal every month. I've tweaked the wording in this goal a little bit because I know I'll be traveling and away from the gym for part of the month. Instead of going three times a week, I want to try to get to 15 total fitness classes this month.

 

3. Complete another Christmas DIY.

I have a lot of burlap ribbon and some other goodies left over from the last craft. Now I just need some inspiration and motivation to do something with it!

 

4. Finally go ice skating in Frog Pond.

I really wanted to do this last holiday season, but it just didn't work out for some reason. Maybe if I make it a goal (and put it in writing), I'll finally convince Ryan to go brave the cold with me and skate the night away in Boston Common?!

 

There you have it. Another month, another set of goals to accomplish!

 

 

November Goals

Holy Cow. I cannot believe that it's November already. It's blowing my mind how quickly this fall is going and how close the holidays are getting. I'm feeling my work load at school lighten, which has motivated me to take on some new challenges this month. I really enjoyed setting goals for myself this past June, and blogging about them seemed to help hold me accountable throughout the month. On Saturday morning, I wrote down four goals I hope to accomplish by the end of the month that I would like to share with ya'll now!

1. Take 3 fitness classes every week.
Right after we got back from our trip to Ireland, I joined a gym with my friends Heidi and Janelle. I have been going fairly consistently since then and have noticed a huge difference in my energy and stress levels. However, now that it's getting dark earlier (like 4:30 early WAH!) I just know I am going to need more motivation to get my butt to the gym on a regular basis. I am hoping that by setting this goal AND blogging about it, I will feel more accountability to maintain this goal for the entire month.

2. Read a new book not related to Grad School.
I've been doing a LOT of reading these last few months, but it has all revolved around teaching children to read. While this is a topic I am interested in, I have put aside my long list of free readings books from this summer for far too long. This month, my goal is to finally tackle that list, reading at least one book.

3. Finish my Christmas shopping.
This is probably going to be the biggest challenge of the month. I am going to have a lot going on in December and I would feel much better about that knowing I don't have to fight mass crowds to get my Christmas gifts for family and friends. Plus, wrapping every gift takes me about a month anyways so I might as well get shopping out of the way early!

4. Complete a Christmas DIY.
My craft Pinterest board has been overflowing lately with fun DIY's that would spice up our Christmas decorations this year. Plus, I picked up a couple rolls of burlap ribbon from a random bin at the Dollar Store last week and I've been dying to use it. So a Christmas DIY is a must this month!

Well, we'll see how this shakes out, right?!

Happy November everyone!

June Goals

The month of May was busy. Really. Freaking. Busy. After taking last week to just relax and get back into a normal routine, I quickly realized just how much I've neglected my interests not just in May, but really since January. I used some of my free time last week to catch up on a few of the blogs I enjoy and quickly noticed a theme. Bloggers everywhere were taking the time to write up some goals that they planned to accomplish over the next 30 days. As you know by my 101 in 1001 list, this is something that is right up my alley. In taking a page out of my fellow blogger's books, I've decided to write up some goals of my own for June in an effort to bring those interests back in my life.

This month, I will...

1. Read two books not related to elementary education. 
Man, have I missed extra-curricular reading! I almost always have a list of books I'm waiting to read, but recently, I have accepted the fact reading for the heck of it was going to have to come second to reading texts related to elementary education. Now that I have extra time, one of the first things I plan to do is finally get a library card and start crossing books off that list. (Does anybody else notice just how many lists I've got going on here. #listsfordays)

2. Get back into an exercise routine. More specifically four times a week for the whole month.
Exercise has always been a HUGE part of my life. I literally have not felt like myself physically for months now because I haven't been able to exercise the way I'm used to. I've had so many aches and pains that I've never had before and definitely believe that is a result of being inactive for so long. Ryan and I worked out a couple of times last week and my fire has been refueled. My family and I have a lot of vacations planned for the summer and most of them will require me to put a bikini on- so working out more regularly is a must for this girl!  During the month of June, my goal is to push myself to work out at least four times a week!

3. Cross off three things from my 101 list. 
Speaking of lists on top of lists on top of lists! Not only do I want to be able to cross these things off of a June goals lists, but I am also trying to kill two (or three) birds with one stone, knocking some things off my 101 list finally. If I'm being honest with myself, the three things I cross off the 101 list this month will most likely be food-related, since I have really missed being able to experiment again in the kitchen!

4. Start making specific plans and reservations for our upcoming trip to Ireland! 
If you didn't know already, Ryan and I have booked flights to Ireland for the end of August and we couldn't be more excited! Neither of us have ever traveled to Europe and figured that now was as perfect a time as any to explore another part of the world! The trip is rapidly approaching and we haven't even begun to research specific locations we want to visit and stay near or booked a single bed and breakfast or hotel stay. Making some concrete plans in regards to this vacation is a definite must for the month of June.

There you have it. Hopefully these goals will help make my month of June the best it can be as I finish out the school year and ring in SUMMER VACATION!

Happy Hump Day!