August was good and full and my birthday felt thoroughly celebrated throughout the entire month. Though we couldn’t celebrate like we have in the past, it was great to get to spend quality time with my family and Kevin’s family. The weather has already started to cool off which has made for some lovely evening walks and some even better pre-fall vibes.
So far 2020 has shaped up to look different than I ever could have imagined, but having goals has allowed me to continue moving forward and has brought a lot of comfort, peace, and growth. When I set goals at the beginning of 2020, here’s what I decided on:
Goal 1: Prioritize my health – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and social.
Goal 2: Allow open to be an invitation to live intentionally.
In August, here’s how those two goals played out:
August Monthly Goals
JR Content Calendar – Quite a few posts on the blog in August. We’ll call this a win.
Birthday Cheesecake – I decided this didn’t line up with some of my other healthy goals, so we scratched this one.
Paint an Accent Wall in our Bedroom – Moving this to next month.
Read 4 Books – Checked off 10 in August!
August Weekly Goals
Weigh In – yep!
Budget – stayed on track and reviewed weekly.
Tending Tuesday – done!
Create FinalVIbe Content Calendar – I could have done better on this one! Luckily Kevin helped pick up the slack.
August Daily Goals
Exercise – EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Read the Word – started out rough, but finished strong.
IG Post – 14 posts
Vitamins – did it!
August Highlights
My family spent a relaxing weekend at the lake.
Kevin hit 70 miles on his bike (and we enjoyed meeting up with friends in Sedalia).
We celebrated my 29th birthday and my people loved on me so well.
I went to a sunflower field for the first time.
I started Phase One of the Live Hard Program.
We brought home some new plants from Helmis.
I powered through 10 books (which has been more than I’ve finished in an entire year before).
August Favorites
Food: Yogurt, Strawberries and Dark Chocolate (so much yum!)
Book: Chasing Vines by Beth Moore
Purchase: Air Force 1s
Song: One of Them Girls by Lee Brice
September is already shaping up to look different than it has in the past. Living in a college town, it’s typically fast-paced and the town wakes back up, with thousands of students arriving back to campus for a new semester. This year, while students are headed back, masks and social distance requirements are changing things up and the environment definitely feels a bit different. Many students are continuing to take classes online, but have still chosen to return to Columbia anyway. COVID numbers have started to increase, which has put pressure on our local government, businesses, and public schools. Although some schools (like Mizzou) still plan on having college football, this will be the first year that we won’t be sitting in the stadium for every single game. It’s going to be different, and I’m not fully prepared.
There are still plenty of things going on and I’m still powering through on some personal goals. Here’s what that looks like for September:
September Monthly Goals
Paint an Accent Wall in our Bedroom – Really wanting to add some navy paint to our room this month!
Read 4 Books – It may not be reasonable to keep up the momentum from last month, but we’ll see how we do.
Blog – I have so enjoyed posting here and hope to continue that in September. Not sure what that will look like yet, but I have some posts already planned out.
No Spend – August was a little rough on my personal goals (even though we met the budget), so I’m just planning on buying necessities in September.
September Weekly Goals
Most of these are the same as they’ve been, but I’m seeing progress in all areas, so I’m going to keep chugging. I’m adding the FinalVibe content calendar for each week, because that’s something that I’ve really been enjoying and that has been helpful to FinalVibe progress.
And just like that…it’s my birthday month! Despite all that COVID has tried to take down, I’m pretty sure this year is shaping up to be one of the most productive yet. It’s had it’s own set of highs and lows for sure, but I’m so proud of what I’ve personally achieved during what could have been a time of just putting my goals on pause. At the beginning of the year, I set two main goals:
Goal 1: Prioritize my health – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and social.
Goal 2: Allow open to be an invitation to live intentionally.
Every quarter, I use my Powersheets to “rate” how I’m doing in eight areas – health, friends, finances, spouse/significant other, family, recreation, work, and spiritual/personal growth. When thinking of Goal 1, I was planning on using these ratings as a gauge to tell how I was improving. So far, I’m happy with how this is going. I have exercised for 159 days in a row, continued meeting with my counselor, and we made huge improvements on clutter and extra stuff in the house. You should have seen what we got rid of.
Goal 2 has been a little tricky to manage with hosting and celebrating others (in a traditional sense) being put on hold. I have used this time to deepen current relationships over FaceTime/Marco Polo, but it’s just never the same as having people sitting next to you on the couch. Hopefully, I’ll be able to work on this one even more as we continue throughout the year.
July Monthly Goals
4th of July Weekend in Hamilton – We had the best weekend with friends for the 4th of July. It’s become a tradition for a group of us to go visit Sarah and Cole, and I hope it never ends. I’m truly so thankful for this weekend getaway every single year.
Revamp/Clean Up Spotify Playlists – Whew I did some work on these playlists in July, just in time for Taylor Swift’s new album. BOOM.
Read 4 Books – Yep, wrapped up the following books: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Olau, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, This is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live by Melody Warnick, Dare to Lead by Brene Brown, and The Selection by Kiera Cass.
July Weekly Goals
Weigh In – Yep! Feeling good about the scale lately!
Budget – Done, I typically check it more than weekly, but this is a good reminder.
Tending Tuesday – CHECK!
July Daily Goals
Exercise – EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Read the Word – Could have done better on this one. I need to work on my morning route.
IG Post – Definitely not even close to every day.
Vitamins – I got new vitamins, and I’m back on track with this one.
July Highlights
FinalVibe got T-Shirts!
We spent 4th of July in Hamilton and it was everything I needed and then some.
We celebrated Eric’s 27th Birthday!
Columbia issued a mask order for the next 90 days. Woof. (This isn’t a highlight, exactly, but it’s important to note.)
Kevin rode 50 miles on his bike for the first time!
I hit 150 days of exercise in a row.
We hung out with Kevin’s fam at the Lake for Scott’s birthday.
July Favorites
Food: Yogurt, Strawberries and Dark Chocolate
Book: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Purchase: A Massage Gun
Song: All of the songs on Taylor Swift’s new album
I mentioned that August is my birthday month, and I’m turning 29 this year! This birthday has a high chance of being low-key and I’m 110% ok with that.
August Monthly Goals
JR Content Calendar – More regular IG and Blog Posts have been part of my goals over the last few months but I haven’t exactly made it happen. I’m hoping getting a little list going will help me follow through here.
Birthday Cheesecake – Every year I make a cheese cake for my birthday, and I want this year to be the same. If you know of any good recipes let me know in the comments. I’m looking to try something different this year.
Successful Work Move – We’re moving offices! After 5+ years in one building, it will be so strange to be going somewhere else every day.
Spend the Weekend at the Lake – We’re going to the Lake for a chill weekend getaway with the family, should be a blast!
Onboard New Teammates – Our team at work is growing and I’m looking forward to doing lots of training in August.
Have One Photoshoot – Haven’t been able to check this off in a while. Time to dust off the DSLR.
Paint an Accent Wall in our Bedroom – Really wanting to add some navy paint to our room this month!
Read 4 Books – I may have mentioned this before, but my goal is to read a book a week so that I can hit 52 by the end of the year! It’s a huge goal but I’m currently on track.
August Weekly Goals
Most of these are the same as they’ve been, but I’m seeing progress in all areas, so I’m going to keep chugging. I’m adding the FinalVibe content calendar for each week, because that’s something that I’ve really been enjoying and that has been helpful to FinalVibe progress.
Weigh In
Budget
Tending Tuesday
Create FinalVIbe Content Calendar
August Daily Goals
Exercise
Read the Word
IG Post
Vitamins
Anyone else looking forward to August? What goals do you have for the month?
Whew, I blinked my eyes and May was gone. I’m not sure if it’s working from home or just the pace of life in general that’s got me feeling this way. Here are my May goals all wrapped up.
May Monthly Goals
Read 4 Books – I finished off four books this month – Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Timoth Keller, Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel, Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki, and 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam
Go on a photoshoot with my DSLR – I didn’t get to this one, unfortunately. Soon, though!
Make a mini book for my One Little Word – Done!
Take photos of our house – Alrighty, this is being punted to future months.
5 Blog Posts – 2 is better than nothing! Haha!
Clean out / reorganize my raskog cart – Yep!
Schedule and go to the Doctor – Done and done! And in a pandemic, no less.
May Weekly Goals
Weekly Weigh Ins
Tending Tuesday
Review Budget
May Daily Goals
75 Hard
Read
Track Food
Devotional
Journal in Hobonichi
May Highlights
We got to see some of our best friends become parents.
Missouri opened back up from being on a stay at home order.
I completed my first half marathon
I finished 75 Hard
I helped my Mom and Dad paint their kitchen and living room (Sherwin Williams Gracious Greige for the win!)
For the longest time, I’ve considered combining my three instagram accounts, and I finally went for it.
I attended the Rise x Live conference by Rachel Hollis
May Favorites
Food: Plain Yogurt with Berries and Chocolate Chips
May truly felt like a huge month, and I can say for sure that I smashed some goals. Between a project Kevin is working on, Rachel Hollis’ Live x Rise conference, chilly weather, and still being cautious about going out – I had one of the most productive months ever. Finally near the end of the month, it started to warm up weather wise but we still had lots of cold spells. Spring is my favorite because it’s the gateway to summer after the most miserable season of the year – at least in Missouri.
I love summer and everything that comes with it. Unfortunately, our family vacation has been postponed due to the Coronavirus, but I’m optimistically hoping this clears up sooner than expected and Kevin and I are still able to take a little get away after all. As things continue to open up here, I’ll likely head back to work, so I’m excited at the prospect of making new routines around some of the habits I’ve had for the last couple years.
Making lists has always been something I’ve done when worry of any kind creeps up and with the recent insanity with the coronavirus, it seems like a good way to stay mildly distracted and feel just a tiny bit more in control. Over here, we’ve been practicing social distancing for about a week and have been only going out when absolutely necessary. I’m definitely a “bright side” kind of gal, so I’ve just been taking stock of all of the positives that more rest and less on the to-do list brings instead of dwelling on all that we can’t control. So here are a few ideas on how I’ll be making the most of the extra time at home.
Catch up on Project Life/scrapbooking projects
Shred everything in the shred bin
Host Zoom meetings or Group FaceTime hangs with friends
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe we’re standing toe to toe with a new year and decade. As I have the last couple years, I’ve been thinking through my goals and intentions for 2020 with Lara Casey’s PowerSheets. It’s such an amazing tool to cultivate what matters and count fruit – even if it feels small.
My process of setting goals, always starts out with a word that I feel like the Lord is whispering to me. This year, I was telling Kevin his word should be “open” although I had no reason why and then I took it back because in that exact moment I was like, actually that’s my word. It was the most interesting way of a word coming up for me but I’m excited to run with it. As I let the word marinate through December, open really felt like an invitation for me. Here is the note I took on my phone over the course of a couple weeks:
Open is an invitation to let my guard down, to experience vulnerability, and to invite people in.
Open is an invitation into wonder and delight. To get outside, go for drives, and take in the natural beauty around me.
Open is an invitation to enjoy rhythms over routines. To try new things. To allow flexibility and spontaneity.
Open is an invitation to dig deeper into God’s word and truly experience solitude with the Lord.
Open is an invitation to really live in the margins. To stop scrolling and spend my time doing things that fill my cup.
Open is an invitation to a peaceful, deep, and joy-filled 2020.
Here are my 2020 Goals for the year of OPEN.
Goal 1: Prioritize my health – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and social.
Why? To change the trajectory of my life. To live strong. To be who God made me to be.
The positive affect taking action on this goal may have on me and others: Taking action on this goal will affect all areas of my life, decision making, sleep, energy levels and, of course, the people around me.
Mini Goals:
Create good nutrition habits and portion sizes.
Move my body and challenge myself in my workouts.
Decrease stress through simplification and removing barriers of decision making.
Purchase more second-hand and ethically sourced items.
Starting Steps (and when I’ll do them): download new app for tracking food (12/29); try a cycling class (1/2020); add workouts to my calendar weekly (1/2020)
Goal 2: Allow open to be an invitation to live intentionally.
Why? Being open to change and vulnerability as well as growth of faith will help me to be a better follower of Christ who deeply and intentionally impacts the lives of others.
The positive affect taking action on this goal may have on me and others: Taking action on this goal will allow me to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit, glorify the Lord, and bear fruit in my life and that of others.
Mini Goals:
Experience solitude with God through Bible reading and deeper prayer.
Choose vulnerability with my people to go deeper in relationships.
Love on my people by celebrating and hosting them well.
Invest in daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly rhythms over routines.
Starting Steps (and when I’ll do them): clean off my desk/raskog cart (12/31); order Hobonichi Weeks to be used for Bible Study, gratitude, and church notes (12/30); create a social media mantra (2/2020); plan a trip to see Brittany and Taylor (1/2020)
