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?
At the beginning of each year, I choose a word that will be a guidepost on my journey throughout the year. I started following along with this project (originally created by Ali Edwards) in 2013, and I’ve been picking a word ever since. For my word this year, I chose Open. You can read my original post and goals for the year here.
Here’s what I wanted open to look like:
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.
Open (adjective)
allowing access, passage, or a view through an empty space; not closed or blocked up.
exposed to the air or to view; not covered; unprotected; vulnerable.
with the outer edges or sides drawn away from each other; unfolded.
freely available or accessible; offered without restriction.
frank and communicative; not given to deception or concealment.
not finally settled; still admitting of debate.
Open (verb)
move or adjust (a door or window) so as to leave a space allowing access and view.
unfold or be unfolded; spread out.
establish (a new business, movement, or enterprise).
make available or more widely known.
MORE // LESS
MORE rhythms. LESS routines.
MORE long hugs.
MORE intentional purchases. LESS stuff and things.
MORE drawing from an overflow of rest. LESS running myself ragged.
MORE deep, vulnerable conversations. LESS hiding, not asking for help.
MORE championing others and celebrating small wins.
MORE quiet. LESS noise and distractions.
MORE boundaries. LESS have tos.
Less scrolling (always).
MORE simplifying. LESS complicating.
MORE open.
Quotes
While I am learning to make peace with the plans that fell apart, I am learning to breathe deep and keep an open heart and the hope-filled possibility that there is more ahead of me. – Morgan Harper Nichols
We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. – Unknown
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)
