101 in 1001 – An Update
I started on February 20, 2019 so the challenge will end on November 17, 2021. As of today, I’ve already crossed 24 items off the list. I’ll be honest, COVID hasn’t done anything good for traveling or in person events, but we’ll see if we can cross some of those off by the end of next year.
Create a list of 101 things I want to accomplish in 2.75 years(February 20,2019)- Unplug completely for 24 Hours
- Get a massage
- Plant a flower garden
Consolidate email addresses(Spring 2020)Watch the Blues win the Stanley Cup(June 2019 – WE WON!)- Release floating lanterns
- Camp for the first time
Eat food from a food truck(August 20, 2020 – 12 Baskets)- Meditate with Headspace for 30 days in a row
See a shooting star(July 2019 – Hamilton)Take a personal day from work- Make a list of restaurants in Columbia and rate them
- Make a list of date ideas
- Go to a Christmas Tree farm
Go to a sunflower field(August 24, 2020 – Sunflower Fields)- Go to Roots and Blues
- Go to a Blues game
- See a comedian live
- Go to a concert
- Get professional photos taken
Serve at church regularly(Fall 2019 – Leading a Small Group)- Find out my blood type
- Go to 10 new coffee shops (0/10)
Participate in a Trivia Night(June 2019 – Fuzzy’s)- Get a tattoo
- Finish my cross stitch quilt
- Go to a craft retreat or event
- Scrapbook an event for someone else
Host a craft night(February 2019 – Prayer Binders)- Organize my baby photos into albums
- Shoot 30 days of videos
- Learn calligraphy or brush lettering
- Year photo books/Project Life
- Take an online course
- Take a photography course
- Journal every day for a month
Take a watercolor class(May 2019 with Boheme School of Artistry)- Watch and photograph a sunrise
- Watch and photograph a sunset
- Complete 1000 gifts
Create a one year editorial calendar for the blog(July 2019)- New blog photos of myself
- Take someone’s photos
- Write 8 faith-related blog posts (0/8)
- Photography blog series
Publish a YouTube or IG Video(June 2020 – Half Marathon)- Double my blog views
- Have a guest post written on my blog
- Post a house tour on the blog
- Share a capsule wardrobe
- Go on 20 photoshoots (1/20) – Sunflower Fields
- Watch 5 of Kevin’s favorite movies (0/5)
- Re-read the Harry Potter series
- Read all the books on my shelf
- Host a book club
Read 50 new books(50/50 – The Five Intentions // Atomic Habits // The Path Between Us // The More of Less // Everybody Always // Girl, Stop Apologizing // A Love Letter Life // Lean In // The Coddling of the American Mind // Afraid of All The Things // Just Open the Door // The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry // In His Image // Grateful American // Reading People // 168 Hours // It’s Not Supposed to be This Way // Where the Crawdads Sing // The Enneagram Type 8 // The Alchemist // All Along You Were Blooming // An Edited Life // Looking for Lovely // Uninvited // Lethal White // A Court of Thorns and Roses // When Less Becomes More // Liturgy of the Ordinary // Ready Player One // Digital Minimalism // A Court of Mist and Fury // A Court of Wings and Ruin // A Court of Frost and Starlight // Growing up Amish // Prayer // Goodbye, Things // The Path Made Clear // Decluttering at the Speed of Life // Garden City // So You Want to Talk About Race // The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes // This is Where You Belong // Dare to Lead // The Selection // The Elite // The One // The Heir // The Queen // Leave Your Legacy // Chasing Vines)- Watch 5 TV Show Series (0/5)
- Watch Gone with the Wind
- Watch all 7 Harry Potter movies
- Go to a movie by myself
- Go on a vacation with family
- Go on a girl’s trip
- Visit a national park
- Travel with another couple
Stay in an Air BnB( August 2019 – Lake of the Ozarks)- Visit NYC
- Renew my passport
- Visit another country
- Rent a car
- Visit Waco and Magnolia Market
Purchase Lululemon leggings(August 2020)Buy polarized sunglasses(February 2019 – Ray Bans)- Pay off Student Loans
- Have a no spend month
Buy a new car(May 27, 2019 – CRV)See a counselor regularly(2019)- Take a spin class
- Go on a hike
- Run a 5K
- Run a 10K
Complete a half marathon(May 13, 2020 – Thoughts on 13.1)Hit my move goal for 30 days straight(March 27, 2020)- Try Whole30
Create a gallery wall(Spring 2019)- Buy a new dresser
- Paint the trim and doors at our house
Declutter the basement(May 2020)- Host 3 big tailgates (0/3)
- Host a small group
- Host Friendsgiving
- Help someone pull off a surprise
- Send someone flowers
- Send Christmas Cards (0/2)
- Mail 10 Letters (0/10)
- Give 5 Just Because gifts (0/5)
- Bake 3 Birthday Cheesecakes (0/3)
- Try a new restaurant in town (May 2019 – Flyover)
- Make 10 Pinterest Recipes (0/10)
- Pay for a stranger’s meal
Leave a 100% tip(May 2020)
There you have it! Let’s hope I can check all of these off before November of next year!
September Goals
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.
Successful Work Move– Done!Spend the Weekend at the Lake– Loved this.Onboard New Teammates– Yep!Have One Photoshoot– I mean… come on.- 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 postsVitamins– 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.
- Weigh In
- Budget
- Tending Tuesday
- Weekly Sabbath
September Daily Goals
- Exercise
- Read the Word / Prayer
- IG Post
- Take Vitamins
- Headspace Meditation
What are your goals for September?
Thirty Simple Joys
1. Cotton candy sunsets
2. Pups waiting in the window when I arrive home from work
3. Walks and talks with Mom
4. Notifications from Marco Polo with new chats from the girls
5. A week worth of meal prepping in the fridge
6. Willow learning to successfully play fetch
7. A slower pace of life and new rhythms
8. The flickering of candles
9. Blog posts in the queue and the thought of many years of words and photos in this space
10. Reviewing photos after a great shoot
11. New teammates, 1:1 meetings, and the best place to work
12. Trips to Helmi’s and bringing home new little plants
13. Late night brainstorming sessions with Kevin in his office
14. Cracking open a brand new book
15. The first run through of Taylor Swifts new album
16. A brand new pair of kicks
17. When someone says that something I do, say, or wear is “on brand”
18. A beautiful IG feed
19. Conversations that make you forget about your phone
20. Chloe’s nose boops in the morning when it’s time for me to get up
21. Coke Freestyle Machines
22. King sized beds and cozy new comforters, for us and both the dogs
23. Bike ride pick ups
24. Fields full of sunflowers
25. The sweetest and most thoughtful gifts and words of encouragement
26. Setting goals and crushing them
27. Home grown fruits and veggies
28. Feet photos that remind me to be in the moment
29. Printed photos
30. Blankets fresh out of the dryer
Sunflower Fields
I’ve had “visit a sunflower field” on my bucket list and 101 in 1001 list for as long as I can remember and I finally got to see one in person last Monday. Ironically, it was right here in town, and only about a mile from where I lived in college. It’s been open the last two years, but this was my first time getting to go out. This patch seems to have about week-long timeframe where they are in full bloom until when they start to droop, which can definitely be tricky to plan around. Here are a couple photos from our visit. We were lucky enough to make it during golden hour and get to see a bright but beautiful sunset which perfectly set off the the color of the flowers.
When we hunt for beauty, we learn to pay attention. – Try Softer, Aundi Kolber
11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Psalm 96:11-12
What I’m Pinning – August 2020
There are some definite unintentional fall vibes showing up in my recent pins! Summer has always been my favorite season in terms of a slower pace of life, summer vacations, and less on the to-do list. Even though that will probably always be true, the colors and cozy of fall are definitely worth looking forward to. I almost added football season to that list, but who knows what that will look like this year.
These summer months have been paramount to the progress and growth I’ve made this year, and it’s definitely bittersweet to thing that it will be coming to an end soon but I’m looking forward to all that autumn has to offer.