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Thrive | July 2017 Goals
There’s really nothing like skipping an entire month of goals. I wish I could say that I took a month off but in reality, I just didn’t take the time to post them. I’ve been thinking a lot about priorities and while I sometimes go back and do “make up” posts, I just don’t think that aligns with what makes sense in my life. If I’m not jazzed at the beginning of the month (like I normally am), why force myself to post them later? It didn’t help that it took me longer than normal to complete my Powersheets this month since it included a goal refresh. This means that I went back over the goals I set in January and revamped them for the remainder of the year. I could have completely ditched the old goals, but the ones I have yet to complete still made sense for this year and my life, so I only made a few changes. As I wrote them out, I made to sure include my “why” for each reason so that when I create new goals each month, I can use that to put baby steps for each goal into practice. Here’s a look at what I’m making a priority for the rest of the year:
- Health – I’m a typical Type A kind of gal and recently I’ve let my to-do list and stress level get the best of me. In the coming months, I would like to focus on my health by tracking my food intake, using oils, and spending time at the gym. My doctor recently suggested a new diet called “low FODMAP” to help with the heartburn symptoms that I’ve been struggling with and that has really changed my intake and the amount of time it takes to plan out and prepare each meal. I’ve been feeling a lot better, but I hope to continue this process so that I can determine which foods will need to be eliminated from my diet permanently and what can be phased back in.
- Faith – This is one of the areas in my life where I just consistently have to work hard to include quiet time on a consistent basis. It’s sad, because quiet time is so treasured to me, but I find that if I allow it, it will typically be the first thing that goes when I have too much on my plate. I don’t have specific goals here other than finding my community and places where I fit in so that I can make the biggest impact.
- Social Media – Honestly, I kind of hate social media but for some reason I can’t help but scroll. I have tried a lot of tips and techniques, but when it comes right down to it, I just need to plain quit. I think connecting online has caused me to see in person community differently and I really want to make sure that I’m prioritizing the right thing. I haven’t figured out yet what this looks like, but if you have any suggestions, I’m all ears!
- Blogging – I’ve considered giving up on my blog more than once, but I always come back to it because I just love this space so much. To be honest, I think I would keep doing it even if I knew that not a single soul could or would see it. My goal at the beginning of June was really to update my blog design (which is already done at this point…THANK YOU SARAH) and start creating time in my calendar to sit down and write. I want to include more personal posts but those tend to take a bit longer to write and I just haven’t been allowing myself that time.
- Work – One of the biggest goals I have for my job this year is to take my real estate exam. I’m excited and nervous because test taking scares the crap out of me (thank goodness college is over, amirite?) but I know it will have a positive impact on my job when this one is checked off. Also, I have a feeling there will be a lot of studying on my part, so making time for that will be really important.
New Goals for July:
- Monthly Goals:
- Project Life and One Little Word (as usual)
- [Faith] Ask someone to be my mentor – I’ve been wanting to do this for so long but I’ve been turned down more than once. When you do this, you’re really asking someone to spend their time investing in you and that can be hard regardless of their answer. Hopefully making this public will make me more likely to complete it? We’ll see.
- [Faith] Keep working on my faith binder (I mean look at this, need I say more?)
- [Health/Faith] Complete Camp Reset – Cori over at The Reset Girl has created an online “camp” for July where a whole community of awesome people are spending the month considering how self care fits into their lives. Cori has created a ton of amazing resources and I’m so excited to follow along. If you’re interested you should check out the information here. (PS: It’s totally free)
- Weekly Goals:
- Do something creative for myself – This is one of those that I can’t commit to every single day, but I really want to make a priority on a weekly basis. I don’t want to limit myself to specific tasks or projects, but I do want a good couple hours of time where I’m just able to dig in.
- Daily Goals:
- [Heath] Food journal – As I mentioned above, I’m keeping track of my diet so that I can determine what foods are my triggers, so while I’m at it, I might as well keep a calorie count and see how that plays out. I’ve gained a few pounds in the past year, so I’m definitely interested in making some lifestyles changes along with this one.
- [Health] Work Out – Part of Cori’s camp includes exercising for 20 minutes a day. Of course this isn’t mandatory, but I’d love to get outside or find workout videos that I can easily fit in to my schedule.
- [Blogging] Instagram Post – It’s a lofty goal, but I’d like to share my blog posts more often on social media. Since I haven’t decided what I want to do about Faecbook, I’m planning on sharing these more on Instagram. If you don’t follow me, you should.
- [Faith] Quiet time – I really just need consistency here.
- [Health] – Oils – Two months ago, I purchased a starter kit from Doterra and I am absolutely loving them! There are a few that I use on a regular basis but I really want to get in the habit of trying more of them out and finding different blends of oils that I can use in our diffuser. If anyone has any suggestions, please share!!
Thanks so much for following along!
Little Letters
Dear Kevin, yesterday you took me on a surprise date for free ice cream and I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed ice cream more. Dear community garden, you make my mornings just a little bit better, even if you aren’t doing so well and I have no idea why. Dear terrible bout of rain, thanks for reminding me how much I love the sunshine. Dear living room windows, thanks for providing light to my favorite spot in the mornings and allowing me to see our beautiful roses. I think you’re my favorite feature of our home. Dear Chloe, you look pitiful when we don’t take you on walks or give you enough peanut butter. I return the favor when you don’t let me hug you. Dear stack of books on my nightstand, I promise that I’m coming for you. I wish the library had a four week check out option instead of just two. Dear hubby, today you told me that a land cruiser is your dream car, I can get on board with that, but only if you choose a white one.
Today I’m linking up with Kristen over at Taz + Belly where lots of friends will be sharing their little letters!
Coffee Date
If we were on a coffee date, I definitely wouldn’t be drinking coffee. Even though I love every darn thing about coffee shops, I just can’t bring myself to drink bitter brown water. I’d ask you when you started drinking coffee and how it happened. Hopefully you’d offer me some advice, because I so badly want to enjoy it but I can hardly even choke down a traditional latte unless it has 5 million pumps of syrup. I’d tell you I’m trying to quit soda and that I obviously need another caffeine outlet. Today I’d be drinking a chai latte instead.
If we were on a coffee date, I’d reluctantly admit that my phone problem really hasn’t improved since I gave it up for lent. I’d tell you that it’s the number one thing affecting my relationship with Jesus right now and that I should probably set better boundaries for when and how I use social media. I’d ask for your suggestions and joke about downgrading to a phone that doesn’t support the internet.
If we were on a coffee date, I’d probably encourage you to use the candles, notebooks, wine, and all of the good smelling soap that you reserve for guests. I read a blog post a while back (and I apologize, I can’t find the link) about lighting candles and how one day your home will be full of things that are too precious for you to use. I’d ask why we think we aren’t good enough for those fancy things and I’d remind you that you are good enough. This little chat with you would be doing my heart just as much good and it would remind me of all the blank journals that are waiting at home for a worthy trip or some good idea to fill them up.
If we were on a coffee date, I’d probably change the subject to KonMari and the idea of minimalism. I’d laugh while telling you that the other day someone called me “kind of a minimalist”. Even though I don’t love to keep items that I don’t need or use regularly, I’m not really sure how I feel about the connotation that brings about. We’d talk about the joys of a fresh, clean space and I’d wonder aloud if there’s a better word for it. Then I’d ask all the questions about what makes you feel comfortable in your space.
If we were on a coffee date, we’d talk about my new camera. I’d tell you about all of the specs and how many photos I’ve already taken of our dog, Chloe, but I wouldn’t be embarrassed by a number well over 100. I’d show you the amazing wifi feature that allows me to send photos to my phone and I’d probably ask if I could take a photo of you with your coffee. Chances are, I’d IG that so fast.
If we were on a coffee date, we’d talk about what Jesus is doing in our lives. I’d admit that I’ve been having a hard time seeing my purpose and the bigger picture and how I feel like life is passing me by as I stand to the sidelines watching. It’s not that I don’t love my life and the things I’m doing, I just want to know that the life I’m living is what God has for me and not what I want for myself. I’d probably go on to explain that I’ve been prayerfully evaluating a lot of things I do on a regular basis to figure out my “why” for doing each of them. The only thing I can say for sure is that I’m supposed to keep blogging. The rest is still up in the air.
What would you tell me if we were on a coffee date?
Today I’m linking up with Erin for her monthly coffee date linkup. Join Us!
Favorite Traveler’s Notebook Accessories
watercolor | paperclips | photos | page markers | ephemera | charms
Last October, I purchased a new traveler’s notebook from Chic Sparrow. It’s a beauty, but I bought it in a pocket size (3.5″ by 5.5″) because I wanted something less heavy for my EDC (every day carry). I filled it up with notebooks – both purchased and handmade – but often felt myself wanting to go back to the larger more creative-feeling standard (4.5″ by 8.25″) size.
For Christmas, I asked for monthly planner notebooks made by Moleskine as well as some Field Notes journals to fill it up and get me inspired, and started doing research on how to make it the most functional for me. After falling through the black hole of set up videos on YouTube, I found that a lot of people have cute and functional accessories that help them get the very most out of their notebook regardless of what they use it for!
After ample research, here are my favorite accessories. Ones with * denote the ones that I currently use, all others are things I’ve tried previously or are on the to-buy list!
Notebooks:
- Field Notes* – these notebooks have quickly become my favorite I’ve used. The paper is good quality and I love that their website has lots of cover design options. I’ve seen some TN folks cover the front with scrapbooking paper, which always works as well. These have 48 pages and don’t allow much bleed through on regular pens.
- Moleskine* – these notebooks are a quick go-to that are ALWAYS available to me at local stores such as Target and Barnes and Noble. They come in a three pack and the pocket size is the one that fits the pocket sized TN. When I used a regular size or the “narrow” I bought the large cahiers and trimmed the edges so they would fit. These are a great option but I find that there is often bleed through with my favorite inky pens.
- Tomoe River Insert* – I bought my Tomoe River insert through Chic Sparrow when I purchased the notebook cover. The paper is absolutely delicious, especially with watercolors, but it bothers me that I can’t use ephemera without worrying that I’ll rip the page. These notebooks are also twice as expensive (if not more) than the ones listed above and I found myself being hesitant to write in it because of the price.
- Yellow Paper House – I am a HUGE fan of the inserts that YPH produces. The variety is unparalleled and I’ve used many different ones from the coloring book to the mixed media insert. I can’t say enough good things! The downside and why I’m not using them right now, is simply the price since I use about one per month.
- DIY Notebooks* – I used the video linked to create some of my own inserts. I went through all of etsy one day looking for an editorial calendar insert and ended up making my own. I thought it was going to be pretty tough, but you should be fine as long as you have access to word and a printer. I generally print on copy paper (because the inserts I created are only meant to last a month) and use a stronger card stock for the cover.
Notebook Accessories:
- Dashboard* – I bought this recently to add to my field notes/pocket size and I’m a huge fan. Basically this is just a clear plastic cover that you can slide pictures/scrapbooking paper into. I like to put it around my most used notebooks to protect them and give homemade ones a little more stability.
- Felt Paperclips – Although I don’t own any of these, I absolutely LOVE them and have seen them recommended a lot.
- Adhesive Card Pocket* – I purchased this recently but haven’t decided what part of the notebook I’m going to attach it to. I’ve see it done onto the inside of the leather and on inserts. This is particularly great if your TN doubles as your wallet.
- PVC Pouch – I purchased one of these for my narrow sized traveler’s notebook and it was a game changer. I didn’t have a pen loop, but because of the size, I was able to zip a thin pen right in the pouch. Many also come with card slots as an option.
- Folders – You can either check out all of the options for pre-made ones or you can did what I did and use a tutorial to make your own.
- Charms* – there are a TON of planner charms on the internet, but I purchased one from Hobby Lobby. The clip at the top looked super awkward, so I removed it by separating the jump rings using a pair of needle-nose pliers. There are a ton of ways you can make your own, but I liked all of the charms, so why not stick with something simple and use a 40% off coupon while I was at it!
Page Supplies:
- Washi Tape* – Washi tape is my favorite thing for just about every project. Sometimes I use it for tip ins and sometimes I just use it for decoration. Linked is my current fave.
- Watercolors* – As I mentioned above, I love using watercolors and tend to use them the most behind general writing to make the pages pretty.
- Photos – This probably goes without saying.
Pens:
- Ball Point – I’m the most boring person ever for listing a ball point pen as my favorite. I particularly like this one because it has four ink colors in one pen and I really like to write in red at work. Someone the other day told me that they hadn’t seen a multi-ink pen since 1st grade. I felt so cool.
- Rolling Ball – I’ve been using this pen in the fine and extra fine point since college. I love the way it writes and always get compliments when people borrow these.
- Fountain Pen – I purchased this about a year ago and am absolutely obsessed with it. This pen with the Tomoe river paper is the best combo. If you have one of these or are considering buying one, I would definitely look at the care instructions. I went way too long before cleaning mine which resulted in a super mess.