WEEKEND WRAP UP

I can't believe it is the end of August. Sometimes a month feels like it is DRAGGING...and other times, I feel like if I'm not careful...I will blink and miss it. This month definitely zipped by.

We drove out to East Texas yesterday for my Uncle's surprise party. It's about a 2 hour drive...and C and I had the best time just listening to the radio and watching the Texas sky put on a show. I'm a cloud girl...I just love them. And...with a view like that...how could you not?

Last week, I set forward a list of things I wanted to complete in the last 10 days of August. I then promptly managed to do everything in my ability to NOT complete them. So me. Oh well...I did have a great last week of August...so I guess that counts for something.

I am going to try it again for the month of September...and see if I can't do more with 30 days than with 10.

September Goals
1.  Hit the 15 pound lost mark (only need to lose about 5)

2.  Organize my  paperwork (I did manage to somewhat organize the student loan stuff)

3.  Excercise at least 5x  

4.  Read 5 books

5.  Blog more 

6.  Redesign my design site 

7.  Get me a spirit shirt (buy or make) for Dalton's football season

8.  Go to church (we are trying new churches)

9.  Complete a vision board

10. Help C empty storage

11. Refinish media cabinet

12. Get curtains for living room

13. Finish paperwork for school

14. Make calendar of important dates and mail cards/get gifts

15. Do something about my hair (cut and color?)

16. Backup photos from phone (I've NEVER done this..eek)

17. Get/make a fall wreath

18. Picture a day 

19. Make 2 new recipes

20. Watch the Cowboys WIN (I'll need help with this one!)

Okay...so I'm going to try and actually mark some (or, hopefully ALL) of them off this month.

To help with the blogging more...I'm excited to participate in Bailey's blog-tember challenge. I love her blog...and all the prompts look really fun. So, that should be an easy goal to accomplish!

AUGUST: THE FINAL TEN

I've always been a list maker. But, every once in a while, I go through a stage where I don't really feel like making those lists. Of course, this is also a stage where I accomplish very little. Coincidence?

I usually always have a mental list of things I want to accomplish, sometimes I even get them documented. Occasionally, I complete those tasks. In an attempt to get some things in my life in order, I'm going to try (really hard) to be more diligent with daily/weekly/monthly goal setting. 

I won't bore ya'll with the daily/weekly lists. I'm going to share my monthly goals (hopefully that won't be totally boring). And...since there are only 10 days left in this month...I'm going to take it really easy on myself. Yay!

SO...here are my goals for the final 10 days of August.

1. Hit the 10 pound lost mark (only need to lose .8)

2. Organize my student loan paperwork (why is there so much paperwork?)

3. Excercise at least 5x (and I did one today...so only 4 more to go)

4. Read 2 books

5. Blog 5x (and I did one today...Ha...so only 4 more to go)

6. Redesign my design site 

7. Get me a spirit shirt (buy or make) for Dalton's football season

8. Go to church (we are trying new churches)

101 IN 1001

About 8 or 9 years ago, I saw this challenge to make a list of 101 things you want to do in the next 1001 days. Being the dreamer/list maker that I am...I was instantly intrigued. I whipped up my list one afternoon and over the next three years managed to mark many things off. I think I still have the print out somewhere in all my paperwork. I want to find it and see how much I have marked off in the last several years.

Since then, I have done similar lists...but usually just monthly goals or birthday to birthday goals. I recently stumbled upon the 101 in 1001 idea again here and here. I've been thinking about it a lot...and decided that now's the time to try it again.

Oddly enough..it's been a lot more challenging to come up with 101 goals this time around. I'm not sure if that means I lack ambition or that I am ultra comfortable where I am. Pretty sure it's not the latter. Ha. .

So anyway...technically, I started my 1001 days on August 13, 2014 and if I did my math correctly...1001 days from then is May 10, 2017. (Which just happens to be my birthday!!). 

Here is my list. And...here's to fun times!

1. Finish the list of 101 things (8/1914)
2. Read the Bible entirely
3. Hit goal weight 1
4. Hit goal weight 2
5. Hit goal weight 3
6. Hit goal weight 4
7. Hit goal weight 5
8. Hit goal weight 6
9. Hit GOAL and become lifetime at weight watchers
10. Become a mommy
11. Buy a house
12. Go to Hawaii
13. Get a new(er) car
14. Get teaching certification
15. Decorate my own classroom
16. Finish my MLA
17. Teach a college class
18. Get connected at church
19. Get family pictures done every year 
20. Send out Christmas cards every year
21. Organize photos (digital/print/phone)
22. Organize scrapbooks and start Project Life
23. Go to a Dallas Cowboys game
24. Get new glasses and contacts
25. Get braces (I dread this)
26. Learn Spanish
27. Meet an author
28. Read 10 classic books and watch 10 classic films
29. Do a women's Bible study
30. Run a 5k
31. Give up coke for a month
32. Refinish media cabinet and buffet
33. Make a quilt
34. Fancy date night with C
35. Set monthly/weekly/daily goals and to-do lists
36. Cook thru a cookbook and document
37. Get a new cookbook every year
38. Volunteer
39. Visit Europe
40. Become a morning person (have "normal" sleeping hours)
41. Sponsor a child
42. Pay off student loans!!!
43. Set up and keep a budget
44. Have an emergency fund
45. Memorize 101 scriptures
46. Go to NYC again and see something on Broadway
47. Take a Zumba class
48. Take a yoga class
49. Take a dance class
50. Get published in some format
51. Met up with three social media/blog friends
52. Make a list of 101 quotes that inspire me
53. Go to gym 3x a week for at least a month
54. Get a pair of Corral boots (this is a major weight loss reward)
55. Got to Disneyworld (Harry Potter World too)
56. Get a new camera and take more pictures
57. Clean out storage (simplify!)
58. Be a financial blessing to someone else
59. Attend a conference
60. Host a Christmas party 
61. Go to a college football game
62. Go on a road trip with C
63. Go to lake and stay with Gin and Papa
64. Operation Christmas Child 
65. Angel Tree gifts 
66. Go to Round Top
67. Take Dalton to Stock Show
68. Upgrade cell phone (back up all pictures on my iPhone)
69. Find a new signature perfume
70. Go to 5 concerts
71. Meet up with 5 people from high school
72. Go to one event at Levitt Pavilion
73. Play Top Golf
74. Throw C's "BIG" birthday party!
75. Go to Vegas
76. Visit Jenn in DC/ do the touristy thing
77. Visit 5 museums
78. Get passports
79. Go to drive-in movie
80. Get picture made with a Dallas Cowboy
81. Adopt a new fur baby
82. Take a painting class (girls night out)
83. Eat a Sprinkles cupcake
84. Attend a midnight premier of a movie
85. Try 10 new local restaurants
86. Get a professional cut/color
87. Get a blowout
88. Get new everyday dishes
89. Complete 30 day photo challenge
90. Learn to play a song on the guitar
91. Host a Super Bowl party
92. 1000 Gifts journal
93. Go to a Ranger game and a Mavs game every season
94. Participate in NaNoWriMo
95. Write a book
96. Send cards everyday for Lent one year
97. Get wedding pictures put in album and some framed for the house
98. Keep a prayer journal
99. Update my address book (birthdays and anniversaries too)
100. Do the 30 Day Shred
101. Collect 10 coffee table books that are special to me. 

I actually finished my list as I was typing it, so yay for marking 1 thing off. I'm feeling super motivated...I even got C to create his own list. He has lots of fun things on his...so I may celebrate his success along the way as well. 

BEGIN. AGAIN

via

I started blogging (way) back in 2005. I didn't even know what a blog was, or why I was doing it. But it was fun, and everyone else seemed to be doing it... so, like the good twenty-something I was... I followed along.

My blog evolved a lot over the years. I graduated college. I got married. I moved... several times. I changed hobbies, traveled a bit, got jobs, lost jobs, became an Aunt (several times over). I'm so glad I started blogging when I did. It's so neat to go back and read through all those old posts. 

But, recently... I have felt sort of weighed down by my blog. My husband and I have faced our fair share of heartache the last few years, starting with the loss of my father in 2013. I've tried several times to sort of revive the "blog love"... most recently by signing up to participate in the 100 happy days challenge. I thought focusing on the happy would help overcome some of the sadness... and then maybe I would find joy in sharing my story... or at least documenting for myself to look back on later. 

I started my happy days on June 1 of this year with this picture:

The next day, my sweet baby Aslan (pictured above) passed away unexpectedly. The next day we found out my mother in law had cancer. She died 3 weeks later. 

And so began a two and a half month break. A break from a lot of things... especially blogging. 

Several times over the last few months I've considered trying to compose a post that did the recent events justice but also gave me a chance to move on. I just couldn't seem to do it. 

When I looked up synonyms for the word revive, I saw the phrase breathe new life into. This is exactly what I want to do. With myself, with my job, with my relationships...and yes...with my blog. 

One way I'm challenging myself to do this is with a new blog. 

And...so here I am...trying to begin... again (again).  As for my old blog and my old posts? They are safe and tucked away for me to revisit. But this is a new stage of my life, and there is a certain freedom in a clean slate. And... I'm excited to start this new journey.