MAKING 2017 HAPPEN :: HELLO FEBRUARY

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Happy LOVE month!!

So, I was an awesome blogger last month! Yikes.

In my defense...I was a busy girl. Lots going on.

First...the not so great....

The Cowboys lost their playoff game. So sad. SO SO sad. Now it's quiet time until baseball season. I seriously think I go through a mini-depression when our season ends. I just look forward to Sunday football SO much. Ha. I probably need a more exciting life.

I am STILL struggling with Weight Watchers. I just can't get it together. And...if I am being completely honest, I haven't wanted to do what it takes to get it together. I hate that this is a battle that I have to fight. Like, WHY???!!! I hope to share more of this in the upcoming weeks. But...there is a little light at peeking through this tunnel...so it's not all bad!!

And...the HIGHLIGHTS!!!

I got to see my baby brother play hockey for A&M!! The team was in town a few weeks ago so we all went to watch. LOVE that kid!!!

I got my hair cut!! I'm still getting used to it a little shorter ... but I feel like it's totally manageable now. Before, it was a mess...and always in a bun. But the bun was too tall for getting in and out of my car. HA. Obviously, not ideal...or cute.

I just peeked at my January goals...to see how I fared. I love that I didn't set these super precise goals. I think I knew that the month was going to be crazy and gave myself some grace. AND...surprisingly, I didn't do too awful! Is it sad that 'not too awful' is my measuring stick for success?

But, I did TOTALLY rock my #tricianaeeveryday2017 challenge on Instagram. So looking forward to keeping this up!

I wanted to share my February goals. It's pretty much more of the same... cultivating better all around habits.... but I also have a few specific things I'd like to make happen this month.

MAKING FEBRUARY HAPPEN

1. Cultivate daily healthy habits. I have a list of health related activities I want to check off each day- my daily steps (5k for Feb), 100oz water, eating more fruits and veggies, finding and keeping a skin care routine, tracking my WW points, etc. I have a little graph and I check off each item...so it's kind of like a game. Because, I'm 10. Ha. 

2. Cultivate personal growth. Along with my healthy habits, I want to work on my potential. I love learning, but I also have a tendency to get a little (or, a lot) lazy. So this checklist includes daily reading, see more live music, work through my foreign language app and share a picture a day (#tricianaeeveryday2017) on my Instagram. 

3. Cultivate relationships. Keeping in line with the previous, I'm pushing myself to be more present in my relationships. To reach out to friends and family. To spend more time with the people I love. To step out of my comfort zone and actually interact with new people (insert scared face here).

4. Cultivate my relationship with Jesus. This is the most important for me. I think my pulling away from Jesus, even though it was unintentional, was a big part of my problem last year. I'd rather do life with Him...and that means I need to pour into that relationship. I'm reading my Bible daily (thanks to the She Reads Truth app), participating in Bible study at church, and just making prayer an essential part of my day. 

And...the fun stuff.....

5. Enjoy my Houston trip!!! Going to a mini-conference and a few weeks and I just really want to soak up every little second of it!!

6. Start the moving process. Y'all!!!! I'll be sharing more of this journey and my thoughts (as well as a home tour!) in the following months...but I'm just so excited to have new little place to call home. 

7. Simplify/Deep clean. This comes with the moving process, naturally. But...let me just say that my car and makeup bag are the two main reasons this is a goal. Shameful. 

8. See some live music!!! Just something that C and I LOVE doing, and haven't done near enough. I love a date-night centered goal!!!

9. Complete my Weight Watcher specific goals. I love seeing these on Instagram, so I did my own set. I think this is TOTALLY doable for me. With the exception of BBG. I thought I would do that in January and just struggled with it so much. I'm doing the pre-training. I thought that would be great because I'm so out of shape. HA. I need some pre-pre training. But...I'm going to try again. In fact...I'm going to do day 1 when I get done writing this. Pray for me. 

MAKING 2017 HAPPEN :: HELLO JANUARY

Happy New Year y'all!!! Hope these first 3 days have been kind to you!!

I have definitely been enjoying the last 2 days....C was off yesterday, so we just continued our little stay-cation holiday. He's been off a TON in December. A week for vacation. A four day weekend, and then the three day weekend this past week! So much fun...I'm sad it's all over!

BUT...as I mentioned in my last post...I'm also really excited for all the changes this new year will bring. I know a lot of people feel like January 1st is just another day. I am not one of those kind of people! HA!! I love all the hope and promise of the "clean slate". And...I am taking full advantage of it!!

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I already feel a change in my attitude. Which is honestly where the MOST change needs to take place. Last year, I thought long and hard about my "one little word"- my word for the year. I picked shine...because it sounded good. And then, brutal honesty....I proceeded to live the exact opposite of what the word shine means. I just had a foul attitude all year. It was like I fell in a pit of mud and could not get out. And I felt like I was bringing everyone else down while I squirmed around in the mess!

In December, I really started praying over what (if any) my word of 2017 would be. I just kept coming back to shine. I love it. AND....I am really trying to embrace it this year. I realize we can't avoid the mud, that life is bound to sling it...and we are going to fall into it...or possibly, get pushed into it. But...we just can't lay around in it feeling sorry for ourselves. Right?!

So this year...I'm all about SHINE. I love that the word covers so many different aspects of my life. Physical, Mental, Spiritual. There are some sincere areas of my life I want to work on...and some completely frivolous. And..for the first time...in a LONG time...I'm excited. Excited for each new day and each new adventure. FOR CHANGE!!!

I have some "resolutions" I hope to tackle this year; like to read the Bible, to travel, to move to our new place, to read 52 books, and to complete a few 5ks. But, for the most part, I'm just going to focus on my monthly goals.  I am following Lara Casey's POWERSHEETS this year, and she is all about 'Making Things Happen' and 'Cultivating What Matters'...so those are sort of my guiding principles as I plan for the month.

MAKING JANUARY HAPPEN

1. Cultivate daily healthy habits. I have a list of health related activities I want to check off each day- my daily steps (5k for January), 100oz water, eating more fruits and veggies, finding and keeping a skin care routine, tracking my WW points, etc. I have a little graph and I check off each item...so it's kind of like a game. Because, I'm 10. Ha. 

2. Cultivate personal growth. Along with my healthy habits, I want to work on my potential. I love learning, but I also have a tendency to get a little (or, a lot) lazy. So this checklist includes daily reading, see more live music, work through my foreign language app and share a picture a day (#tricianaeeveryday2017) on my Instagram. 

3. Cultivate relationships. Keeping in line with the previous, I'm pushing myself to be more present in my relationships. To reach out to friends and family. To spend more time with the people I love. To step out of my comfort zone and actually interact with new people (insert scared face here).

4. Cultivate my relationship with Jesus. This is the most important for me. I think my pulling away from Jesus, even though it was unintentional, was a big part of my problem last year. I'd rather do life with Him...and that means I need to pour into that relationship. I'm reading my Bible daily (thanks to the She Reads Truth app), participating in Bible study at church, and just making prayer an essential part of my day. 

Here's to an amazing January!!

HELLO DECEMBER

Well, now that the 2nd day of December is almost over, I thought I'd come share my goals for the month! I still can't wrap my head around the fact that the year is almost over. SO crazy. C and I were sitting on the couch (watching the Cowboys win!!!) last night and said we could not believe that Thanksgiving was a week ago. It feels like yesterday!

I'm not even going to pretend that I have it together, like ever. But this year has taken the cake for being OUT.OF.CONTROL. Y'all know that The Sound of Music meme with Julie Andrews dancing in the field with the caption "this is me not caring about..."? That basically sums up my year. The dot dot dot and everything. Yikes.

But...I so do not want the year to end on that note...so I'm going to try my darndest to make the most of these last twenty something days of 2016.

First, a check in on my November goals:

NOVEMBER GOALS

1. Make my monthly checklist/graph (and do it!). 

2. Blog more. I have some fun stuff planned for this month, so this should be easy!

3. Go to my Weight Watchers meetings and recommit. 

4. Finish the 30 Day Shred (level 1).

5. Try to take a photo every day on Instagram (follow me!!). 

6. Read 5 books. 

7. Go to Waco/Silos with my Grandmother (and C!).

8. Celebrate our 8 year anniversary!!!

9. Clean dressers and organize paperwork.

10. Get Christmas Cards done!

11. Do my first 5K!

Not great. But not awful. I did go to most of my meetings this month (except Thanksgiving week). But I'm not sure "recommit" would be something I could check off. Ha. I also failed miserably on the 30 Day Shred. Our current living situation makes this a bit tricky...and requires extra planning for space...and obviously I just didn't make that a priority. I think I read a book this month? So not a year for reading. I did get my Christmas card pictures made. Just need to get the design done! I'm putting off the 5k...maybe I'll do it this month...but for sure in January!

One thing I wanted to do was make some Weight Watchers specific goals. I see a lot of girls on Instagram doing this, and I thought that would be fun. And, hopefully...motivating for me.

Here's what else I'd like to do this month!

DECEMBER GOALS

1.  WW goals

2.  Make my monthly checklist/graph (and do it!). 

3.  Blog more

4.  Enjoy vacation!

5.  Try to take a photo every day on Instagram (follow me!!). 

6.  Start brainstorming ideas for making 2017 FABULOUS.

7.  Go see Christmas lights. 

8.  Clean dressers and organize paperwork. 

9.  Get Christmas Cards done!

10. Slow down and enjoy the season!!!

LET'S TALK :: HELLO NOVEMBER

It's NOVEMBER!! I know I said that October was my favorite month in last month's goals post. But y'all? October 2016 kind of blew. We'll blame strep throat and 90 degree days and just agree to move on, k?!

Well, it wasn't all bad. I will share a few fun things from last month:::

My nephew turned ELEVEN. I can't even deal with this. He's moving into the pre-teen stage...in that he is starting to know brands and specific athletes. Things are getting expensive! But he is also growing into a little man. He has a big big heart and I just love him so much!! He's the kid that made me an Aunt. And, that is one of my favorite things to be!!

The Cowboys are killing it. I've been a fan for a long time. And it feels like it's been a long-long time since it has been this fun to watch the games. I look forward to Sunday all week.

We went to a wedding this past weekend. It was actually another nephew (that I inherited after marrying C). It was such a cute little wedding. Some of the wedding party and guests changed into super hero costumes for the reception. We were going to, but ended up chickening out. Ha. #old

And, I got to see the kiddos tonight. How cute are they? So much sass!! I remember being SO excited for Halloween as a kid. Like could not get through the day excited. I miss that!!! Thankful I still get to celebrate with the kidlets though!

Okay...on to the goals for this month!!

NOVEMBER GOALS

1. Make my monthly checklist/graph (and do it!). 

2. Blog more. I have some fun stuff planned for this month, so this should be easy!

3. Go to my Weight Watchers meetings and recommit. 

4. Finish the 30 Day Shred (level 1).

5. Try to take a photo every day on Instagram (follow me!!). 

6. Read 5 books. 

7. Go to Waco/Silos with my Grandmother (and C!).

8. Celebrate our 8 year anniversary!!!

9. Clean dressers and organize paperwork.

10. Get Christmas Cards done!

11. Do my first 5K!

One more thing. Melissa and I are so excited to announce that we will be starting a weekly link up on Tuesdays called "Talk About it Tuesday". We will be launching it in 2 weeks, on the 15th of this month. SO be sure to come back to our blogs and link up!!

HELLO OCTOBER

I'ts October!! My favorite month. Still waiting on the temperatures to drop, but at least the threat of 100 degree days are over. I actually got a walk in right at 3 o'clock this afternoon, and didn't feel like I was dying (well, at least not from the heat!).

September was a rough month. My allergies were ridiculous. They are still so so bad. I'm not sure what is causing them, but I'm miserable. We are getting ready to move again (again!)...and I'm feeling completely scattered. I've also been super busy with work stuff (yay!). I was thinking that I had been fairly productive this past month...until I looked at my September Goals post. EEK.

SEPTEMBER GOALS
1. Make my daily habits graph. And then, do all the things on it!
2. Complete the Blog-tember Challenge. (sort of!) 
3. Read 5 books. (I read 1 book!!) 
4. Go to Bible Study at church (and keep up with weekly homework).
5. Start the 30 Day Shred.
6. Go to Weight Watchers every week. (missed a week)
7. Stay on track with weekly workouts from Melissa. (did this up until the last week of the month) 
8. Finalize costume for my nephew's wedding reception (Halloween weekend).
9. Try 4 new recipes.

So, not great. But not too awful. I never did my daily habits graph...so I obviously didn't do well with my daily habits. I also did not read 5 books this month. I read one book (ONE!)...but I did start three others. I missed a WW meeting, did not try ANY recipes. Now, I did narrow down the costume ideas to two, but I need to get that done asap. 

OCTOBER GOALS
1.  Make my daily habits graph. And then, do all the things on it!
2.  Finalize our plans to move. 
3.  Read 5 books.
4.  Start new Bible Study at church & continue working through Uninvited study.
5.  Finish the 30 Day Shred.
6.  Go to Weight Watchers every week.
7.  Create a better blogging schedule.
8.  Finalize costume for my nephew's wedding reception (Halloween weekend).
9.  Try 4 new recipes.
10. Watch the Rangers in the post-season!!!
11. Go to a Mavs game. 
12. Try some new recipes.
13. Sign up for first 5k (and train for it!).
14. Make a fall bucket list...and cross some items off!!
15. Find a photography challenge for my Instagram (I need to work on taking more pics). 

Here's to a fabulous October!!

BLOG-TEMBER :: GOALS

Technically, it's the final hours of day four and I'm just getting to the day two prompt. All you ever needed to know about my personality can be found in that one sentence.

But...now that I've got that out of my system (ha!), I'm determined to get caught up over the next few days and finish the month strong!! Yay.

For the last few months, I've really been focusing on trying to develop good 'habits'. I work from home. I have for the past seven years. For some, this would be the perfect opportunity to get tons of things done. For me, it's been an opportunity to develop LOTS of bad habits. Habits that I'm having a difficult time shaking. So, I decided to make this little graph with all of my daily/weekly goals and then I'm able to check it off during the month. I'm a visual person...so I figured this would be great. And it was, for July. I'm not sure what happened in August...but that little plan didn't work out for me. But, I'm going to try it again in September. Some of the goals are kind of silly, in that they should be natural (water, activity, church, fruits and veggies), but for whatever reason (laziness, probably), they aren't. Others are things I'm just trying to make a part of my life (Bible time, Spanish lessons, reading, step challenge, etc). Transparency, the first four days of this month have been SO busy...and I've not yet made my graph...BUT I WILL!

I've also got some other fun things I want to accomplish this month, and since that is the prompt for today (err, Friday) I thought I would share those.

SEPTEMBER GOALS
1. Make my daily habits graph. And then, do all the things on it!
2. Complete the Blog-tember Challenge.
3. Read 5 books.
4. Go to Bible Study at church (and keep up with weekly homework).
5. Start the 30 Day Shred.
6. Go to Weight Watchers every week.
7. Stay on track with weekly workouts from Melissa.
8. Finalize costume for my nephew's wedding reception (Halloween weekend).
9. Try 4 new recipes.

What's on your to-do list for this month?!

LET'S TALK :: WEIGHT LOSS

Oh y'all. So many struggles. I haven't talked about my weight loss much lately. There is not much exciting to share. And, I'm embarrassed by that. The last year has basically been a year of maintenance. Which is great...if I was at goal. But I'm not....I'm not even close. In fact, I have gained 10 pounds since February. I had was down 36 pounds, but as of my weigh in last night, I am at 26 pounds lost.

And I do realize those are 26 pounds that should be celebrated. And I know people will say not be too hard on myself. To give myself grace. To keep on keepin' on. And all of those sentiments are absolutely valid. But, if I'm being COMPLETELY honest...I think being easy on myself and giving myself the okay to mess up (even when I know better) is precisely the reason I'm struggling so much. And I've got to find a happy medium. I need to find a place where I can enjoy life but also be the healthiest me I can be.

I saw this quote earlier by Steve Maraboli and I felt like he was talking to ME!! If you've read here anytime at all, you'll know that dreaming big dreams is NOT an issue for me. I am constantly adding to my bucket list. I just seem to have a much easier time dreaming than doing (#lazy). But y'all? I'm ready to start accomplishing some stuff.

So, I'm just checking in to say that I'm going to start doing more. I'm going to hold myself accountable to this dream (and all the others) ....because I worth it!

MAKING IT HAPPEN :: AUGUST

August. Goodness. That happened quick. It's currently eleventy billion degrees outside (hashtag Texas) but for whatever reason, August gets me in the fall state of mind. And...that is something to get excited about.

So, July...I made a few goals/habits I wanted to work on.

1.Go to church every Sunday. Not so much :( We are currently living about twice as far from church as we were, and we are allowing it to be an excuse not to go. We are working on that this month!

2.Read the Bible every day (or close). ehh. I'm reading from Genesis to Revelations...and I've been reading 1 and 2 Kings and currently, 1 Chronicles. It's slow (and not very exciting) reading. But...it is very important to me, so I am going to keep on keeping on. This will be the first time I've ever read the Bible straight through.  

3.Read 5 books. I read three. I am just not doing well with reading this year. In addition to From Blah to Awe, I also read The Husband's Secret and The Weekenders. LOVED both of those. 

4.Work out (like a for real, intentional workout) 4 times. YES!!! I caught the walking fever. And I feel SO much better for it. 

5.Get 5k steps each day. Not everyday...but super close. I'm calling this a success. 

6.Celebrate C's birthday. YES. We had such a great weekend celebrating. Love him to pieces. 

7.Go to WW every week (and stay for meeting). I went to my weigh-in's. But I didn't stay for all the meetings. I'll do better this month. 

8.Blog more. LOL. Not so much. 

9.Work on my duolingo app more. I did this most of the month. Having a blast. 

10.Redesign my blog. Sort of. I still have some more stuff I want to do. 

On to August!! I'm so excited that I finally decided to try the Power Sheets from Lara Casey. I got them last month and have been working through the initial prompts. I'm really looking forward to using them for the first time this month. I really want to be more intentional about my days and goals. So, we'll see how it goes! 

LET'S DO THIS AUGUST

1. Church. Silly that this is even on here...but this is obviously something we need to work on. The thing is, we LOVE our church. We do need to try and connect more at church...which would probably be easier if we went more. It's a silly little cycle. But...we will make the commitment to go. 

2. Read 5 books. Just to prove that I can still do this. Ha. I do have several new books on my nightstand though, including the new Harry Potter, so it should be easy this month. Right?!

3. Go to WW every week. I missed my meeting last night, but went this morning. I gained .6. I desperately need to get back on track. It's pretty out of control right now. But I'm not giving up!

4. DuoLingo. I'm about half-way through the Spanish lessons. It's getting more difficult. I spend half of my app time practicing the previous days stuff. I'm not so great at conjugating the verbs. 

5. Workout at least 3 times a week. I'm mostly focusing on cardio right now...so like a 30-45 minute walk several days a week. I am trying to be realistic, and this is a challenge but still reasonable. And, I know I said this earlier...but y'all, I feel SO much better walking this much.

6. Bible time daily. I was watching some of Lara's videos about the PowerSheets and she said she has to schedule this time...to make it a priority above all else. I'm going to do this. 

7. Move. We are hoping to move by the end of the month...or at least have a new place secured. Our moving adventures are crazy. But I'm looking forward to the next part of our journey.

8. Do something with my hair. It's bad. I need a cut and a color. 

9. Blog more. For real. 

10. Daily habits. I've listed most of them, but I've also got 100oz of water daily, 7500 steps daily, at least 2 fruit and 2 veggies daily and prayer/gratitude daily on the list. All just things I need/want to become a natural part of my day. 

HELLO JULY

Time for my monthly goals post. I always feel a bit silly doing this, because, let's face it-my track record is kind of crummy. But I just love doing them. I love the idea of starting fresh and full of hope. I also realize there is nothing special about the beginning of the year, month, week or day...but there is something magical about a "1" on the calendar to sort of motivate you. If only there wasn't something sinister about the "2" to cancel out that motivation. HA.

July is a fun month to plan for because it is the beginning of the second half of the year. WHAT? I know. We were out to dinner with friends last weekend and we were all talking about how we have felt a little blah this year. And then my friend Erika and I decided that this was as good a day as any to start over and get back on track!

JULY GOALS
1.  Go to church every Sunday
2.  Read the Bible every day (or close)
3.  Read 5 books
4.  Work out (like a for real, intentional workout) 4 times
5.  Get 5k steps each day
6.  Celebrate C's birthday
7.  Go to WW every week (and stay for meeting)
8.  Blog more
9.  Work on my duolingo app more
10. Redesign my blog

Happy July y'all!

HELLO JUNE

I'm coming in a few days late on my Hello June blog post. I started the month with a horrible sunburn and followed that up with a cold. I haven't had a cold in at least 10 years and I completely forgot how nasty they are. Especially in the summer. NO fun!

I feel like I am finally-hopefully-fingers-crossed on the mend and ready to tackle the month.

A quick re-cap of May....

1. Celebrate my birthday!!! (the 10th)

2. MOVE

3. Get back on track with WW (post coming soon)

4. Go to a baseball game (maybe!)

5. Find a swimsuit (dread!)

6. Read a few books

7. Keep looking for a job

Not great, but not too bad. Moving took up a bunch of our energy and focus last month. 

Okay, so for June, I am still wanting to work on my daily habits. I'll admit that I have been slacking a little (a lot) on these. Need to figure out a way to make them more of a, um, habit. Ha. 

1. Make daily to-do list. 

2. Duolingo lesson each day.

3. Track for WW. 

4. 6ksteps each day. 

5. Read SRT daily. 

6. Drink a 20 oz glass of water first thing. 

7. Read before bed.

... and here are a few other things I am hoping to accomplish this month!

1. Organize paperwork 

2. Give up soda the rest of the month (starting 6/11/16)

3. Get back on track with WW (post coming soon)

4. Blog more!!

5. Find a swimsuit (dread!)

6. Read a few books

7. Keep looking for a job

HEY MAY

I'm a couple of days late, but Happy May Y'all.

So April was crazy, but also kind of a bust. We are moving next week, so we were getting stuff together most of April. And by getting stuff together, I mean I was mostly panicking and in denial about moving. Again.

Mostly I'm excited about moving away from where we are. Just a bad situation with neighbors (AWFUL) and our internet and phones have not worked properly since we moved here. We live by a creek/forest and at the lower level of the neighborhood. I mean, we live in the city...but apparently it's kind of a hole for technology. So that's fun.

But, I'm also freaking out. We have moved SO many times since we got married. Not on purpose. Just how life has worked out. And we've always lived in pretty nice places and had great opportunities. BUT....I just never imagined we wouldn't be living in our own home at this stage. Hopefully, this move will be the last one before that happens!! I am grateful though, to have a roof over my head. And all this stuff that we keep packing up. Trying to look at the positives.

I'm going to take May pretty easy goal wise. Just continuing to work on my daily habits. I am upping my daily step goal.

1. Make daily to-do list. 

2. Duolingo lesson each day.

3. Track for WW. 

4. 6ksteps each day. 

5. Read SRT daily. 

6. Drink a 20 oz glass of water first thing. 

7. Read before bed.

Just a few other goals for the month:

1. Celebrate my birthday!!! (the 10th)

2. MOVE

3. Get back on track with WW (post coming soon)

4. Go to a baseball game (maybe!)

5. Find a swimsuit (dread!)

6. Read a few books

7. Keep looking for a job

We are going out with family tonight to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!!! My grandparents are moving closer to us, so it's fun to see them more often!!

HELLO APRIL

I'm just about the worst blogger ever.

Best intentions...horrible follow through. My life in a sentence, y'all.

March was a crazy month. It's the anniversary of my (step) dad's death...and it's just kind of a sad month. I have really been struggling with missing him. SO many times I want to call him up and tell him about something crazy I saw or get his advice or just sit with him. :(

We are about to move. It wasn't planned, but completely necessary. We were hoping to stay here (an apartment) until we were ready to buy a home (this year!). But, sometimes life has other plans for you. If I were to tell the truth, I would say that this month has been AWFUL and I thought I might literally have to fight someone (ha!). But, I'm trying to look at the bright side. New adventures (and less annoying neighbors!) am I right?!!

So, other than several sleepless nights and a few tear-filled days (drama-queen reporting!) March was pretty uneventful.

BUT....I'm SO excited about April. My sister's birthday. Baseball starts. The blue-bonnets are blooming. Good times.

So the last time I blogged was A MONTH AGO. Horrible.

Last month, instead of doing a massive list of goals for the month, I really wanted to focus on creating some new daily habits. I wasn't perfect, but I think that they are slowly becoming something I do naturally. So, this month, I'm just sticking with the same habits from March. I really want these to become second nature before adding anything else to the daily schedule. 

APRIL GOALS

HABITS 

1. Make daily to-do list. 

2. Duolingo lesson each day.

3. Track. 

4. 5k steps each day. 

5. Read SRT daily. 

6. Drink a 20 oz glass of water first thing. 

7. Read before bed.

I did want to add a few other things to the monthly goals for April. Just to keep things exciting! Ha.

OTHERS

1. Hit the 40 lb lost mark. I'm back to 35.2, so losing 4.8 this month is TOTALLY doable. 

2. Clean out storage.  Ick. 

3. Go to baseball game!! DUH!

4. Progress photos and measurements. Let me try this again. 

5. Read 5 books. I don't know if I read a book all of March. Not good.

6. Church every Sunday.  Cause I miss it when I don't go.

7. Blog more. Seriously. 

Hope y'all have a great month! Does anyone still read here? 

HELLO MARCH

A new month means new goals!

So, I didn't make any monthly goals in either January or February. And I feel like the months passed and I didn't really accomplish anything. I'm sure part of that is psychological (I like the satisfaction of marking an item as completed). But, I've also always known I just operate better with a written to-do list. 

I am trying to do a lot of things right now.

1. Get stuff done.

2. Set realistic goals.

3. Create some new hobbies.

4. Change habits.

5. Quit comparing myself to others.

That last one is a major stumbling block when addressing the previous four. I've always dealt with it (haven't we all?!), but I feel like here lately it's definitely gotten worse. So, amidst all the big dreams and goal seeking and the daily to-do's, I am going to focus on showing myself some grace. I love love love the message from the article I shared yesterday. This month is all about baby steps (and grace!). 

MARCH GOALS

HABITS

1. Make daily to-do list. This just keeps me focused during the days.

2. Duolingo lesson each day. Love this app. I have the Spanish and French loaded, but I'm going to focus on Spanish for now. The great thing is that this only takes about 5 minutes a day. 

3. Track. Even if I don't know the WW smart point value. Just work on making this a habit.

4. 5k steps each day. I would love to hit the 10k mark everyday. Or more. But I need to work on making it a routine.

5. Read SRT daily. I'm way behind and would love to get caught up, but so long as I read some each day, I'll call it a success.

6. Drink a 20 oz glass of water first thing. I have cut way back on regular soda (yay!). But I am struggling with getting in all my water goal each day. Hopefully this boost in the morning will help...in lots of ways.

7. Read before bed. I've gotten SO bad about watching netflix at night. I feel like it makes it more difficult for me to sleep. Reading sometimes has that effect, but more often than not it relaxes me. Plus, I need to read more anyway.

OTHERS

1. Hit the 40 lb lost mark. I'm about 5 pounds away (which I have been for MONTHS). This is totally doable, if I would just stick to the plan (and hopefully some of those habits above will help!).

2. Finish the buffet. This has been on my monthly goal list for years. (shameful!) But, I'm happy to say that it has been sanded and has one coat of paint...so we're almost there!! Maybe March 2016 will be the month! Ha.

3. Order contacts and glasses. I've put it off long enough.

4. Progress photos and measurements. I want to start doing this monthly, or maybe every 10 pounds. 

Okay, so that's it. Nothing too crazy. Here's to a successful month! 

BLOG-TEMBER :: FAREWELL

Today's Prompt: A farewell coffee date. Take some time to breath, sip a warm drink, and share with your new blogging buddies.

Okay, so this photo cracks me up. I sent it via text to my husband a couple of weeks ago. I was super busy with work and had basically been sitting on the computer all day. I don't drink a lot of coffee at home...but I'm all about staying hydrated! And sonic ice. All the sonic ice. Also, I sit on the floor...at the coffee table...to work. Because...my cat literally takes up the whole couch....and doesn't budge. Nice, right?

I had big intentions for posting everyday during blog-tember. I really did. But, this month just got away from me. I literally keep thinking the beginning of August was a few weeks ago. Um, no. I'm not going to argue though. October is the first of my favorite 3 months of the year. 

Even though I didn't get a chance to post a lot this month, I did get to read several posts from those of you that did. I found lots of new blogs to check in on. Yay!!

I thought for today's post....I would share my progress (or again...lack there of) on my September goals, as well as my goals for October. 

SEPTEMBER GOALS

1. Participate in the blog-tember challenge. 12 out of 30 isn't too shabby. I'm counting it!

2. Continue deep cleaning (& purging/organizing) the apartment. There still seems to be a lot to do (there probably will always be something...I'm kind of OCD). But..I did make some progress.

3. Decorate for fall. FAIL.

4. Go to all my WW meetings. I did this!!! I didn't stay for all of the meetings...but I did weigh in every week...and I'm proud to say that I lost 5.4 pounds this week.

5. The buffet. Seriously...we shall throw a party if/when this ever gets done. Hangs head in shame.

6. Fall wreath. Nope. 

7. Church every Sunday. Sadly, no.

8. Read 5 books. I read three. THREE. That's a bit of an improvement...but still not hitting my goals for the month/year.

9. Set up budget. Yikes. 

10. Send out cards. I have a stack of mail that needs to be sent out. I'm awful at this.

11. FOOTBALL. This is something that will always get checked off. Not a real struggle for me. 

12. Redo design site. Nope.

13. Schedule family pics. Nope

14. Walk 20 miles. DID it. I really blew it up one week this month. I love my fitbit...it challenges me. Now I just need to be consistent. 

15. Continue reading the Old Testament. Not as much as I wanted, but I did get some read.

1. Lose 40 pounds. I need to lose 6.4 to hit this goal.

2. Fall bucket list. Mark some of those things off!

3. Walk 25 miles. I'm going to try to do this beyond just my daily fitbit steps...but we'll see.

4. Redo design site. hopefully I'll have time.

5. Family pics. Need to do!!

6. Continue reading the Old Testament. Need to be more consistent with this.

7. Buffet. Ugh.

8. Blog more. More on this below. 

9. Read 5 books. Trying this again. I have about 10 books on my nightstand/Kindle. 

10. Taylor Swift. Insert freak out here. And yes, I'm in my thirties. Don't judge. 

And....because this post isn't long enough. And because I love to try and bite off more than I can chew.....

I wasn't going to do this this year. I attempted it two years ago, and actually completed it (go me!) last year. But, I just couldn't think of anything to write about for a whole month for this year. However....I have a kind of fun challenge for myself...so I'm seriously considering it. We'll see!!

BLOG-TEMBER :: FALL Y'ALL

Today's Prompt: Tell us about your favorite season. Why is it your favorite and what does it say about you?

one / two / three / four

I'm a total FALL girl. I know that's pretty basic...but I'm completely okay with it. So ready for the cooler temperatures. For the colors. For the pumpkins. For the boots. For the football (praise hands). For the holidays. For it ALL. 

Last year, I did a Fall Bucket List...and I had so much fun with that, I thought I'd do another. 

Now, if only the temperatures would cooperate, we could get the party started.