Another year has wound around and here we are, with my last set of monthly goals for 2021. This year has been a bit of a strange one for goals, from my protracted indecision over setting them in the first place, to the major life upheaval (both abundantly good and unexpectedly challenging) we experienced in the middle of the year, to squeezing progress around a quick pace of life since returning to work in the final quarter. Thanks to the calendar and my PowerSheets I’m in major reflection mode at this point, which is my favorite place to be in December. More to come! But for now, here’s what I have planned for this month…
P.S. I am planning to share another “best of the year” post this month, on December 15. If you have a blog and would like to join me, I’d love to have you! Planning to use the same prompts as last year – you can see them here! It will be fun :)
On my calendar this month: — Dinner out with John for our 2021 review and celebration. We are going to Second Empire in Raleigh, which we haven’t been to in over ten years! — A trip to Charlotte to see The Nutcracker with the ladies in my family. — A Christmas visit to Connecticut with the Thomas family. Hoping for snow :)
What I’m loving right now: — My PowerSheets prep work. The best reset and chance to dream! — I’ve found the native Apple podcast app annoying to use since they updated it a few months ago, and on the advice of the internet, recently switched to the Overcast app to listen. It’s free and the functionality is fantastic! — This is lame since they’re not available any more, but Cultivate’s Advent conversation cards have been SO fun to keep on our dinner table and pull from each night! The OG conversation cards are equally good, though :)
As a reminder, you can find allll the things I’ve loved over the last few years neatly organized right here!
What I read in November: — Self-Portrait in Black and White | “Thomas Chatterton Williams, the son of a ‘black’ father from the segregated South and a ‘white’ mother from the West, spent his whole life believing the dictum that a single drop of ‘black blood’ makes a person black. This was so fundamental to his self-conception that he’d never rigorously reflected on its foundations―but the shock of his experience as the black father of two extremely white-looking children led him to question these long-held convictions.” Being a memoir, his perspective is obviously specific – but it also allows him to ask some very intriguing questions. A thought-provoking and worthwhile read.
A little update on my 2021 reading list: it’s been a joy! So far, I’ve read 15 of the 24 books on the list. It doesn’t seem like I’ll get to all of them before the end of the year, but I hope to finish 3-4 more before December 31st!
Revisiting my November goals: Complete the backing for our Advent calendar (Made some progress on the numbers!) Finish the sermon series Make gift plans for all the people and execute as much as possible Edit Sheptember Embroider shirts for I, J, M, C, and T (I completed one and it looks SO CUTE! The tee fabric is much different than the Advent calendar felt I’m used to, though, and it took longer than I anticipated.) Do my November holiday prep (Cards have arrived, newsletter is half done, calendar is planned, spiritual formation is underway!) Begin my PowerSheets Prep Work (Done! Already hyped for 2022.)
December goals: — Set our 2022 budget — Finish embroidering the numbers and sewing the pockets for our Advent calendar. If I can also sew on the tree, I will have amazed myself! — Edit Sheptember — Embroider shirts for I, J, M, and T — Book our spring break and Michigan trips for next year — All the blog posts. Just, all of them.
Since we’ve been chatting about podcasts lately in these goal posts, I’d love to ask: what are your current listens? Right now, I am grateful to get to listen to Coffee + Crumbs, Honestly with Bari Weiss, The Lazy Genius, and Raising Boys & Girls. Tell me what else I should consider!
This month, I’m trying something new – assigning an Admin, Analog, and Connect day each week. (Side note: I find it fascinating that I can think so much about household and life management and STILL come up with new ideas I want to try. It kind of feels like I should already have thought of them all, ha!)
You may remember that I use a simple Word doc for my perpetual to do list. This system works well for me, but when I stumble in how I spend my time, it’s usually because there are too many loud, competing priorities and I can’t decide which one to work on, so I work on none. And, I find it hard to switch from one type of task to another – specifically, as lazy as it sounds, once I’ve sat down on the sofa in the evening, it’s hard to get up and do anything else :)
So this is what I’m going to try: on Sunday of each week, I’ll look ahead at our schedule and choose an Admin, an Analog, and a Connect day. (Fridays and Saturdays cannot be assigned, and I should really say I’ll assign an evening, because these boundaries are for the hours between the kids’ bedtime and mine.)
On Admin days, I’ll plow through management tasks – think: placing online orders, booking travel and appointments, updating the budget, or email upkeep.
On Analog days, I’ll do non-computer things, like house repairs or projects, tidying or cleaning, making a new letterboard, arranging a new mantel, writing thank you notes, painting my toenails, working on Halloween costumes or my Advent calendar, reading a magazine or book, and if all else fails… going to bed early (what a concept!).
On Connect days, my schedule will remain open and available for connection with John. We might watch a show or movie, play a game, go for a walk, or just chat. This day was a compromise born out of the fact that I have a dozen pRoJeCtS going on at any one time and he mostly just wants to hang out with me in the evenings, ha. It’s not that we won’t connect on other days, just that this day will be specifically set aside to do so!
There’s more I could say, but I want to try it first! Will most definitely report back if it’s a success :) Here’s to another month of exploration, examining what’s not working, and trying new things.
On my calendar this month: — Making a family gratitude poster. Even though people have been doing these for years, it’s new for our family! Shep and I cut out a bunch of leaves and I put them in a little bowl in the center of our table with a glue stick and marker so it’s easy to each fill one out at dinner every night. Two thumbs up so far! — Sharing gift guides! I have been thinking so much about gifting this year, not in the least because it already feels like we have everything we could ever want, and am excited to share some of these thoughts – and gift ideas, yes! – soon. — Clearing the decks. This is a favorite part of my November holiday prep, and it’s always a breath of fresh air!
What I’m loving right now (media edition!): — Speaking of a breath of fresh air, Bari Weiss’s podcast Honestly definitely qualifies. The description: “The most interesting conversations in American life now happen in private. This show is bringing them out of the closet. Stories no one else is telling and conversations with the most fascinating people in the country, every week from former New York Times and Wall Street Journal journalist Bari Weiss.” I find this to be an interesting, serious, and engaging listen every week. You will surely not agree with everything you hear, but Bari and her guests will leave you thinking (and wanting to continue the conversation with a friend!). — Another podcast rec: John and I listened to two episodes of the Live No Lies mini podcast by John Mark Comer (with David Brooks and Jon Tyson) on our drive home from Black Mountain, and they were fantastic and filled with wisdom. Even if you don’t consider yourself a Christian, I HIGHLY recommend the David Brooks episode. — The new season of the Great British Baking Show is an utter delight. The contestants are just perfectly-pitched and so quintessential GBBS. This is cozy fall and post-partum content at its apex.
You can see all the things I’ve loved in my goal posts over the years right here!
What I read in October: — The Dearly Beloved | Finished it, loved it as much as I thought I would. In fact, I loved it so much I sent copies to two friends who I thought would also enjoy it. — Ignore It! | John likes to tease me that all of the non-fiction books I read could be half as long. I strongly disagree in most cases, but in this one, yes, it probably could have been a tidy PDF or at least fewer than 100 pages. I was hoping she would address two specific issues we’re dealing with, and she didn’t really, but it’s still a worthwhile read if you’re dealing with annoying behaviors in your kids.
A little update on my 2021 reading list: it’s trucking along! So far, I’ve read 14 of the 24 books on the list. It doesn’t seem like I’ll get to all of them before the end of the year, but I hope to finish 7-8 more before December 31st! Next up: Next up: Self Portrait in Black and White and Nobody Will Tell You This But Me.
Revisiting my October goals: Complete the backing for our Advent calendar (The embroidery is *almost* complete – I actually ran out of floss, so Purl is sending me a bit more!) Create our Halloween costumes(Yes! Loved them!) Listen to an upcoming sermon series for a church we’re exploring (We listened to the first of six on our drive home from the mountains! There have been three so far, so this is a partial completion.) Plan and enjoy our Black Mountain trip(Yes! It was really, really wonderful. We had perfect weather and truly so much fun together! Recap coming soon!) Re-introduce our evening Peloton stretch sessions (This was largely a fail, ha. Exercise of any sort is just not a top priority right now!) Find that lumbar pillow(Done! I chose this one.)
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!
November goals: — Complete the backing for our Advent calendar: finish embroidering the numbers, sew the pockets, sew the tree — Finish the sermon series — Make gift plans for all the people and execute as much as possible — Edit Sheptember — Embroider shirts for I, J, M, C, and T — Do my November holiday prep (including designing and ordering our Christmas newsletter and card and making a spiritual formation plan for me and the kids) — Begin my 2022 PowerSheets
Let’s discuss: have you tried anything new with household/life management lately? I’d love to hear!
As of yesterday, my maternity leave is officially over and I’m back to work, thus welcoming in another new season for our family. I’d imagine the end of parental leave comes with mixed feelings for most people, and I’m no exception: wistful to miss some time with my girl during the day, full from all the time we spent together, achy to be closing a chapter for the last time, happy to be back with my team… but mostly, very, very grateful. I have work to do that helps people, uses my gifts, and that I enjoy. I have a schedule that works for my family. And for the next month, while my parents are here watching Annie, I still have my tiniest sidekick in the next room over.
Knowing that this will be another transitional month for our family, I’m keeping things simple in October! Simple goals + all the simple pleasures fall is known for = a great month ahead.
P.S. The 2022 PowerSheets launch tomorrow! (!!) If you’ve ever wanted to get to the heart of what matters to you and take small (and sometimes big!) steps toward living more intentional days, I would love to have you join me in using this product. (And if not, there are so many other fun things launching this month, too! Conversation cards! Action decks!)
Our fall mantel! The bats we’ve had for a few years, and the pumpkin garland I made from my felt ball collection and this vase filler pack. The wicker pumpkin I snagged last year (they stocked them again because they sold out so fast!). The gorgeous fluff I surreptitiously snipped from the fringes of our neighborhood and John was very embarrassed, ha.
On my calendar this month: — All the fall things, including our trip to Black Mountain, the State Fair (it’s back!), and some version of pumpkins and soup. — Camping with the Rays! As many of you know, we have an annual camping tradition eight years strong. The spring trip we had planned before the 10th and 11th members of our combined crew arrived was canceled due to John’s Achilles injury. At first we thought we’d have to miss a year, but instead decided to do a backyard camping night! I can’t wait, even though the mamas and babies may or may not sleep inside :) — The Raleigh tour stop for Taylor Leonhardt’s new album. It’s outside at the end of the month, and I’m hoping it will be one of those crisp, chilly fall nights. — The premier of the new James Bond movie! We are still avoiding most elective activities that include being inside in a public place for an extended time, but we both love these movies and would love to see it in theaters. We shall see!
What I’m loving right now: — The easiest up-do ever! I am generally hopeless when it comes to doing anything with my hair, but EVEN I can do this one! Props to my friend Bethany for teaching me her ways. — I found the intro to the new season of the Raising Boys & Girls podcast to be such a good listen. It’s short (20 minutes) but packs a punch as Sissy, David, and Melissa talk about the differences in kids and parents today versus when they started counseling, as well as what kids and parents most need to thrive today. — I am a chicken pot pie connoisseur, and this recipe is my absolute favorite. I use store-bought refrigerated pie dough and a rotisserie chicken, and it comes together so easily! Perfect for fall dinners.
You can see all the things I’ve loved in my goal posts over the years right here!
What I read in September: September was a slow month for reading. I began Awaking Wonder, but a few pages in it wasn’t catching my attention, so I put it aside. I’m sure I’ll return to it, but in the meantime, I’m reading The Dearly Beloved and it is FANTASTIC so far. Making an early call that it may be my favorite fiction book of 2021.
My reading list for 2021, if you’d like to follow along! I’m a little out of order but have read 13 out of 24 so far.
Revisiting my September goals: Edit June in June, Volume 6 (Done!) Film Sheptember, Volume 3 (Done! What a relief to have two able-bodied parents to film, ha!) Lay out 2012 in family album Write 6-10 blog posts (Done! Yeehaw! Thank you for all of your feedback along the way – makes writing that much more fun.) Finish our master bedroom refresh (In my mind, to complete this goal I needed to purchase a lumbar pillow and hang something above our dresser, and I didn’t do either of those things, sooooo… not done.) Do a Peloton exercise every day (Nope, definitely did worse with this goal this month than last month.) Write a thank you note every day until I’m finished with my backlog (Made good progress! Only four notes left to go.)
October goals: — Complete the backing for our Advent calendar (it’s baaaaaack!) — Create our Halloween costumes (very excited a family theme is back after taking a break last year!) — Listen to an upcoming sermon series for a church we’re exploring — Plan and enjoy our Black Mountain trip — Re-introduce our evening Peloton stretch sessions — Find that lumbar pillow
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!
Friends, I’d love to hear what YOUR favorite fiction book of 2021 has been so far! Please share in the comments, if you’d like.
August was a great month, but not a great month for blogging or goals :) And that’s okay! I soaked up time with our big girl before she headed to kindergarten, adjusted to John going back to work, and began to feel out new rhythms now that it’s just Annie and me during the day.
This month was wildly fun and tender and sweet and emotional (kindergarten!!), and all of it seemed to require staying present on the ground under my feet in a way that the ever-connected world can make difficult. And so, for example, it turns out I didn’t log into my public Instagram account for about three weeks. Not on purpose! Three days stretched to a few more days to a few weeks as the idea of checking in even with my small and curated group of follows felt overwhelming. Dipping into the world of interpretations-of-current-events and experiences-that-are-not-my-own felt overwhelming. And, to be honest, simply not as desirable as what was right in front of me: a beautiful tiny girl, a funny little boy, and a sweet big girl (and a marvelous big guy!). That world jolts me out of my world, a world that is requiring most of my heart and focus right now.
(It also should be said that while on maternity leave, I’ve simply lost my usual window to check in: full-time newborn care leaves only pockets of time to do as I please during the day, and Instagram proved not to be my activity of choice!)
Just some thoughts I’m untangling at the start of the month :) While part of me is frustrated that I made less progress than I’d like on some things that are really important to me (ahem… June in June), I can have grace for myself knowing that I gave time to the things that are really, REALLY important to me. Our schedule will settle, videos will get filmed and edited, but, alas, babies don’t keep.
On to September!
On my calendar this month: — The first day of fall! We’ll bake apple cider scones for our family and June’s teachers, a tradition we started five (!) years ago. — Our ninth wedding anniversary! — Our thrice-scheduled trip to Florida with John’s family!
What I’m loving right now: — A friend has a random connection to get free Bogg Bags through work (!), and kindly gifted me one. I love that they stand up on their own, and think it will be perfect for the pool, beach, and road trips. — I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there is nothing like Madewell high-rise jeans for a post-partum gal. It feels like there are a million new styles of denim circulating right now, and most of them seem hard to pull off, but I dipped a toe into the water with these demi-boot jeans and LOVE them! My pair is on sale with only a few sizes left, but they have other washes in this style, too. — A follow-up to John’s wardrobe post: now that he is back in the office a few days a week and wearing suits, he is loving these shoes and these shoes, which have the look of dress shoes but the comfort of sneakers! He highly recommends.
You can see all the things I’ve loved in my goal posts over the years right here!
What I read in August: — The Vanishing Half | I thought this book was very good. The plot itself was fascinating, and some of the sentences were just stop-you-in-your-tracks beautiful. — The Family Firm | Emily Oster’s book Expecting Better is my number one pregnancy recommendation, so I hustled to pre-order The Family Firm, and am about 75% through. It is very different from Expecting Better – it is less about data, and more about providing a framework for decision making as a parent. If you feel like you equivocate or have anxiety over making decisions for your kids or household, I think you’ll love this book! P.S. Preordering her book is a good example of my thoughts on being a patron – I love Emily’s newsletter and have relied on her advice for many years, and so preordering her book was a tangible way I could support her work and something I was so happy to do!
My reading list for 2021, if you’d like to follow along! I’m a little out of order but have read 13 out of 24 so far.
Revisiting my August goals: Edit June in June, Volume 6 Lay out 2012 in family album Choose scripture theme for the school year and plan and enjoy our back-to-school dinner (Little recap post coming soon!) Prep for our Florida vacation – first road trip as a family of five!! Take a morning walk with Annie every day the weather allows(This was such a success! A highlight of my month, even though it was hotter than hot most days. We walked together about 75% of days!) Do a Peloton exercise every day(Also a success! I definitely did not do every day, and fell off a bit toward the end for a number of reasons, but this was a great intention to get back in the rhythm of exercise.)
September goals: — Edit June in June, Volume 6 — Film Sheptember, Volume 3 — Lay out 2012 in family album — Write 6-10 blog posts — Finish our master bedroom refresh — Do a Peloton exercise every day — Write a thank you note every day until I’m finished with my backlog. (Eek! Still have some baby gift notes to write…)
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!
Friends, this month marks my 13thblogging anniversary! WOW and WHOA! I’m planning a few posts this month on blogging and writing – one will be an FAQ, and I’d love to answer any questions you might have! Please drop them in the comments, if you’d like. (I’ll put up an Instagram question box, too!)
