Friends, a big thank you to all who have taken my 2020 survey so far – more than 100 of you! If you haven’t yet, you can do so right here.
Thank you, also, for the birthday wishes! It was a sweet and low-key weekend with my people. John and I had a two-dessert dinner at Mothers and Sons on Friday, and yesterday we took a sunny stroller/scooter/walk through one of our favorite Raleigh neighborhoods, something that has become an early-spring tradition. I’m not the biggest “birthday person,” but boy am I glad to have been given another year to live, learn, and love with my sweet family. That is worthy of celebration!
Something to note: I recently organized all of the “things I’m loving” items more neatly on one page, so you can easily find that article/book/recipe I mentioned a few months back. You can always find a button leading you there in the sidebar, too. I hope it’s helpful!
On my calendar this month: — A local high school’s performance of Cinderella – June and I are going to go together :) — My favorite kids consignment sale — The Bachelor finale. This has not been a very good season, but I’m looking forward to watching the final installment with good friends (and chocolate chip cookies).
What I’m loving right now: — Do you have a CAVA near you? It’s a Mediterranean fast-casual chain that’s spreading rapidly in the South, and it’s very delicious. (Mezeh is a very similar concept – we went to the one in Reston, VA, while visiting family!) — Of course, I can’t mention quick Mediterranean without mentioning local hero Neomonde – we love taking a picnic from the Raleigh location to the next-door JC Raulston Arboretum! — Continuing with the food theme: this one-pot sun-dried tomato orzo recipe is SO good and really easy to make on a weeknight.
What I read in February: — Late Migrations: This was a Christmas gift from my Mom, which was so very thoughtful! It has all the hallmarks of a book I would love and some really beautiful writing, but the through-line of death turned me away a bit. — The Sound of Gravel: A fascinating memoir in the vein of Educated. Raw and heartbreaking and uplifting.
My reading list for 2020, if you’d like to follow along!I’m still number 94 on the library hold list for Just Mercy, one of my February picks, but I’ll happily read it when it comes in!
Revisiting my February goals: Clean out favorite recipes Pinterest board and print all winners Outfit sand/gravel table and get it ready for play Assemble friend dossiers and brainstorm ideas for get-togethers Organize the craft table in the loft (Progress made!) Brainstorm a family mission statement on our date night Decide on 2020 camping dates/locations (Progress made!) Go on our monthly forest school/family hike Decide on MS race and register Paint downstairs desk(Done! I chose navy!) Plan major details (date, location, guest list) for meal planning potluck (Progress made!) Decide on my quarterly date with June(Can’t wait!)
March goals: — Send invites for meal planning potluck — Assemble friend dossiers and brainstorm ideas for get-togethers — Book May camping trip — Finish craft table organization in the loft — Finish reading Matthew with John — Finish planning our trip to Florida
As a reminder, many of the goals above are drawn from my 2020 goals!
Keeping things fairly simple this month since it’s a busy one at work! I would love to hear: are you working on any goals in March? What’s something you’re working toward that has you really excited? Share below, if you’d like!
Working on things that really matter to me — with thought and care — is one of my most favorite things, and I’m grateful every day for another chance to live a more abundant life than I did the day before. Let’s see what February has in store!
P.S. You miiiiight be able to tell how excited I am about my 2020 goals by how much progress I made last month :)
P.P.S. Are you reading this and thinking, how is this girl so jazzed up about her goals?! I want that for you, too! Thinking it’s “too late” to pick a few things to work on this year is pretty much the silliest idea ever. As long as you’re still alive, it’s not too late! If you want to start but don’t know where to start, I think the undated PowerSheets might be perfect for you.
On my calendar this month: — John and June are going to a Love Bug dance at our church! She has talked about it every day since we mentioned it: “Daddy and I are going! Just Daddy and I! We are going to dance!” Break my heart. — Making valentines with June (here’s last year’s!) — A Valentine’s tea with friends at the Carolina Inn. Thinking I will wear this shirt which I already own and some sort of skirt. — My birthday! It falls on a Friday, so I’m taking the day off and June and I are going to have a fun girl day :)
What I’m loving right now: — A new ethical clothing shop opened near me and on my first visit I picked up a pair of gold and mother of pearl heart earrings by 31 Bits. I can’t find them on either site, but I’ll try to share a photo soon! V. cute! — Two other recent purchases: this dress (especially excited to wear it for Easter and our April Florida family vacation!) and this sweatshirt. Sizing is weird: I ordered a medium in the sweatshirt so it would be oversized, and I ordered an XS tall in the dress to make sure it was long enough. It was the right call for both! (I have never ordered anything in tall before, ha!) — If your high school econ class left something to be desired, this podcast episode is for you: a bunch of different economists answering the question “what’s the most useful idea in economics?”
What I read in January: — Long Bright River: A thriller with heart. The writing was beautiful and it kept me up too late many nights. Extra-fun because the author is my literary agent brother-in-law’s client! — The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: I’ve got thoughts. This was really good and really practical, and I plan to work through it all more in an upcoming blog post. — Ashlords: Our good friend’s newest novel! If you love YA fantasy, pick it up!
Revisiting my January goals: Commission a gate for our front porch(Yes! Will be built in about two weeks!) Open the Advent calendar box(Yes! And now I’m even more scared, ha!) Brainstorm needed zones for the loft(Yes! More progress than I expected here — we installed a storage system, culled a few items, and moved furniture around.) Clean out my existing recipe binder(Yes! Also had a meal planning lunch with a friend and brainstormed many more possible action steps for the rest of the year!) Cull 2019 iPhone photos(DONEEEEEEEEEEE!) Brainstorm “forest school” location possibilities near us(If you’re local, here are some good suggestions.) Buy a stationary bike??(Yes! And I’ve ridden almost every night so far. More to come here!) Do something fun with two of my focal friends(Yes! A downtown shopping date, a Bachelor hang, and a weekday lunch :)) Conduct an initial search for a downstairs desk(Decided to repurpose a piece we already had and it’s in place and organized! Currently debating paint options.) Write our sweet girl a note on her fourth birthday Order our 2019 photos from Social Print Studio
February goals: — Clean out favorite recipes Pinterest board and print all winners — Outfit sand/gravel table and get it ready for play — Assemble friend dossiers and brainstorm ideas for get-togethers — Organize the craft table in the loft — Brainstorm a family mission statement on our date night — Decide on 2020 camping dates/locations — Go on our monthly forest school/family hike — Decide on MS race and register — Paint downstairs desk — Plan major details (date, location, guest list) for meal planning potluck — Decide on my quarterly date with June
As a reminder, many of the goals above are drawn from my 2020 goals!
I would love to hear: are you working on any goals this year? This month? What’s something you’re working toward that has you really excited? Share below, if you’d like!
For me, January is a month for resetting and exploring. I usually finalize my 2020 goals a few days into the new year, and then use the rest of the month to plot out a loose plan and schedule for what progress on those goals might look like. Unsurprisingly, January looks a lot like the littlest little-by-little: brainstorm, research, prepare, read instructions. The Enneagram 5 in me loves January :)
One note I wanted to add while we’re on the topic of goals. Someone asked me recently why my yearly goals haven’t (ever?) included anything finance related, even though it’s clearly a focus for us. And therein lies the answer: we are most definitely working toward a long-term financial goal, but because it’s so thoroughly accounted for in our everyday life (thanks, budget!), it’s not something that takes any extra planning or thought on my part — and therefore doesn’t need to be broken down monthly like my 2020 goals do!
On my calendar this month: — June’s birthday! We’re forgoing a party this year in favor of a day of fun with her cousin :) — Our 15th dativersary!
What I’m loving right now: — We’ve watched exactly one episode of Amazon’s Modern Love (no. 1), and it was so exquisitely beautiful and lovely (and tear inducing, it must be said) that I’m hesitant to watch another one for fear of tarnishing that memory. Watch it — and watch the rest at your own risk :) — This should not be surprising if you’ve been reading EFM for any length of time, but CLEARLY I am loving the Jeopardy! GOAT tournament. John is rooting for James and I am rooting for Ken!
What I read in December: — Reclaiming Home: I picked this up after hearing the author on the Coffee & Crumbs podcast and loving what she had to say about family traditions. Her book has a whiff of self-publishing about it, but was still worthwhile! If you want to build your family culture but Sally Clarkson is a little artsy for your vibe, I’d try Krista’s book!
January goals: — Commission a gate for our front porch — Open the Advent calendar box :) Look through everything, read instructions — Brainstorm needed zones for the loft — Clean out my existing recipe binder — Cull 2019 iPhone photos — Brainstorm “forest school” location possibilities near us — Buy a stationary bike?? — Do something fun with two of my focal friends — Conduct an initial search for a downstairs desk — Write our sweet girl a note on her fourth birthday (continuing a tradition) — Order our 2019 photos from Social Print Studio
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2020 goals!
Since it’s something I’m thinking about right now, let’s talk about recipe organization. How do you organize yours? A binder? On Pinterest? Recipe cards? Something else? I’d love to hear!
Isn’t it neat how the concept of “goals” is so flexible? For me, at times it’s been most helpful to focus on daily actions and habits. In others, I’ve found a multi-year “bucket list” of sorts most useful. In still others, just focusing on ONE area I want to grow in has been best. (What has been consistent throughout my online goal-setting lifetime – since 2013! – has been posting monthly updates here for a healthy dose of accountability. I’ve literally never missed a month!)
Last year, I set 8 very specific goals for 2019, and I made little-by-little progress on all of them. I liked the satisfaction of having a very clear finish line to aim for (surprise, surprise!) and am taking a similar route again in 2020. Here’s what I’ll be working on, along with my inspiration board for the year!
1. Live a wild life outdoors. A central tenet of my parenting philosophy is that the more time spent outside, the better — but living that out does not always come naturally (ahem) with everything else competing for our attention. The importance of this was a theme that popped up all over my PowerSheets. I want my kiddos to exercise their creativity and courage, use their imaginations, grow their attention spans, be refreshed by the wonders of creation, and have FUN! (And the same goes for me and John!) Some action steps: Organize our garage to facilitate play. Consider our back bed a natural playscape and finish planting it. Consider a sand/gravel/water play area. Build fairy houses. Do our own version of “forest school” once a month.Read How to Raise a Wild Child and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.
2. Be a generous friend. I say I go deep, not wide, with friends, and if that’s true, I want to go all-in on this strategy. To do this, I’m choosing a few (5-8) “focal friends” for the year to very intentionally love, delight, and care for. Some action steps: Choose focal friends. Assemble friend dossiers :) Make prayer notes for each. Schedule a get together with at least one friend two times a month. Brainstorm possible get togethers and individual ways to love on each.
3. Grow strong by biking regularly.Last year’s goal to become a biking family was a grand success, and this year, we want to continue the fun by taking our biking year round – and doing another race! Some action steps: Buy a stationary bike for indoor riding. Buy a bike rack for our car. Decide on a 2020 race and register. Decide on best time to ride indoors and set weekly goals for how often.
4. Read through the Gospels together with John. At our year-end dinner we talked about wanting to grow in our faith together this year, and this is how we’re going to start! We’re planning to read one Gospel a quarter. (I already bought these neat Crossway books for journaling!)
5. Build our family culture. Some version of this will probably be a goal until our kiddos are out of the house! Family is the primary responsibility we’ve been given — it’s our best chance to grow into the people we were made to be, and to have fun! :) Some action steps: Reimagine the loft to facilitate play. Make a family mission statement. Implement kiddo dates with each parent. Have fun with our grown-up date nights each month!
6. Complete our Advent calendar as a route to analog hours. Two goals have dovetailed beautifully with this initiative: wanting to spend less time on screens, and wanting to complete our new Advent calendar! After years of admiring this DIY calendar kit, I finally bit the bullet and purchased it. With many pieces, intricate details, and the need to learn new skills, I anticipate it will be a year-long project that will keep my hands busy in the evenings and on weekends, as well as produce a beautiful heirloom for our family! Some action steps: Open the box :) Read through instructions. Identify any new materials needed. Make a plan for completion before December. Get to work.
7. Complete our 3 family photo albums. After several years of organizing and streamlining our photos, both digital and physical, I’m excited to wrap this project up with the most fun part of all: creating actual albums we can enjoy for years! My hope is the visual record I’m building will help establish and reinforce our family story. We’re planning to create one album for every five years, so I’ve got 2005-2009, 2010-2014, and 2015-2019 to complete. Some action steps: Organize 2019 photos. Decide on an album company. Lay out albums.
8. Streamline meal planning. It’s a huge part of our life, and it could be easier and more joyful — and therefore free up time for even more important things! By the end of this year, I want to have a seamless system in place. Some action steps: Choose the best recipe organization system for going forward (I’m thinking binder). Compile and print favorite recipes for seasons and categories. Make cheat sheets for seasons and categories. Implement a system for knowing what’s in our freezer (white board?). Strategize meals that can be fully made the night before. Clean up Pinterest. Host a meal ideas roundtable and potluck? Make a shopping sheet? Share weekly meal plans on EFM? Buy a printer?
I’ll be back with my January goals post soon, but in the meantime, I’d love to hear what you have planned for 2020. Have you set goals yet? I’d truly love to hear, so please drop a note in the comments! I can’t wait to cheer you on.
