If you’ve spent any amount of time around here, you know that one of my life mottos is “everything in moderation” (thanks, Dad!). In general, I think it’s healthier, more sustainable, and more enjoyable to stick to a middle road than lurch to an extreme.

But sometimes, if you’ve been indulging more than usual, keeping everything in moderation necessitates a brief period of fasting. On that note, you’ll see that one of my November goals is to abstain from dessert (except on two special days!). I’m feeling in need of a little reset, and hoping this will do the trick! Everything else I have planned should be a breeze compared to that :)

P.S. I love using the PowerSheets to track my professional goals (and sometimes personal ones, too). The new collection went on sale last week and it is awesome! The one year goal planners will likely sell out before the new year, so scoot over and get yours soon if you’d like one for 2018.

What I read in October:
— Red Rising (Re-read this one in preparation for reading the third book in the trilogy — it’s been a few years, and I wanted a character and plot refresh before diving in!)
— The Secret Keeper (Valerie’s recommendation – so good!)
— Books I’m reading throughout the year: The Power of a Praying Wife and The Lifegiving Home

Revisiting my goals for October:
Start my work-from-home days with Bill Hybel’s prayer journaling practice (So I actually only did this once… yikes. The weird thing is, though, it was notably moving and impactful that one day I did it! Definitely something I want to continue incorporating whenever I can.)
Have a magic eraser party all over our house (Yes! They really are magic!)
Re-color code book shelf (Yes! You can see a little peek here, but basically, instead of going in normal rainbow order I started with white on top, then blues and greens, then yellows and oranges, then reds, then blacks, to lighten the overall look up a little.)
Spruce up our bedroom dresser (Yes! Nothing really worth showing, but I streamlined it as much as possible and added a silver frame with a snap from our last session with Nancy.)
Organize our pantry (Going on the November list!)
Host the fifth annual pumpkins and soup party in our backyard (Yes! Post here.)
Come up with something fun for June’s Halloween costume! (See the shining light!)

November goals:
— Vote!
— Organize our pantry
— Cozy up our guest bedrooms and upstairs bathroom in prep for Christmas visitors
— Sort through all the “to be framed/hung” pieces in the loft and DO SOMETHING WITH THEM
— Find general practitioners for John and myself and make appointments
— Post gift guides before Black Friday (this is earlier than I usually do them, but if I’m recommending you front load your shopping on Black Friday, I figure I should give you my picks before then!)
— File all paperwork in blue room (I pretty much just dump any paperwork we need to keep on our guest room desk throughout the year — this will be my once-a-year filing session :))
— Abstain from dessert (except for the launch party and Thanksgiving)
— Start a life list book (something I’ve wanted to do for awhile – I love this idea so much! I’ll probably write about ours more once I get it started!)

Friends, I’d love to hear: What would you like to see in my gift guides? Who do you need suggestions for? What price point is most helpful? Right now I’m thinking of doing one for boys, one for girls, one for ladies, one for men, and a surprise category, plus my own personal wish list, but I’m open to suggestions! Maybe one for grandparents??

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I’m as ready as I’ve ever been for a new season, and my goals reflect that! In light of my imperfect home thoughts from last month, I’m focusing on making what I have more beautiful, and taking care of it well as we gather in for the colder months. When I’m not cleaning or organizing this month, I hope you’ll find me having fun with my two favorite people — and on that note, keep an eye out for a fall fun list coming to the blog soon!

What I read in September:
— You and Me Forever (I always try to read a marriage book to coincide with our anniversary, and this was a good, if unusual, one! If you’re familiar with Francis Chan, you know it’s going to be challenging and convicting, but I welcome the sharpening :))
— For the Love (Re-reading this with my neighborhood book club!)
— Nyxia (My friend’s debut novel! It was REALLY good. If you like dystopian YA, I would highly recommend it!)
— Books I’m reading throughout the year: The Power of a Praying Wife and The Lifegiving Home

Revisiting my goals for September:
Write the Word every day (I did this more days than not, and LOVED it! Such a great practice.)
Eat a fruit or veggie at every meal (Embarrassing or not, I loved this goal! I didn’t keep a great record, but it was something I thought about at every meal, and it was a great reminder!)
Make a donation to Harvey relief through our charitable giving account. (We chose to donate to UMCOR.)
Bake apple cider scones for June’s teachers on the first day of fall (Yes! Pictured above.)
Put Financial Peace University plans into motion at our church (Baby steps, but yes!)
Celebrate my parents well on our Asheville trip, as it’s sandwiched in between their 60th birthdays! (Yes! We got them Hamilton tickets (!!!), which will count for their birthday, Mother’s/Father’s Day, and Christmas gifts for the next five years, haha!)
Celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary!!! (Yes! We went to the NC Zoo on Friday, then went out to dinner at The Durham that night without June, and it was SO GREAT to have a leisurely, long dinner together, something we hadn’t done in way too long.)

October goals:
— Start my work-from-home days with Bill Hybel’s prayer journaling practice (Trying this again!)
— Have a magic eraser party all over our house (I am new to the magic eraser magic and after cleaning off just a tiny portion of our baseboards, I’m hooked! Plus, June thinks it’s realllly fun to help (she works next to me with a normal sponge! :))
— Re-color code book shelf (I tore a page out of a magazine as inspiration, and am excited to give our colorful shelf a facelift!)
— Spruce up our bedroom dresser (I was majorly inspired by the styling in Alaina’s home tour, and am hoping to style this surface a bit and add more framed photos.)
— Organize our pantry
— Host the fifth annual pumpkins and soup party in our backyard
— Come up with something fun for June’s Halloween costume!

Any Halloween costume suggestions?? Bonus points for a concept John and I can get in on, too. Here’s what we did last year :)

My wish for August on the first day of the month was that it would be peaceful, unhurried, and with no surprise expenses (ha!). It wasn’t perfect, but compared to the rest of our summer, it was a breath of fresh air! (And the photo from our trip to Maine below is reminding me just how peaceful parts of it were!) We have a lot to look forward to in September, and I’m embracing the change in seasons with open arms.

What I read in July:
— Lincoln in the Bardo (NOT my favorite read. I almost stopped midway through, but ended up persevering. Though critically acclaimed, it was a little too high-brow for me, plus the fact that it centered around a child dying hit too close to home for this mama.)
— The Language of Flowers (A beautiful novel recommended by my friend Jess! Loved it!)
— To Kill a Mockingbird (My favorite book of all time! It never gets old :))
— Books I’m reading throughout the year: The Power of a Praying Wife and The Lifegiving Home

Revisiting my goals for August:
Edit June in June (YES! See it here! So happy with how this turned out.)
Enjoy our Maine vacation with family (Yes! So grateful we were all together!)
Go on a date night sans June (We tried! We weren’t able to get a babysitter, so we had an official “at-home date night” instead, something we very rarely do. It was fun and felt special!)
Read To Kill a Mockingbird
Make an itinerary and reservations for our family weekend in Asheville, coming up in September (Done! I am so excited!)
Hold our grocery budget to $100 per week (This gets a half check. We actually did spend less than $100/week three out of four weeks, but with travel and trying a free box of HelloFresh and a few other things, we weren’t buying our normal slate of groceries on most trips. But, we did try a few new strategies, so I’m considering it a win!

September goals:
— Write the Word every day (I’ve started Cultivate Gratitude now that they’re back in stock!)
— Eat a fruit or veggie at every meal (Yikes, is this an embarrassing goal?! Unfortunately, it is also necessary, as way too many breakfasts and lunches go by without either one. It’s inspired by my friend Callie, so at least I know I’m not alone!)
— Make a donation to Harvey relief through our charitable giving account. We never made our 2016 matching gift donation, and both felt moved this week to send that earmarked money to Texas.
— Bake apple cider scones for all of June’s teachers, past and present, on the first day of fall (a fun tradition we started last year!)
— Put Financial Peace University plans into motion at our church (we’re not teaching it, but spearheading it, in January!)
— Celebrate my parents well on our Asheville trip, as it’s sandwiched in between their 60th birthdays!
— Celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary!!!

If you have a favorite way to incorporate more fruits and veggies in your diet, please let me know in the comments!! And if you’ve posted your goals somewhere, I’d love to see a link for those, too :)

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Friends! I’m alive! I’ve missed you over these last few crazy weeks! And crazy they have been, between frequent vet appointments, a dishwasher that needed to be replaced, our vacation in Michigan, buying a new car in one week after our car broke down in Michigan (are-you-kidding-me), navigating a new health issue for a family member, preparing for a work trip for me followed by another family vacation, and more… whew.

But I’m still in it! I’m still here making goals! :) And I’m very much hoping for a peaceful, unhurried August with absolutely zero surprise expenses – ha!

What I read in June:
— A Man Called Ove (Very sweet! A quick read.)
— Parenting With Love and Logic (I really liked this book! In moderation, it very much lined up with my parenting philosophy — letting your kids learn from natural consequences and only keeping as much control as you need. Definitely recommended!)
— My Name is Lucy Barton (I picked this up because Joanna has said it’s her favorite book. I liked it, but because it was written as the memoir of an author, the real author used some strange writing conventions that I didn’t love.)
— Books I’m reading throughout the year: The Power of a Praying Wife and The Lifegiving Home

Revisiting my goals for July:
Edit June in June (Did not get to this – adding it to August’s goals!)
Take an evening neighborhood walk any night we’re home and the weather is good (We did a great job with this!)
Book accommodations for John’s secret trip
Follow the daily She Reads Truth reading plan (I did well at the beginning of the month and then tapered off… giving this a half check.)
Plan well (including prepping food) for my Dad’s visit
Enjoy our Michigan vacation with our family! (I’ll be sharing a few photos later this week!)
Cow Appreciation Day!! (Moooooo)

August goals:
— Edit June in June
— Enjoy our Maine vacation with family!
— Go on a date night sans June
— Read To Kill a Mockingbird (my back to school tradition – I try to do it every August! I still haven’t read Go Set a Watchman – should I?)
— Make an itinerary and reservations for our family weekend in Asheville, coming up in September
— Hold our grocery budget to $100 per week (this will be tough – yikes!)

If you have a favorite cheap (and healthy-ish) meal I can try, please let me know in the comments!! And if you’ve posted your goals somewhere, I’d love to see a link for those, too :)

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