May 2019 Goals
Happy May, friends! No preamble today – let’s jump right in!
On my calendar this month:
— A trip to Nashville to visit my younger sister!!
— Shep’s baptism, which also happens to be Mother’s Day weekend – and both sets of grandparents will be in town!
— The premier of The Bachelor (though I am dubious about this season’s lead…)
What I’m loving right now:
— Lisa pointed me toward this piece on my last goals post, and unsurprisingly, I loved it. The writer is also the author of 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, which had been on my TBR list – but reading his article moved it closer to the top!
— This is one of the prettiest homes I’ve ever seen. Lots of inspiration here for easy coastal style!
— We made this mustard chicken last week for the first time and it was delicious! Extremely simple to prep and it roasts in the oven, which means hands-off cooking for mama. Win-win.
What I read in May:
— This is unusual for me, but this month I switched between three different reads. I picked up The Lifegiving Home again and read through the first three months of the year, I’m about 3/4 through Where the Crawdads Sing (was a little slow at first but now I’m tearing through it!), and I’m a few pages into This is Where You Belong!
Revisiting my April goals:
Cull and sort 2018, 2014, and 2013 iPhone photos (made some progress here!)
Go on an evening walk every day it’s possible
Repaint gallery wall frames
Print a photo for our mantel frame
Add a few more plants to our back bed
Plant our vegetable garden
May goals:
— Book our camping trip for later this year
— Send out invites to a book swap party!!
— Finish culling and sorting 2015, 2014, and 2013 photos
— Write a Marvelous Money post on investing (the people have spoken!)
— Commission an art print from Katie in prep for Father’s Day
— Order Shep’s bike helmet
— Refresh our living room mantel
As a reminder, many of the goals above are drawn from my 2019 goals!
Alrighty, choose your own adventure. Tell me:
A) What you think about Hannah as the Bachelorette.
B) Whether you’d be interested in a post on our technology family ways. (The 12 Tips piece got me thinking, and though I talk about the topic a lot I don’t believe I’ve ever devoted a whole post to it.) If so, let me know what you want to know.
C) Whether you’d want to come to my book swap party (!!!)
D) What questions you have about investing.
E) The thought of your choice or all of the above.
Affiliate links are used in this post!
Happy May, friend!! I LOVED Where the Crawdads Sing SO, SO, SO MUCH, and I want to start a book club merely to discuss this book. I’m buying it for everyone in my life right now, and it also moved into my top twelve books of all time, which hasn’t shifted but once in the last seven years. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it when you finish!! I found it so beautifully written (the story and characters, as well as nature) and so compelling in countless ways.
PS: you know I want to come to the book swap party!!
I can’t wait to discuss!! And of course, I hoped you’d want to come!
My mom just finished Where the Crawdads Sing and gave it to me as of yesterday. Excited to read it now!
Yay for May! It really feels like this year is flying.
I am not a fan of Hannah as Bachelorette; she seemed kind of phony in her season, but maybe that was her pageant training. Maybe being the lead will let her shine a bit? I’m not planning to watch for the first time in forever, which is sad!
I have been trying to slog through the beginning of Where the Crawdads Sing, so I’m glad to hear that it picks up. I would LOVE to come to your book swap party; however, I live in Virginia. You’ve inspired me to try some things out here to make new friends.
After the After the Final Rose show, the thought crossed my mind that I might not watch her season because it was just so awkward and strange… but of course, here I am a few weeks later, ready to give it a shot :)
I would love to attend a book swap party! My book club has in the past done a white elephant book exchange at our December party. This year we changed it up to book themed items. Also, the Wake County book sale starts today at the Fairgrounds if you need to find more books on a budget!
Love it, Jess! Expect to hear from me soon :)
Emily, I love reading and would love to come to your book swap party! I am also super interested in your thoughts on technology use in your family. I think we share many of the same views, but you’re always so thoughtful at putting those thoughts on paper. Can’t wait to read!
Thank you, Amanda!! Looking forward to meeting you!
Emily, I have to admit that I’m not thrilled about Hannah as the Bachelorette. I’m sure I’ll watch, because frankly I know several colleagues will and I love the social aspect of following along! And I would especially love to hear more about technology and how your family approaches it. On the subject, I remember one of your “How We Do It” posts noted you don’t text much. Lately I’ve been feeling more dependent on my phone than I’d like and I’m finally realizing it’s because of texting. Light bulb moment, for sure, and I’m now trying to not instigate text conversations. I realize that’s not necessarily family-related, but I love your thoughts on technology in general!
Such an interesting observation! I would actually argue that it IS family-related, because the more you’re on your phone, the more it affects your family… but more about that soon! :)
I really enjoyed reading This is Where You Belong! We just moved from Oklahoma to D.C. in January so it was great timing for me, but I definitely think a lot can be gleaned no matter how long you’ve lived somewhere. It doesn’t come from a faith-based perspective, but so much of it aligns with the neighborliness we see in Scripture and the heart of God.
So glad to hear it! I’m excited to keep reading :)
I think Hannah will end up being great! There’s no doubt they will have put her through some training about being on screen and I think she comes across so goofy because she’s super genuine and just a normal girl.. I feel like we had more “contestants” like her before social media made getting on the show a career launching pad. I’m really excited!! Also for the Bachelorette special next week! :)
I hope so! I don’t doubt that she’s genuine, my issue is that she sometimes just seems incapable of putting a sentence together, which could make her hard to follow as a lead where we’re looking to her to narrate what is happening. We shall see!!
I would love to join a book swap! My book club has done a white elephant at our Christmas party for the past few years. Also, the Wake County library sale is this weekend at the fairgrounds if you need to grab new books on a budget.
Invite coming your way once everything is prepped!
I’m excited about Hannah! I get why people are hesitant but I think she’s goofy and fun, and presumably will have been given a bit more training. The live portion of After the Final Rose was a bit awkward but I was super endeared by her, since I have that awkwardness myself! And they have editing on the show so I think lots will be edited out. As far as investing goes, I am 26 years old and know literally nothing about it. Please tell me where to start!
You got it, girl!!
Have you read The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah or Educated by Tara Westover? There are similar but different from Where the Crawdads Sing but would be a interesting discussion to compare/contrast.
Not Em, but chiming in to say I LOVED both Educated and The Great Alone, in addition to Crawdads. Definitely lots of similarities and agree they would be fun to compare/contrast.
Also chiming in to say I loved all three of these books! All three are SO well written and I agree, definitely some interesting material to compare.
I JUST picked up Educated from the library (I was number 500-something on the list!!) and am very excited to dig in!
And pardon my grammar faux pas :-)
I’d love to hear your thoughts on technology! I love your posts.
Thank you, Gillian! So glad you’re here!
I’d love to come to a book swap party — and seeing Steph’s comment above makes me think we may need to turn May’s articles club into a “Where the Crawdads Sing” discussion. SO GOOD.
Yes!! Articles Club 2.0, ha!
Hi Em! I‘d be so in for the book swap party, but Savannah might be a little far… As for the other questions: I don‘t watch much TV and have no idea who this Hannah is, ha! But I’d love a post with ALL your wisdom on technology and family!!
You got it, friend! Road trip?!
I’m almost finished with Where the Crawdads- likely may be able to wrap this evening. It is such a wonderful book! I’d be interested in a book swap party! I’d love to hear about how your family manages technology- from your personal usage down to how kids’ exposure is managed. As usual, always enjoy your posts! I’m not up to speed on Bachelor nation, but hoping to catch up this season.
Invite coming your way! Thank you, friend! Definitely planning to touch on those topics.
I’m OOT if you need a place for people to sleep.
Forgot to comment on this post! I’d love to come to your book swap party. Sounds like so much fun! :)
Yes girl! I’m excited!
A book swap party sounds like a blast! I love getting new book recommendations, especially for genres I don’t normally gravitate towards.
Ooh, I hope you can come! I think it would be a little bit of a hike for you, but would be so fun :)
Em, have you done a post before on how you cull your iphone photos? I am feeling SO overwhelmed in this category and know I need to do something with our tangible memories. Also, happy May! A trip to Nashville sounds like such fun. Xoxo
This is a MUCH requested topic and one I will definitely be covering in the future! But as of now, not yet!
Is it too late to say yes to the book swap party???