October 2021 goals

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.

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