When June arrived more than a week before her due date, I thought all of my chances for accomplishing any of my January goals were gone. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve been able to get done over the last few weeks! I do expect for the next few months it will get harder, not easier, to be productive, as John and then I go back to work and June stays awake for longer stretches. However, I always surprise myself by how much I can get done when I just put my head down and do it; it’s easy to be ambitious about the things that matter most to me and our family! On our first neighborhood walk, when June was one week old! We’ve used the Ergo almost every day since then! Revisiting my goals for January: Organize coat closet and install hook for Ergo (closet organized and found another solution for Ergo!) Read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” for NR book club Research landscaping companies for our backyard project Pack our hospital bag Re-read first chapters of Babywise and The Nursing Mother’s Companion (didn’t re-read them, but we’ve referenced each several times, which is all I’ve needed) Order favorite Instagram prints from 2015 Prep several EFM posts for after our girl’s arrival (didn’t get as many prepped as I would have liked, but so far I’ve had enough time to keep a good rhythm!) February goals: — Take two classes on Skillshare — Find a new rhythm once John returns to work (So sad about this, but I am grateful for all of the time we had together to get settled!) — Begin our will — Resume our monthly tennis dates with Sam + Graham — Go to Ash Wednesday service — Read

In looking ahead at my calendar, it seems February is going to be the last quiet month before things really kick into high gear with travel, work, visitors, etc. in March, April, and May. So I want to use this month well, and also enjoy the slower pace! January goal recap: Finish our wedding album design and place the order Finish the video for our niece’s first year Finish celebrating Christmas with my family in Connecticut! Send out invitations for a special baby shower (Invites have been selected and will be ordered this week!) Get into a rhythm with John for our daily Bible reading That last one – yikes. It has been way harder than I anticipated to get into a rhythm with our reading. The assignment for each day is fairly lengthy – 15-20 minutes – and we haven’t settled on a time that works for both of us. We’ve tried before bed, in the car while driving together, and at dinner, but nothing has stuck. Any suggestions?? Goals for February: Prepare our new backyard flower garden bed (take out grass, amend soil, etc.) Research and choose plants for the new garden bed Touch up paint on our front door (yes, still left over from October’s paint job!) Pull inspiration for dining area curtain options Confirm a baby shower food and decor plan What do you have planned for this month? I’d love to hear, or, if you’ve written a post about it, take a look! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

February! The month of my birth and the birth of seemingly half of my friends — lots to celebrate for the next few weeks! :) To recap, my January goals: Make toffee. YES! All the recipes I looked at in advance looked intimidating (you have to stir THIS fast and pour it at THIS temperature), but I finally settled on this one and jumped in. It was a little finicky, but my first ever batch turned out delicious, so I have confidence you, too, could conquer it! Install our new kitchen pendant lights. Check! We actually installed another new light fixture, as well! Write another Marvelous Money post. Check! The most popular one to date. Deep clean our refrigerator. Check! No post on that one :) Donate our miscellaneous technology to Kramden. (When we went to gather everything up we realized we didn’t have what they’re looking for, so I skipped this one.) My February goals: — Finalize “Before 30” list and post. — Celebrate Valentine’s Day with friends and husband — Plan something fun with CT friends in the Triangle — Work on guest accommodations before March visitors — Plant jasmine around mailbox (likely – unless the garden center tells me it’s not the right month to plant! :) What do you have planned for this month? If you’ve written a post about it, feel free to leave the link below, because I’d love to take a look!