Category Archives: Goals

2019 Goals: Habits, Family, Projects, Health

The desire and capacity to set goals has come around again and I AM HERE FOR IT!!! But I am definitely changing my approach this year.

What I have learned over the last two years since having a child (and I’ve learned it THE HARD WAY, I might add LOL, over and over) is that planning a specific “end result” has a very limited effect on what actually gets accomplished. Big ideas come to fruition with focus, of course, but also when you make sure to pivot and adapt to reality along the way. You will know what I’m getting at if you have ever had ” a goal” of getting a toddler out of the house in a timely manner. πŸ™‚ Thankfully, there’s an app that has a load of great things to do with kids and you can download it at gojam.com.

Having a goal and a plan are great — but I find that I have more success these days if I focus on getting to the root cause of things that are driving me nuts and then solve those issues in small increments. So that’s one way I’m changing my approach to goals. Small habit changes, or reinforcements of old good habits that have sort of devolved for me in the past couple of years, are going to be something I work to be more consistent at this year.

The other thing I’ve learned as a newer parent that has affected the way I approach goals is that time is not always my own. Holden has an impact on really everything we are doing in this season of life. We want to do so many things with him! He is at such a fun age! There is so much joy in my role as a mom. But also, I have my our own personal non-parent goals and Garrett and I are still navigatingΒ  how to fit all of those things in too. After their preschool years, I’m planning to homeschool our kids and I’m seriously considering this Online Elementary School. On the other hand,Β  I’m also considering a christian school near our home.

I am a firm believer that there is plenty of time to do things you want to do, but you have to prioritize what is most important. This year, my list of goals/habits/projects are meant to help me keep those priorities in my view.

Habits

*Take vitamins/supplements daily

*Learn to work out at night

*Floss at least 5 times a week and find more info here to know how to get my emergency dentist insurance

*Read for 20 minutes per day at least 5 days a week

*2-3 Peloton rides per week

*Increase vegetable intake

*Meal Plan Weekly

*Use Grocery Pickup as often as possible

*Make time to take a short walk at work every day

*Average 7 hours of quality sleep per night

*Eat more fiber daily

Family

*Holden Swimming Lessons

*Revamp Meal Planning/Grocery Shopping Routine

*Planned Date Night Once Per Month

*Go on 12 Notable Family Outings

*Explore Pre-school transition options for Holden

*Vet back up childcare and begin building relationships with at least 2 additional childcare providers

*Explore Pre-school transition options for Holden

*Make Seasonal Bucket Lists

Projects

*Revive the blog! (content, https, site design)

*Buy a new car

*Start documenting what you wear again

*Furnish the living room and your kitchen with this perfect leathered granite here

*Closet Overhaul

*Figure out how to use Tradesy or Poshmark to sell newer/nicer clothes

*Get 3 Haircuts

*Plan a Spring/Summer Spa Day with cousins

*Organize Holden’s artwork into a repeatable system

*Host a holiday party

*Host another fun get together outside of the holidays

*Make an Office Space for myself somewhere in our house

Health

*Figure out how to make my hair grow back.

*Get my eyes examined and perhaps get a new pair of eyeglasses. Visit this page if like me, you’re looking for trendy frames for your glasses.

*Find a good dental office like Gentry Dentistry clinic to improve not only my dental health but also the appearance of my smile.

*Spine/Core/Pelvic Floor rehab. I might also get CBD oils at https://cbdarmour.co.uk/cbd-oil/raw-original-cbd-oil-3000mg.html to help with inflammation and pain management. The million dollar question, is CBD: Does it make you high? You may click here for more info about cbd.

*Since the pandemic, most households invest in disinfectant and waterless hand wash products and I’m doing the same to keep my family healthy.

*Explore additional gym options (with childcare!) for strength training

*52 Week Peloton Streak. Leave it to the experts if you’re comparing MYX II vs Peloton to see which spin bike is better.

*100 Rides in 2019

*Quit Caffeine for a month

*Try Reformer Pilates

This list will probably evolve as well, but I think it’s a great start. The future feels bright. πŸ™‚

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2018 Favorites + Words for 2019

 

best of 2018

 

Today I thought I would share some of my favorites from 2018 and talk a little bit about how I’m approaching goal setting in 2019. There is always good energy buzzing with change and possibility this time of year, but I think it’s important to acknowledge all the great things that happened. I’m not going to share an in depth retrospective or anything, but I thought I’d share some of my favorites from this past year. (No affiliate links included, just sharing for the sake of sharing.)

Books

Timehop reminded me yesterday that a few years ago I had only read 9 books and 7 of them I ranked as 1 or 2 Stars. LAME. While I only read 9 books again this year, most of them were 4-5 star reads to me. My favorites leaned toward non fiction. I loved Busy Philipps’ memoir This Will Only Hurt A Little. I listened to it on Audible and it was the perfect mix of juicy celebrity gossip + vulnerable human insights — both of which I need to have in order to love a celebrity memoir. Highly Recommend.

I also continue to think almost daily about Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam. It’s not just a book about hacks. It is a book that helps you examine the stories you tell yourself about your time, and how to reframe (or change) those stories so that your life feels more abundant and productive. Excellent, excellent read.

Music

IMG_E6467

I’m including this for a laugh, as it is worth noting that my kid asks for the Top 5 songs to be played on repeat, which highly influenced this list. πŸ™‚ But it is what it is…this is what was playing most of the time when I had the music on. Both Garrett + I want to listen to more music this year — both old and new…as well as see more shows. It’s a hobby we used to share many moons ago, so hopefully we can get back into enjoying and sharing music.

Podcasts

Hands down, my favorite podcast this year was Best of Both Worlds. Great dialogue about practical tips for moms who also work outside the home. I have implemented a number of strategies/perspectives this year that I learned from this podcast. I always enjoy podcasts about real people talking about how they make their lives work.

A close second was Young House Love Has A Podcast. I hadn’t really kept up with John and Sherry Petersik in a long time and I am not quite sure what made me download their podcast, but it is a good combination of practical and fluff/fun so I enjoyed it quite a bit this year.

Purchases

The best thing we bought this year, was a new car for Garrett. He was still driving the 1998 white Subaru Legacy that his parents bought him in high school. I MEAN COME ON, IT WAS TIME!!!! (It had been time for years, but he just loved that dang car.)Β  πŸ™‚Β  Guess what he bought?Β  A 2018 Subaru Legacy. HAHAHAHAHA This is my husband in a nutshell. But the car has been great for his commute, and he’s been enjoying all the technology upgrades. 2019 will be the year I get a new car as well, so that is exciting!

We also bought a dining room table from Costco and I have been so pleased with it!

Makeup Faves

I feel like 2018 was a good year for nailing down my absolute favorites when it comes to makeup. Here is the briefest overview of some of my holy grail favorites.

Foundation: Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation FOREVER (Monday through Friday.) And on the weekends I’m usually wearing IT Cosmetics CC Cream.

Concealer: TarteΒ Creaseless Under Eye Concealer or Estee Lauder Double Wear Concealer

Blush: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush (Mood Exposure, Luminous Flush and Dim Infusion are my go-tos.)

Bronzer: Marc Jacobs O!Mega Coconut Bronzer in Tantastic

Eyeshadows: Viseart FOREVER AND EVER AMEN. I have many of their palettes and the quality is so, so good!

Experiences

Getting away with my family to Humboldt County for my 40th birthday for sure! Also our weekender to Napa. Pre-kiddo, Garrett and I were all about the quick weekenders throughout California. I hope to incorporate more of that in 2019.

—–

Themes for 2019

So with all that said — what will 2019 look like from a goals perspective? I’m not quite sure exactly yet. There are so many fun ways people talk about their approaches to goals at this time of year – Lists, Categories, Words of the Year, Challenges, Box Checking. If you know me at all, you know I love all of these things. For the last two years, I haven’t made any goals. It’s felt too daunting to do anything except to just keep swimming. This year I think I have the bandwidth to be more intentional and more focused. I’m not sure exactly how I’ll “measure” that, or how I will share that here, but I’ve had a few words swimming around in my head about what I want 2019 to feel like.

Consistent. I want to show up for myself with respect to self-care. This includes everything from diet and exercise to getting my hair cut. I want to consistently keep the focus on caring for myself. Also I want to consistently show up: for friends, in this space, with my husband and child. You get where I’m going right? πŸ™‚

 

Collaborative. I want to lean into relationships, old and new. I want to continue to feed the communities I am apart of, as well find new ones.

Evolving. I hope to spend this year learning and changing and I anticipate my family will learn and change just based on the fact that we have a two year old and EVERYTHING IS A PHASE. So I know in December things will look different. I think the reason “evolve” resonates with me is that I don’t want things to feel hectic, and disruptive. I want to flow with the changes and slowly develop. Does that makes sense? Am I sounding like a lunatic?

So that’s the plan. (Or the lack of plan? I reserve the right to incorporate detailed lists as the year goes on. hahah)Β  What are you all working on for 2019? And if you feel so inclined, share with me some of your favorites from the last year.

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2016 Goals + Priorities

Believe you can and you're halfway there

I’ve been a little out of touch with my inner goal-setter for the past few years between challenging promotions at work, getting engaged, planning a wedding, and all of the other living in between. Since about 2013 I would categorize my focus as very external, and I think it shows.

January is no better a time to set goals than July, but something about this January feels a little bit transitional to me. I’m ready to focus on myself again after a few years of focusing on things outside of me. Of course those external things are all still plates that I am spinning, but I am feeling a shift in priorities. I want to do some things that are just for me.

I’d like to spend the year doing relaxing things. Silly things. Celebratory things. Superficial things. Seasonal things. I want to spend my time embracing the awesome. Opening my heart and my mind. Learning new things. I want to stretch myself into something new, and at the end of 2016 I want to feel like I have shed a layer of sorts.

Physical + Emotional Health

I want this to be the foundation of my year. The thing that is most important. When I feel emotionally and physically grounded, most of my other goals easily fall into place. So this will be the priority.

*Be diligent about your morning routine
*Find a therapist (How does one do this? It feels overwhelming.)
*Prioritize mobility as much as exercise
*Walk the dog ALOT!
*Spend lots of time outside
*Continue to mix up CrossFit, Spin + Yoga
*Only do things that feel good in your body

Travel + Leisure

We don’t have kids right now (and it remains to be seen if we will) so I would like to take advantage of that fact this year and spend time traveling to new + beloved places. Also, I’d like to read significantly more than I read this year.

*Palm Springs
*Napa
*Central Coast
*Maui
*Yosemite
*Take a Girls Trip
*Read for 20 minutes everyday
*Read 50 books by the end of the year. DNF any books that you don’t find compelling in the first 50 pages.
*Find seasonal things to celebrate (Maybe bring back the bucket list!)

Family + Friends

I want to feel connected to my community of friends and family and the older I get the more I realize that this doesn’t happen unless you MAKE it happen. Here’s to making it happen.

*Take more photos, make more memories (This year was a bad year for photos and I actively missed it.)
*Send more care packages, and random fun mail.
*Send all family and friends Birthday Cards. It’s a small gesture, but always nice to receive.

Try New Things!

(below are some random ideas)
I read a great article last year about why time goes by so quickly as an adult. The cliffs notes were that it’s because we have less “firsts” after about age 20. So I want to try more things. Be a beginner. Have new experiences. See new places. In essence, slow down time. And appreciate it. I’m tired of always feeling like time flies.

*Take an OrangeTheory class
*Take a hip hop dance class (dude, I am DYING to do this but won’t go alone! LOL)
*Run a 5k, a 10k (and if you feel like it, something longer. No pressure.) While this isn’t new, it’s been a while and I want to approach it like it is.
*Go to Molokini and snorkel (YIKES, this scares me, but Garrett really wants to go.)
*Find some new “staple” recipes.

Financial

Ho Hum, but needs to be done.

*Get our finances a little more automated
*Buy new cars. (This *sounds* fun in theory, but I’m actually dreading it. But it needs to be done.)

Superficial

Because you must always have a few random, fun, superficial things to aspire to.

*Look into Invisalign
*Buy myself a fancy (but classic) handbag
*Finish your gallery wall
*Get a god damn headboard for your bed! (This has been on the list for 3 years in a row. Get it together, girl.)
*Re-decorate the home office
*Cut your hair. (It’s been like a year and I’m not sure this long hair is for me! LOL)

******

I feel good about that list and those priorities. Obviously I’ll add and delete things as the year evolves, but it’s a start. And I feel excited.

Look out 2016!

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2015 Goals

2015 Goals

This year it took me quite a while to get my list of goals posted. It wasn’t that I was feeling uninspired about what I want to accomplish — in fact, quite the opposite. When I did my first pass of goal setting the list looked like a novel. If I banged out an item a day I might still not finish — and I had stuff like “Plan Wedding” counting as just one item.

Clearly I needed a different approach. πŸ™‚

There are lots of things I want to do this year, but the truth is I still have a job, I still have a life, and yep – I am definitely planning a September wedding that suddenly feels like a big ol’ project with a little ol’ timeline. And I’m trying very, very hard to curb my inner-expectation setter so I had to start by not setting 300 goals for the year.

With all that in mind I put together a list of random things on my mind for this year and where it was needed, a little explanation. Some are practical, some are silly, some are aspirational, and surely not all of them will get done. But if I have fun in the process, we’ll call it a win.

Things I Want To Do:


*Have Wedding/Stay Sane/Pay Cash

This goal sort of goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway so I can (hopefully) cross it off of my list.
*Stay in touch with family and friends
I’ve been bad at balancing this with work responsibilities over the last couple of years so it’s at the front of my mind and I’m recommitting to nurturing those relationships this year.
*Make 2015 the year of THE PURGE
We used to always say our house was a small house but that it fit us perfectly. Now it is feeling a little bit…full? We’re going to remedy that this year. I also want this to carry over into all areas of my life. If it’s not working for me, it’s going to get trashed – no matter what it is.
*Make the time I have with my own little family unit (Garrett + Buster) count
I spend a lot of time with Garrett + Buster (because they’re so cute, obvs) but we do sometimes get in a habit of sitting on the couch next to each other staring at our phones. I know we aren’t the only ones. TELL ME WE’RE NOT THE ONLY ONES. So I want to be mindful about quality time with my family.
*Commit to an 80/20 situation with food
My natural tendency is to be 100% or 0% — let’s work on that, Holly. You’re not getting a grade on this so aiming for average is just fine. And probably better in the long run.
*Challenge yourself physically + give 100%
I like to be challenging myself in the fitness arena because both my body and brain appreciate it. This will include some fitness sub-goals along the way I’m sure, but for now keeping myself consistently challenged and NOT phoning it in is a good enough direction to get started.
*Prioritize personal upkeep
Look, you can call me a girly girl, but damn if I am not so much happier when I make time to get my nails done or get a massage or sit in a pedicure chair reading about how “Stars! They’re Just Like Us.” I’ve gone so far as to make appointments ahead of time and WRITE THEM ON MY CALENDAR lately. I want to keep it up.
*Learn a new skill
Because I enjoy being a beginner and trying new things.
*Play golf somewhere fun
I should also add “while not making a fool of yourself.” AKA Home golf simulator priced at $6000, here I come.

Places I Want To Go:

*Scottsdale, AZ
My cousin Jenny is also getting married this year. We are doing up Scottsdale for her Bachelorette Party.
*Mother Daughter Weekender – Location TBD
We can’t start calling it an annual tradition if we don’t do it every year, right?
*My Bachelorette Party – Location TBD
I’m open to suggestions that aren’t Vegas because, no.
*Central Coast
Because it is my geographic spirit animal and I have to go down there once a year and harass one of my besties who lives down there.
*Maui
Because we were supposed to go in December but we cancelled our trip until we got our wedding budget in order. WELL IT’S IN ORDER NOW, SO… πŸ™‚
*Des Moines, Iowa
I always end up in Iowa for work, and usually it means I get to hang with AndreAnna, so YAY!
*Honeymoon – Location TBD
Also open to suggestions.

Things I Want To Let Go Of

*Feeling like my worth is based on what I accomplish
*Feeling like “being in control” is better than “being open to what happens”
*Pleasing anyone by myself + Garrett while planning our wedding
*A weight loss goal

Big Ticket Purchases

*A headboard for our bed
*A Smoker
The people doing the Traeger road shows at Costco are starting to think I’m a stalker.
*A Refrigerator
Our “apartment style” refrigerator is just really, really getting old.
*A dSLR
*A Closet Organization System
ELFA, Closet Doctor — just SOMETHING. If you have suggestions, I am all ears.
*Um…A Wedding
Cuz this TOTALLY counts as a purchase, y’all. OOF

****

This is still a pretty long list but I think if I get to the end of the year and I’ve made some good attempts I will be pleased. What’s on your list for 2015?

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2014 Goals — How’d I do?

2014 Goals

So I set some goals this year, but I was much less aggressive about them than I’ve been in years past. I wasn’t sure if I would even work toward them given that I was feeling so exhausted at the beginning of this year.

Luckily I did work toward them! And while I didn’t come close to finishing everything, I did make some pretty good progress, so I always think it’s fun to look back and reflect.

******

Read 40 books (15 of which you already own, please.)

So…reading was one of my biggest challenges this year. I read THREE books this year. I mean typing that out just blows my mind! That feels weird right now and it felt weird as it was happening. You know how sometimes you get to the end of the year and you’re like “Huh, I didn’t even realize I didn’t do that thing I wanted to do?” Well this was NOT like that at all. I struggled with this goal all year long and missed reading with a fiery passion. So much so I bought myself an e-reader for Christmas! Hopefully that will kickstart 2015?

Keep A Quote Blog
I did actually do that on my tumblr while I was reading, but you can guess that the success of this is directly related to that book-reading goal that I epically failed, so…

More lunch dates with friends
While I didn’t do this as much as I would like (let’s be real, I’d like to be a “lady who lunches” multiple times per week) I do feel like I did make a concerted effort to lunch with people I wanted to see as often as possible. This will carry into 2015 because nurturing my relationships feels more important than ever to me right now.

Paint my nails more
This goal? I totally nailed it. See what I did there.Β  πŸ™‚
New Nail Polish OBSESSION (Julep Flora.) it's a weird pinky purple and I ❀️ it!

Take Buster on more walks
Boys are jogging the track // Girls are running the bleacher stairs.

My walks with Buster kept me sane this year, and actually I will say this year I fell in love with walking. It always seemed to me to be such a waste of time to just…WALK. I don’t know. I’m a high intensity person, walking just never appealed to me. But I have enjoyed being outside, with my feet on the ground, doing a nice thing for my beloved pooch, with nothing but the sidewalk and my thoughts (Ok, and podcasts!) to keep me company. So glad I made an effort to do this.

Take a trip with my mom

My lunch date is cute! #MomsRule

My mom and I took our first EVER IN LIFE girls trip, just the two of us back in July. To celebrate her 60th birthday we headed down to the Central Coast for for days of sun and lounging and hot springs and shopping and OHMYGOD WE ARE DOING IT AGAIN THIS YEAR, WE MUST!

Find a TV series to watch with Garrett to replace the void that finishing Dawson’s Creek has left (WEEP!)

We began two series’ this year that came highly recommended: Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls. We enjoyed starting both. Neither are finished. Unfortunately there is just no replacing the void of Dawson, I guess.

Get regular about meditation
Nah. And frankly I’m sick of hearing about it on the internet so whether I do or don’t succeed in this endeavor, I’m probably done talking about it. πŸ™‚

BUY MORE THINGS!
Here’s what I initially said about this goal:

This probably sounds weird, and I’ll get into it more in another post, but in the past few years I have really culled many areas of my life down to the bare necessities in an attempt to weed out crap I don’t need. It’s been liberating and awesome. So now that I have a better idea of the “things” that are meaningful and that I enjoy using (necessities AND creature comforts), I want to make sure I find the Holy Grail versions. In short, this requires buying things.

A few sampling of the list:

*****Find the perfect pair of high end aviators
Nope.

*****Replace bedroom and living room rugs
Nope. Home decor feels so overwhelming to me. But THIS IS THE YEAR I SWEAR.

*****Buy a bed frame. Because you aren’t in college and haven’t been for almost 10 years.
HAHAHA NOPE.

*****Buy a new refrigerator
Nope.

****So basically I bought nothing I set out to buy, but I do feel like I upgraded a lot of other areas of my life, so whatever. I bought some things. Mostly skin care products, electronics, lip products and workout clothes. I guess that pretty accurately sums up my priorities. LOL *****

Redecorate the guest bathroom
I did this! I did this! Although it mostly consisted of buying matching towels/shower curtain, and hanging some cheeky art. And yes, if you are wondering – I did buy this and hang it:
Considering buying this at Target to hang up in my bathroom. This is why I am not an interior designer.

Find a non-cheesy, non-trite way to display photos in our home
I displayed more photos in our house, but not that many more. Mostly because we didn’t take that many. Although with a wedding forthcoming I feel like we are about to have WAY more photos around, so maybe I’ll add that to this year’s list again.

Get better at buffering
This idea spoke to me in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS at the beginning of the year.

Honestly I kept it in mind a lot. I’m going to cross it off because I did “get better.” But honestly I’m still at like a B-.

Host a family get together
Nope. But I attended quite a few.

Less Coffee // More Herbal Tea
Well I would call this one checked off in bold sharpie as I no longer drink coffee at all. And OHMYGAWD it is still so sad. But also so much better!

Send a god damn Christmas Card
Yeah, buddy! Finally!

Brighten up my workout attire
Because this really resonated with me.
Untitled
Check and check! And I just keep trying new, brighter things. #babysteps #jellybean

Explore some different clothing brands
I totally stepped out of my comfort zone this year and bought lots of new brands to me. I don’t know that I really felt like I dressed any better or worse this year but it was fun to find some new stuff.

*****

Good stuff, 2014. Good stuff.

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5 Simple Goals

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Last week I made a short list of 5 Simple Goals. Here’s a quick little recap of what they were and how I did:

1. Workout 4 Times
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. No.
I have more to say about this, and I am gathering my thoughts. This week I will definitely have an update on my fitness/headspace/weight loss goals.

2. Complete my FitBit #Operation50
I came close, but I don’t think I made it. It’s been rainy since Thursday and that’s sort of hindered my daily strolls/dog walking. #excuses #butstilltrue

3. Wash Car
When I saw it was going to rain, I scratched this goal.

4. Skip Dessert During the Week
I totally broke down on Thursday and had some epic dessert. But the rest of the week (even this weekend) I’ve stayed away. Knowing I was aiming for this goal really kept me in check all week.

5. Post 5 Times on the Blog

Done! And I’m so glad I got caught up on so many of the posts I wanted to publish.

*****

This week I’m sticking with some similar goals and adding in a couple new ones (that I totally stole for YOUR goal lists in the comments. HEY THANKS! haha)

1. Skip Dessert During the Week
2. Post 5 Times on the Blog
3. Read One Night Instead of Watching TV
4. Give Yourself Manicure
5. Workout 4 Times (Let’s try this again.)

Doable, right? I mean if I can’t count on myself to paint my nails, THEN WHO CAN I COUNT ON? πŸ™‚

Any goals you want to share? I bet you have some good ones…

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5 Simple Goals

Untitled

I’ve been making a marked effort this year to balance the personal and professional. 2013 was the Year of My Job, and I want 2014 to look a little bit more balanced.

The inner goal setter in me, however, NEEDS a vision. I spent the month of January experimenting with tiny micro-goals each week that I hoped would help me feel productive and focus on life outside my job. Sometimes they were small, sometimes silly, and sometimes they were meaty and complex. But I never tried to focus on more than 5 things, and what do you know, it’s been pretty manageable. I don’t achieve them all each week necessarily, but it guides my focus. I thought I’d share them on occasion.

Here’s what’s on this week’s agenda:

1. Workout 4 Times

Boys are jogging the track // Girls are running the bleacher stairs.
I can’t seem to get over the hump of 3 workouts per week. Part of that has been taking it easy on my back, and part of that (honestly) has been me being a little lazy. This is the week where I want to commit to four workouts. I’m thinking 2 CrossFit workouts, a workout with my friend Kari (which will probably be a bootcamp or TRX — EEP I’ve never done TRX and I think I’ll be a mess!) and then a Yoga/Wild Card workout. Garrett + I have been loving running bleacher stairs lately and sprinting (Buster too — especially the sprinting!), so maybe something like that. Sounds like a good variety. Four times! I can do this!

2. Complete Fit Bit #Operation50

Finally some #operation50 success! 50k steps. 50 floors. Now I want to see 2 weeks in a row! #fitbit
Ever since I got my FitBit I’ve been aiming for my weekly goals add up to 50,000 steps and 50 flights of stairs. That might seem like a lot or a little to you depending on how active you are, but for my life in this moment this is proving to be a challenge. The Steps goal requires me to get up and get away from desk at work (or else I won’t hit it) and the Stairs goal keeps me motivated to take the stairs at work. I’d like to aim for #Operation75 sometime in the near future, but I can’t even consistently hit 50 every week, so that’s where I’m leaving it for now, and for this week.

3. Wash Car

I know, this seems silly and administrative but it’s been on my To Do List for weeks and needs to get done. I EVEN HAVE A COUPON, which means I only need to *drive* my car over to get washed. I don’t even have to wash it myself! Knowing Professional Touch Car Detailing Hobart, they will wash my car thoroughly it’ll shine afterwards. So really, there’s no excuse. Another thing on my list is to buy car seat covers for comfort and protection.

4. Skip Dessert During the Week

We know how to party!  ☕️☕️
I’ve been abusing dessert. This is my confession. πŸ™‚ It’s one of those things I rationalize by saying “Oh hey, but I worked out.” or “These cookies are totally Paleo, they’re harmless.” I’ve even gone to rationalizing that “It’s only dried mango” as I’ve mawed the entire Trader Joe’s bag. So this week, I’ve decided to focus on getting that in check. I bought a bag of Honeycrisp Apples at Costco this weekend and I have some fun flavored herbal teas — it’s that or nothing. I’m going to aim to eat a good dinner and let that be that. We’ll see how hard this is. πŸ™‚

5. Post 5 times on the Blog

OHMYGAWD I have so many posts that I want to finish (SOOOOOO MUCH TO SAY, SOOOOO MANY STORIES TO TELL) so I need to just GIT’R DONE and get things posted. Show you my favorite winter customized “uniform” lately, which I got the ideas from reading this article about custom uniforms. Share my opinions about blogging and how it has changed (and why I love that!) . Write blog posts helpful for the beginner blogger. I want to really review my Fitbit One and tell you why I love it, tell you about my Keto Experiment, Review my experience with Gwynnie Bee, Share my favorite weeknight recipe, Share my Books To Be Read List, Talk about some Beauty Products, Discuss a cash saving tip I just discovered, Write about strengths/weaknesses, Not to mention the links. Soooooo many links! — YOU SEE! I probably need to post 10 times, but we’re going to aim for 5.

*****

And that’s that. Five little things to focus on. Simple Simon.

What are your 5 Simple Goals this week? Do tell…..

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First Quarter – State of the Union

Evening walk with the Dogfather.

In 2012 I did regular progress reports each month outlining my goals for the current month and my accomplishments for the previous. While that was somewhat useful for me, something about the format wasn’t exactly what I wanted and rather than fix it in 2013, I just sort of skipped it altogether. Good thing too, because I’m sure I didn’t have time to accomplish much outside of work and probably would have felt super de-motivated. In the end, skipping it was a win.

But I miss doing a bit of regular life inventory around here, so I’ve racked my brain for some kind of solution and decided that maybe a Quarterly State of the Union could be helpful. I’m going to pick a few areas (the ones that are the biggest pieces of my life), discuss what’s going well, what could be going better, give you some links to people or resources that are influencing me in those areas, and then list my short term quarterly goals if I have any. (And hell, I may not!) I’m going to try this format this year and see what happens. Feel free to let me know what you think.

Business + Career

What’s Going Well: With respect to the day job, I’m about 3 weeks out from my 1 year anniversary of this new role I took on at work. Upside? I’ve sort of been through everything once. Does that make sense? Last year in addition to just learning a new job I had some serious extra curricular assignments on my desk that were temporary. Most of those are wrapping up at the beginning of this year. TIME TO EXHALE….WOOO HOOO!! Downside: Last Friday at 4pm I was assigned a new little project that may or may not be a big commitment since I had some “extra capacity.” haha

I can’t talk about business + career without talking about blogging. 2013 was the first year that I made a legit part time income off of this blog. It’s not an income that will support our household, but it was enough to have me fretting about taxes this year. (Hi, I am financially unorganized when it comes to blogging. WHOOPS.) And it was also enough for me to want to figure out an actual plan for that in 2014. I feel enormously grateful to everyone who has supported this site by reading, commenting, and allowing me to figure out this “Business of Blogging” as I go.

What Could Be Going Better: For fun, I printed out this free time tracking worksheet from Nicole over at Life Less Bullshit. Her suggestion was to track your time for 72 hours to see where you are really spending it, obviously in the hopes of finding places to maximize your efficiency. I went into it thinking “You know, there is probably some dicking around time that I could be using better. This will illuminate where I have some pockets of free time that I could use more effectively.”

Um, wrong.

It became very clear, very quick that I am currently operating at max efficiency, which includes only about 3.5 hours each weekday evening of “free time.” (No wonder I’m so damn excited for the weekends!) So yes, I could be scheduling those 3.5 hours of time more productively, for sure. But sometimes I like to use them to do extravagant things like showering after hot yoga, washing dinner dishes, doing a load or two of laundry, and singing Kanye West to my dog in a very obnoxious voice. (All things I like to do but don’t have a set schedule for. I need a little spontaneity in my life!)

And here’s the other kicker, sometimes I need to have an unscheduled minute to not talking to anyone, or be working on something. Frankly that’s allowed. And that’s no bullshit. Soooooooo. That whole exercise sort of depressed me because I’m past the point of small, smart fixes. But could be useful if you wonder where all your time is going. What it helped me realize was that at this point in my life juggling act, if I need more time (AND I DO), I’m going to have to make some largeR scale changes that are frankly a bit murky and scary.

Short term goals: Figure out some of the bigger needle movers in this time management situation. Get comfortable saying no at work. 2014 Blog Business Plan! Pay your taxes. OUCH. Make sure that doesn’t happen again in 2014. Open a bank account or something. πŸ™‚

Health + Fitness

What’s going well: Well, I am still alive. SCORE. I have reduced my caffeine intake by a large amount and it has been really helpful. Apparently all I had to do was stock my work stash with DECAF K-Cups and then I wouldn’t feel like I was going to have a heart attack everyday at 2pm. NOVEL IDEA! πŸ™‚ My skin is looking better than it has in at least a decade and I am consistently getting 7+ hours of sleep every night. (If I want to get 9 hours of sleep every night then I would only have 1.5 hours OF unscheduled time to myself on weekdays. So right now I’m good with 7.)

What Could Be Going Better: Just about everything. When I visualize my immune system it looks like a piece of swiss cheese. (mmmm…cheese.) I have been sick so much of the last 2 months (and it’s still lingering!) that I only logged 10 days in the gym total. TEN DAYS. This is a problem on so many levels for me. I mean you guys, the amount of work it takes to squeeze my ass into my VERY TIGHT pants in the morning should probably count as a workout. I have gotten woefully out of shape, and while it is completely understandable (use it or lose it) that doesn’t make it less frustrating.

I am also dealing with a back injury that has been going on (off and on, which is super irritating) since I did a wonky back bend in a Bikram class in November. Thanks to these very efficient chiropractors Glen Huntly who helped me get over the pains I’ve encountered with my back injury! I also finally made an appointment with chiropractors Melbourne last week when I got up from my desk to walk to the bathroom and couldn’t stand up straight.

Of course when I feel frustrated about my inability to workout, or when the cabin fever insanity of no gym time gets to me — I begin to hallucinate that kettle cooked potato chips at the grocery store are calling my name. Tell me this happens to you too. It’s not that I’m eating terribly, but I’m just not really eating to support my goals, ya know? I don’t feel any sort of good/bad moral judgment about it but it’s just dumb. And I’m starting to feel a sort of low grade depression about it. Not normal. (Love this Myth Busters: Chiropractic Edition. A good read if you don’t have a lot of experience with Chiropractors.)

Short Term Goals: Walk More. It’s easy to do, even in my current sick/injured/depressed state and it’s so important. I loved Mark’s Daily Apple’s list of 17 Reasons To Walk More This Year. It was like a beacon of light when I was feeling really bad about my ability to workout. Get to the chiropractor and get to healing. Ease back into your workouts when the time is right. And stop eating chips every time you feel like it.

Family + Relationships

What’s going well: I saw a lot of my family in the last month! My mom and I have had a lot of quality time together recently. I love Garrett to pieces and our relationship right now is in such a good flow. I’ve already been good about birthday cards, thank you notes, and email correspondence so far this year (I know, it’s only been 2 weeks, but there have been quite a few things to send!) and that has been a very purposeful effort. I’m happy with that.

What Could Be Going Better: If you are a friend of mine and you have tried to make plans with me in the last, ooooh — 6 months — I have been super hesitant to commit. I’m guarding my “free time” like a lunatic because I’m never sure if when I have *time* I will also have *energy*. You know how this goes right? (See above about sometimes just wanting to singing Kanye to Buster/not talk to anyone.) So, what I’m saying is, this could be better. I haven’t thought of a great solution to this, but hey, that’s what the next section is for.

Short Term Goals: Go easy on yourself. Make spontaneous plans when the mood strikes. Get rid of the guilt, but also don’t be an inconsiderate dick.

*****

And that’s where I’m at at the beginning of the first quarter of the year, and also where I want to go. Any wild and crazy goals on your list? Give me a little update on YOUR State of the Union? Come on! It’ll be fun! πŸ™‚

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2014 Goals

2014 Goals

This year I’m taking a bit of a different approach with my goals. I’m not categorizing them or focusing on any particular area of my life I just want to make a nice little list of things I am excited to do.

I want 2014 to be the year of pursuing peace, joy, rest and fun. I’m not “choosing a word(s)” I just really gave some thought about what I want next year to FEEL like and those were the ideas that kept invading my brain.

I don’t want to set out to do anything that doesn’t make me feel giddy with excitement.

I’m well aware that life isn’t all about cultivating the superficial, but this year I kind of want my goals to be. I truly believe the rest will fall into place.

One of the things you may notice is that there is not a single, solitary food or fitness goal. It’s been at least 10 years since I haven’t had either of those on a list. And do you want to know the craziest thing? I don’t even feel a little bit anxious about that.

Even without specific goals I plan on 2014 being the year I get my food and fitness mojo back and fear not I will continue to write about it all here. BUT HOW WILL YOU DO THAT WITH NO GOALS, HOLLY?

I have a feeling that I just will. And a bigger feeling that I don’t yet know what that looks like for the year, so I just want to sit with that intention and see what happens. I think the reason that I feel so calm about it is that great food and fitness mojo (good eating, regular exercising, NOT stressing so damn much) seem to co-exist most often when I am pursuing peace, joy, rest and fun. So let’s see how that works in 2014, eh?

If you want to see what else is on my list, here is a little peek:

******

Read 40 books
15 of which you already own, please.

Keep a quote blog
Inspired by this, I’m going to just add this to the random tidbits that I already post on my tumblr.

More lunch dates with friends
Lunch is the perfect get together! You can do it on a weekday or a weekend, you don’t have stay out late, it can involve drinking or non-drinking, and most importantly YOU GET TO SEE FRIENDS.

Paint my nails more
Because I like when they are painted. And also it forces me to just sit still and not multitask for a good amount of time WHICH I NEED. Nail painting as therapy. πŸ™‚

Take Buster on more walks
It’s a toss up on who enjoys it more — me or the dog! Plus — THE FITBIT IS WATCHING. πŸ™‚

Take a trip with my mom
Just us girls!

Find a TV series to watch with Garrett to replace the void that finishing Dawson’s Creek has left (WEEP!)
We watched all 6 seasons of Dawson’s Creek last year and it was silly, lame at times, epic and hilarious. It was also really fun to share. We want to find another series to make our way through together this year.

Get regular about meditation
I don’t need a book or an app or a lesson. I just need a practice. This is so hard.

BUY MORE THINGS!
This probably sounds weird, and I’ll get into it more in another post, but in the past few years I have really culled many areas of my life down to the bare necessities in an attempt to weed out crap I don’t need. It’s been liberating and awesome. So now that I have a better idea of the “things” that are meaningful and that I enjoy using (necessities AND creature comforts), I want to make sure I find the Holy Grail versions. In short, this requires buying things. A few sampling of the list:

*****Find the perfect pair of high end aviators
To replace my old, awesome, cheap ones that I broke. Sob.

*****Replace bedroom and living room rugs
They have seen better days/no longer match.

*****Buy a bed frame
Because you aren’t in college and haven’t been for almost 10 years.

*****Buy a new refrigerator
Because it would make all of my adult dreams come true.

Redecorate the guest bathroom
Because it seems like an easy place to start and my mom said she would help.

Find a non-cheesy, non-trite way to display photos in our home
Because I love framed photos but I’m not really a “Live Laugh Love” frame kind of gal.

Get better at buffering
This idea spoke to me in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.

Host a family get together
Maybe a BBQ? A Holiday?

Less Coffee // More Herbal Tea

I know, I know. But it is for the best. My adrenal system has already written me a thank you note for even considering it.

Send a god damn Christmas Card
It’s not that hard.

Brighten up my workout attire
Because this really resonated with me.

Explore some different clothing brands
I buy a lot of clothes from Gap, Target, Kohl’s. I feel like I’m kind of a slave to the seasons at the same stores. I want to actively pursue some different brands this year.

*****

I’m sure there will be more and I will continue to update this as a working document. Regardless I’m looking forward to documenting the journey here. Have you posted goals for 2014? Leave me a link to yours!

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2013 Goals — How’d I Do?

Holly Would If She Could - 2013 GoalsI almost didn’t set goals in 2013, and my reasoning for that in my original post was as follows: “The thing is, I want 2013 to be the year that I am PRESENT. And goal setting, while super duper awesome can be the gateway drug to living in the future (for me!)” Β Β Β While I ultimately did decide to set some goals, it’s funny how — regardless of my To Do List — 2013 was constantly challenging me to be present. Things worked out so much different than I thought they would when I made this road map one year ago, but despite all of that I wanted to go through and make my check marks. LIST MAKERS FOREVER!!!!Β  πŸ™‚

The areas I focused on were Fitness, Fun, Relationships, My Jobs, and this Blog. Here’s how all of that shook out.;

Fitness Goals

*Train for and run The Relay
*Run another half marathon Aw hell no! 10 miles + The Relay was enough.
*Continue CrossFit 4-5 per week This obviously did not happen despite some good efforts.
*Do a pull up. By yourself. Without a band. This is like my holy grail goal.
*Map out a plan to improve your lifting technique I took a class! I worked with a lifting coach! I definitely improved, and I have the PRs to prove it.
*If you have time, incorporate some yoga for mobility So glad I finally did this.

Fun + Relationships

*Get married THE ENTIRE INTERNET IS TAPPING THEIR TOES, GARRETT! πŸ™‚
*Private
*Keep up with The Great Skincare Experiment and transition to 100% Natural Skincare I kept it up. I transitioned to 100% Natural Skincare. And then guess what? I WENT BACK TO THE DARKSIDE. I’ll talk more about that in 2014, but things are going really well with my skin right now!
*Get professional photos taken with Garrett again Super fail. We barely took any selfies this year. So sad.
*Plan a weekend away with girlfriends While I didn’t do this on such a grand scale since I traveled so much for work, I think I took major advantage of that work travel for girlfriend time, so I’m checking this off!
*Read 50 books BAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I think I read less than 20.
*Do another year of Project Life Purposely stopped this after I got my job. Project Life is awesome, it just wasn’t a priority AT ALL this year.
*Write one hand written note per month Fail.
*See a city with Garrett that is new Double Fail.
*Document your outfits more in an effort to dress better at work I got pretty good at regularly putting my OOTDs on Instagram. Follow me there if that is your thing, I’ll be doing it again in 2014.
*Stop bringing/prepping so much food at parties Garrett suggested this one and I TOTALLY did it. It was like REALLY REALLY REALLY hard, but I managed to be reasonable about volume of food at parties, when entertaining, or when “bringing something” to a gathering.
*Take a Butchering class I didn’t. But I’ve got my eye on this for next year.
*Update home decor “If you feel like it and have time” was how I pitched it to myself this year. The cliffs notes: I did NOT feel like it, nor did I have time. πŸ™‚

Professional + Blogging Goals

*Do more public speaking I did the same amount. We’ll call that completed.
*Write a cookbook I am proud of This deserves a whole huge blog post of its own. Maybe one day.
*Post 52 new recipes to the blog I posted 9. This makes me sad.
*Redesign website This deserves a whole huge blog post of its own also. I have VERY bad web design luck.
*Start a sponsorship/advertising program that builds community Nope. 2014 goal? Yep.
Private
*Meet more blog readers/bloggers Nailed it! And it was awesome!
*Be a better blog commenter I will say sort of. It went in waves.

*****

And the thing I made a goal to keep in mind all year long:

Its ok to be happy with a calm life

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Ha.

Ha.

My life this year did not feel calm AT ALL. But I guess that’s okay, because I went into most things with open eyes. I changed direction early on this year, but I’m happy to see I still got some of this done. I will definitely be setting goals for 2014, but they will probably be more fun, funny and superficial with a few To-Do items thrown in. I need a year off from accomplishing things and a year to just focus on feeling how I want to feel. It’s going to be a change of pace, but a good one I think.

Hope you all have a happy and safe new year!

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