In all honesty, this month was full of all the things – from amazing to anxiety-filled. I felt like the habits I’ve been building this year started to fall apart and I wasn’t able to stay on track with all of my goals as much as I had been since the beginning of the year. It was bound to happen, months get busy and obviously there is so much outside of our control, especially in 2020. I’m trying to go into November remembering that I can only control what’s in my grasp and I have to trust that it will be enough. When I set goals at the beginning of 2020, here’s what I decided on:
Goal 1: Prioritize my health – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and social.
Goal 2: Allow open to be an invitation to live intentionally.
In October, here is how those two goals played out:
October Monthly Goals
Paint Built Ins – Moving this to November
Clean out basement and shop vac – Not fun, but it’s done.
Work on Real Estate Exam Course – Not as far as I’d like to be, but we’re still moving forward.
Participate in Ali Edwards’ Art of Noticing – done!
Read 4 Books – I only finished two in October, but I got some more in the works.
October Weekly Goals
Two Orange Theory Classes Per Week – maybe my favorite goal of the month. Check!
Weigh In – yep!
Budget – stayed on track and reviewed weekly.
Tending Tuesday – done!
Weekly Sabbath – finished strong on this one.
October Daily Goals
Exercise – Rocked this one.
Read the Word – Not too shabby!
Hit H2O goal – I did about have the days this month.
Vitamins – I could have done better on this one!
October Highlights
Our friends, Jeff and Taylor, had their sweet baby boy.
We spend an entire weekend in Hamilton and I get to enjoy lots of baby snuggles.
We had our first snow of the season on October 26. Normally I wouldn’t consider this a highlight, but here we are.
October Favorites
Food: Perfect Bars
Book: The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker
Purchase: Jeans from American Eagle
Song: The Lakes by Taylor Swift
I managed to journal every day in October, which is a pretty awesome feat but also is a good indicator of me listening to what I need. I’m hoping to jump back on the bandwagon in November and knock out some more goals before the year comes to an end. Here’s what we’re looking at for November:
November Monthly Goals
Paint Built in Book Shelves – I’ve been wanting to to some touch ups and paint the entire section of built ins in our basement. We are using oil based paint, so I’m hoping for a good weather day for me to have the windows open.
Read 4 Books – It may not be reasonable to keep up the momentum from last month, but we’ll see how we do.
Replace Blinds – Our blinds are all wonky sizes, so we’re needing to get custom blinds made – I’m hoping for a good Black Friday deal.
Complete my Real Estate Courses
Show Small and Local for Christmas – I’m really hoping to support small and local businesses in both what I buy and what I ask for this year.
Vote on November 3rd!
November Weekly Goals
Most of these are the same as they’ve been, but I’m seeing progress in all areas, so I’m going to keep chugging. I’m adding the FinalVibe content calendar for each week, because that’s something that I’ve really been enjoying and that has been helpful to FinalVibe progress.
August was good and full and my birthday felt thoroughly celebrated throughout the entire month. Though we couldn’t celebrate like we have in the past, it was great to get to spend quality time with my family and Kevin’s family. The weather has already started to cool off which has made for some lovely evening walks and some even better pre-fall vibes.
So far 2020 has shaped up to look different than I ever could have imagined, but having goals has allowed me to continue moving forward and has brought a lot of comfort, peace, and growth. When I set goals at the beginning of 2020, here’s what I decided on:
Goal 1: Prioritize my health – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and social.
Goal 2: Allow open to be an invitation to live intentionally.
In August, here’s how those two goals played out:
August Monthly Goals
JR Content Calendar – Quite a few posts on the blog in August. We’ll call this a win.
Birthday Cheesecake – I decided this didn’t line up with some of my other healthy goals, so we scratched this one.
Paint an Accent Wall in our Bedroom – Moving this to next month.
Read 4 Books – Checked off 10 in August!
August Weekly Goals
Weigh In – yep!
Budget – stayed on track and reviewed weekly.
Tending Tuesday – done!
Create FinalVIbe Content Calendar – I could have done better on this one! Luckily Kevin helped pick up the slack.
August Daily Goals
Exercise – EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Read the Word – started out rough, but finished strong.
IG Post – 14 posts
Vitamins – did it!
August Highlights
My family spent a relaxing weekend at the lake.
Kevin hit 70 miles on his bike (and we enjoyed meeting up with friends in Sedalia).
We celebrated my 29th birthday and my people loved on me so well.
I went to a sunflower field for the first time.
I started Phase One of the Live Hard Program.
We brought home some new plants from Helmis.
I powered through 10 books (which has been more than I’ve finished in an entire year before).
August Favorites
Food: Yogurt, Strawberries and Dark Chocolate (so much yum!)
Book: Chasing Vines by Beth Moore
Purchase: Air Force 1s
Song: One of Them Girls by Lee Brice
September is already shaping up to look different than it has in the past. Living in a college town, it’s typically fast-paced and the town wakes back up, with thousands of students arriving back to campus for a new semester. This year, while students are headed back, masks and social distance requirements are changing things up and the environment definitely feels a bit different. Many students are continuing to take classes online, but have still chosen to return to Columbia anyway. COVID numbers have started to increase, which has put pressure on our local government, businesses, and public schools. Although some schools (like Mizzou) still plan on having college football, this will be the first year that we won’t be sitting in the stadium for every single game. It’s going to be different, and I’m not fully prepared.
There are still plenty of things going on and I’m still powering through on some personal goals. Here’s what that looks like for September:
September Monthly Goals
Paint an Accent Wall in our Bedroom – Really wanting to add some navy paint to our room this month!
Read 4 Books – It may not be reasonable to keep up the momentum from last month, but we’ll see how we do.
Blog – I have so enjoyed posting here and hope to continue that in September. Not sure what that will look like yet, but I have some posts already planned out.
No Spend – August was a little rough on my personal goals (even though we met the budget), so I’m just planning on buying necessities in September.
September Weekly Goals
Most of these are the same as they’ve been, but I’m seeing progress in all areas, so I’m going to keep chugging. I’m adding the FinalVibe content calendar for each week, because that’s something that I’ve really been enjoying and that has been helpful to FinalVibe progress.
And just like that…it’s my birthday month! Despite all that COVID has tried to take down, I’m pretty sure this year is shaping up to be one of the most productive yet. It’s had it’s own set of highs and lows for sure, but I’m so proud of what I’ve personally achieved during what could have been a time of just putting my goals on pause. At the beginning of the year, I set two main goals:
Goal 1: Prioritize my health – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and social.
Goal 2: Allow open to be an invitation to live intentionally.
Every quarter, I use my Powersheets to “rate” how I’m doing in eight areas – health, friends, finances, spouse/significant other, family, recreation, work, and spiritual/personal growth. When thinking of Goal 1, I was planning on using these ratings as a gauge to tell how I was improving. So far, I’m happy with how this is going. I have exercised for 159 days in a row, continued meeting with my counselor, and we made huge improvements on clutter and extra stuff in the house. You should have seen what we got rid of.
Goal 2 has been a little tricky to manage with hosting and celebrating others (in a traditional sense) being put on hold. I have used this time to deepen current relationships over FaceTime/Marco Polo, but it’s just never the same as having people sitting next to you on the couch. Hopefully, I’ll be able to work on this one even more as we continue throughout the year.
July Monthly Goals
4th of July Weekend in Hamilton – We had the best weekend with friends for the 4th of July. It’s become a tradition for a group of us to go visit Sarah and Cole, and I hope it never ends. I’m truly so thankful for this weekend getaway every single year.
Revamp/Clean Up Spotify Playlists – Whew I did some work on these playlists in July, just in time for Taylor Swift’s new album. BOOM.
Read 4 Books – Yep, wrapped up the following books: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Olau, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, This is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live by Melody Warnick, Dare to Lead by Brene Brown, and The Selection by Kiera Cass.
July Weekly Goals
Weigh In – Yep! Feeling good about the scale lately!
Budget – Done, I typically check it more than weekly, but this is a good reminder.
Tending Tuesday – CHECK!
July Daily Goals
Exercise – EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Read the Word – Could have done better on this one. I need to work on my morning route.
IG Post – Definitely not even close to every day.
Vitamins – I got new vitamins, and I’m back on track with this one.
July Highlights
FinalVibe got T-Shirts!
We spent 4th of July in Hamilton and it was everything I needed and then some.
We celebrated Eric’s 27th Birthday!
Columbia issued a mask order for the next 90 days. Woof. (This isn’t a highlight, exactly, but it’s important to note.)
Kevin rode 50 miles on his bike for the first time!
I hit 150 days of exercise in a row.
We hung out with Kevin’s fam at the Lake for Scott’s birthday.
July Favorites
Food: Yogurt, Strawberries and Dark Chocolate
Book: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Purchase: A Massage Gun
Song: All of the songs on Taylor Swift’s new album
I mentioned that August is my birthday month, and I’m turning 29 this year! This birthday has a high chance of being low-key and I’m 110% ok with that.
August Monthly Goals
JR Content Calendar – More regular IG and Blog Posts have been part of my goals over the last few months but I haven’t exactly made it happen. I’m hoping getting a little list going will help me follow through here.
Birthday Cheesecake – Every year I make a cheese cake for my birthday, and I want this year to be the same. If you know of any good recipes let me know in the comments. I’m looking to try something different this year.
Successful Work Move – We’re moving offices! After 5+ years in one building, it will be so strange to be going somewhere else every day.
Spend the Weekend at the Lake – We’re going to the Lake for a chill weekend getaway with the family, should be a blast!
Onboard New Teammates – Our team at work is growing and I’m looking forward to doing lots of training in August.
Have One Photoshoot – Haven’t been able to check this off in a while. Time to dust off the DSLR.
Paint an Accent Wall in our Bedroom – Really wanting to add some navy paint to our room this month!
Read 4 Books – I may have mentioned this before, but my goal is to read a book a week so that I can hit 52 by the end of the year! It’s a huge goal but I’m currently on track.
August Weekly Goals
Most of these are the same as they’ve been, but I’m seeing progress in all areas, so I’m going to keep chugging. I’m adding the FinalVibe content calendar for each week, because that’s something that I’ve really been enjoying and that has been helpful to FinalVibe progress.
Weigh In
Budget
Tending Tuesday
Create FinalVIbe Content Calendar
August Daily Goals
Exercise
Read the Word
IG Post
Vitamins
Anyone else looking forward to August? What goals do you have for the month?
At the beginning of each year, I choose a word that will be a guidepost on my journey throughout the year. I started following along with this project (originally created by Ali Edwards) in 2013, and I’ve been picking a word ever since. For my word this year, I chose Open. You can read my original post and goals for the year here.
Here’s what I wanted open to look like:
Open is an invitation to let my guard down, to experience vulnerability, and to invite people in.
Open is an invitation into wonder and delight. To get outside, go for drives, and take in the natural beauty around me.
Open is an invitation to enjoy rhythms over routines. To try new things. To allow flexibility and spontaneity.
Open is an invitation to dig deeper into God’s word and truly experience solitude with the Lord.
Open is an invitation to really live in the margins. To stop scrolling and spend my time doing things that fill my cup.
Open is an invitation to a peaceful, deep, and joy-filled 2020.
Open (adjective)
allowing access, passage, or a view through an empty space; not closed or blocked up.
exposed to the air or to view; not covered; unprotected; vulnerable.
with the outer edges or sides drawn away from each other; unfolded.
freely available or accessible; offered without restriction.
frank and communicative; not given to deception or concealment.
not finally settled; still admitting of debate.
Open (verb)
move or adjust (a door or window) so as to leave a space allowing access and view.
unfold or be unfolded; spread out.
establish (a new business, movement, or enterprise).
make available or more widely known.
MORE // LESS
MORE rhythms. LESS routines.
MORE long hugs.
MORE intentional purchases. LESS stuff and things.
MORE drawing from an overflow of rest. LESS running myself ragged.
MORE deep, vulnerable conversations. LESS hiding, not asking for help.
MORE championing others and celebrating small wins.
MORE quiet. LESS noise and distractions.
MORE boundaries. LESS have tos.
Less scrolling (always).
MORE simplifying. LESS complicating.
MORE open.
Quotes
While I am learning to make peace with the plans that fell apart, I am learning to breathe deep and keep an open heart and the hope-filled possibility that there is more ahead of me. – Morgan Harper Nichols
We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. – Unknown
