What a weekend. We got about two inches of snow on Friday and the cold front (after several days of 50-60 degree weather) made us want to stay inside all weekend. We did venture out to hang up our new bird feeder and I snuck in a little me time at a bookshop downtown. I did come away with the first book in the Crescent City series by Sarah J Maas that I’ve had on my TBR for years at this point.
I’m currently in the middle of the audiobook “Remarkably Bright Creatures” which is book number 12 for the year. I managed 65 in 2023 and am on track to surpass that if I keep up this pace. Depends on how many 800+ page Sarah J Maas/Brandon Sanderson books make it onto my list. I’ve really been trying to habit switch to spend less of my time on my phone, and more with a book after Cal goes to bed. Amazing book stores and a nightstand full of books I’m excited about definitely help make that happen.
I always enjoy following along with current trendy things on social media. Even though I don’t post there super regularly, it’s still fun to think about what I would post if I was following along with the viral TikTok challenges (minus dances because, well, just no). Most of the ones I’m excited about lately are Pinterest related – so enjoy these few fun things and maybe I’ll share some again in the future when new ones pop up.
Jacqueline-Core
This one was made by searching my name and “core” on Pinterest.
I’m a huge fan of the French vibes that my name always brings about. Plus books and a solid quote. I’m sold.
Jacqueline Aesthetic
Searched “Jacqueline Aesthetic” on Pinterest. Mind readers. Censor for tiny eyes.
Doesn’t the second to last photo remind you of a Taylor Swift album? Just me, ok cool. PS. Writing a post about all my thoughts on Taylor Swifts new album with a whole list of my favorite songs.
If My Pinterest Board Was My __________
Curated Pinterest boards showcasing all my favorites.
Simultaneously my favorite to make and the longest to put together. I did have some of these things already pinned, but it was fun to categorize them in this way. Attitude and aesthetic are spot on. I normally say “neutral” is my favorite color, but I had to do something a little more visually interesting for this!
If I were a __________ (according to Kevin)
I asked Kevin, “If I were a __________ (color, season, fruit, etc.) what would I be? These were his answers.
Color: coral
Season: fall
Fruit: blueberries
Time of day: nap time
Flower: mums
Thing: magic 8 ball
Holiday: Christmas
Weather: 73 degrees and partly sunny
Food: nachos
Ok, this was fun. I’m here for all of the things that are supposed to describe me. Obviously, if I didn’t agree it wouldn’t be here. They are all curated and lovely and I just want to keep them here as a reminder of silly things we do like I wish I still had my last MySpace Top 8, Favorite Xanga Quotes and Tumblr reposts. RIP to all those websites, ok bye for now.
I almost didn’t choose a word of the year. After 9 years (!!) of picking one word to focus on for an entire year, I felt stuck. 2021 was a big year. I turned 30. Had a baby. Took on more responsibilities at work. It felt weighty to choose a word that would encompass all that and a growth mindset while also feeling a desire to pare down and dial back. I tossed around a LOT of different ideas and didn’t actually pick one until after January 1st.
I believe that an intentional life boils down to passion and connecting to a strong “why”. Choosing a word I wanted to focus on needed to align with that (no pressure). Words in the running: steady, still, intentional, play, slow, balance, content, celebrate, selah, attract, and finally my word for 2022, engage.
engage (verb): occupy, attract, or involve; establish a meaningful contact or connection with
Engage is a reminder to have hard conversations.
Engage is a reminder to lean into the challenges and growth of mamahood.
Engage is a reminder of what needs my immediate attention an what does not.
Engage is a reminder that my actions and words set an example.
Engage is is a reminder that “our days are numbered”, “time is a thief”, and “they won’t stay little for long”.
Engage is a reminder to be present.
Throughout 2021, there was a lot that worked – being more agile (I’m looking at you 3 week early baby!), celebrating milestones and wins, as well ask asking for help more often. But I also saw a few things that didn’t – having a rigid schedule, overthinking through things I could not control, and trying to overdo it. I really learned that my priorities were shifting. I asked myself frequently how I would feel about certain tasks when I looked back on my life at 80 years old. Relationships, the way I had cared for my own health, and the impact I had made on others ranks at the top of the list. But you know the things that won’t? A 100% perfectly clean house, posts/likes online, and the size of my clothes. So I set the following goals: 1. Feed Callahan for 6 months. 2. Focus on my health through the food I’m eating, the way I’m moving my body, and how I’m caring for myself mentally and emotionally. 3. Nourish relationships and be all in for my people. This includes celebrating wins, learning from mistakes, and thinking of other people first.
I am ready to engage.
As part of my brainstorming process for picking a word, I see what quotes, mantras, and photos are appealing to me. Here are just a few:
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:13
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are. Brene Brown
Rhythms have been on my mind a lot over the last year, especially moving from my intention of rest to my intention of open. I’ve thought a lot about my own rhythms – what mine are and why I have them – as well as how those compare to the things that are naturally occurring around me. It seems that this is made evident to me the most in the fall, as the leaves begin to change colors and lose their leaves. It sometimes seems hard to be aware of the changing of leaves budding in the spring, to being full and lush in the summer, to changing colors and falling in autumn, to the bare trees of the winter – and again and again each year without fail.
Rhythms are a regular reminder of times to speed up and slow down, work and rest, and inhale and exhale. I love rhythms over routines because they’re softer. They’re less like rules and more like encouragements. Rhythms are a way of saying that something is important without saying it’s a non-negotiable. It’s a way to show up for the projects, emergencies, and most urgent while still getting the day to day tasks done. Part of my daily rhythm right now is to make sure that I track my food and exercise daily but if something or someone needs me, that’s where I’m going to show up first. I will give up my exercise streak on my Apple Watch so that I could hold my best friend’s new baby and enjoy some extra sleep on a weekend away. Rhythms mean that I hit the exercise and calorie goal most days but that I’ll always get to prioritize my people over anything else.
I was excited to see that the Magnolia Journal’s fall theme was rhythms. After reading so many good things, I decided I wanted to memorialize their piece called An Essay on Rhythms:
Nature dances to a rhythm: In the way the sun rises and sets. In the birds’ song at sunrise and in the crickets’ chirp at sunset. In the way each season moves us along throughout the year…the annual cadence of a rainy April, giving way to a hot July, giving way to a crisp October, giving way to a cold January, and the thousands of little orchestras that follow the tempo of that grand symphony. The flowers move to the rhythm of the seasons: sprouting and budding and blooming and dying.
Humanity dances to a rhythm: in the holidays we celebrate the order in which they come. Costumes and candy give way to turkey and football, which give way to carols and gifts wrapped under the tree. We find rhythm in our daily commute, in the voice of the DJ’s morning report, in the stoplights and exits, in the pleasantries exchanged with the coffee shop barista. Rhythm comes with bodies that must be fed three times a day (give or take), with daily prayer and weekly meetings and monthly girls’ nights and yearly Super Bowl games. We create bedtime rhythms: We bathe our kids, brush their teeth, read them a story, tuck them in, and sing a song.
There is peace in rhythm. There is security and predictability. Not a stagnant sort of predictability, just enough to make us feel like everything is going to be okay, just enough to give us something to look forward to. Because while there’s a lot of rhythm, there’s also a lot of chaos. There are unexpected bills to pay, relationships to maintain, natural disasters, an ongoing to do list that will never be completely finished, flat tires, bad moods, burnt dinners.
But then there’s the sun, rising again. And then there’s our lungs, exhaling again. And then there’s Thanksgiving, right around the corner. We’ll take our afternoon coffee break. We’ll say a prayer. We’ll look up and see ducks flying south for the winter. We’ll cross the next thing off our to do list. We’ll get a new winter coat. We’ll plan a summer trip. We’ll go for an evening walk.
And we’ll tap our feet. We’ll sway back and forth. We’ll clap our hands. We’ll lean into the rhythms of our lives because they give us a sense of place in our story, clueing us in to where we’ve been and where we might expect to go next, offering us familiarity in the midst of a chaotic world – like our lungs filling with air and then emptying themselves and filling up again, like the ocean tides and the morning cups of tea and the annual harvest festivals: We embrace the rhythm of the season, and we find peace in the way it moves us.
An Eassy on Rhythm // The Magnolia Journal, Fall 2020
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.
