June Small Goals

Happy June friends! I feel like I come alive in the summer. The sun doesn't set until almost 9pm and it just feels like there's so much more time to do things. I already feel like all my weekends (especially the ones with the girls) have filled up for the summer and I'm honestly really excited about it. I'm feeling this renewed sense of purpose lately and I'm just really looking forward to all the fun summer things I've got planned. Let's tackle some small goals to make those bigger goals a little more possible! 

Jen's May Small Goals
1.  Finish painting downstairs bathroom.  Finished!!! I haven't had the time or energy to think about decorating it but it's doneeeeee.
2.  No Outfit Repeats.   Yes! This was actually way easier than expected. I know I have a lot of clothes but it is so easy to get stuck in outfit ruts.
3. Selfish Sewing.  I didn't make myself anything, but I did start working on making new covering for the kitty's window shelves.  Their current covers are so faded you can't even tell what the print was. 
4.  Buy a Fern.  Nope, even though this was such an easy goal to accomplish.
5.  Buy a new shower curtain. Thank you, Amazon prime.

4/5 is pretty ok with me.

June Small Goals 
1.  Finish painting the kitchen.  I recently started working in my kitchen. I've removed some paneling and part of the wallpaper border.  Since it is such a high traffic room, I've been trying to do it in stages so that everyone isn't inconvenienced too much.  One side of the room is complete!
2.  Keep a Fashion Diary.  This is something I've done on and off but I really want to stick with it. I'm going to post my outfit every day on Instagram.  I think that will help keep me accountable.
3.  Spend time outdoors.  I can be so project focused sometimes that I'm not taking enough time to relax and enjoy the warm weather.  I will spend more time outside this month, even if I'm just sitting on my porch reading.
4.  Buy new living room curtains.  Since I updated my living room last summer, I've been wanting to upgrade my curtains.  This is the month, folks.
5. Buy a new swimsuit. This goal will hopefully help push goal #3 even further, plus I haven't had a new suit in like 5 years so it's time.

Heather's May Small Goals 
1. Bring my lunch 3 times a week I don't think this was accomplished but I also didn't really keep track. 
2. Read 5 books I read exactly 5 books in May. I still feel like I'm in a slump, but honestly two of the books were 500+ pages so maybe it's not that bad. 
3. Book AirBnB for Colorado trip Done! I was getting a little nervous we wouldn't find somewhere affordable and nice for 8 people, but I did it. It's got mountain views and a hot tub on the porch. I'm so ready for this trip! 
4. Start a new crafty project Complete fail. I didn't start anything creative in May. I need to make time for this in June. I'm feeling really uninspired lately. 
5. Buy some patio furniture Done! I got some cute furniture from Aldi's of all places and spent $40. I'll have to share photos soon! 

3/5 goals complete in May 

June Small Goals 
1.  Read 10 books I have so many library books on my cart right now (like 18 of them!) so I'm doubling my May goal to make some serious reading progress. 
2. Take myself on a date I want to go do something alone (honestly probably dinner and a movie). I don't do enough things like this so I want to give it a shot. 
3. Donate stuff from extra room I've been adding things to donate in a pile in my extra room. It's finally big enough that I think it's time to drop it off at Goodwill. 
4. Buy a diffuser for essential oils I've been wanting to try diffusing essential oils, specifically lavender oil at night when I'm falling asleep. Now just to get a diffuser. 
5. Find all my debt Something I talked about in therapy recently is not being clear on exactly how much debt I might have. I used to deal with money stuff by just ignoring it all and hoping it would go away. This has not worked out for me as a long term strategy I don't want to feel anxious about it any longer, so I'm hoping to just find out what debt I might have. No plans for it yet, just getting the information together. 

The Summer of Trying New Things

I think by now it's very clear that I love a good to do list. I make work to do lists each week, weekend to do lists, I've got my 101 in 1,001 list, plus every month we do small goals. So yeah, I love a good list. Recently I've been working with a life coach (Hi Molly!!! Check her out here!) and we have been diving into a lot of stuff that kind of overlaps with the work I do in therapy, but a little more focused on actions. I started thinking of ways I could take some meaningful action to bring new things into my life. I feel like there is a lot of stuff I want to try, especially related to self care, but I feel overwhelmed on where to start and how to keep going.

I've felt like the past year has been incredible for my mental health & growth. Therapy is the hands down best thing I've ever done for my self care. I've been able to work through a lot of childhood traumas & also understand how those experiences shaped the way I show up in my life. My anxiety and depression are much better (not gone, but definitely more manageable) & I feel like I show up in my relationships, work, & friendships in ways I never would have done in the past. The only thing I feel like was missing was actionable items from these internal changes. This is where Molly comes in! She's been the second best thing I've done for my self care. I cried so much on our first call together, but she creates such a safe space of caring and acceptance. She genuinely cares about me & helping me turn my goals into small, actionable steps.

The Summer of Trying New Things was born out of this need to try forming new habits based on the growth I've experienced from therapy. It goes from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend (and possibly longer if I end up liking it). I made a list of about 30 things that I have always wanted to try and the plan is to pick one thing (via random number generator) each week on Sunday to try for one week. Usually the thing that trips me up when trying to form new habits is feeling like if I slip up, I've failed completely so I quit. To me, one week feels like a long enough time to see if I actually like something, but also short enough that I don't think I'll have a problem sticking with it through the entire week. At the end of each week, I'll decide if this is something I want to keep doing. I'm hoping to keep track of my progress on Instagram stories and here on the blog!

So what's on my list? 

1. Meditation 
2. Yoga
3. Take Jake on a walk every morning before work 
4. Wake up at 6am 
5. Bedtime at 10pm
6. Listen to DRE twice a day 
7. Gratitude journal 
8. Lemon water before coffee
9. Essential Oils 
10. Walk/run every day for 30 minutes 
11. Brain dump journaling 
12. Self reflection journaling 
13. Make plans with friends (once a week for a month?) 
14. Spend zero dollars for one week 
15. Read for one hour 
16. No screen time 
17. No social media apps 
18. Work on something creative every night
19. Create a morning routine 
20. Create a bedtime routine 
21. Plan meals for the week 
22. Do whatever the girls want to do together each night 
23. Tarot card pulls every morning (to learn more about the cards & reflect) 
24. Eat breakfast 
25. Drink 90oz water every day 
26. No dairy for one week 
27. No alcohol (this one might not be good for only a week challenge?) 
28. Development podcasts only on my commute 
29. Audiobooks instead of podcasts for one week 

Molly was incredibly helpful in listening to my list & helping me figure out if there was anything I wanted to prioritize. We decided a good way to kick this off would be to start with gratitude journaling. I downloaded the 5 Minute Journal app at Molly's suggestion and I really love it so far! Obviously, you can also do this with good old pen & paper, but I'm enjoying my experience with the app. We also decided to try the morning routine at the end of July/beginning of August, since a lot of the things on my list could fit well into a morning routine once I know if I like them or not. I seriously love my experience with Molly and coaching so far. It's been the perfect tie in with my therapy practice and a good way to show up for myself. I'm also really excited to get started on my Summer of Trying New Things! I feel really excited and motivated in a way I haven't in a long time.

I'll be posting updates here monthly and on Instagram weekly. I'd love for anyone to join in with their own lists (or even borrow mine!). I'm excited to see what habits I've formed by the end of summer. 

June Book Club

Happy June book babies! I cannot believe summer is already here, but honestly I'm so ready for it. I come alive in the summer; Everything feels slow and possible. I feel like I'm shedding my winter skin and ready to have fun, tackle my goals, & read all day long. This month Jen picked our book club selection With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo. I had never heard of this book, but I'm excited to dive in! 

What's it about?

Ever since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago’s life has been about making the tough decisions—doing what has to be done for her daughter and her abuela. The one place she can let all that go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness.

Even though she dreams of working as a chef after she graduates, Emoni knows that it’s not worth her time to pursue the impossible. Yet despite the rules she thinks she has to play by, once Emoni starts cooking, her only choice is to let her talent break free.