May Goals [With Grace]

 photo: Sela Photography

As a list maker, I look forward to these posts. Even when I hardly finish crossing things off my list, I still like the accountability & declaring my goals, even if it's just for me.

April was a good month. We celebrated Calvin's first birthday ((woot woot!)) and got our house on the market ((yay!)). In short, the month flew by!

April Recap:

1. Finish getting our home ready to sell // Done + listed. Now we just wait for a buyer...

2. Catch up on photo books // Check! I just have Calvin's fist year to do, but have caught up with our family albums.

3. Celebrate Calvin's first birthday/our first full year of parenting // Success!

4. Comment/e-mail ten people telling them how much their (blog/Twitter/Instagram) posts resonate with me // I think I contacted about six people, which isn't horrible, but I'm going to shoot for another ten this month.

May Goals:

1. No unnecessary spending // I'm putting myself on another contentment challenge... we have plenty and we're really trying to save now that we have the house on the market.

2. Continue decluttering // We are looking to go from almost 2,000 square feet to under 1,200 square feet when we sell our home, so I've been trying to remind myself "less is more". Jen Hatmaker's "7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess" has been on my wishlist for a while now, so I'm thinking this might be the month to dive in.

3. Comment/e-mail ten people telling them how much their (blog/Twitter/Instagram) posts resonate with me // A carryover from last month, but one I hope to do regularly. 

April Goals [With Grace]

I'm going to get right to the point - I only completed one of my March goals (whomp, whomp) AND I am okay with that.

For the first time in 11+ months, I finally feel like I have a handle on my little slice of life. Sure, I have my days where I feel like I'm treading water, but for the most part, we're developing a nice little routine (which this girl loves!).  So even though I didn't accomplish as much as I had planned, I'm feeling good.

March Recap: 

1. Consistently work on getting our home ready to sell // we are still on track for our May 1st deadline after spending all available weekends to spruce up our home and plan to spend open time in April to continue working on the remaining items.
 
2. Catch up on photo books // I've started gathering photos, but haven't started the books. I just received some coupons for free photo books, so I hope I can complete this one in April.

3. Date night with Sam // we didn't get one in March, but have one on the calendar for this Saturday! (thanks Alex)

April Goals:

1. Finish getting our home ready to sell // like I said, just a few more things to do (mainly cleaning, new bark, pressure washing, photos, flyers, etc.) and we've got all our open weekends mapped out.

2. Catch up on photo books // as a carryover from last month, I just want to cross this one off my list before Calvin's birthday.

3. Celebrate Calvin's first birthday/our first full year of parenting // we're having a little get together to honor this milestone, but I want to take time to really remember AND celebrate the last twelve months.

4. Comment/e-mail ten people telling them how much their (blog/Twitter/Instagram) posts resonate with me // I don't know why I don't do this more, but more often than not, I find myself saying "me too!" after scrolling through the Internet and I know how much it would mean to me to receive a message from a reader letting me know how they feel, so why not?

March Goals [with Grace]

photo by Sam Grable Photo

Even though February was a shorter month, it was the first one in a while that I haven't been shocked with how fast it flew by. As much as I love crossing things off of lists, it was nice to focus my monthly goals on self-care rather than my always growing to-do list.  And I'm ready to welcome March in with open arms.

February Recap:

1. Participate in Nancy Ray's Contentment Challenge // I did pretty well. I love the idea and really felt like it made me think about what I want vs. what I need.

2. Walk 3x/week // I knocked this one out of the park, at least up until this last week (when Calvin got sick).  This one did a lot of my mood because on the days that I didn't walk, I could feel it.

3. Go on a date with Sam // I'm sad to say that this didn't happen. I had every intention to make this happen and even talked to Sam about it, but it just didn't happen. We did have some good uninterrupted time while we were away, but no real date night. Maybe next month...

March Goals: 

1. Consistently work on getting our home ready to sell // we have decided on a date that we would like to put our house on the market, which means we have a several tasks that we need to finish before then and I just don't want it to sneak up on us.

2. Catch up on photo books // for the first five years of our marriage, I did well when it came to annual photo books, but since then it's always been on my to-do list. Now I feel the push because I'd like to be caught up before I need to do Calvin's first year...

3. Date night with Sam // i.e. find a babysitter and get out of the house!

February Goals [with Grace]

One month into 2015 and I'm already tired. Partly due to Calvin's latest sleep regression, but also because of my own doing.

When January arrived, instead of treating it as a fresh start, I just carried on some of my (failed) goals from the past several months and kept working. But that's just it --- whatever I was or wasn't doing, was not working for me and ultimately left me discouraged month after month.

So for February, I've decided to step back from my usual goals & focus more on some self-care...

February Goals:

1. Participate in Nancy Ray's Contentment Challenge // For the next month, I want to control my instincts to buy stuff because we have some financial goals we are working towards, not to mention impulse purchases are generally unnecessary.

2. Walk 3x/week // Seems easy, but most days my laziness takes over and my body (& mind) suffer. This month, I want to get out of the house more, even if just to walk in circles around the neighborhood.

3. Go on a date with Sam // Admission: since Calvin was born, my marriage hasn't been the priority that it should be... So, I'm setting the bar low with one date, but I'm vowing to find a babysitter and spend alone time with my husband! What a concept, right?


Linking up with The Tiny Twig // Goals with Grace

January Goals

Hello 2015!

Since starting these monthly posts, I've found that these goals actually get thought of, instead of going by the wayside like most resolutions.  Sure, they don't always get accomplished, but that's where grace comes in.  As Lara Casey says, "done is better than perfect".

December Goals: 

1. Research advertising avenues for Sam Grable Photo and decide on what we're going to do starting in January 2015. --- I found some reviews for what worked for other photographers, but we are still deciding which ones we're going to try this year.

2. Hide my phone from 4-7pm. --- this one was HARD! I am going to continue to work on this...

3. Post on Grable Tales at least 2x/week. --- thanks to our precious Charlotte, I was able to complete this goal. I hope I can continue this in the coming months...

4. Find a (free/inexpensive) holiday outing/tradition to do as a family each week - go look at Christmas lights, visit a live nativity, find snow!, etc. --- we talked about doing a number of things throughout the month, but life got busy.


For the new year, I'm going to start simple & small.  I'm a little burnt out from the holidays and some changes will be happening at home, so I am giving myself a lot of grace up front to get back into the swing of things.

January Goals:

1. Hide my phone from 4-7pm. Literally hide it!

2. Post on Grable Tales at least 2x/week.

3. Go on a hike as a family.

Linking up with The Tiny Twig // Goals with Grace

Farewell 2014

2014 was a quiet year for Grable Tales.  I could blame it on having a baby, but shouldn't that have given me more content?  I have a feeling that Instagram has something to do with the lack of posts --- honestly, it's a lot easier to post a photo with a small comment then think of an entire post.  Regardless, this year still deserves some recognition:

January - *crickets*

February - my first post of the year was a Stitch Fix review: pregnant edition; I also shared how I was spending my time lately (hint: Sam Grable Photo, The Influence Network, and being pregnant for the second time); I announced my hopes of attending my second Influence Conference; and blogged about my love for 4moms.

March - I started the month off by writing out my monthly goals (and linking up with The Tiny Twig's Goals with Grace); I updated my about me page & began leading an Influence Network community group; and I talked about being a month out from meeting our baby boy (& shared his name)

April - I revisited my March goals + shared my April goals; and blogged about my thoughts of Brené Brown’s book - Daring Greatly

May - I looked back on my April goals + made a few May goals; introduced our baby boy, Calvin!; shared how different Mother's Day felt this year; started writing monthly letters to Calvin; and shared my first postpartum Stitch Fix review.

June - continued with goals for June; after flying across the country with a six week old, I blogged about some of the 'flying with a baby' tips/advice that worked for us; Calvin turned two months old; and Sam & I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary.

July - this month, I really started to give myself grace when it came to my goals for July; parenting definitely isn't easy, but on occasion it does make you feel like you have some super powers; another Stitch Fix review (I love this service!); my baby turned three months old; and I blogged about the community I found online.

August - still going strong + trying to be transparent with my monthly goals; I reviewed my birthday Stitch Fix; and Calvin kept getting bigger (four months old).

September - I finally realized that some goals will be repeats each month and that's ok; I (re)introduced myself in preparation of the Influence Conference; Calvin turned five months old; thanks to credits, I received a Stitch Fix before attending the Influence Conference; and then I recapped the conference for the second year in a row.

October - two posts remain consistent each month: goals + Calvin's letter (six months old this month!)

November - goals, goals, goals (sorry for the repeating); a photo recap of October; I shared my experience with essential oils; I turned to social media for help with this month's Stitch Fix review; Calvin turned seven months old; and I took some time to be thankful.

December - after nine months of goals, I shared my last goals (with grace) for 2014; blogged about Christmas traditions; honored Charlotte's second birthday and shared the way we chose to celebrate her; reflected on our second year without our baby girl; Calvin celebrated his eighth month of being on the outside; I blogged about the significance of a little giraffe; and reviewed my final Stitch Fix for the year.

This year brought a lot of joy + hope, as well as sleepless nights + tears. And while this space has been primarily used to review Stitch Fixes, write out my goals, and share my monthly letter to Calvin, but I appreciate the comments & community I've found through this space + social media outlets.  Maybe next year things will be different...

Until then... Happy New Year!

December Goals

I've said this before, but these monthly posts where I outline some goals I'd like to accomplish are really good for the planner in me.  However, I have found that I tend to make goals that are not specific enough because I still want to say I did them, even though I'm not sure how to measure them.  Now that I am aware of this, let's see if I can put some definitive perimeters around each goal for December.

November Goals:

1. Set SMART goals for Sam Grable Photography with Sam. // This was harder than I thought it'd be, but we set some goals for the rest of this year and some tentative ones for next year. Now to get to work on them...
 

2. Continue to work on Internet/phone boundaries. // I felt like I made some improvements this month, but could definitely work on this more. My goals are feeling a little too vague/big, so I think I need to set some measurements to them...

3. Budget, budget, budget! // Again, this goal is too broad...

4. Get back into blogging (for me). // From only two posts in October to seven in November, this feels like a success to me.  I still have some more posts in draft form that I'd like to post, so I'm going to continue this one into this month.


December Goals: 

1. Research advertising avenues for Sam Grable Photo and decide on what we're going to do starting in January 2015.

2. Hide my phone from 4-7pm.

3. Post on Grable Tales at least 2x/week.

4. Find a (free/inexpensive) holiday outing/tradition to do as a family each week - go look at Christmas lights, visit a live nativity, find snow!, etc.

Linking up with The Tiny Twig // Goals with Grace

November Goals

For someone that lives on lists, these posts are some of my favorite to write each month.  But, to be honest, they aren't always the easiest.  While I enjoy setting goals for the month, I find it really humbling when I have to share whether I accomplished them or not.  Anyone else find this to be true?

October Recap:

1. Continuing the spending freeze & sticking to our budget (third month's the charm?). We did much better on this one this month. We did have a couple unexpected expenses, but were able to sell a few things throughout the month to balance out the extra spending.

 

2. Set boundaries for Internet use, specifically when I'm home with Calvin. Still working on this one...

3. Sit down with Sam & set some SMART goals for Sam Grable Photography. FAIL. We talked about doing this, but didn't actually sit down & set any.  This will be on next month's for sure.

4. Go on a date with Sam (without Calvin, if possible). Thanks to some baby-loving grandparents, we achieved this goal.  I'd love to have at least one childless date with Sam each month if we can make that happen...

5. Start working on our house to get it ready to sell/rent. This one is started.  We had a couple appointments with real estate agents & rental companies and are working on getting the house ready.

November Goals:

1. Set SMART goals for Sam Grable Photography with Sam.

2. Continue to work on Internet/phone boundaries.

3. Budget, budget, budget!

4. Get back into blogging (for me).

Linking up with The Tiny Twig // Goals with Grace

September Goals

Here we go again --- another month passed and a new one beginning. Each time I share my goals, I am forced to be accountable whether I complete any of them or not. Thankfully, I also feel a sense of freedom + grace which is much appreciated in my current season of life.

(warning: please prepare to give me a lot of grace for last month's goals...)

August Recap:

1. Stick to our budget + look at it weekly with Sam. --- Honestly? I'd give this one a C. We met at least twice, but we had a few unplanned costs come up, but we also made some extra income too. I think we came out about even, but I felt like I didn't have as good of a handle on it as I'd like.

2. Find ways to support Sam, both at home & with his photography business. --- Still working on this one. My baby has finally started to nap regularly, so I'm finding I have more open time during the day to devote to this goal in the future.

3. Post at least one blog post per week on Grable Tales. --- FAIL! I'm rethinking this goal and, as of late, rethinking the direction/purpose of this space...

4. Work on getting Calvin on some sort of routine (any tips are welcome!). --- As of last week, this has finally happened. It's not steadfast, but it's working for us + we are all happier, so a win-win!

September Goals:

1. I'm putting myself on a spending freeze in hopes that this helps with our budget. The only exception is budgeted expenses (bills, food, gas).

2. Spending dedicated time with Sam that doesn't revolve our sweet baby boy.

3. Get out of the house more! Whether that looks like a walk around the neighborhood or meeting up with a friend, I need to step out of my comfort zone that is my house.


Linking up with The Tiny Twig // Goals with Grace

August Goals

This summer is flying by! I shouldn't be surprised (we've only had one of two weekends at home) and yet here I am, wondering how it's already August.

July was rough when it came to my goals. We were busy with life and the transition to motherhood isn't as easy as I once thought.  I really wish I could have crossed more things off (see below), but I'm reminding myself that these are goals with grace. If nothing else, posting these each month and sharing how I fared keeps me accountable & transparent.  Both things I am learning I need more of every day...

July Recap:

1. Take a close look at our spending at least once a week (if not more!) and try to stick to a tight budget that Sam & I have agreed upon for the month. --- FAIL. I'm chalking this up to our busy summer, but I'd really like to implement this one this month, maybe with a Saturday morning breakfast date with Sam.

2. Help + support my husband, specifically with his photography business, without being asked to do so. --- So-so. I didn't help with the photography business as much as I'd (or he'd) like, but I feel like I'm slowly starting to get the hang of taking care of our home with a baby.

3. Start transitioning Calvin to sleeping in his own room. --- Another fail. I guess I thought this one would be easier, but I was wrong. Now we are struggling with sleep on all accounts...

4. Post at least one blog post per week on Grable Tales. --- Three out of four weeks isn't a complete fail, but I wish I was able to post more, so this one is going to be repeated this month.

August Goals:

1. Stick to our budget + look at it weekly with Sam.

2. Find ways to support Sam, both at home & with his photography business.

3. Post at least one blog post per week on Grable Tales.

4. Work on getting Calvin on some sort of routine (any tips are welcome!).


Linking up with The Tiny Twig // Goals with Grace

July Goals

And just like that, we're half way through the year! 

I've only been doing these monthly goals for a few months, but each month I find myself appreciating the accountability aspect and knowing that I'll be able to revisit the goals I've set (whether I complete them or not) at the beginning of the following month.  Plus, I love that Hayley from The Tiny Twig calls them Goals with Grace because as a new mom, I need all the grace I can get!

But before we move on to July, let's look at June's goals.

June Recap:

1. Look at our monthly budget and continue to save where possible. --- I did look at the monthly budget and trimmed where it was obviously possible, but I am still working on trimming a few areas like food and household purchases.  I can tell this one will be a work-in-progress...

2. Continue to speak life into my husband. --- I'm just going to come out and say this one is going to be an ongoing goal of mine because I think this is the least that I can do for him as he leads our family through life.

3. Refine a routine that works for us and begin to transition Calvin to sleeping in his own room. --- Nope, neither of these successfully happened.  Honestly, I think this goal might have been a little ambitious.

4. Post at least one blog post per week on Grable Tales. (Seems easy, but with a 7 week old who loves to be held, I find it difficult to find time to post most of the time.) --- Almost! 3 out of the 4 weeks isn't too bad :)

July Goals:

1. Take a close look at our spending at least once a week (if not more!) and try to stick to a tight budget that Sam & I have agreed upon for the month.

2. Help + support my husband, specifically with his photography business, without being asked to do so.

3. Start transitioning Calvin to sleeping in his own room.

4. Post at least one blog post per week on Grable Tales.

Every month I link up my goals with The Tiny Twig's Goals with Grace.

June Goals

If I could sum the month of May in one word, it would be survival. Most days we (Calvin + I) didn't get out of our pajamas. The day light hours were spent hunkered down on the couch getting to know one another (+ feeding/changing diapers a lot) & at night we just rocked + prayed for a few continuous hours of sleep. And with a little perseverance, we were even starting to find ourselves in a routine by the end of the month.

Honestly, after I posted my May goals, I didn't look at them again. Thankfully I didn't set any outrageous ones, but there are a couple that will roll into June. But first...

May Recap:

1. Take a close look at our spending and start looking for ways to cut costs where we can. --- I didn't devote as much time as I'd like on this, therefore this will be a top goal of mine for June.

2. Speak life into my husband. --- With Sam returning back to work after Calvin's birth, I knew this would be a hard transition for all of us. I made a little effort to encourage & uplift him as much as possible, but when all is said & done, I could have done more, so I'm going to roll this one over as well.

3. Continue to learn Calvin's cues AND remember to give myself grace throughout these first few months. --- This goal took precedence last month for obvious reasons. I can't say I'm fluent in 'Calvin cues' yet, but I do feel more confident caring for him.

June Goals:

1. Look at our monthly budget and continue to save where possible.

2. Continue to speak life into my husband.

3. Refine a routine that works for us and begin to transition Calvin to sleeping in his own room.

4. Post at least one blog post per week on Grable Tales. (Seems easy, but with a 7 week old who loves to be held, I find it difficult to find time to post most of the time.)

Every month I link up my goals with Hayley of The Tiny Twig's Goals with Grace.

May Goals

It's probably no surprise that April felt like a total blur...

Thankfully the goals I set were simple because bringing a baby into this world was a lot of work! And May is already all about surviving, so don't be surprised when you see my goals below.  But first, let's look back on April.

April Recap:

1. Finish "The Meaning of Marriage" by Tim Keller. Check! Our church finished it's series going through this book and I really enjoyed it. This is one I think I'll recommend to friends who are married & single because there is something for everyone!

2. Continue my shopping freeze for Lent. Done. It wasn't easy, but I did it. When I found myself wanting to shop, I tried to turn those thoughts on to something more productive.

3. Spend some quality time with Sam before Calvin arrives... So-so. The two weeks prior to meeting Calvin were filled with preparations and before we knew it, we were meeting our baby boy. I do recall some special times with Sam, dreaming of what life would soon look like, sharing our hopes & dreams with each other, so I'm counting that as quality time.

May Goals:

1. Take a close look at our spending and start looking for ways to cut costs where we can.

2. Speak life into my husband.

3. Continue to learn Calvin's cues AND remember to give myself grace throughout these first few months.

Again, another simple month as far as the number of goals, but they are fairly complex, at least for this new mom.


Linking up with Hayley of The Tiny Twig.

April Goals

Where did March go?

Between finishing some bigger projects at work, preparing our home for Calvin, and the cold that lasted too long (a couple weeks), I'm not too surprised we're already in April.  However, I was able to accomplish most of the goals I had set for the month, so I'm calling the month a win.

March Recap:

1. Read two books this month: Tim Keller's "The Meaning of Marriage" and "Daring Greatly" by Brené Brown. Semi-complete.  When I made this goal, I was worried it'd be hard to read two books at the same time, yet these two ended up really complimenting each other, in my opinion. I hope to share my thoughts on "Daring Greatly" soon, as it was really eye-opening for me, but my thoughts on "The Meaning of Marriage" will have to wait a little longer (we're going through this one with our church, so I decided to hold off on finishing so we could continue with our church).
2. Go through & clean/organize/purge from every room in our house. Check!  This was one goal I was thankful to have made because it forced me to not just talk about cleaning & organizing, but actually do it.  We managed to go through every room and closet and took at least three trips to Goodwill & listed a couple things on Craigslist.
3. And for Lent - I am putting myself on a shopping freeze. So far, so good.  This is probably been the most difficult goal since I'm a fan of shopping & finding good deals, but this has already taught me a lot about the way I shop --- I tend to buy because I find a good deal, not because I necessarily need it.  And that just leaves me with a lot of "stuff" that I end up having to purge later on (see #2).  I have purchased a few things, but they have either been things we need (for the house) or birthday gifts for other people.

April Goals*:

1. Finish "The Meaning of Marriage" by Tim Keller.
2. Continue my shopping freeze for Lent.
3. Spend some quality time with Sam before Calvin arrives --- I'm not sure how this will look, but I'm thinking no phones, no TV, just him & I enjoying each other.

*Keeping it simple this month as we welcome Calvin & adjust to our new life :)

Linking up with Hayley of The Tiny Twig.

March Goals

Every month, around this time (or earlier), several posts pop up in my feed about the goals that have been set for the month ahead.  I believe the idea surfaced around the New Year and people came to terms that it's easy to make a resolution/goal at the beginning of the year, but they generally fall off our radars by mid-year.  The alternative?  Monthly goals.

To be honest, while I loved the concept, I just couldn't convince myself to try it out. (Can I blame it on the lack of energy I have due to pregnancy?)  But this month, something changed.  With Lent beginning on Wednesday, I quickly did the math & realized that we'll be meeting our baby boy in about 40 days or less (Lent ends 4/17, baby boy is due 4/18 & we'll be scheduling a c-section sometime before his due date) and I realized there were a few things I'd like to get in order before he arrives.


Goals for March/Lent:

1. Read two books this month: Tim Keller's "The Meaning of Marriage" and "Daring Greatly" by Brené Brown.
2. Go through & clean/organize/purge from every room in our house.
3. And for Lent - I am putting myself on a shopping freeze. (Big thanks to my friend Lindsey for offering to be my accountability partner through this, because I already know I'll need it!)

Are you setting monthly goals or you still following your resolutions?

Linking up with Hayley of The Tiny Twig.