Turning 30 Goal Check-In: Month 7

 

I was originally going to start this post with how crazy the month of May was for us, but I realized that I've been saying that for the past couple of months.  And that's the opposite of the life I wanted to create when I decided to focus on these goals and choose simple as my word for 2016.  Living intentionally also means I'm going to have to be more intentional with my "nos."  None of us can do it all, so we really need to pay attention to what we spend our time on because we only have a finite amount of it. 

Goal #1: Read More

Progress:  Since I wrote last, I finished The Virtuous Life of a Christ-Centered Wife.  It was a book picked by my book club for our April meeting, and I had not wanted to read it. (See why here.)  It was better than I anticipated and I may even use it again as my daily devotion.  The idea that most stuck with me, even though I'd heard it before, was that we don't love because someone deserves it.  We love because Christ loves us and died for us.  For some reason while reading this, arguments about socks left in the living room didn't seem as important.  I also finished Me Before You by Jojo Moyes for our May book club meeting.  It was really good, but I don't think I've cried so hard while reading a book before.  I'm talking a full-on ugly cry; a snotty nose and tears falling on the pages kind of cry.  I also finished Love the Home You Have by Melissa Michaels and Styled by Emily Henderson.  I wrote about these two books and The Nesting Place in this post.  And the other two books I finished are The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman and The More of Less by Joshua Becker.  I'll have a full review of The More of Less up this week as well.

 

I'm currently reading Love in the Face of Isis by Lorraine Marie Varela.  I plan to do a full review of this book as soon as I get it finished.  It is full of wisdom and has challenged me a lot.  I'm using it as my daily Bible study even thought it's not written as a study.  I'm also reading After You by Jojo Moyes.  It's the sequel to Me Before You.  My book club is reading it and we're all going to see Me Before You in theaters next month.  I'm excited, but a little nervous about how much I'll cry.  Can anyone recommend a good waterproof mascara? I'm still slowly working my way through Choosing the Simply Luxurious Life.  I've paused my study of Seamless until I finish Love in the Face of Isis.  And I just got Loving My Actual Life by Alexandra Kuykendall in the mail.  I'm so excited to start reading it.  The cover is gorgeous!  

Goal #2: Continue Going to Yoga

Progress:  I made it to every Monday yoga class but one this month. Most Saturday classes were canceled due to our instructor having other commitments, but I did go to one of her Thursday night classes as well.  I have a feeling that Saturday classes are going to be harder to attend this summer because of the nice weather.  We have been trying to get out early and get things done.  But, my instructor is offering mini-sessions on Fridays at our farmers market for donations to help the market, so I'm going to try to hit those up when I can.  And I got a new yoga mat at TJ Maxx for $8!!! 

Goal #3: Lose the Baby Weight

Progress:  I thought I had broken through my plateau when one day I hit the lowest weight I've been since J being born, but I'm back to where I was.  No gain or loss this month.

Goal #4: Learn Italian

Progress: Duolingo says I'm 9% fluent.....

Goal #5: Take a Cooking Class

Progress:  Still no progress here.

Goal #6:  Make Time for Play

Progress:   I wasn't as intentional with my time as I had planned on being in May.  We got consumed with commitments and building the chicken coop and just day-to-day activities that we didn't do much in the way of making time to have fun.  However, this weekend the hubby and I are planning to go to the Vintage Indiana Wine Festival with some friends and it will be the first night I've ever spent the night away from J.  

Goal #7: Develop a Signature Style

Progress: I've cleaned out a few more items from my closet since my initial purge while readying The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  I've also decided that as far as accessories go, I like the really layered look on others, but I like mostly simple on myself.  Don't get me wrong, I love a statement necklace, but I like to focus on one piece instead of a lot of pieces.  So I may wear a statement necklace and simpler earrings or an arm party and a delicate necklace and earrings.  Also, I'm working on adding some "casual dressy" clothes to my wardrobe.  I was super excited with my past StitchFix delivery and am in love with the shirt and jeans they sent.  I'll do a full review next week of everything I got.

Goal #8:  Master the Top Knot

Progress:  DONE.

Goal #9: Continue Making our House Our Home

Progress: I thought I was done purging, but I've been feeling a bit claustrophobic lately.  Maybe because we've been so busy lately that we haven't been very good about putting things away, but I may be doing some more decluttering.  However, I did rearrange our basement playroom and I'm in love with it.  Now I just need to paint down there, which I'm not looking foward to.  It is such a big room!

Goal #10: Make Devotions & Bible Study Part of My Daily Life

Progress:  Doing devotionals after J's nap is working.  I have been much more consistent and do actually sit down for 30-45 minutes.  However, I usually only do this on weekdays.  I need to get better about weekends, but right now I'm just excited about this progress.  I've learned so much doing Angie Smith's Seamless study so far and by reading Love in the Face of Isis.  I'm actually enjoying my study time, which was not the case when I was trying to do it in the mornings while holding J and trying to keep him from waking his sister.  I don't have the brain power or patience for early morning study right now.

 

 

Less than half a year to go!  I can't believe it!  I'm going to HAVE to by more intentional if I'm going to get these goals accomplished.  Any suggestions?  How are you more intentional with your time when you are working towards a goal?

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