Turning 30 Goal Check-In: Month 8

I've gotten sidetracked from my Turning 30 goals....and even my Simple 2016 goals.  I let myself get caught up in striving and comparing and shoulds.  And I forgot that I'm still in the starting phase of this thing we call blogging and may have thrown myself a pity party or two.  BUT, I'm going into the next month with new resolve.  I've taken Instagram and Facebook off of my phone for now to allow myself more time doing instead of scrolling and to detox my comparison envy.  I've already noticed that when I'm bored, I go for my phone way too much.  I'll pick it up and then realize that the apps aren't there.  Hopefully, I can replace that wasted time with time spent doing things that will put me on track to living the Full & Simple life I really want.

Goal #1: Read More

Progress:  Since I wrote last, I finished reading Love in the Face of ISIS.  I really enjoyed it, and will probably keep this book for years to come because the prayer strategies are applicable to any conflict we may have in life.  I did a full review of the book here.  I also finished After You by Jojo Moyes, the sequel to Me Before You.  I didn't like it.  Honestly, it sort of ruined Me Before You for me.  I could have been happy with believing that things worked out beautifully for Louisa at the end of Me Before You, but then Moyes brings her back she's a hot mess.  I really wish I had just read Me Before You and left the sequel on the library shelf.  But that's just my opinion.  My book club is going to see the movie of Me Before You this week and I'm excited for the night out with the girls.

I also finished Loving My Actual Life by Alexandra Kuykendall and I really enjoyed it.  This is a book I will do a full review of soon, but I want to say that I felt like Kuykendall was inside my head and could totally be my big sister.  This book was like a hug for any woman struggling to look past the busyness of life and enjoy the simple things.  Corny?  Maybe, but you'll love it and agree with me if you pick it up.

A while ago I wrote about my struggle with trying to understand racism more and the tensions I feel about how the media portrays Black-police relations as a police officer's daughter.  On our last trip to the Children's Museum, I went through the Ruby Bridges exhibit and saw a few children's books about her story.  I picked them up hoping to read them with L and J, but the stories were too long to hold the interest of a three-year-old, let alone a one-year-old.  I did finish the books myself and will try again when the kids are older.  Those books were The Story of Ruby Bridges and Through My Eyes.

 

I'm currently reading Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?  I'm not very far into it, and I'm not going to lie, it's been a tough read.  There are things that I don't agree with and points that have stung, but I'm trying to keep an open mind. I'm not Black so I know that I don't understand many things that being Black means for people in the world.  That's why I'm trying to learn.  I don't feel like the author, Beverly Daniel Tatum, is alienating either.  She very much tries to keep the conversation on track to help people understand racial identity.  I hope that this will be an eye-opening read and will allow me to better understand and empathize with people of color.

I'm also still reading Choosing the Simply Luxurious Life and I'm back to my Seamless study.  I've checked out The Secret Life of Bees for next month's book club read, and I'm really excited about it.  I saw the movie when it first came out, but I don't remember much.  I've wanted to read the book ever since we started keeping our own bees, so I'm glad my book club ladies agreed to read it together!

Goal #2: Continue Going to Yoga

Progress:  I only made it to one Monday class and one Friday class this month.  I had to stay home to watch the kiddos in the evenings and weekends so my husband could work on the chicken coop.  It has taken us WAY longer than anticipated, but I love him for making me a pretty coop instead of just putting something up.

Goal #3: Lose the Baby Weight

Progress:  No gain or loss this month.  I may have to let go of my idea that "I'll start eating healthier when the garden comes on," because this garden season has not been great.  I ended up planting the two gardens myself so that my husband could focus on the coop.  This was the first time for that, and things haven't grown well.  I also got some things out much later than I had wanted.  Plus we have a rabbit infestation and last night I saw a raccoon.  The only thing I've really been able to each from the garden was about one salad's worth of lettuce, some spinach and cilantro. (sigh)

Goal #4: Learn Italian

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

Goal #5: Take a Cooking Class

Progress:  I looked at the summer schedule and none of the classes appealed to me.  I'm kicking myself for not doing a class in the spring because there were several that interested me then.  Hopefully, I'll find a class this fall that I'll want to take.

Goal #6:  Make Time for Play

Progress:   The husband and I did get our time away earlier in the month.  I think it was really good for us.  I know I needed it.  But other than that, we've let a busy schedule wear us down.  We haven't done much as a whole family this month unless you count trips to Menards for coop building supplies!

Goal #7: Develop a Signature Style

Progress: I reviewed my fourth Fix here, and I just sent back my fifth.  I didn't keep anything from the fifth.  I was really disappointed with that at first, but I'm starting to be proud about it.  I've set standards that I'm adhering too.  I liked some of the items in this last Fix, but I didn't LOVE them.  I only want to have things that I LOVE in my wardrobe.  I may have lost the styling fee for that Fix, but yay for me for not spending extra money on something I didn't love just because I didn't want to lose the fee!

Goal #8:  Master the Top Knot

Progress:  DONE.

Goal #9: Continue Making our House Our Home

Progress: We sold our dining table and hutch that my dad had left when he sold us the house.  They were both a orangish oak, and just weren't our style.  Now we have a big dance floor! LOL!  That's what we had to tell L, because she was worried about where we would eat.  We have an island with bar stools, so it's not like we're eating on the floor.  My stepdad and husband pulled some old barnwood off of our old barn and we are planning to make our own farmhouse table with it and some antique table legs I bought.  I'm so excited to get it done!

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

Progress:  Doing devotionals after J's nap is still working, but I'm not sure how much longer my little man will be taking two naps.  He's starting to sleep in a bit and then only want one nap, so I may be looking for another time to do my study soon.  study right now.

 

 

I feel like time is slipping away!  Some of these goals will be life-long pursuits.  I will never master Italian and be done with it.  I'll continually have to practice.  I will always have more books to read and I won't ever be done with yoga class, so I'm trying to remind myself that this year is supposed to be about being intentional with the way I want to live my life.  Setting goals like these will help me do this.  I may continue to set ten goals between each birthday, even if I don't always write about them.

 

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