79 Days Until 2020!

Over the weekend, I drove up to Marion, IL to spend an evening one-on-one with one of my best friends. We had lunch, checked into the hotel, chatted, relaxed in a hot tub, napped, drank a lot of wine, ordered Chinese food, moisturized and connected. It was insanely relaxing and grounded me.

Heading into this week, things are going to be busy. I have a lot of things to accomplish on my 19 for 2019 list, Thanksgiving prep that needs to be done and my mother-in-law's kitchen remodel is in full swing.

This Week's Motivation

Last week, I listened to the audiobook version of Amy Poehler's "Yes, Please!" and this quote knocked me off my feet. Why do we take on other people's chaos? She was telling a story about how someone else screwed something up and instead of offering ways to fix it that would be easy for the other person, she stayed silent and let the other person think about possible fixes. This is definitely something I need to employ!

First half of the week

I'm only sharing Monday-Wednesday this week because I honestly haven't planned Thursday and Friday yet.

Goals

1. Create and Order 2 Photo Books
2. Find an Area Rug for the Living Room
3. Bake something Paleo
4. Teach Ellie a Trick
5. Thanksgiving Prep
6. Order Christmas Cards
7. Read 3 Books
8. Work on Baby Registry

It's a big list, but I want to knock as much stuff off my list before the holidays as I can!

What is your biggest goal this week?

Unmotivated Motivation

I was so low energy and unmotivated last week...it was ridiculous. A lot of the time, I am either un-motivated OR low energy...very rarely am I both unmotivated and low energy. This week, I am still feeling it, but its mid-way through the month and we need to kick it in gear.

So, fake it till you make it...right?

Planner spread

Goals for the Week

1. Costco*
2. Order glasses*
3. Finish Facts of Life Binder
4. Get HVAC Quotes*
5. Bake a pie
6. Prep Baby Clothes*
7. Make and Order a Photo Book
8. Run a Facebook Ad*
9. Blog Daily*
10. Watch Webinar Replays*
11. Add Travel Agent Vendors*
12. Finish City of Girls*

Wow. A lot of non-negotiables this week...I better get my mojo back!

Quote of the Week

I need to paste this to my forehead this week. While last week feels like a wash, I need to remember it wasn't. I did a lot of piddling...do you piddle? That means you wander around and do all these little tasks that will never make a to do list, but need to be done. I piddled several days away and the result of the things I finished is amazing!

This week, though, I need to handle a lot more big picture things.

Ok, what are you up to this week? Do you fake it until you make it?

Here comes August!

I love the end of the month and the beginning of a new one!

I get so much joy from looking over the last month and seeing what I have accomplished and thinking about the things I could have done better and then planning the month ahead.

For us, August is a great big ? .

Tomorrow, we find out if/when my mother-in-law will have surgery to correct her carotid stenosis. We are still trying to decide if it makes good financial sense to go on vacation in September. So, I am budgeting and planning and trying to keep us on a strict budget so we can go to South Dakota.

Planner Spread of the Week

Goals
1. Plan Sanibel Island trip
2. Cut Stickers
3. Facebook Posts for August 12-18 and August 19-25 *
4. Costco Trip...major trip *
5. Pick up necklace at Kay Jewelers *
6. Plan Ben's Birthday Party *
7. Travel Tips posts for October

Motivation for the Week

A major focus for me this month (and the rest of the year) is going to be getting myself back on track. I need to eat in a way that makes me feel good, I need to move as much as possible to get myself fit...I just want to conquer this lifelong issue. I can do this.

What are your goals this week?

Tending Tuesday

I am rocking this monthly task thing. My weekly tasks on the other hand...yeah.

I think for August, I need to really think about how to more effectively use my daily and weekly tasks. I was feeling like my weekly to dos were weak this month anyway and they have turned out to be very weak.

I need to focus on crocheting and reading when I'm not busy instead of scrolling on the Social.

As you saw in yesterday's post, I am planning on finishing up the monthly tasks and purging the living room this week.

Ok, so here is my tending list that is looking good!

How is your July going? What goals are you struggling with? Which goals are you rocking?

Tending Tuesday

Ok. I basically made zero progress. It is actually laughable how little progress I made. I did pretty good at tracking food and did a bit of my 30 day fitness challenge. I stared at my crochet from across the room.

But, I'm going to give myself some grace. And make a plan.

My bathroom remodel starts Tuesday or Wednesday, which means that my life will revolve around daily trips to Lowe's and being here to let my workers in.

Other than that, I need to finish planning the South Dakota Trip, run a Facebook Ad, work on Ellie's training, track food, do my 30 day fitness challenge, crochet and read. Whew. And we are leaving on a trip on Friday.

I can do it though.

Did you struggle with the start of your July? Are you rocking it? Share below!

Hopefully this week goes better...

Last week was rough. I always underestimate how much my mother-in-law exhausts me. We joke she is an "energy vampire" because she always seems to get more energized when we are around and we end up falling asleep at like 6:00 after a day at her house.

Anyway...this is a new week.

Monday Motivation

"Lord, Prepare me for what I am praying for."

I believe I used this earlier this summer, but it is very pressing on my mind. With the adoption "waiting" in full force, I need to work on being prepared to be a parent. It's still really surreal to think of myself as a parent in a real way. For years I have shut down that dream and held it down with everything I have and now....its so much more of a possibility and my brain and my heart are at war with each other.

One is always happy...the other is always cautious. And it switches. It's really a crazy thing. One part of myself is always holding back to try to protect myself. So praying for preparation is probably the only thing that will turn this around.

Planner Spread of the Week

I left Tuesday and Wednesday mostly blank because my bathroom remodel is starting one of those days and I want to mark it, so I will fill that in when I know the plan. Later this week, we are going to Maumee Bay State Park Lodge for a family reunion!

Goals for the Week

* Facebook posts for the weeks of July 8-14, July 15-21 and July 22-28*
* August Blog posts for Travel Tips with Jennie
* Work on Ellie's trick
* Read 2 books
* Finish planning our South Dakota trip
* Plan that shopping trip with Kathy*
* Create a photo book
* Bake and decorate Abby's birthday cake**
* Run a Facebook ad**
* Order Tile**
* Pick up Vanity and Necklace**

You might notice that A LOT of those goals are leftover from last week. They really, really must happen this week.

How did your week go last week? What is your biggest goal of this week?

Tending Tuesdays: Powersheets Check In

We finished our Home Study! I have the approved home study in my possession and I just feel like dancing!

Ok, but how else did I do?

I made a lot of progress and checked some stuff off the list, but I didn't go great in any other arena.

Monthly-

Carol's landscaping will be done Monday. I am on the contractors schedule. I can't find a newborn first aid class and I'm going to Target with Kathy next week.

Weekly-

I baked twice, kept up with Facebook and my blogs. I did ZERO work on the YouTube channel I want to launch.

Daily-

I did not do well going dairy free. Crocheting was hit or miss. Reading always happens. And this month, getting up early was rough for this "lark" because I was sleeping poorly.

I would give myself a passing grade for the month...barely passing, but passing.

How did your June end?

Here is a little peek at my July tending list...

I have so many fun things on this list, I think I will do ok. I am most looking forward to taking the newborn care class...which goal are you most looking forward to tackling this month?

A New Start-Happy July

Happy July!

I’ve been writing here for over a year now and, while I love sharing, I want to share better. I want to make it more genuine and more useful. I love being a housewife, but I think that as a modern housewife, I can learn from other housewives and maybe I can share my successes and struggles in a way that is valuable to the greater housewife community.

Today, that starts.

I don’t want to make promises about what each day will hold and I don’t want to make promises that there will be a post every single day, even though that is my goal. But I do want to make a practice of sharing a lot of things about how I get through the day, week and month. So I will be sharing my planners, my meal plans, grocery hauls, motivational quotes, my renewed health goal and so much more.

So, here we go….

Monday’s Motivation

“You have spent enough time at war with yourself.”

I can definitely relate to this. It makes me think of all of the negative things I think about myself and my world. I’m generally a pretty happy person, but that does not make me immune to negative self-talk. And I imagine that, like me, your negative self-talk has a familiar rhythm. Every time I allow myself to get negative, I think about the same things…my weight and mistakes I have made.

Brene Brown said “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.”  If I love myself, I need to stop the negative way to speak to myself about my weight and my mistakes. I need to own them and put them away.

Do you engage in negative self-talk? How do you get out of that spiral?

This Week’s Goals

Create and schedule posts for July 8-14 and July 15-21. *

Work on a new trick with Ellie

Read 2 books

Order Bathroom Flooring and Tile *

Sign up for Baptism Class

Start 30 Day Fitness Challenge *

Create blog posts for Travel Tips with Jennie for August

Work on South Dakota Plans

Schedule shopping day with Kathy

Plan Ben’s Birthday Party *

Have a good long weekend with Chris *

That is a lot. Especially with a holiday and Chris being home for 5 straight days between the holiday and working from home.

A couple of the goals are really fun! A few of them will only take 10 minutes. A couple of them are easy, but will take a significant amount of time. And one or two of them are just plain hard. The ones with the * are non-negotiables…they must happen this week.

When you are making your goals for the week, do you try to give yourself a mix of easy and hard goals?

Planner Time-Before the week starts

How are you celebrating the 4^th of July? Do you have annual traditions or do you just go with the flow?

Happy July Friends!

Powersheets: My Second Month Review

A few years ago, I came across the Powersheets, and while I was intrigued, I was not in a place in my life where I could even fathom doing the work and sticking to the goals I created for myself.

A few months ago, I started watching a couple of new (to me) YouTube creators who were using Powersheets and I was inspired. I watched all of their Powersheets videos and made the decision to purchase the 6 month, undated version.

I received my planner in April and sat down to do the prep-work...even though I had planned to mostly use my Powersheets to focus my 19 for 2019 list.

For the month of May, I just got used to using the tending list and now, mid-way through June...I love them. I love that I can track my progress on the bigger goals and keep myself accountable for goals I should be doing daily or weekly.

Below is a photo of my June tending list, updated two days ago. You can see that I need to work on my YouTube channel and going dairy free...there is still time in June!

It also called to my attention that I need to run an ad for my travel agency and build my archery backing. Both of which I added to my to-dos for this week!

Have you used the Powersheets? Are you interested in them? Let me know!