3rd Quarter 2015 Goal Check-in
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The happiest time of the year to me is definitely the Fall. The weather is cooler but not freezing, the scarves and boots come out of the closet. It’s all good. It also always gets me thinking about what I want to accomplish as I close out the year, and looking towards goals for next year. Also just trying to figure out how I can get through the last 3 months of the year and the craziness of the holidays with joy and intention and not stress and anxiety. Because even though Sept through new years is my absolute favorite time of year…let’s be real, it’s not without chaos.
I’ve also been working on a “30 before 30” list that I hope to share on the blog later this fall. It’ll be 30 things I hope to accomplish in the next 2 and few months years. (I turn 28 in January)
But for today, here’s an update on my 2015 goal progress. You can also see Q1 & Q2 progress.
Q3 2015 Goal Progress:
Meditation - This year so far I have meditated 236 out of 267 days. That’s insane. I NEVER have been that consistent in past years. I think part of that has to do with monitoring progress via Elise's chart and via coach.me, forcing myself to never miss more than one day, and not having a limit on the time I needed to spend meditating. Anywhere from 2-15 min counted.
5-min Journal – Fairly consistent with this one, typically only on weekdays. I think my goal on coach.me for this one is 5 days per week? I do highly recommend the 5-minute journal though. It really forces you to find things to be grateful for everyday and to keep your head on the positive.
One Blog Per Week – This has been a great goal to force me to plan ahead on blog posts. One per week has been SO much more doable than other goals I’ve set previous years. I really think I’ve completely stuck to, if not surpassed this goal. I’ve toyed with the idea of upping it to twice per week for 2016, but I’m not sure if that’s setting me up for failure, or if by setting that goal publicly I’m more likely to actually stick with it…? TBD.
New Recipes – I haven’t stuck to this in any intentional way this year. I think we’ve definitely tried new recipes, sometimes more than one per pay period, sometimes not. I think for this last quarter I’d like to really track ones that we try. And as a longer goal, actually get all of our regular recipes in ONE place. We have some on Pinterest, some on paper, some in cookbooks, just all over the place. And having them in one central location would make meal planning SO much easier. Hmm, perhaps 2016 goal?
Monthly Date Nights – Again not real intentional about this one. I think in August we went to eat, and in September we went to a movie. Perhaps we also did something in July? I can’t even remember. Here’s to being more intentional for October, November, December and 2016 on this one. We will probably see the final Hunger Games movie in November, and there was talk of ice skating and Ginger Elizabeth hot chocolate in December.
Read 25 Books – Killing this goal! Already at 25 and it’s not even October yet. Maybe I’ll up my goal for 2016!
Learn to sew a Quilt – I have the quilt squares cut for a very simple quilt, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten. Still hoping to finish it before the end of the year.
Podcast Production: 25 Episodes – So far so good! About to release episode 20 and have 5 more in the hopper to finish out the year.
Complete Childbirth Coursework – This is becoming more real. I just ordered a bunch of class materials, my evaluated series is set for December. After that I’ll just have to attend one more birth and take the final test. So exciting!
Run Couch to 5K – Completed in March.
As the fall draws the year to a close, I plan to really pump it out and finish the childbirth work, teach my evaluated classes and hopefully schedule the test for early 2016. It’s a bit of a crunch, but I am optimistic that I can do it! I’d also like to get a few months ahead on my podcast recordings. So far, so good there. Another project that wasn’t on my original list is the book that I am working on. It will be an anthology about the first year of motherhood. The submissions close in December, and I am hoping early 2016 with the childbirth coursework done, I can turn new energy to the book and propelling that project forward. I also hope to complete Clare's Baby Book and Project Life Year 1 & 2 books at the end of the year.
It’s been a really good year for goals for me, and I don’t think that I can necessarily point that all at one specific thing. Coach.me has been a big help for tracking. Having a mantra of doing a little bit at a time and setting reasonable goals has also helped. I think following the miracle morning principals on most days has also contributed…and just picking goals that are really personal and near and dear to my heart.
I’m ready to finish out 2015 strong and prepare for even more great things in 2016!
How are your goals coming along?
- I had read some articles recently that Mayim wrote about breastfeeding, so I decided to check this book out. I really enjoyed it. I think mainly because I liked how Mayim has a PhD in neuroscience and backed up her parenting choices with this knowledge. Considering we already parent with the majority of the attachment parenting tendencies in mind, it was major reinforcement for why we do things the way we do. More than "attachment parenting" it's really about INTUITIVE parenting. Doing what makes sense to you and not going against your instincts because perhaps society parents a little bit different than you do.
I love what she says about the need for night-time parenting, the benefits of co-sleeping, babywearing and breastfeeding, natural birth, etc. Check, check and check, all stuff that we agree with, do and will continue.
I'm also a big proponent of the Waldorf style education tenants and I appreciated her section on why we don't need to pressure our kids (and babies!) and she noted some resources on gentle discipline that I want to check out as well. Her discussion on sharing and why she doesn't force her kids to share really made sense to me also.
I don't see us trying the elimination communication method, and we do vaccinate, but seeing as those two things made of just a tiny fraction of the book and didn't at all feel preachy to me, it was all good.
All in all, great book, quick read. I enjoy reading parenting books that are more in this memoir style than in a 'how-to' type read. Makes them more relatable.
- I finished this two months ago and I already feel like I need to read it again. This book was so excellent and I feel it will be one I re-read many times. Clare is the epitome of the spirited child and I found myself highlighting half the book as I read. Definitely recommend to anyone else raising a spirited kiddo.
- I'm not really sure how I felt about this book. There were definitely some interesting parts of it. But sometimes his talk of consciousness got a bit too esoteric for me. It seems like his philosophy is that he doesn't like religions, except Buddhism is okay, but only some of it, and oh btw you should take psychedelic drugs. I did like the end where he said you can still have everything that religious dogma holds dear without having to follow one of those specific dogmas. Nothing says you can't have/do charity, community and believe in the contemplative life if you aren't of a specific religion. All in all, interesting read, but a bit scattered at times.
- I forgot just how dark Dark Places was since it had been a few years since I read it. I wanted to re-read it before the movie came out. It’s the second of Gillian Flynn’s three novels. About a young girl who’s family is murdered. I definitely look at it differently as a mom now.
- What a refreshing perspective. I 100% agree with his take on punishments. We have been against physical punishment from day 1, but seeing how he explains time-outs and other conventional punishment discipline techniques as "love withdrawls" and how damaging that can be really makes sense to me too. I think when it comes to praise, his logic definitely makes you consider the reasons behind why you are praising - ie are you doing it to get a certain outcome or are you just geniunely excited about something your child did. This is definitely something we will take into account as Clare gets older. We've tried to replace 'good job' with 'you did it!' a lot already. This approach is tough and very much not the mainstream of parenting. But it just all intuitively makes sense to me. I agree with my friend Mary that I would've liked more practical tips on top of the theories. Chris is reading it now and he's brought up parts of it that can relate to our own relationship and interactions also.
all my clothes before our summer clothing swap and also per her advice, I do hang all of my clothes in the closet now, I just separate out my capsule from the rest. I got rid of some pieces, added a couple new dresses, skirts and shirts. Including shoes, Summer came out to 47 pieces. I’m not much of a shoe gal, so I figured I’d include shoes this time around. As usual, no workout/Pjs/undergarments. Here’s the breakdown of the 47:
every morning. Sometimes this is in a sleep haze and my notes might not be the most thoughtful…i.e. it’s slightly embarrassing how many times one of my three “I’m grateful for” things includes simply – coffee. 
By Sarah Napthali - I really, really enjoyed this book. It was full of such practical, peaceful parenting advice. I literally felt calmer every time I would pick up the book. Buddhism has always attracted me and her combination of explaining Buddhism tenets wound into motherhood was just lovely. I am very much looking forward to reading her second book. Meditation and mindfulness has made a huge impact in my life over the last few years and this was a great supplement to that.
There are so many passages I liked, but particularly this one at the end:
"Buddhism treats you like an adult. It's not a religion. You don't need to believe anything unless it fits with your own personal experience. You use your judgement, inspired by wisdom and compassion rather than follow a set of sacred thou-shalts. Spiritual progress is your responsibility. You set the pace."
Impermanence. All is impermanent. Both the good and the bad. So much of this is true in motherhood and in life.
By Elisa Albert - Wow. This was such a good book. Albert's visceral, intense writing gave such an accurate, honest portrayal of how hard motherhood can be a times. The main character very clearly struggled with postpartum depression during her son's first year, and I think it's really refreshing to have someone be honest about the hard parts. Some of her descriptions were so spot on, I kept taking pictures of the library book and texting them to Chris while I was reading it.
By Gretchen Rubin - I really enjoyed this book. It gave me new insight into my habit formation and what works for my particular type of person. It also made me realize why it's different for others who fall into the other 3 types. I am an upholder, like the author, which is more rare. I am also a lark and a moderator (do better early morning and am more apt to moderate something than to completely eliminate it.) I think I am typically a marathoner when it comes to habits and goals, but occasionally I do well with the quick spurts. Worth the read. And I’ve also enjoyed listening to her podcast, Happier, recently.
By Bunmi Laditan – I thought I was going to like this a lot more than I actually did. There were a lot of things she wrote about that were hilarious and that I could totally relate to. But there was a healthy dose of mom shaming that I wasn't down with. Luckily it was a super fast read that I finished in the span of a couple days.
By Emily St. John Mandel - Excellent novel. So different than anything else I’ve read. I loved the storyline of rebuilding after a horrible flu wipes out most of the world. Characters felt so real and well drawn. And I liked their subtle connections between characters. One of the best novels I’ve read this year.
By Daniel J Siegel - There were some helpful things in this book, and some that I needed to think about for myself more than for my daughter right now because she's so young. It did seem a bit repetitive. The concepts could have probably been dispelled into a rather long blog post.
By Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung- I enjoyed many of the principles here, but it got a bit repetitive toward the end. Definitely made me think about food from a more mindful perspective. 
By Karen Le Billon - I really liked this book. The French have such a lovely approach to food. Pleasure, not calorie counting. Variety, no snacking, and no "bad foods." I so wish our American food culture mirrored how the French see things. Kids there get 2 HOUR hot lunches where everyone eats the same thing and learns a ton about food from a very young age. While a lot of it is stuff that doesn't necessarily translate in American culture and I don't at all agree with the French view on breastfeeding (neither does the author!) I definitely picked up tips that we can use with our kids I'm looking forward to reading her other book "Getting to Yum" next.
