april recap and may goals

May 3, 2018

April was a very slow and relaxed month for me. Not a whole lot of big stuff happened but I got to enjoy being fully Catholic, we celebrated Easter, we went to an Astros’ game with my family (my brother was even in town from New York), my mom had her gallbladder removed, we took the school hamster home for a weekend, we had our first book club revival meeting, David and I went to a concert, and I focused on some personal projects like crafting and deep cleaning the kitchen.

As for my goals, I had intentionally simplified this month and made a lot of white space. The beginning of the year felt frenzied, mostly due to circumstances beyond my control, and I wanted to rest. Well, I accomplished that! In the meantime, I discovered that I am happier, more productive, and have more energy when I have more going on. More on this in a little bit, but here is how I did with my April goals:

  • Do taxes – Yes, and we owed less than $100 which I consider a win!
  • Complete Jesus tree ornaments – Finished this one on the last night of the month. I love them!
  • Go on a date – We went to see a favorite band, Over the Rhine, in concert.
  • Read four books (one spiritual) – I only read three, and I counted Pope Francis’s exhortation “Gaudete et Exultate” as my spiritual book.
  • Go to confession – Fail. I went up to church to do this, but the line was so long that I was afraid I would be late to mass. I’m going to try to go this month.

 

may goals

1 / One hour of adoration – I joined a new membership community for Catholic women, and the month’s topic is prayer. One hour of Eucharistic adoration is this month’s challenge.

2/ Read four books (one spiritual)

3/ Productive Life E-course – I bought the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle, and this course from Crystal Paine is the first thing I want to tackle.

4/ Go on a date

5/ Family small adventure – No plans yet, but Memorial Day weekend might be a good time for this.

6/ Clean moldings & fixtures – Next on my list of spring cleaning!

7/ Make grocery staples price list – I am also working through this course on cutting your grocery budget, and my next task is to visit all the local grocery stores and note the prices of the groceries we are always buying. This is to figure out where it would be best to shop.

8/ Pay off student loan – We are doing the debt snowball and I’m so excited that we are paying off a huge loan this month! This goal would probably happen anyway but I wanted to note it.

9/ Send three specific invitations to friends – I was bemoaning the state of my friendships – how I don’t seem to see friends as often as I’d like – when I realized I should take things into my own hands. :)

 

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Posted in: personal, goals

a whole bunch of things i’ve been into lately

April 12, 2018

Alright, get ready. Since the beginning of the year, I have been keeping a list of things I’m into: products, activities I’m enjoying, foods, etc. It’s already getting long so I figured I’d better share before it gets out of hand. This should be a fun post, I hope! Oh, and links below are affiliate or referral links, when available. :) Agendio planner – First up is my new favorite planner. I could easily devote an entire post to this, but I know I won’t, so here you go. The Agendio is nearly endlessly customizable. I wanted a hybrid between a bullet journal and a planner, so that’s kind of what I created. Be prepared that if you’re interested, you…
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Posted in: things i love

march recap and april goals

April 4, 2018

I absolutely loved the month of March! I was the happiest I have been maybe ever, the weather was simply gorgeous, and I officially became Catholic which was one of the highlights of my entire life. Also in March: I finally got my phone screen repaired My friend Sarah was in town for spring break and we went to the zoo together We celebrated several birthdays including my brother-in-law, my niece, and a couple friends I saw the doctor about my migraines My best friend had her baby shower We brought the daycare class guinea pigs home for a weekend Lots of beautiful church services for Holy Week David and I had our marriage convalidated Here is a recap of…
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Posted in: personal, goals

almost catholic

March 26, 2018

In just under a week, at the Easter Vigil, I will finally be fully received into the Catholic Church. I feel like a pregnant mama in those last days before her baby is born. It’s been such a long, hard journey, but one full of hope and expectancy and excitement at the same time. In many ways the end, the anticipation before it all really happens, is the sweetest time. This week, Holy Week, is unlike any other in my entire life. I revived this blog basically to journal my way through this conversion process, and then it all became so overwhelming that I haven’t talked much about it since then. So I’d like to recall a few of the…
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Posted in: faith, catholic

spring break

March 20, 2018

I started writing this post in the middle of last week, but am just finishing it now. Obviously I am not a consistent blogger anymore. Spring break was last week, and we had fantastic weather. Upper 60’s and sunny. Just perfect. Over the weekend it became a little more muggy and hot, but that’s okay. The past few weeks have made me so glad to live where I live. David and I still worked last week and the kids went to daycare, but we managed to make the week special and fun, I think. I met another online friend who was in town with her family, and we went out to eat one evening and then took our kids to the zoo….
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Posted in: personal

how i spent my personal money: jan & feb

March 9, 2018

Inspired by Brooke, I thought it would be fun to share how I spend the money I have budgeted for personal spending (ie: “fun money”) every so often. Paying off debt is a big goal of ours, so it will also help to keep me accountable. Usually I budget $80 per month for my own use. In January, I wasn’t supposed to spend anything, but I ended up going over. In February, I budgeted higher because it was my birthday. January $50 – Domain renewal for this website (unexpected expense) $10 – Jesus tree felt pattern $34 – Blessed Is She Lent devotional Total: $94 February $38 – Felt from Benzie Design to make Jesus tree ornaments $26 – Jet…
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Posted in: personal