GOALS/april-may

Instead of being so structured with my goal-setting as I have in the past (like here and here), I'm just going to set these broad goals:
Spend time in the sun a lot
Do something fun every day
Work
Write
Go on a date with Conrad

As for assessing last month, I'm shockingly on track. I looked back on last month's goals and expected to have hardly accomplished anything (it was one of those months, guys. We cut a tooth over here and it pretty much made everything halt to a stop, plus we started crawling), but I did almost everything I had set out to do. Henry's eating table foods, baby food, and nursing 4-5 times a day, we took our trips, I made a big list of all the fun stuff I want to do this summer (summer starts last week in San Diego, FYI, and June doesn't really count). I did over 30 SEO articles total, plus several eyelash appointments, and I've been journalling more and brooding less. I didn't do blogging as much, and I'm behind on 25 projects (new one coming tomorrow!), but I'm ok with that.

On dropping projects. I wrote a novella a while ago. It's total garbage as far as story-telling goes, but I was really proud of myself for writing as much as I did and actually finishing something. In line with wanting to finish something, I had set the goal to edit the story and make it good. Ha. "Make it good." Only, I don't really like the story anymore, and I'm making excuses to not do it, which I think means I really don't want to. So I'm not going to hold myself to that goal. I'm moving on to the next story or whatever I'm going to write, and work to make it better than the last one, and do it quickly so we don't lose the spark. Sometimes it's ok to say no and drop a project if you feel it's not fulfilling the way you thought it would be.

SPRING GOALS

Before I started doing my monthly goal setting and assessment, I had been setting seasonal goals. I'm a huge goal-setter, and any excuse to better myself and set my sights toward an accomplishment is exciting. I kind of stopped doing the seasonal goals since I've started my monthly assessment, but I'd like to pick it back up. My monthly goals have been tightly categorized, following in theme with my word of the year. I'd like to have a looser place to set some goals that might not be as relevant to "Build," just so I have some flexibility.

READ
We downloaded a few audio books for our drive to Utah, and I'm loving the freedom it gives me! I can play it on my phone while I do chores, drive, go for a walk, etc. Granted, doing stuff while I listen to a book kind of takes away from the relaxation aspect of sitting down and focusing on nothing but the pages in front of you, but I'm loving listening to the stories, both for their entertainment and their education (I am an aspiring writer, after all). So the following are books I'd like to read or have read to me this summer.
The Secret of Writing
The Lost Symbol
Inferno
The Rosie Project
The Husbands Secret
The Storyteller
Gone Girl
Killing Jesus

FILL WEEKENDS WITH SUNSHINE
As I mentioned in this post, we've got a lot going on this spring and summer. It seems that every other weekend we're toting our baby off to some new place. I don't want to waste a single drop of sunshine, but I also want to enjoy those weekends we're home and don't have anything big to do. So I've resolved to fill my free Saturdays with beach days, hikes, date nights, and family time. In fact, I'm so schedule-oriented that I've already reserved some beach days and date nights on my calendar so we don't make any other plans! A bonus of doing fun activities like swimming in the ocean, hiking, paddle boarding, and kayaking is the fitness you achieve. So. Two birds, right?

TRAVEL
Palm Springs, Laughlin, and a couple islands in the Bahamas. These trips are already planned (and we just had our Utah trip), which makes this a sure accomplishment.

START ANOTHER STORY
I finished my first real story a few months ago, and realized it was total garbage. I had intended to edit it and revise it, but I started to hate the story more and more, and I decided that that is just a project I can dump. I have a long way to go, I think, before I produce something of any worth, so I'd like to start working on my next story. I'm sure it won't be the best one, but I think writers constantly evolve and improve with practice.

GOALS/march-april

This month, I was kind of in survival mode, so executing the personal and professional goals I had set for myself at the beginning of March was kind of the last thing on my mind. I had set a couple of goals that just sort of happened naturally (I do that on purpose so I can feel like I've accomplished something even if I forgot about my goals), like getting a haircut, continuing to nurse Henry, and (sort of) finding an at-home job. I applied for about ten different jobs on elance - just freelance contracted jobs - and ended up getting one of them. I ghostwrote an ebook for someone (for literal pennies), and it was fun and hard and I have the work experience on my profile, so hopefully it will help me get more jobs with better pay in the future. We went on a couple date nights, which is a vast improvement from how it was for a while (which, I guess is the point of goal setting - to improve). And I completed project 5 and project 6 for my 25 projects challenge. Again and again this project proves to not only better my home, but exercise my creativity and build my self worth.

I didn't get out every single day, but I did get out most days, and I even have a tanline to show for it. I've done no work on my blog design or my novella. I've also done some work for Conrad doing SEO articles for his online businesses.

This month is going to be nuts. We're going on two different weekend trips over General Conference and Easter, so we'll be preparing from, in the middle of, or just returning from a trip pretty much all month. I've got another freelance job coming up that's going to be a lot more rewarding (literally), and I've planned out all our meals for April to help us save money and be healthier. As for 25 projects #7 and #8, I don't know what I'm going to do, or when I'm going to do it. Up until now, I've had my projects all lined up so I knew what I needed to start working on, and now I'm, like, two days away from my personal "due date" (every other Friday), and I haven't started anything.

I'm looking up, and I've decided to start journalling daily some reasons I like myself. I was going to do a hashtag series on Instagram, but decided that building myself up should be for myself, not necessarily to display to everyone else why I'm awesome.

STOP IT

Alright. My heart's in my throat. My nerves are jumping. Here is one of the several business projects I've been working on. It's not THE idea, but it's one I've been working on for a while now. Why is it always so scary to unveil a product? Maybe because when you come up with something independently, there's a lot of soul in it, a lot of vulnerability. I came up with the idea a while ago when I saw this:

I wished I had a professional-looking card to call out all the terrible parkers. You could leave a handwritten note, but it's a little more fun to actually have something that looks good, like you were prepared for this ridiculousness. So I came up with the STOP IT card. It's  2x3.5 inch card, stamped with a rubber stamp. Each card is handmade, so they differ very slightly. Of course, there are other uses for them, such as a sarcastic "STOP IT" when someone does something awesome or silly. They're for sale now in the shop.

THE VENTURES ON MY MIND

Oh man. This post has been clinking around in my brain for a few months, causing all kinds of mayhem and chipping paint off the walls of my head. I had intended to vent about the ideas - about five of them - that I had been stewing over and considering how to bring them to life.

I always seem to have ideas. Ways to make money. Things to make. Ways to serve people. Places we should visit. Poems and stories and songs that just need to be written. This particular post was going to be of the "ways to make money" variety. I'm keeping in theme with that, but instead of telling you all my dirty secrets and all the ideas I've been thinking about, I'm taking it another direction, and giving you a heads up.

I had an idea and I thought it was a really good one. I scoured the internet for something similar, and found nothing, which means I came up with something relatively original. THIS NEVER HAPPENS. At least not to me. I tend to love what other people do and do them with a twist of my own, and in the end, it never really ends up feeling like my own. This time, it's all mine. Beginning to end, mine. Inspired by something that is very close and dear to me, and will hopefully have some sort of meaning for the world once I'm ready to show it off.

It's coming soon and I'm really excited about it. I've said that before and then my projects don't pan out, but I'm hoping this one comes to fruition. Sometimes, you calculate the end costs and it just isn't worth it. Sometimes, inspiration is fleeting. And then, as in this case, sometimes, you find something that just fits. Inspiration is solid, costs are low, and importance and relevance are significant. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Meanwhile, if you're interested, minibooks are on sale in the shop for $8.00 (that's discounted 33%!). Take a looksie and order if you like! Orders of multiples apply for further discount. Email me if interested!

GOALS/february-march

Assessing my progress with the personal and professional goals I set for 2014 kind of slipped my mind in January, but I figured better late than never! I want to take the time each month to set goals and assess how I did for the previous month. For February, I'm doing it at the end of the month and counting it for March, but after that, I'll be posting my goal posts at the beginning of the month. I find it incredibly motivating to a) take a look at how I've progressed, and b) write it on the blog so I'm a little more accountable. This post is kind of wordy, but I'd love to hear your goals and assessments as well!

For my personal goals, I feel like I'm keeping pretty good momentum. I've been writing more, and I've even finished the first draft (a very, very rough draft) of a story I've been working on for a while. I've been flexing my creative muscles with 25 projects, and am right on track to finish all 25 projects on time (or even early!). I haven't been walking daily with intent. It's something I'm going to be deliberately adding to my daily schedule starting today. I think going for a walk every morning will help stimulate Henry in a positive way, and his nap schedule will become a little more regular. See! This is why we should have a monthly assessment.
Dating my husband? Check. In January and in February we've gone on a date without the babe. It's awesome to spend time just talking like adults, our attention fully on each other without having to shush a whining boy or worry about grabby little hands spilling a cup or whatever. Nursing Henry has been going great. I had initially hoped to nurse exclusively until he was about seven months old before I introduced foods, but he started showing me some signs that he was ready to eat food. He stays full longer, his attention span is longer, and he sleeps better, and I think it's all from the food. Of course, there are downsides, such as baby constipation and upset tummy from foods he's not used to digesting, but nursing is the one constant that seems to keep us both happy, and I'll do it until it's no longer mutually desired. And hey - I nursed exclusively longer than a lot of women nurse entirely, so there's that (there are lots of right ways to parent; I'm not criticizing women who nurse for short periods of time).
Ah, being confident. This one is entirely internal, so it's harder to measure and it's easier to lose progress. One bad day can set you back by weeks. I think I am becoming more confident. I'm more comfortable in my clothes, and I am mostly happy about my physical state (but GIRL. FRIEND. I need a haircut.). I'm also becoming a lot more confident as a mom. I have questions and I accept a lot of advice, but in the end, I think I'm really considerate of what will work for us, and not what I feel pressured to do. 25 projects is also helping me be confident in my creativity and my sense of style in my home.

As for the professional goals, I'm feeling a little uninspired. We're saving money, I'm being better about clearing brain space and not allowing unnecessary information in, and we've been working on building our business, but building my brand? I'm stuck on it. I know what I like and don't like, but I can't seem to translate it into a unique design. Good thing I have ten more months to cross that goal off the list, I guess. Hopefully I'll have more to update on the professional front in the coming months.

For March, I'd love to set some more specific goals. I kept my yearly goals intentionally broad to allow room for expansion and change, but my monthly goals can be more narrow, since I'm so limited on how much time I have to complete them. Thirty-one days, at most. Twenty-eight, at least. So here we go, my goals for March!

BACK TO THE BOOK

My best girl Elyssa and I had a really motivating aspiring writer's situation going for a while, but got out of habit right around Thanksgiving. Then December was nuts because everyone has family out of town and all the shopping and taking care of sick babies, then Christmas, then New Year's five seconds later. Then a little bit more of those sick babies.

Things are finally cooling down now, and we're excited to get back into the rhythm and start working on something for ourselves again. As gratifying as mothering and housewifing and erranding is, you need something, in our case a creative outlet in the form of writing, to make you feel human and like you have something that makes you interesting.

As obnoxious as I think it is to say "I'm writing a book," (I think everyone in the world is "writing a book"), I'm writing a book. Every once in a while I'll have a burst of blessed fingers and the words will flow. Most of the time, that is not the case (see mothering, housewifing, and erranding). I've been working on getting Henry on a new schedule, and as such, have also been working on refining my own schedule. I've learned to become really productive during naptimes (as you must), and I'm excited to devote some of my time to writing again.

I'm also working on streamlining my errands and chores, but that's a [boring] topic for another day.

25 PROJECTS IN MY 25TH YEAR

As I mentioned in yesterday's post on personal goals, I'm working on building my creativity and expanding and developing my talents. I was inspired by a blogger to do a "birthday challenge," and as I'm turning 25 this year, I will be doing 25 projects. I thought it was the perfect challenge for this goal. I'm hoping it will stretch me and I'll be able to try some new things - maybe even some Pinterest projects! They will be medium to large projects and crafts, and I already have a few in mind that I'd like to do. I'll be sharing them every other week, and I'm itching to reveal my first one this Friday!

I stated last week that in my new big plans for the blog, I would not be taking regular blog sponsors anymore. However, due to the time and cost that twenty five medium to large projects will require, I will be accepting sponsors for this challenge. If you have a small business that sells crafting supplies or handmade items that you would like to take part, please email me at tess[at]theframedlady.com for more info and rates. Your small banner ad would run at the bottom of the (single) relevant project post and your product will be credited. I will be choosing sponsors that best suit the blog's audience and the current project. If there isn't a business that seems like a good fit, there will not be an ad. My goal is not to flood the blog with sponsors for the sake of money.  

Look for project #1 this Friday!

PERSONAL GOALS FOR 2014

A lot of people choose not to set goals at the beginning of each year, as they feel it sets them up for failure. Being a huge goal-setter, I've always loved it. I reassess often and feel great personal accomplishment in it. For example, a goal I have at the end of each year is to set new goals. Once I do that, I can actually cross an item off my list and feel like I've completed something I intended to. I'm all about small goals.

When I was thinking about what kind of goals I wanted to set for the new year, it was important to me to improve. Not really to start or stop something, but to be better. That's why I chose the word "build" to represent the majority of my goals. I want to build on what is already there.

So here is my subset of personal goals. (I also posted a few of my professional goals here)

Conrad and I have created a strong, beautiful foundation for our family and have already begun to build on it. My goal this year is to continue working on our personal relationship. Time together has kind of gone out the window these last four months (though, to be fair, during pregnancy, we spent tons of time together), and I want to make dating him a priority. The plan is to go on a date night once a month without Henry (dates with Henry are frequent and fabulous, but we need our couple time). 

Build on my creativity. Expand my abilities and talents. I was inspired by another blogger to do "25 projects" for my 25th year (I'll turn 25 in August). I feel extra motivated on this one because we're trying to save money and I need to be a little more creative with how I decorate and craft. I've already started, and I'm really excited to share my first project next Friday! I've even created a label for it so you can follow along as I crank out my 25 projects.

I want to build my own confidence. Honestly, having a baby has hugely boosted my confidence, as being entirely responsible for something usually does. I feel like I've really gotten to know who I am and what I like, and I'm always working on liking that person. The plan for this one was a little harder to devise. I decided that being a better friend would be how I want to get there. After all, building up others is the best way to build up yourself. I'm on the lookout for opportunities to be a better friend. The other day I brought a friend who had morning sickness a couple bags of groceries. I'm working on being a better listener and shoulder. My relationships are improving and I feel better about myself.

Walk/run a mile everyday. This one is kind of easy. Between all the errands I run regularly, it's not difficult to reach a mile a day. I'm setting this goal more so that I have a deliberate reason to leave the house every day, and don't spend whole days inside. Fresh air and sunshine are necessary for this mama. There's a fun insta-movement called #mileaday and I thought it would be really fun to record what I did for each day's mile. So far I've done IKEA, and gone on a couple different walks on the beach and at different parks. You can view or join me on instagram @tesiahframe.

Nurse Henry until the end of the year! This goal is one I'm SO looking forward to doing, and barring an unforeseen obstacle, I know it will happen. Breastfeeding is one of my very favorite parts about mothering so far (I wrote a whole post about it here). Since Henry's very beginning as a little bundle of cells, I have been his entire survival, and I hope to exclusively breastfeed as long as he will allow it (my dream would be seven or eight months).

And finally, I want to build on the book I've been writing. I've been working on it seriously for about three months, and I'm about a quarter finished. I'd love to finish it by the end of the year, but realistically, that may be a lot to tackle, so I'm just going to set the broad goal of working on it once a week. This is a continuance of my goal last season to have a writing day each week.

Stay tuned for my (and our) professional goals for the year!

PROFESSIONAL GOALS FOR 2014

Keeping in theme with my word of the year (build), I decided to set some specific personal and professional goals with plans for execution. Last year was the year of acquiring. This is the year of building.

Probably our largest goal is to save money. Last year, we made some major upgrades from "life as a young couple" to "adults with a family." First and foremost, the empty space in our hearts (that we didn't even know was there) was filled with the birth of our amazing dream baby Henry. Our hodgepodge furniture collection was streamlined, our horrible kitchen was remodeled, and our clunker car was replaced with one that is perfect for our growing family. Our home no longer looks like a slightly upgraded dorm room from the seventies. We even managed to save money from January to December. But now it's time to crack down. We do have a specific number we'd like to reach by the end of the year, which helps us stay disciplined, and we have some business plans to help us get there.

We want to build up the business that Conrad has started and been working on over the last couple years. He started a recurring email service called Sendrecurring that is starting to take flight! He does all the code-related work, and I do all the marketing and some of the design. We'd love to expand what's already been launched and get some good passive income going. I'll be doing plugs for Sendrecurring here and there on the blog as it's a really relevant and helpful (and free!) tool for bloggers.

Clear brain space and build focus. My biggest concern has been Facebook. It's an amazing tool for connecting with people and sharing valuable content, but the majority of what's posted is just distraction! With a new baby, I don't have time to spend entire naptimes in a vortex of useless articles. So we decided to cut back. I will only log onto Facebook deliberately instead of leaving the tab open and clicking over every ten minutes. I will log out when I'm done so I can't just flip back to it. My goal is to only use it to share pictures with my family on my personal account, and use The Framed Lady's page for marketing purposes.

Build The Framed Lady's brand. I've taken on the large task of rebranding and monetizing The Framed Lady, but am expecting very little income to be made through the affiliate ads. My biggest goal for the blog is to have it be the space that would lead people to my shop (which I'm still working on, and which is where the profit hopefully lies). A sub-goal is to create fifty products for my shop. It feels almost insurmountable right now, but I know I can do it if I try! I'm working on designing some prints and products that will be for sale soon. Another goal is to organize and become consistent with everything, so I'm working on setting up a creative space in my home, and I'm coming up with a new posting schedule. I can't wait to share once it's all ready!

You can view my personal goals here. 

WHAT'S YOUR WORD?

I didn't really chose a word last year, as I was sick as a dog with morning sickness. But after pondering all of the things we did in 2013, I realized my word was something along the lines of "Acquiring." We acquired a baby. A new kitchen. A new car. A new sense of family and love. This new year, I decided I wanted to have some purpose, so I settled on "Building." We want to build our business. Build our savings (partly in consequence to all the "acquiring" of last year). I want to build my confidence. I want to build up my husband. Build my baby up as he starts to gain a sense of self. I want to build my talents and creativity. I want to build on the novel I've been working on. Just a whole lot of building. I'd love to hear your new year words and goals! Leave 'em in the comments! 

WRITING DAY

So here's the deal. In effort to accomplish the goals I've set for myself, I've teamed up with a friend for accountability. We're both striving to be better writers, and maybe produce something of value in a reasonable amount of time. I set the broad goal for myself to "work on a novel." I've written lots of poetry and short stories, and now that I have a degree in the stuff, I figured I'm ready to try for something a little more challenging. I signed up for NaNoWriMo (do it), and am going to push myself harder than I ever pushed myself at school.

I found it really hard to force myself to write if I wasn't trying to meet an official deadline, so I called my Elyssa for motivation (she's my beautiful, intelligent, unicorn of a rock). We decided that a couple things would be good for both of us:

- Work on reaching a five page goal (about 3000 words) in our personal projects. Send the work by Sunday, then do a constructive writer's chat on Tuesday.

- As an exercise, we'd try writing something together. She'll write a chapter as whatever character she wants, and then I'll go, and we'll see what kind of story will evolve and what we'll learn from the other person's writing.

Already, in one week, this has had a huge influence over my motivation. The simple need to meet a deadline has me writing like crazy. The desire to impress my friend and have a readable story has me trying hard to edit and write well. The chat about how we can each improve leaves me inspired and ready to keep going. 

The only thing I'd say is hard is finding down time and forcing myself to write instead of do anything else. We both have newborns, which means there's a lot of nap time. It also means there's a lot of housekeeping and laundry and meal planning and errands. So I set aside one day to be "Writing Day." I don't plan any errands or get-togethers, I just take care of my baby and write while he sleeps. And I love it. And I'm so excited to accomplish this goal!

On Writing Day we wear cozy sweaters and patterned leggings and jammies all day.

And we work on rounding-out that flat spot.

And we take selfies in which the baby is about to have a meltdown.

And regular selfies.

On a related note:

In a separate writing project, I started compiling stories and words of wisdom from my Dad in a type of biography. This week, my brother who's on a mission told me how he wants to write such a book. Good thing I already started it! Now I've got this brilliant idea blossoming for all us kids to contribute to it.

On a less-related note:

I was driving past the lagoon yesterday, and right there between the busy road and the boggy, swampy lagoon was an art class! If I hadn't had a hungry, crying baby in the back seat, I might have pulled over and asked about it. And now you know. There are art classes on the lagoon.

FALL GOALS

A month ago, I decided to set some goals for the last few weeks of summer and I wanted to look back and assess how I did, as well as set some new goals for Fall.

+ HAVE MY BABY. 

Checkity check. 

+ GET DOWN TO 150 POUNDS. 

Done! I had a doctor's appointment last week (three weeks after birth) and was 150 on the button, which means I'm down thirty pounds and only five away from my pre-pregnancy weight! 

+ HELP CONRAD more with Sendrecurring.com, and get the paid version ready to launch. Finish designing the icons and layout of the site. 

Did this. Not as much as I probably could have, but I did it, so it counts. 

+ HAVE OUR FAMILY PICTURES TAKEN. 

Did this two weeks ago and they turned out great! 

+ FILL MY JOURNAL. 

Done! Actually, I'm cheating a tiny bit, because I actually had about three blank pages left on the last day of summer. It has since been filled, so I'm calling it good.

+ READ TWO MORE BOOKS. 

1. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
2. Wither by Lauren DeStefano
I finished #1 but then gave birth and haven't really had time to just sit and read. Half-done is still good, right?

+ FINISH MY BABY BOOK SMASH BOOK. 

Again, I got pretty far but then gave birth and just haven't had time to focus on it. I want to do it before I forget how I felt, so this one's going on my Fall list!

And now, for the Fall list! I'm really excited because I have the whole season to accomplish my goals, instead of the last six weeks like last time. Plus, Baby H and I are figuring out a pretty good schedule (not really a set schedule, but we're adjusting), so I have more energy and am feeling like I can accomplish things.

+ SUBMIT GRAD SCHOOL APPLICATION

This is something I've been thinking about for a while, and now that it's Fall, schools are accepting applications for next year. 

+ READ MORE BOOKS

Here are some books on my list. I'd love to read them all, but realistically, if I finish 2 or 3 I'll be happy.

1. Life of Pi

2. The Book Thief 

3. Days of Blood and Starlight (by the way, if you haven't started the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, get started, stat!)

4. Mind Games

5. The Chaos of the Stars

6. Perfect Lies

7. Rebecca 

+ FINISH THE BABY BOOK SMASH BOOK

I really want to document the last couple weeks of pregnancy and the labor and first few days of Henry's life before it all becomes foggy and I don't remember the details. This is one of those naptime projects for when all the chores are done and I have some time (like that will ever happen).

+ GET BACK TO WALKING A FEW TIMES A WEEK

I'd love to start a walking group with some of my girlfriends who have babies. Ideally, I would love to alternate my walking days with my errand days so that I can spend some time outside of the house each day and not go nuts with cabin fever. Plus, (who am I kidding? This is the main reason, not a bonus) the exercise will help me get rid of the last few pounds and firm up what is currently a little soupy.

+ FINISH THE KITCHEN AND LIVING ROOM REMODEL

We're soooo close. All we're needing at this point is to finish a very small portion of the floor (that's what it looks like so far! ^^^), get our dishwasher hooked up, do the details like hardware and backsplash, and get our hood microwave. 

+ LOSE REMAINING 5 POUNDS (plus 10)

I wasn't at my ideal size or weight before I got pregnant, which is fine considering that if my starting weight was a little higher, I have a shorter distance to go to get to my "pre-pregnancy weight." But for vanity's sake, I'd like to get a little firmer, which I guess doesn't necessarily entail weight loss, just fitness and maintenance.

+ WORK ON WRITING A BOOK

I've had so many starts when it comes to writing. I'd like to take one of my ideas and follow through and finish. Maybe it's a novel? Maybe an autobiography of sorts? Or maybe someone else's biography? My goal isn't to finish a book, though that would be nice, but I won't set the bar too high for myself. I do have a new baby, after all. The goal is to spend time writing and find a story in my mind that I'm motivated to finish.

+ PLAN A TRIP

We're already kind of planning a trip to Vancouver for next year. I'd love to do some research and find out what sites are must-sees and what local eateries and parks and other things come recommended. If you've been or are from the area, what should we do?

End-of-Summer Goals

I read this post and was totally inspired to write some seasonal goals! I'm a MAJOR goal setter but I've never been so on board with New Year's Resolutions, since you really only assess your progress once a year at the very end. And nobody really keeps their resolutions past March, anyway. I loved Bon's idea of setting summer goals, and I had the idea to do it for each season. At the end of the season, you can see how you did, and you have next season to pick up where you slacked off.

There's still over a month left of summer, officially, so here are the goals I want to accomplish by September 22. I'll do another post at that time and see how I did, and set my Fall goals.

+ HAVE MY BABY. Considering I'm 39 weeks pregnant, I'm pretty sure this is a very accomplishable goal. Let's start with a guaranteed success and go from there!

+ GET DOWN TO 150 pounds. I weigh a little over 170 now, baby and all, so I figure with birth and nursing for four weeks, that's a pretty reasonable goal. I'll plan to lose more in the Fall, but as for the end of summer, I think 150 is doable.

+ HELP CONRAD more with Sendrecurring.com, and get the paid version ready to launch. Finish designing the icons and layout of the site.

+ HAVE OUR FAMILY PICTURES TAKEN. Those little froggy newborn legs go away so quickly, I want to make sure we have some beautiful, professional pictures to remember them, and to capture our tired, happy, new-parent glow.

+ FILL MY JOURNAL. It's kind of weird to want to finish a journal, but I love the feeling of filling in that last page and moving on to a new, empty book, like your next chapter is starting! In my case, with having a baby, a new chapter really is starting.

+ READ TWO MORE BOOKS. This seems kind of measly, but I expect that it will be really hard to read with a newborn, so I'm setting my goal low. If I meet it or exceed it, awesome! If I don't, it's not like it was a huge deal, and I don't need to beat myself up for it while I'm dealing with the Baby Blues. I just started my fifth book this month, so if I can finish it plus one more, I'll feel really great about it.
1. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
2. Wither by Lauren DeStefano

(3.) Life of Pi
(4.) The Book Thief
(If I magically have the time or energy, I'll read 3 and 4)

I think it's smart to always have something to read. Always be expanding your mind, exposing yourself to stories and writing styles and information. I'm currently familiarizing myself with young adult fiction, both for research purposes and because it's just plain fun.

+ FINISH MY BABY BOOK SMASH BOOK. I crammed for about a month and documented almost my whole pregnancy. I'd like to finish it by the Fall, because, as these things go, the longer you go without finishing it, the less likely you are to ever actually do so. I'll post lots and lots of pictures once it's done! (Is a Smash book ever really done?)

Why we waited to get pregnant

As you've probably gathered from reading my posts for the last few months, we're THRILLED to be welcoming our little boy. Ecstatic. I chalk our happiness up to good timing and blessings. Of course, we would have loved our baby if he had come earlier, but life would have been very different for us. We got to have some wonderful time for learning and creating a strong marital foundation for our future family in the four years we had before babies came along.

Mine, His

We both got to graduate college. We've placed a very high value on education, and always felt that we would be more prepared to provide for our family if we had completed our schooling. Having kids before you graduate can certainly be done, but it also makes it significantly harder.

One of our first nights in our first apartment.

We got to move several times. I love that we've lived in a few different homes together. We got to start over and make a new home each time we moved, and it brought us closer as a couple.

Conrad and me in front of the building he used to work in. Downtown San Diego.

Conrad underwent a job switch and is now settling in at a very stable, opportunistic position. Right by the beach. With a very short commute. This job switch was a huge deal for us. Conrad's work-related happiness was really kind of low at his old job because the commute was all the way in downtown San Diego (an hour-long train ride each way), and by the time he got home, he had hardly any waking time to do anything he liked. Now, with his new job, he gets to travel for work, spend time outside, and is only 10 minutes from home. He has time to surf after work because it's not totally dark when he gets home, and he's had a lot of time to work on side projects. Making the switch with a baby would not have been hard, but we're in such a happy place now. We're much more ready to welcome a baby.

We got to buy a home. We bought our condo after only 2 years of marriage, and will probably have it for the rest of our lives. It's an awesome investment for later in life. We'll rent it out when we want to buy a bigger place for our growing family. We're happy we were able to save up and "get ahead" with our home purchase!

We fell WAY deeper in love. There was so much we didn't know about each other and about ourselves when we were first married. We were so much less mature and prepared compared to now. I throw way fewer tantrums. Conrad does way fewer things to result in my throwing tantrums. We've grown. :)

Did you wait to have kids? Why or why not? Why are you glad that you waited or didn't wait?

Back to School

So, really last minute, I applied to a community college, just to see if I could take any more transfer classes before I can try to get in to UCSD. I got in (of course, all you need to go to a JC is a pulse), and was able to enroll in an English class. I'm gonna try to add a chemistry class and a French class this week. Classes start tomorrow. What ever will I wear?!

How reading a book can improve your life

After a week of sobbing, feeling sorry for myself, visiting people I love (and am secretly jealous of), taking a super stressful 1-day road trip, and eating too many carbs, I got a good email.

"Your reserved book has arrived at the Solana Beach Library. You may pick it up at your earliest convenience."

I won't divulge what book, as I realize I do way to much product placement on this blog. However, I will say, I'm only on page 25 and I'm attached. I love it. Its lifting me out of my rut. I feel lighter, more creative, and motivated to work out more, eat better, and see the world.

I get these stupid notions like "now that I'm married I can't do anything without my husband" and "if I go somewhere/have fun without him, I'm breaking some kind of rule."

Well, one sans-husband wedding reception, 2 books, and 3 bowls of spaghetti later, I'm feeling pretty good about myself. There's something in every character that we either want, or already have. For me it's one or more of the following:

- a young, quick, and still happy marriage

- a delayed education

- lack of thought prior to decision making

- the ability (superpower, I should say) to see the world as dramatically as I wish

Some of my good friends (in the form of bound pages) have helped me see how I need to re-prioritize. Instead of pitying myself about not being able to finish school right now, I decided I can still learn. So I applied for cosmetology school. BAM. You didn't see that coming, did you?

I'll let you know how it goes.

This weird new side of myself

I've always considered myself creative, but never "crafty." All I do most days is chill at home, run some errands, read, wait for the love of my life to come bounding through the door on his trusty steed (read: bicycle), etc. Thing is, I get super bored. then I get grumpy and sad and feel like I never accomplish anything. So lately I've been doing little crafts; small, short-term projects that, once I'm finished, make me feel like I did something productive with my time.

I'M ADDICTED.

I can't stop making things! I want more books on the subject, I read craft blogs... and Conrad suggested I turn it into something profitable. So I decided to take my wreath to a consignment store, and I'm actually really excited about it! Even if I don't sell it, I feel like I took the necessary steps to be productive and make money.

Something else I really like (get ready, this is unusual) is selling stuff on Craigslist. I have an etsy account, Conrad has an ebay account, which is all great, but those sites charge fees to sell your stuff. Craigslist is fun for me because its free and SO user-friendly.

There are so many things I want to make, this may turn in to a craft blog.

The millionth day of job searching

So it ended up not working out with Pete. Long story short: too far to drive; the money I made didn't cover the gas I used. So now I'm back on the market! I should put an ad up somewhere.

Crafty young housewife seeks fun, easy, low effort job with high pay.

But realistically, I want to work. I'm a good employee. I hate sitting at home looking for a job, not making money. If I can't be in school for now, I MUST work!! I feel like my last job was super easy to nab. - it was - I worked for them before, and kind of just picked up where I left off.

Some disappointing news:

I got into Chapman.

I'd love to go there. It's a beautiful campus, I got into the English department, I'd graduate in under 2 years... but no. The drive is an hour and 15 minutes, the train ride would be 2 hours, and tuition is $35,000. Quite the price for a degree I'll probably never use. So I will not be attending school for a while. We'll see how that turns out.

Why did I even get in? God is teasing me. My choices are kicking my butt.

On house and hair

This week has been huge! And wonderful.

We moved.

We are now located in Solana Beach, California. I love the apartment. Remember how I hated it before? And  was a huge poop for complaining and making Conrad feel sad? Well that's over.

My two brothers stayed with us for a few days while my parents were in Omaha, and we ended up having a lot of fun with them. They helped us move, and we watched a few [probably 30] episodes of Pushing Daisies/30 Rock].

Conrad's parents also came and helped us unpack, and his sister/my sister-in-law/bffffffff (really?) visited. its only been three days, and we're almost completely moved in. There are only a few bags of stuff left to unpack, and a few pieces of furniture that need to be rearranged.

Today I worked out. For 25 minutes. I ran 2 miles without stopping [on the elliptical]. YES it took me almost a half hour to do what almost anyone else could do in half that time. But I did it, right?

Also, I bought an amazing patio set. It's kinda shabby chic/vintage-ish looking. I'm really excited about it. I finally have a patio that I can put furniture on! Our apartment is actually much bigger than we thought it would be.

Remember how my hairdresser was the devil? I finally got my hair FIXEDDDDD. I went to supercuts, thinking I would get a cheap, semi-bad haircut, but left $75 down and really satisfied. I was willing to risk another bad cut, considering my then-current one was so bad. anyway, I'm all better now, hair and emotions.

Pictures to come (of house and hair).