Small Ways: Day 1

Starbucks Hot Chocolate

I'm not going to lie y'all.  Day 1 was hard.  

It was 5:30, I was finally leaving school and the only thing I really wanted to do was go home and go to bed.  But the surprise & smile on Coach Husband's face was worth the extra fifteen minutes.  i

Love you Coach Husband.

25 Small Ways

Y'all my husband is so good to me.  He loves me intentionally, serves me with a selflessness that is a picture of Christ and leads our household with a quiet voice.  He never judges, shoots it straight and is the hardest worker I have ever met.  He does this all without a word of complaint or in an effort to stock up points to later redeem.  

Because of how wonderful he is, I wanted to start a "tradition" of my own.  Every December I will show Coach Husband how much I love him in 25 Small Ways.  One "small way" each day starting on December 1st leading up to Christmas to show CH how much I love him!  

1. Hot Chocolate from Starbucks

2. Handwritten note with one thing I admire about CH

3. Pack his lunch

4. Red Velvet Cupcakes

5. Fill up his car with gas

6. Warm his towel while he showers

7. Make him coffee in the morning

8. Take the trashcans to the curb

9. Picture for his desk at work

10. Handwritten note with one thing I admire about CH

11. Giant candy bar

12. His date night pick

13. Make his favorite breakfast

14. Wash his car 

15. Jamba Juice

16. Handwritten note with one thing I admire about CH

17. Surprise ice cream

18. Wash his work out clothes

19. Encouraging verse on the bathroom mirror

20. Publicly praise him

21. Let him choose the restaurant 

22. Make his favorite dinner

23. Plan a date

24. Write out my prayers for him

25. Christmas Date Night In

December Goals: Mrs.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  I have always desired to have Christmas traditions & have made a valiant effort last year to do so.  But this year we are going ALL out.  Coach Husband is a little nervous with what I have planned.  

November Goals

file the crazy mess at school (I have all of Thanksgiving break, it will get done this month)

start Christmas cards

visit the dentist

begin Christmas shopping

participate in the thankfulness postings

start spreading the holiday cheer

Overall, I did pretty well with November goals!

December Goals

finish & send out Christmas cards

participate in 25 Small Ways (blog post coming)

get back into barre class

finish Christmas shopping

record holiday traditions

miss december [goals]

Christmas Music. Hot Chocolate. Snow (in moderation). Puffy coats. Beanies. Fireplaces. 

December just holds so much magic and happiness...and I feel like this is going to be a great one! :)

c'o: Pinterest 

I am officially not doing well at accomplishing my monthly goals... but as Emmy reassured me tonight, it's the thought that counts.

December...

1. Read 2 books 

I haven't accomplished this the last 2 months, but hey...

3rd time's a charm

2. Watch copious amounts of Christmas movies

It's basically my favorite thing and I want to take full advantage

3. Go ice skating

4. Take family pictures

5. Truly enjoy this season and bid 2014 adieu with no regrets

6. See Emmy TWICE in one month!

Merry December, y'all! :)

the mondays.

(Fair warning this is random and rambly and probably doesn't make much sense)

Source: Pinterest

Mondays.

We often give a lot of credit to the bad days or the great days, but rarely do we record the hundreds of other in-between days, which is what today was. An average, run-of-the-mill Monday, where I chose the good.

My day actually didn't start that great, I woke up 3x during a 2 hour period last night with nightmares. The disturbing, wake-up screaming, terrify the dog type dreams which caused me to turn on Netflix at 3am and watch multiple episodes of How I Met Your Mother until I fell cautiously asleep. At least they were just dreams and I was safe in my apartment. After the dark of night was gone, the clouds lifted. Maybe the dreams are what caused my day to be good - a juxtaposition, allowing me to really appreciate the mundane. The simple things like a favorite song playing on shuffle this morning, to being offered the last piece of my favorite candy, to finding the perfect Christmas gift for someone special.

Today is Monday of Thanksgiving week. Typically, Thanksgiving does not make me very reflective. Growing up, I didn't understand what the big deal was around Thanksgiving. As an adult, I try to practice gratitude thoughout the year and pride myself on not needing a sanctioned holiday to be thankful. For some reason though today it all really resonated with me... how good life can be when you take the time to notice.

Source: Pinterest

This year, 2014, I am thankful for the mundane. The 95% of days that are just there. Nothing special, nothing bad - just healthy, productive days. The days that are alone insignificant, but contribute to our overall life picture. The good hair days that build self-confidence. The drives to work that are safe and without incident. The work that earns us money to buy gifts for others. The days we are simply safe and warm, protected and full. These are the simple days that shouldn't be taken for granted.

Be thankful. In all seasons of life, give thanks.

miss november goals

photo c/o pinterest

Hi! So let's try this again. Things were a little busy during October, and I accomplished pretty much nothing on my October goals list, but maybe November will be better? It's worth a shot at least!

To Recap October:

Read a book - fail. 

Finish Walker David's birthday present 

Purchase a few more Christmas presents - fail. 

Order a 2015 planner

Do something creative with a pumpkin - fail. 

Continue #100happydays posts - fail. :( 

BUT! Happy news! I was able to cross off one of my 100 Goals... "Attend a World Series game [preferably that my team is playing in]"... I not only attended 1, but I attended 7, in what had to be the most memorable October of my life... Until next year of course! :)

Now for November:

Read 2 books
I've technically already half way there and with Thanksgiving break ahead of me, I'm feeling good about this!

Buy 5 Christmas Gifts
Continuing from last month with optimism that I'll actually have shopping time in November.

Finalize New Year's Eve plans 
Cough, with Emmy, cough, cough.

Deep clean kitchen / reorganize cabinets
I need to reorganize my cabinets to as to perfect my hot chocolate efficiency. 

Finish Piper's Christmas stocking

Workout/yoga
The last month has killed my workout schedule and I need to get back into it so I'm not a stereotypical 20-something year old girl come January.

Blog
Preferably before it's time for December goals. 

xoxo

November Goals--Mrs.

I blinked and the calendar said November.  I'm still confused as to where October went.  

Re-capping October goals

file the crazy mess at school

finishing touches on our guest bedroom

clean make-up brushes

catch up on ironing

start Christmas cards

keep attending barre classes

November Goals

file the crazy mess at school (I have all of Thanksgiving break, it will get done this month)

start Christmas cards

visit the dentist

begin Christmas shopping

participate in the thankfulness postings

start spreading the holiday cheer