July Goals

June Goal Recap:

• Finish the first draft of a project I am still working on and send it off for review. DID NOT HAPPEN! Grrr...I need to just take the leap. 
• Weekly date nights with Mark. - This was spotty because of other commitments, but good. One of our dates was a long bike ride and we explored areas connecting places we visit frequently in the city. All in all, this was fantastic. The best part is we have a committed babysitter for our weekly date night. Double Bonus!
• Outline and re-establish a structured bedtime routine for our family. Create a poster with Behr outlining the steps. - I think this goal needs to wait until the end of the summer. We have too many great things/vacations/weird schedules going on to be super strict right now. Moving to August/September time frame. 
• Pantry/Farm Share cooking -- our grocery budget has gotten away from me and we need to reign it back in. This is going well, and we will be continuing in July
• Kick off two new and exciting blog series. Huzzah! Farm Share 101 is live and active. The second post will be tomorrow.

I have also started doing yoga more often and hope to continue this early morning practice.

Another surprise in June was my craving to paint. I finally busted out the colors and I have been sharing some over on my shop instagram account. I would love to launch a fall collection, but I need to sell my current inventory first. Everything in my etsy shop is 50% off with the code: INSTATHANKS Today is the last day before I go on vacation, so order away...

July Goals:

July is a bit of a reprieve for us. We will be stepping out of the city to vacation with each of our extended families. But as Mark reminded me, there is still August, so I need to stop thinking the end of vacation means the end of summer. I crave getting out of the city in the summer -- I can so relate to the start of the Mary Oliver poem quoted above. And yet, I know that I don't really want to flip our world and change our circumstances completely. My goals this month are firming up my position in the undulation of summer emotional desires, backyards and outdoor cooking to name a few. They are committed steps towards living better today in our current state rather than wishing it away.

• Start with yoga before the kids wake up at least 3 days a week.
• Paint once a week. I did this in June and it was so good.
• Write every day, even if it is just in evernote on my phone. This is getting my ongoing writing goal and simplifying it to a place of action, not fear. 
• Cook from my pantry and farm share, minimize grocery store runs, especially Costco.
• Listen to an audio book with Behr during Hudson's afternoon nap. Do you have any suggestions? I am thinking of a longish book so we both can play/work/create while the book is going in the background.
• Read one book on each family vacation. (aka don't set an unrealistic expectation and lug 6 with us!)
• Keep purging. I've been using ThredUp and loving it. Pantry cooking should also help.

And if you are wondering, here is our summer adventure list and we are almost half way through! Do you have any favorite books on your summer reading list? Do you have any audio books/series to recommend? How about favorite tools to get in the groove for writing? If you have any tips, lay them on me. Oh, and don't forget you can contribute seasonal recipes for our Farm Share 101 series here. 

I am linking up with The Tiny Twig
for Goals with Grace

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