Big Goals for 2021: Wk 15/52

“We are in the habit of imagining our lives to be linear, a long march from birth to death in which we mass our powers, only to surrender them again, all the while slowly losing our youthful beauty. This is a brutal untruth. Life meanders like a path through the woods. We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.”

Source: Wintering

This quote stuck out to me this week as I feel like the last three years of my life have been a meandering journey. Through this, there have been seasons of flourish – birthdays, graduations, projects to completion, new jobs, and professional wins. And, there have been seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones – a cancer diagnosis, the loss of a parent, empty nest, CV19 as an educator.

Through it all, those leaves grow again. And, today, I am thankful for the promise of regrowth.

01: Get 6 – 7 Hours of Sleep Each Night {Status: 100/105}

Despite returning to work, I was able to maintain my sleep habits. It makes such a difference in my daily productivity and ability to handle life’s curveballs.

02: Learn Calligraphy

That new course is still sitting in my inbox!

03: Purge 1000 items {Status: 536/1000}

I am continuing to purge my email subscriptions, and I cleaned out my drawer of workout gear. Although I purged 20 items, I realized – sadly – that I need to shop for a few replacement items!

04: Organize the Attic 

No progress in this area this week.

05: Read 100 Books, including ALL of the DBC books. {Status: 18/100}

While I read a lot this week, I didn’t finish ANYthing. Maybe I’m due for a flood of finishes soon? Maybe?

In Progress
(1) Radical Candor | Scott {Professional Growth}
(2) Culturally Responsive School Leadership | Khalifa {Professional Growth}
(3) Hacking Questions {Professional Growth}
(4) The Ethics of Leadership | Ciulla {Professional Growth}
(5) Coaching for Equity | Aguilar {Book Study, Professional Growth}

Complete:
Pleasure Reading: 18 books.

06: Try 52 New Recipes {Status: 08/52}

Southern Green Beans. One word: Amazing. I’m just a meh fan of green beans, probably a result of HOURS of snapping them on the back porch with my Grandmother. But, this recipe has changed my mind FOREVER. Thank you to my neighbor for sharing this dish and the recipe!

07: Get in Shape

Here are some specific action steps that I took this week:

Spring challenge continues this week. I’m enjoying a 35 day streak!

For another week, I closed the Activity Ring every. single. day. There is something quite satisfying about these silly little rings!

I also earned the April Badge for this month!

I joined a StepBet to push myself to get extra steps each day. I also love these bets because I lace up my sneakers, pop in my earbuds, and enjoy this glorious Spring weather!

08: #OneMonthGoals with Michael Matera

Last year, I joined Michael Matera on his #OneMonthGoals journey. I ran every single day for a month – and it was glorious. This year, I am committed to selecting (and sticking with) one new goal each month, which I will document here.

January 2021: Day 31 of my Run Streak! {Done!}
February 2021: Track my meals on Lose It App {28/28}
March 2021: Select and maintain a proper skin care routine! {31/31}
April 2021: Collagen Repair {9/9} + Coach to 5K! {Week 2}
**I’m adding collagen repair to my regimen! Before & After pics might happen!

While I LOVE the C25K program, the app on my phone and the app on my phone were NOT playing nicely with each other – even after upgrading to a $5/month premium service. So, I ditched it. I’ll figure out this training thing another way.

09: Write/Send 52 notes/cards {Status: 78/52: Done!}

10: Maintain a weekly blog {15/52}

Here I am!

11: Simplify my life

Spring brings so many of my neighborly friends back to town. My nextdoor neighbor is the hostess with the mostest – and, she entertains better than anyone I know. She invited M & me to dinner for a delicious evening of Prime Rib, potatoes, southern green beans, homemade french vanilla ice cream and carrot cake cookies. So delicious! And, the most wonderful company during a lovely evening. Simplify means slowing down and saying YES to life.

12: Organize my mother’s photographs {348 scanned}

I scanned and organized 92 photographs this week. I was able to eliminate two large envelopes of memorabilia. It was fun to revisit my elementary school report cards – but, I will toss my Fitness Test reports. I don’t need that level of negativity in my life. Haha!

Secret Goals! 

  • Secret Goal #1: This one is starting to take shape…
  • Secret Goal #2: Parts of this one were assembled this week…
  • Secret Goal #3: I have sketched out a paper/pencil plan for this…
  • Secret Goal #4: I might just switch this one…

How are your goals going?

Cheers, Holly

Big Goals for 2021: Wk 14/52

What a gloriously busy – but not busy – week. Spring Break has given me the perfect taste of what summer can look like. 10 weeks until vacation.

01: Get 6 – 7 Hours of Sleep Each Night {Status: 93/98}

Spring Break was excellent for my sleep habits this week!

02: Learn Calligraphy

I’m making progress in this area. I followed several social media accounts that highlight calligraphy, and I attended one introduction class on how to get started. The class was so awesome that I signed up for a ten week course. My supplies are in my Amazon cart – and I’m so excited to get started!

03: Purge 1000 items {Status: 515/1000}

I purged several items from the downstairs storage room. Not a huge amount of progress, but every little bit helps! I’m over halfway done with this goal!

04: Organize the Attic 

No progress in this area this week. It was entirely too pretty to spend the week in the attic!

05: Read 100 Books, including ALL of the DBC books. {Status: 18/100}

Lots of short professional reads this week…

In Progress
(1) Radical Candor | Scott {Professional Growth}
(2) Culturally Responsive School Leadership | Khalifa {Professional Growth}
(3) Hacking Questions {Professional Growth}
(4) The Ethics of Leadership | Ciulla {Professional Growth}
(5) Coaching for Equity | Aguilar {Book Study, Professional Growth}

Complete:
Pleasure Reading: 18 books.

06: Try 52 New Recipes {Status: 07/52}

No new dishes this week – but, I did spend the week taste-testing a bunch of new beverages! Have you tried any of these?

07: Get in Shape

Here are some specific action steps that I took this week:

Spring challenge continues this week. I’m enjoying a 27 day streak!

I even earned a cute Spring Break badge and landed on the leader board!

I also hit the 100 km milestone this week!

For another week, I closed the Activity Ring *almost* every. single. day. There is something quite satisfying about these silly little rings! The one day that I missed the movement ring was the day that I spent HOURS painting… so, despite moving all day long, my heart rate did not elevate enough! haha!

I joined a StepBet to push myself to get extra steps each day. I also love these bets because I lace up my sneakers, pop in my earbuds, and enjoy this glorious Spring weather!

08: #OneMonthGoals with Michael Matera

Last year, I joined Michael Matera on his #OneMonthGoals journey. I ran every single day for a month – and it was glorious. This year, I am committed to selecting (and sticking with) one new goal each month, which I will document here.

January 2021: Day 31 of my Run Streak! {Done!}
February 2021: Track my meals on Lose It App {28/28}
March 2021: Select and maintain a proper skin care routine! {31/31}
April 2021: Collagen Repair {2/2} + Coach to 5K! {Week 1}
**I’m adding collagen repair to my regimen! Before & After pics might happen!

I am in C2kK Week 1… and, I’m already seeing improvement!

09: Write/Send 52 notes/cards {Status: 78/52: Done!}

10: Maintain a weekly blog {14/52}

Here I am!

11: Simplify my life

I spent much of this week helping my Dad stain the deck on his beach house. While this might not feel like simplifying anything, it was nice to sit and stain while enjoying casual conversation with my Dad. I didn’t finish – but, that’s ok.

12: Organize my mother’s photographs

I scanned and organized 255 photographs this week. This meant that I also eliminated 6 boxes from my room, too! Win-Win!

Secret Goals! 

  • Secret Goal #1: This one is starting to take shape…
  • Secret Goal #2: Parts of this one were assembled this week…
  • Secret Goal #3: I have sketched out a paper/pencil plan for this…
  • Secret Goal #4: I might just switch this one…

How are your goals going?

Cheers, Holly

Big Goals for 2021: Wk 13/52

Favorite quote from this week:

Author Grace Bonney on how to get better at saying no:

“The biggest fear most of us have with learning to say no is that we will miss an opportunity. An opportunity that would have catapulted us to success, or that will never come again. And most of the time, that simply isn’t true.

I’ve found that the first part of learning to say no is learning to accept that offers and opportunities are merely an indication that you’re on the right path—not that you’ve arrived at a final destination you can never find again.

If someone is choosing you, it means you’re doing something right. And that is the biggest opportunity you can receive—the chance to recognize that your hard work is paying off. And if you continue to do good work, those opportunities will continue—and improve—over time.”

Source: Saying “No”

Side note: Spring Break has never looked better than it does right now.

01: Get 6 – 7 Hours of Sleep Each Night {Status: 86/91}

Lots of great sleep this week!

02: Learn Calligraphy

Spring break is here… is it time for this adventure?

03: Purge 1000 items {Status: 499/1000}

This week, I took a few hours to tackle some of the smaller storage areas of my house, and I purged so many things! For example, my pantry is 88 items lighter!

04: Organize the Attic 

No progress in this area this week.

05: Read 100 Books, including ALL of the DBC books. {Status: 17/100}

Lots of short professional reads this week…

In Progress
(1) Radical Candor | Scott {Professional Growth}
(2) Culturally Responsive School Leadership | Khalifa {Professional Growth}
(3) Hacking Questions {Professional Growth}
(4) The Ethics of Leadership | Ciulla {Professional Growth}
(5) Coaching for Equity | Aguilar {Book Study, Professional Growth}

Complete:
Pleasure Reading: 17 books.

06: Try 52 New Recipes {Status: 07/52}

Here is a picture of the awesome salmon dinner last week:

07: Get in Shape

Here are some specific action steps that I took this week:

Spring challenge continues this week.

I even earned a cute Bunny Badge + landed on the leader board!

For another week, I closed the Activity Ring every. single. day. There is something quite satisfying about these silly little rings!

And, I do love earning surprise badges! Admittedly, this one was tougher to do that I thought it would be: 5 days at 200% MOVE goal!

08: #OneMonthGoals with Michael Matera

Last year, I joined Michael Matera on his #OneMonthGoals journey. I ran every single day for a month – and it was glorious. This year, I am committed to selecting (and sticking with) one new goal each month, which I will document here.

January 2021: Day 31 of my Run Streak! {Done!}
February 2021: Track my meals on Lose It App {28/28}
March 2021: Select and maintain a proper skin care routine! {31/31}
April 2021: Collagen Repair + Coach to 5K! {3/3}
**I’m adding collagen repair to my regimen! Before & After pics might happen!

09: Write/Send 52 notes/cards {Status: 78/52: Done!}

10: Maintain a weekly blog {13/52}

Here I am!

11: Simplify my life

The temperatures are warming up, so that means time outside. I love spending time outside – and trying new craft beer!

And, local eateries are opening up, too!

12: Organize my mother’s photographs

Still sitting there… still laughing at me.

Secret Goals! 

  • Secret Goal #1: This one is starting to take shape…
  • Secret Goal #2: Parts of this one were assembled this week…
  • Secret Goal #3: I have sketched out a paper/pencil plan for this…
  • Secret Goal #4: I might just switch this one…

How are your goals going?

Cheers, Holly