Are there any fools in the house, cause it's April! Yes I know that's pretty corny, but it's Friday, it's a new month, and it's that much closer to summer. What's not to love? I want to do a quick update on March goals and then get into the more important exciting stuff.

In March I vouched to keep up my new fitness schedule, which I did with flying colors! I also said I would keep reading. Check. I read 2 books. I touched on hosting a get together, but that didn't happen. That's okay though because summer is coming and more opportunities will arise. I talked about revamping the blog.. that is still on the list and I will talk more about that in a few minutes.. Last but certainly not least I talked about getting more wedding planning done. This I also passed with flying colors. I have so much more done, I can't even believe it. A post about that coming soon..

So I have to say, I pretty much aced March. I kicked its butt! I feel like I gave myself some attainable goals and in the end it still feels great. So now let's move on to April. With keeping March light and not putting to much pressure on myself when it comes to this blog, I was able to make a decision on what I want to do moving forward.

In May this blog will be 2 years old. I have dabbled in so many ideas over that time. Some did well and others bombed. I had some pretty high points and a few pretty low points. I almost quit all together last summer. But here I am, a month away from my 2 year blogiversary and I am feeling more confident than ever with this space.

So I am giving myself one goal for April. It will pertain to this blog. (I will also continue to exercise and read, but I didn't feel like it needed to be a goal this month). I am going to do what I call a test run. What this means, is I am going to test out some of these new ideas. I am going to see what is working and what isn't. This also means this blog may be a hot mess over the course of April, but I promise it will lead to a more stable space come May.

I am going to clean up some of my pages and revamp a few of my images. I will be posting on different days inconsistently to see what days appeal to my readers best. One week I may post just once and another I may try for 7. I understand this sounds crazy, but it is research I need to make this space better. Pay attention, there may be a quiz at the end. ;)

So there you have it. My crazy plans and goal for April. I am hoping you have as much fun with it as I will. It's a risk, but as I learned this week, you can't move forward to the better things in life if you don't first learn to take some leaps and risk.. To change!

What is the biggest risk or craziest idea you implemented in your blog or professional life?

Oh hey March, where'd you come from so quickly? Well since you're here and all I might as well set some goals. But first, let's see how I did with my February goals....

• Plan more: Well I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but February didn't have so many plan-able things. It was busy, but day by day busy, not event by event busy..

• Be the best cat mom I can be: This one is easy. Grace is pretty easy to please and although she is getting more and more comfortable and getting into more things, she is still pretty great to have around. Expect an update on Grace soon!

• Find things to be grateful for daily: This is something I am doing and winning at. I enjoy writing about all of the things I am grateful for. I am keeping multiple journals now. More on that soon in an upcoming blog post!

• Maybe, just maybe get back into wedding  planning: I actually started working my butt off on wedding planning. I am about 6 months away and have slacked off BIG time! I'm hoping to get my act together and get it all done pronto. 

So not to bad in February. I don't see it as a big fail. Just learning experiences. Now onto March:

• Keep my fitness routine. I did so good this week. I followed my new routine and I feel so great because of it.  Now that I got myself through 1 week I want to challenge myself to keep it up. Wish me luck!

• Keep reading: I am not going to put a number because then it isn't fun anymore. I need to keep my mind exercised and I will do that 1 book at a time. 

• Host a party/get together: I love having people over. I always have ideas and then I don't do them. I just had a coloring and wine party last Friday and it was great. Reminded me that I can host successful events and enjoy them all at the same time. 

• Revamp the blog: I want to update a few things. Refresh it up a little. I have a few ideas but don't want to promise to much yet. It's in the works and I'm hoping it happens in March. 

• Wedding planning: I want to continue to move forward in my planning. It won't plan itself right? 

So there you have it. My once again simple and realistic goals. What's your March looking like?
 

Last year I started setting myself goals that related to a theme every month. My happiness project per say. One of the things I learned was putting to many goals into effect doesn't help. It stressed me out and burned me out. I'm taking a new appoach this year.

January's goal was to educate myself on the goals I wanted to set for the year and I think I accomplished that pretty well. February is a month of love so I want to focus my theme on all things love which includes self love folks. So onto February goals..

• My new planner has arrived. One of my goals this year is to be a better planner. February is already looking like a busy month so I am going to set planning and organizing my month as a goal. 

Short and sweet goals for the month. I figure they are something I can achieve and to me accomplished goals are better than stressed out goals. What are you planning this month?

I believe books can serve many purposes in a person's life. They can show us new things. They can entertain us. They can transform us. And my personal favorite, they can help us through rough times. On Wednesday I talked a little about my plans for 2016 and how I am going to work on personal growth within my self and appreciating the little things. Finding gratitude. I am doing this by trying new things, falling in love with old passions, and reading lots of books.

Some of the books I have added to my reading shelf this year have a lot to do with finding happiness and appreciating things around me. I was never big into self help books, but I am on my second book this year and I am enjoying learning new ways to explore my own feelings and needs.


Here is just a taste of some of the books I am planning to explore this year:

• The Happy Stepmother: Stay Sane, Empower Yourself, Thrive in Your New Family by Rachelle Katz 

• The Gratitude Diaries: How a Year of Looking on the Bright Side Can Transform your Life by Janice Kaplan

•  The Wishing Year: An Experiment in Desire by Noelle Oxenhandler

• Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life by Gretchen Rubin

• Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and be Your Own Person by Shonda Rimes

• Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Loony Bin by Norah Vincent

• Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro

• The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion by Elle Luna

What are some of the books you are planning to read this year? Have you read any of these? Any suggestions?

I hope you all have a nice and relaxing weekend!
 

It's Wednesday, my nose is stuffy and I'm currently typing this on my phone from my bed with my fluff ball Grace laying on my chest. This is the sick life. I feel very grateful for this moment. There us so much peace and quiet in this moment. I feel at ease and for once that everything will be okay.

That thought reminds me that I haven't set myself any goals for the year yet. Something I was taking the month if January to figure out. As I lay here in peace it makes me want to learn how to be grateful again, even when I've had a bad day.

I've added a slew of books to my reading list this year, in hope to retrain my thoughts to stop focusing only on the negatives.  I've already checked out 5 books from the library to help get me started. I'm planning to read them in between all of my fun reads for the year.

These books put my goals into place for me. I'm going to intertwine all my monthly goals with personal growth and gratitude. On Friday I want to share the books I'm planning to read and how they are shaping out my year.

It's time to take back the positive and make it the best year yet. How are you shaping your year?

Now I'm going back to snuggling with Grace.

Happy Wednesday :)

Is it just me or are there a $h!t ton of programs and groups out there this year to help you plan and reach your goals? Has it always been like this or is this the first year I have really paid attention to making myself some meaningful and useful goals? I wrote out a whole bunch of things I thought I wanted to label as goals for 2016, but decided to go back to the drawing board after diving into all these goal planning topics.



I don't want to set goals that are un-achievable, but I also don't want to sell myself short by placing goals in effect that have no real value to me. After going through and reading some of my favorite bloggers goals, I found it really fascinating how each person seemed to take a different approach to setting them. I wanted to give this goal thing another thought.

There are all sorts of tools out there to help you make a list. There are free worksheets, printables, as well as books and workbooks. You can read oodles and oodles of topics on just about every kind of goal out there. Personal, professional, blogging, relationship, financial, fitness, and the list goes on. If you want to achieve it, there is something out there for you.

I have printed out a bunch of different worksheets that ask more in depth questions about what it is I am looking to do in 2016. I have joined an Instagram reset challenge that encourages you to plan your goals around your current lifestyle. I joined a Facebook group dedicated specifically to goal crushing. I ordered a planner that will not only keep track on my daily activities, but also my goal progress.

All of these tools have made me realize if I want to set healthy, reasonable goals, I need to really think about what it is I wanted to achieve in not only the next year, but in the next 5 years. Then the next 10 years. Goals to help me grow as a person for my whole life, not just my year.

So instead of posting those old goals I came up with today, I am going to sit on this for a bit and see what where it takes me. I am going to fill in my worksheets, and read more exercises on these things. I can already start to feel the stress falling off my shoulders as I look forward to my year.

How about you? How do you set goals? Do you have a plan or do you just go with the flow? Lemme know! I need all the help I can get :)

I gave up on new year resolutions a long time ago. I feel like they are meant to be broken, and if that's the case, why make one? In 2015 I decided to set goals and break each month into a different project. I feel like it worked out for me, more than I had anticipated.


I started 2015 with a word. I felt 2014 was a little crazy, so I picked the word Rejuvenate. I wanted to slow things down a bit. Come to peace with some things. Get some rest. I have to say, my year was the complete polar opposite of this.

I struggled. I stressed. I hurt. I cried. A lot.

Looking at it now, I think I did rejuvenate more than I had realized. The official definition of rejuvenate is: make (someone or something) look or feel younger, fresher, or more lively; restore to a condition characteristic of a younger landscape.

I was able to finally move past some harsh realities and I have made myself feel more lively. I am working on having fun again. I am learning to look at everything in a different angle. It's really hard but it does seem to help you think more positively. 

I have thought about my word for 2016 for awhile now. It is something I have fought with in my head but in the end it keeps coming back to me. It only makes more sense to me because I have this word tattooed on my body already. I had that done 10 years ago.. It's time I start remembering why it was put there. 

My 2016 word is Dream.  

I forgot what it feels like to have hopes and dreams. I have watched others in 2015 achieve some of their dreams, while I sat on the sidelines feeling sorry for myself. That will not happen again this year. It's a new year and I am a new age. Time to prove to myself that I can do it. 

Official yearly goals to come next week!

Blogging can be challenging at times, but so can life. This is why I try to set some healthy goals each month to keep me on track. We are in December now and I can honestly say that by setting these goals along with linking them into my happiness project I feel like I have made a difference this year. I am not going to 100% evaluate all of that yet as we have not finished out the year, but I am going to pat myself on the back for making it to December and not quitting half way through.



Now let's see what I accomplished in November.

Personal Goals

Blogging Goals

When I got out of bed this morning I looked at my white board and it said " September: Write Everyday." It was at that moment that I realized that today is November 2nd. Part of me panicked for a moment. Where did October go? Did I even accomplish anything last month? The other part thought, "Today is my fathers birthday! I didn't even get him a card!" This has been my life lately. Breezing by with a lot of scatter thrown in.

Good news is, I DID accomplish some things last month and my dad isn't a card guy. I will call him later and he will be okay with that. Now on to what I did do in October:

Finish my writing class

Send out 2 pitches to brands

Post more photos of myself

Personal Goals

Blogging Goals

And then it was October.. Also known as my favorite month of the year! There are many reasons why this is true, but mostly it's a time of transition. Metaphorically speaking of course. September was a time for me where I wanted to re-introduce creativity into my daily life. I have always enjoyed art and photography and creative writing to a point. I feel like as I've gotten older I have pushed those things out and replaced them with past times that weren't quite as important to me.

In September I decided to clean the slate and find my creative self. This is a lot harder than it sounds. Let's see how I did:

Start a Journal

I vowed to write in my journal every day in September. Well sadly I didn't write in my journal everyday, but I did write 20 of the 30 days, which is a pretty good if you ask me. On days I didn't write in the journal I was writing drafts for upcoming blog posts or assignments for my writing class. I still feel like I accomplished this goal for the month. I did more writing than I have in a long time. I am going to keep this goal open and see where it goes.

Collaborate

I had plans to collaborate with a few ideas for October but I didn't get them all established. I am however hosting my first giveaway on the blog! (You should enter! It's open until Thursday!). So I would say even though I didn't get all of my ideas out, I did accomplish one. I will keep this goal open for the rest of the year and see where I'm out in 2016.

Up My Stats

I was aiming to reach 10,000 views for the month and I sold myself short by taking a blogging break. I am do not regret taking the break but it did affect my stats. There is always next month right?

Blog Planning

I took a blogging break to help myself re-focus. I feel like this break helped me do better with planning out my posts. I have been able to find more time to set aside for blog related activities. I am spending more time on my writing. photographs, and interacting with the blogging community. I would say I did a great job on this and will continue to practice this into the future.

I feel like I accomplished a lot in September. There were definitely some set backs but I came out of everything with a better attitude and less stress. Now to move into October. I want to focus on confidence. That will be my Happy Project word. Now what I want to accomplish.

• Finish my writing class. Start researching more classes to better enhance my writing and business skills. This blog is my second job and it's about time I start treating it like it is. 

•  Send out 2 pitches to brands I am interesting in working with. I am ready to start monetizing my blog and this is something I need to do. I need to get over the nervous hump and just do it. The worst that can happen is the word no right?

• Post more photos of myself. I know this sounds vain but it is a confidence issue I have. This blog is about me and my life so it is about time I start showing you who I am. This is the goal I am most afraid of. Wish me luck.

 What are your plans and goals for October? Have any fun things planned? Keep up with me as I start showing you who I am and where I want to go with this. Happy Tuesday!

It's that time again.. time to see what I did and did not accomplish in August for goals and what to expect as goals for September. Let me take you back..

I planned to use August as a month of forgiveness and letting things go. That didn't happen as much as I anticipated, but that doesn't mean I haven't put some stuff into place for next month to make it better.

I set a goal to sponsor 3 blogs. I didn't exactly do that. I have been hanging out over on Anne's sidebar this month and will be gracing Christine's in a few weeks. I suppose 2 out 3 ain't bad right? I will strive for more in the Fall for sure!

I vowed to pin more.. well that kinda sorta happened cause ya'll I got engaged!  (see what I did there?) I need to start pinning all those amazing wedding ideas right?  Are you following me on Pinterest by the way? If not, why not?!

I talked about my upcoming series.. Which is still in the works as well as a new series so I'd say I nailed this one. Stay tuned this fall for some fun new series and collaborations!

Last but certainly not least I was going to use my media kit more often. I am happy to say even though I did not use it as much as I anticipated to, I did have a an opportunity come my way because of it. So I'd say that is a win as well.

Now lets take a look at what September has in store..

First and foremost the Blog Staycation is back for the Fall! If you are unfamiliar with the staycation; it is a 4 day online blogging event that helps connect you with the blogging community as well as helps you to grow your blog. This will be our third event and it has been a success each time! Go check out the announcement page and get all the deets!  Go now!

To start off September, I always set a theme to go along with my Happiness Project. This is part of my personal growth goals which I feel are just as important as monthly goals. This month I have chosen self improvement as my theme. Because last month I failed at my forgiveness goal, I want to continue to work to get past some of those hard things and let them all go. I want to start September with a clean slate to enjoy the magic that Fall brings. Now onto my monthly goals:

• Start a journal. If you read my blog on Friday you would see I talked about starting to journal. Not only for self improvement but to also improve my writing. I would need an interactive journal as I would not be able to commit myself to a blank journal. I am planning once I receive the journal to spend some time with it each night, helping me focus on writing more down. Wish me luck!

•  Next up is collaboration. I really would like to collaborate more in the blogging community and pull myself out of the slump I feel like I have been in. I have a really great idea for October and would love to share it with 2 or 3 others for lots of blog love! If you're interested in collaborating please shoot me an e-mail!

• Continue to use Pinterest and grow my following. I am starting to pin more with the upcoming wedding whirlwind so I am hoping I will pin more this Fall as a whole. If you  have any tips please send them my way!

•  Reach 10,000 monthly page views. I know this one seems very hard but I am SO close I can taste it! I suppose if I had did more with getting myself our there and sponsoring more blogs I could have already achieved that. Minor details right?

• Blog planning. I think this seems to be my biggest problem lately with getting quality stuff posted. I always feel like I am rushing to get stuff done once my work day ends. If I could sit down 1 or 2 nights a week and plan better I think I could completely cut down the frantic moments I have in the evenings before I plan to post something. We shall see. 

So there you have it. I have a lot of my plate for September but I'll be damned if I don't make it work. I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

Keeping goals can be tough at times, but they really are helpful for personal and professional growth. May was really rough for me, and the only real goal I set for myself was adjustment. Moving in with R was definitely hard and a major adjustment, but while trying to work on that my job became extremely demanding and I fell ill. I am a strong believer of stress and illness going hand in hand. I certainly burnt myself way out this month and so many things suffered because of it. This space included.


With this all said, I am not sad to see May go and to set some healthy goals for June. Each month I have set a happiness project goal with a word that will define what I am working on. I believe June needs to be Balance. We are in our halfway point in June for 2015. I am going to look at what I already have accomplished this year and what else I need to do to get back on track. Balance it all out.

Goals I set this year and how I need to re-work them:

•  January - Re-Focus & Relax - I need to get back to focusing on what's important and finding ways to relax to make the stressful days a little less harsh on my body. I need to look at this blog again and get things back on track to what I was working towards in April.

• February -  Friendship and Fitness - I can't remember the last time I have been to the gym or practiced yoga. The yoga alone will help with both January and February goals. I am doing good in the friendship department for once, but need to nail down some fun summer adventures with them.

•  March - Getting Organized -  For the most part I have felt pretty organized even with all of the chaos going on. I am missing my planner due to the first move and that has thrown me off a bit, but I seem to be doing okay. The real challenge will be once the new move is complete. 

• April - Opportunities -  I had quite of a bit of opportunities to participate in. I also really started to re-vamp my blogging brand. I had so many ideas and such. I need to get back to that and put myself back out there. Continue to show growth in my personal and professional life. 

 So there is what I need to re-work this month. Get everything back on track. I also need to get my summer bucket list prepared and have some fun. The demands of May really threw me over the edge. May didn't bring all bad though. I was featured in my very first online magazine and I got to visit with an old friend who was in town for the big graduation of a friend. There's always a silver lining folks.

May your June be great! :) Farewell May.

A new month and new goals to be met. I love goals. They help me stay focused and motivate me to continue on. Octobers goals were really all rolled into one thing. I worked on interacting more and setting a schedule for blogging. I think I did a pretty good job with that. I have made some new friends, my numbers are up, I am sponsoring more blogs, I was accepted to Blog Her, and I overall feel like this blog has done some growing in just a months time. What more could a little blogger ask for?


Now for November I am going to set some more goals. Not just blogging goals. Life goals too! Lets see if I can do it!

• "Operation Healthy"- getting my booty to the gym at least 4 days a week!
• Set up sponsorships right through the holidays. Such a great gift for me and the blog I sponsor :)
• Keep my Facebook fan page updated regularly.
• Grow my Twitter followers to 550 (Currently at 459)
• Prepare ahead and have a stress-less holiday season.
• Get all of my Christmas shopping DONE :)

There you have it. My November goals. I know I can do it!

Today I am thankful for lunch hours. It is so nice to be able to step away from the office for an hour to destress and get yourself back in the game for the afternoon!

Make it a great Tueday!

I am sitting here watching a movie that I rented from Red Box.. and I already don't know what it is I'm watching. That kind of bugs me when the movie just bombs so quickly I turned to blogging instead, using the movie as background noise. Anywho, that is not what this post is about. The end of August is quickly approaching and that also means this weekend is a 3 day holiday. I just returned from a vacation and I am still not quite back on track with my usual schedule. Because I was just away I am using this long weekend to catch up here, and to relax. So today I wanted to talk to you all about what's going on in September.

First, I want to mention I am hanging out on 2 sidebars in September. You can catch me over at Becoming Adorrable and Helene In Between So excited to be sponsoring those ladies! Some of my favorites reads come from them! I also just finished up sponsoring The Grits Blog, which I recommend 100%! I am not sure I would ever be able to offer sponsorships on my blog due to my life full plate, so I give these ladies credit!

Also equally important: Starting September 1st I am going to be working more on my Facebook page. Please do me a favor and like my page! Much appreciation!

Next up, I am starting a new mini series on Monday (Yes as in Labor Day). I am so excited to bring you all some great new content with the help of a few lovely blogging ladies. Stick around for some fun and good laughs! This series will run through the second week of October.

I just wrapped up Blog Staycation 2014. That was such a fun and educating experience. I really enjoyed collaborating with other bloggers, and these ladies really were awesome to work with. I learned so much about hosting an event, as well as time management. We are hoping to do another one of these soon, so I hope to see more friendly faces next time around!

So there you have it. Updates and goals for next month! Happy Friday everyone!

May was a crazy busy and stressful month for me. I enjoyed every moment of it, but because of it I want to set some positive goals for June and keep with them. I keep telling myself if I meet all of my goals I will treat myself to something fun. Now lets see if I can do it..

1.  I need to get my voice back. I am setting a goal to be more vocal and proactive in my workplace. I cannot change the things that bother me if I do not speak up. This will be a hard one for me but I did take the first positive step yesterday and I am excited to see where that will lead.

2. I signed up for a gym membership on Memorial Day. I am setting a goal to go at least 3 days a week this month, working up to 5 as I get into the swing of things.

3. I want to explore more of the city I live in. There is so much I have not seen and its been a few years since I moved here. There is a lot going on this month and I need to set a goal to make it to more events and see more of what this city has to offer.

4. I want to cook more meals. I have been slacking in that category lately. I want to make at least 2 meals a week this month from scratch.

5. I am going to stop saying I am to busy. No one is that busy that they can't to stop and smell the roses. There has been a lot of loss around me lately and it reminded me that tomorrow is never promised. Start living your life to your fullest because it won't stop for you because you're "to busy".

6. And last but not least I will work harder at writing about the things I am passionate about. I have to constantly remind myself that this is my little space and I can say as I wish. I need to stop thinking of the people who are reading it and rolling their eyes or feeling offended by an opinion I have. Now don't take this the wrong way, I never want to be negative or offend someone, but you can't please everyone!