by Kelsey Smythe | Feb 3, 2020 | Lifestyle, Personal Development
Hi, friends! Are we ready for February 2020 goals already? January was a month to remember. It certainly felt like the first month of a new year and a new decade. Charles and I started off the month with a bang, jumping right into new routines and tackling our goals. The last half of the month? It was a little rough.
We adopted a kitten, which was definitely a highlight! But then she developed a rash a couple of days after we brought her home, which resulted in her being coned so she couldn’t scratch her ears bloody. The cone made her miserable, depressed, and skittish, and then she developed a fear of our litter boxes! After 3 vet visits, countless phone calls to the vet’s office, and even more loads of laundry, we ended up taking her back to the place we adopted her from. The rescue was amazing through it all and so helpful. We’re incredibly grateful they took her back, even though we’re sad to have had to say goodbye to such a sweet kitten. It sounds like she’s steadily improving back at their house, so we’re thankful for that!
Having a sick kitten in one’s house is crazy time-consuming! The first half of our month started off SO strong, but the last half was derailed by our poor kitten. We’re kind of grateful to leave a hard, exhausting January behind us and say hello to February. Here’s a recap of my January goals and my February 2020 goals!
January Goals – 13 out of 18 completely complete!
Many of my January goals involved setting up systems and foundations for the rest of the year. I can already tell such a difference and am so glad I took the time to set us up for success.
Declutter + organize key pain pointsSet up a paper system for mail, forms, etc.Clean out and organize the fridge. It’s crazy how much these bins help!Figure out a mindless + easy cleaning schedule. I saw a lot of suggestions for this website in a Facebook groups I’m in. Without overthinking it (if busy moms can do it, I can too!), I downloaded + printed her freebies and jumped right in. You guys. This is life changing! Our apartment has been so much more effortlessly clean this month.Create a prayer/gratitude system.Read Women of the Word. Purchase and designate birthday cards for the whole fam. I have a couple more to purchase, but nearly done.Go on 16 runs this month. I went on 14 runs this month, so I’m counting this a win! It was a great running month for me.Set up reminders in my phone to pack exercise clothes the night before. Did this and it’s annoying but helpful.Sign up for a race. Done. We’re doing a 4-miler in January. I’m simultaneously excited and terrified. It sure is keeping me motivated though.Print adventure list and put it somewhere visible.- Put our next adventure on the calendar. We planned one out for January but then had to cancel to better take care of the kitten and basically just survive.
Start a note in my phone with pics to take. Did this but I always forget to reference it! I might need another phone reminder.- Think about a good routine for posting on Instagram. Didn’t do this… which is probably why I didn’t complete the next goal either!
- Share 20 pictures on Instagram. I posted 13 times, which is more than usual!
- Plan time slots to blog every week. I kind of winged it and it worked out, but I need to do a better job planning.
Start a note on my phone with the next 5 posts. This helped me jump right in a lot!Research meetups and/or book clubs and/or Bible studies in my area. First book club next week!
February 2020 Goals
The first month of new goals is always the most exciting for me. The second month is much more difficult when it becomes more ‘maintenance’ and less ‘exciting change.’ But since I was so thorough in preparing my goals with Power Sheets, I know that these goals actually matter to me. Knowing this gives me the extra motivation to keep at it!
Cultivate our Home
- Paint our apartment, and feeling super excited about this one!
- Grout and caulk our shower to prevent mold problems
- Follow this cleaning routine every day
Engage God with my Whole Heart
- Create a prayer spread in my bullet journal again and use it daily.
- Do a study on the book of James using the process in this book.
- Play worship music every day
Connect with Loved Ones
- Create a ‘must call’ list. It sounds so ridiculous to write this out as a goal. I feel like I should just be able to do this instinctively? But last year proved that I can’t, so I’m getting more organized this year.
- Pick a time or day to make phone calls / Facetime / Marco Polo
Strengthen my Body
Explore our Neck of the Woods
- Put our next adventure on the calendar
- GO on our adventure this time!
Be a Memory Keeper
- Decide on a time of day that I’ll post. I know that if it’s too random I’ll let it slide.
- Share 20 pictures on Instagram.
Deposit my Words Online
- Plan time slots to blog every week. I’m still not sure yet if these will be the same every week or if I need to plan time slots each week.
- Publish 2 new blog posts each week – 8 in total!
Build a Local Community
- Attend a book club meeting
- Plan my next book club – whether it’s the same group or a different one
- Attend the welcome meeting at our church – this is about a year overdue and I’m excited to finally go!
What are your February 2020 goals?
by Kelsey Smythe | Jan 31, 2020 | Lifestyle
I love hearing what people have purchased and loved so I thought I would share my top 10 favorite purchases of 2019. These have all been things that I love and use frequently, in no particular order.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click the link and purchase anything, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The last time I got a new Bible was for my 16th birthday and it’s literally been falling apart for several years. I’ve been thinking about getting a new one for a while. But how do you decide? There are so many out there and I didn’t know how to even begin to research. But then I saw this one on sale for $25 I decided to stop overthinking and just buy it. I’ve been glad I did!
I purchased this lovely, luscious plant shortly after we moved. It only costs $15 but makes a big impact on a room. It has since been abused at some point or another by 4 different cats before we’ve been able to train them to leave it alone (this stuff works wonders), and it has held up surprisingly well! Our IKEA fiddle leaf fig, on the other hand, did not survive. But that might be because our foster kitten knocked every single leaf off.
It’s so much easier for me to get out of bed in the morning when I know that tea or coffee is just a couple of minutes away. Yes, I realize that it only takes a few minutes for water to boil. But it’s SO much nicer when I wake up in the morning and all I have to do is pour already hot water into my french press or tea cup.
I bought this one to save a little money, but in hindsight, I wish I would’ve spent the extra $20 or so it would have cost to get this one. Ours doesn’t have super intuitive buttons and you can’t actually set the time. So I can set it to go off in 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, etc. That means I have to remember to set it exactly 8 (or 9 or 10) hours before I want it to start heating. Even so, It’s still been a wonderful purchase. I also love that it has different presets for different types of tea or coffee.
No one who has come in our door has seemed pleased with the compliment (I know. I’m as shocked as you are!). But I certainly enjoy being complimented every time I come home.
I quickly realized after we moved here that carrying a big ol’ tote was not ideal for my metro commute. I had just gotten rid of my 12 years old college backpack that I didn’t even like when I bought it. This backpack was the perfect upgrade. The faux leather makes it less out of place with my work clothes, and it’s a much easier way to haul my lunch, computer, gym clothes, books, or whatever else I’m hauling around that day. I’ve been using it almost daily for a year and it’s held up great! This is something that came to mind first when I was thinking of my favorite purchases.
I learned from The Nester that the best way to do throw pillows is to get inserts with real down and then change out the covers every so often. I love these ones I got last summer.
When we moved here last year we had sold all of our secondhand furniture in Oklahoma with the plan of buying all new secondhand furniture here. I was able to find most things on Facebook Marketplace but had a hard time finding either end tables or a coffee table I liked. I wasn’t sure which would work better for our space, so when I saw these nesting tables I snatched them up. They’re not the highest of quality (you get what you pay for is what I’m saying–they’re cheap!), but it’s been so nice being able to move them around depending on our needs at that moment.
I had no idea how cold laminate floor could be on your feet in the winter. This rug both warmed our feet and brightened + softened the room. It’s held up well so far for the year we’ve had it! This is one of the more expensive but definitely one of my favorite purchases last year.
These Gold Picture Frames
Target has some popular frames similar to this that I was seeing all over Instagram. These ones from IKEA are similar but a bit cheaper. I used them to frame a couple of wedding pictures above our nightstand and love the way they turned out.
I had been seeing this all over Instagram for the last year. When my sister bought it and raved about it, I decided I’d ask if I could try it out while I was at her house for Christmas. You guys, this is the real deal. If I can straighten my hair with it, anyone can. Normally when I blowdry my hair I can do it in 15 minutes and I don’t even have to use a flat iron to touch up afterward. Miracle.
Monat Hair Products
I’m a giant skeptic, ESPECIALLY when it comes to MLM companies. But I had been hearing so much about these hair products and my hair was in such bad shape that I decided I’d give it a shot. A couple-ish years ago I was dealing with rosacea flareups that we thought might be skin allergy-related. Turns out it was just rosacea-related, but I used mostly natural, fragrance-free products on my hair for over a year and my hair has been in bad shape because of it. Monat is helping my hair get so much healthier already. But most importantly, it smells good 🙂
What are your favorite purchases from 2019?
by Kelsey Smythe | Jan 16, 2020 | Lifestyle, Personal Development
Setting goals each month last year was such a wonderful way to keep me motivated and give me things to look forward to. When you’re not in school anymore and there aren’t any obvious “milestones” to work towards, sometimes it helps to create your own just to make sure that you keep growing and changing. This year I decided to buy PowerSheets to help me with my goal-setting and I have been LOVING them so far. The prep work genuinely did help me clarify what mattered to me and what type of goals would make the biggest impact on my life. I am so excited about my 2020 goals and can’t wait to tackle them! In no particular order, here they are!
1. Make our home a safe haven and a launching pad
This is one of the goals I’m most excited about because I love home, and so does my husband. One of my pain points last year was that it felt like I was always cleaning, organizing, cooking, or running errands. My goal for this year is to
- Declutter + organize so that we have a strong base to work with
- Spend a little money on things that will have a big impact on its organization and loveliness
- Streamline our current cooking + cleaning systems
- Enjoy cooking more
- Make it comfortable for ourselves and any guests we might have
- Have home help us feel energized and prepared to go out into the world
2. Wholeheartedly engage with God
Lately, I’ve been convicted that much of my spiritual life is going through the expected motions but that I don’t engage God with my emotions. I may read my Bible every morning, but I rarely feel broken over my sin. I may listen to sermons every weekend, but I rarely meditate or stew on the Word of God. In short, this year I want to make strides in loving God with my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Obviously I will not have fully achieved this by the end of the year, but if at the end of the year I can say that I love + know God a little better than I did the year before, then I’ll count it a win.
3. Connect with loved ones
It’s now been a full year since we moved to D.C. and I haven’t been doing as great of a job staying connected to our loved ones out west as I had hoped. Instead of waiting for it to happen organically (spoiler alert, it doesn’t) I’m going to be proactive and set up systems to make it happen.
4. Strengthen my body
2020 is the year that I’m going to become a runner! I’ve always loved the idea of being a runner but have always hated running. No more, my friends! I want to strengthen myself physically and take care of this body that God has given me and running feels like the perfect place to start. I’m not sure what strengthening myself will look like for the whole year, but I know it starts with running.
5. Explore our neck of the woods
We live in one of the coolest places in the world and there is SO. MUCH. to see within just a short distance. Last year we didn’t get out and explore that much because we plan to be here for the long-term. There’s no rush to see it all at once! But this year I would like to do some more exploring so I’m aiming for a happy medium and trying to be more intentional with our calendar.
6. Be a keeper of memories
I’ve always felt that if I posted too much about myself online or had too many pictures of myself that people would think I was vain or full of myself. But that’s crazy because I LOVE seeing other people post about themselves and their families. I also love the idea of being able to look back at photos and notes through the years and being able to more clearly remember the things we cherished, the ways God met us, and the lessons we learned. This year I’m going to take more pictures and share more on social media (which also helps with my ‘Connect with Loved Ones’ goal!).
7. Deposit my words online
I love to write and derive a great amount of pleasure and knowledge from the experience. But for some reason, it can be so hard for me to justify the time it takes, and getting into the writing mindset can be so difficult. This year I hope to build some momentum by blogging regularly because I know it won’t be time I’ll regret spending. Working toward a specific number has always been motivating for me, so this year my goal is to publish 75 new posts. At just 1-2 posts a week, that’s just frequently enough that I’ll have to stay on top of it throughout the year but is still doable.
8. Build a local community
Adult friendships are tough, am I right? I’m the type of person that always waits for an extrovert to adopt me so I can have friends. We’ve been in D.C. a year now and that still hasn’t happened yet, so it looks like I’ll have to put in a little more leg work. I think community is so, so valuable, so this year I’m going to put my money where my mouth is and make some more friends.
What are your 2020 goals?
by Kelsey Smythe | Jan 16, 2020 | Lifestyle
2019 was a BIG year for us. We started off with a bang by moving out of our Oklahoma City apartment on New Year’s Eve, taking the next 6 days to slowly travel to our new home in Arlington, VA. As I’m sure you can imagine, Oklahoma City and the Washington, D.C., area are MUCH different places to live. Here’s our year in review!
January
The first six days of January, we road-tripped east. The rest of January was primarily spent surviving. We didn’t have a lot of time to settle in before we started school and work, so the rest of the month was spent unpacking in our free time, finding grocery stores, registering our car, and ALL the fun moving things.
February
We got even more settled in during February thanks to a couple of well-planned shopping trips to IKEA. Washington, D.C., returned to normal with the end of the shutdown, and I spent a lot of time on my lunch breaks walking outside on the National Mall.
March
In March we got out and explored a little more. I got to go see one of my favorite authors speak, which was definitely a highlight. The magnolia blossoms came out and took my breath away. Our favorite part of the month was the amazing cherry blossoms. I had heard so much about them but I was truly unprepared for how wonderfully magical they are.
April
April was the month we brought Reggie home! We fell in love with him right away. He’s a great cat! A couple of weeks later we started fostering Dawson too.
May
In May we spent a ton of time hanging out with our cats (no regrets!). I found my favorite reading spot for my lunch break. Charles finished up his first semester at Georgetown. And my parents came to visit! It was so fun showing them around D.C!
June
In June we went on a couple of really fun hikes nearby. It was such a joy to be in nature and escape the city for a while. We also completed our third Whole30! I felt like I spent the whole month in the kitchen, but it was definitely worth it!
July
In July we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. We went to a vineyard in Maryland that we had stumbled upon the year before after a family reunion. We also got to experience our first 4th of July in the nation’s capital.
August
August was the month that Charles wrapped up his 2nd semester of grad school and then immediadely started his 3rd. We went on some more outdoor adventures. And I read a ton of books.
September
September is always a good month in the Smythe home. We celebrated Charles’ 31st birthday and 4 days later celebrated my 30th. We found out that Dawson was getting adopted, which was very bittersweet! I finally painted the dresser I told Charles I would paint at the beginning of the year. I went on another work trip to OKC. And Charles’ started an internship at the Pentagon!
October
In October I visited a bunch of farmer’s markets and enjoyed seeing all the fall produce. We brought home our 2nd (and final) foster cat Hal. And we threw a Halloween party with some of Charles’ classmates and dressed up like Anarchy and the United Nations (apparently you have to love International Relations to get it 😉 ).
November
In November we went on lots of walks and runs together. I started preparing for Christmas. We celebrated Thanksgiving at our friend Diana’s house. Mostly we just prepared for the crazy month we knew was coming in December!
December
December involved Christmas decorations with a kitten. Charles wrapped up his 3rd semester at Georgetown and his internship at the Pentagon. I finished ALL our Christmas shopping by Cyber Monday and was so proud of myself. We attended my holiday work party. Hal was adopted. Then we traveled to OKC to spend 6 days with my family for Christmas followed by 6 days in Springfield with Charles’ family. We flew home just in time to spend New Year’s Eve with our cat. 🙂
2019 was full of so many unexpected blessings
While it wasn’t all fun adventures or cozy nights at home together, we’re so thankful we got to spend the year together. Can’t wait to see what 2020 holds!
How was your 2019?
by Kelsey Smythe | Nov 6, 2019 | Lifestyle, Personal Development
Happy November, friends! October was f u l l, but in a really good kind of way. Our foster cat was adopted. We brought home a new 5-month-old foster kitten that we just might keep forever. And we had the pleasure of having friends over for Halloween. So much to be grateful for! Now onto all things November and November goals.
Fun Things Happening in November
- A quiet Thanksgiving at home
- A hike in Shenandoah National Park
- Christmas shopping!
November Theme: give t h a n k s
Thinking about gratitude in November can feel like such a cliche, but I decided to use the cultural momentum of this month to really dig in to thanking God for all He is and gives. I wrote about how unexpectedly life-changing gratitude is earlier this year and every month that lesson seems to sink in a little deeper.
October Goals Recap – 3.5ish* out of 7 completed
- Write for my blog every day. I only wrote like three days total, so this if a definite fail!
Run 15x. I ran 12x, which is huge for me! I took it slow and enjoyed it so much more than I thought. So glad I set this goal, so I’m probably going to repeat it!Read my daily Bible reading plan without my phone. Doing this helped me focus so much more. When I read on my phone, it’s that much easier to pull up a distracting app.Buy and install new window screens. Getting screens in windows is harder than I anticipated. We have several windows with broken screens and several windows with no screens. To make it easier on myself, I ordered the material I need to repair the broken screens and I’ll call it a day! The material arrived last night and now all I need to do is install it.Make Friendsgiving plans. We have a plan for Thanksgiving Day!- Get new passport pictures. Nope.
- Open a new Roth IRA. I did some research but haven’t taken the plunge yet.
*We use very official numerical terminology around here.
November Goals
I use eight life categories to give me focus and help me realize if I’m neglecting a particular area of my life. The eight life categories are my environment, career, health, relationships, money, personal/spiritual development, fun, and service. Some of my goals hit more than one category, so I won’t always come up with eight different goals for each category. The great thing about using the categories as a guideline is that it gives me some structure to work with and helps me see if I have any blind spots.
My 7 November Goals
- Write 7 blog posts. I haven’t been putting as much energy into this little blog as I’d like so I’m going to prioritize that this month!
- Weekly meal prep. Finding something to take to work for breakfast and lunch has been feeling like such a burden. I want to start taking a couple hours on Sundays to prep all those meals ahead of time so we can stay healthy and save money.
- Run 15x. This ended up being a great goal that kept me motivated all month long so I’m doing it again.
- Finish all my Christmas shopping. Sounds ambitions, but I think I can make it happen. I already have half my gifts picked out and am just waiting for Black Friday sales to purchase them.
- Cull 2016-2017 iPhone photos. I want my photos to be happy memory aids and not an overwhelming backlog of duplicates and memes. On the bright side, going through old photos has been really fun!
- Pick and order an Advent devotional. I’m thinking about this one but let me know if you have suggestions!
- Paint our nightstands. I add this as last because it’s not really the end of the world if I don’t get to it, but I DO already have all the supplies, so I think I’ll be able to knock it out in a weekend.
What are your November goals? Any fun things happening this month?
by Kelsey Smythe | Aug 10, 2019 | Lifestyle, Personal Development
Happy August, friends! July was a particularly fun month, involving celebrating our second anniversary and a spur-of-the-moment work trip to Oklahoma City. My trip to OKC was such an answer to prayer because I was feeling particularly sad last month as I realized that it was going to be a full year before I saw any of my family there. Going back for work allowed me to see my family and I had all of my expenses paid to do it. I did have to work while I was there, but no complaints here :). The opportunity made me feel particularly seen and loved by God. Now that I’m back home and resettled, I can’t wait to dive into my August goals.
Fun Things Happening in August
Charles finishes up the summer semester, starts the fall semester, AND most excitingly starts a very exciting internship. Meanwhile, I have a giant stack of library books with my name on them 😉
August Theme: One thing at a time
When I got back from my trip to OKC, I was really behind on all my goals and plans. I powered through for a little while and got a lot done, but then eventually burned out and spent the last week of July accomplishing very little. I’m very often overwhelmed with all of my plans and dreams and goals, which can feel very paralyzing. I also have a bad habit of multitasking and switching from task to task (or tab to tab, as it were). But really, I can only do the next right thing (LINK), so my mantra this month will be one thing at a time.
July Goals Recap – 3 out of 9 completed
- G
et connected to our new church – We haven’t visited a group yet but it’s on the calendar!
- Journal every day – I did a terrible job at this, partially because of my trip but mostly because I know it will be a lot of mental and emotional work and I just don’t want to do it. Sometimes my barrier is that I’m not sure what to write about, so I compiled a list of prompts that I’m going to print out and slip into my journal. Blog post coming soon!
- Cull 2014-2015 iPhone photos – *insert hiding monkey emoji* I just straight up didn’t do this
- Trade-in our old iPhones – I took the first steps in researching what we need to do and even making sure I got all the photos off of my old phone but I still need to trade them in.
Take new pictures for my blog bio – this didn’t end up being the huge chore I anticipated and I got it done! - Take our foster cat to at least one adoption event – I didn’t do this either
Organize our closet – I cleaned it out and reorganized a bit and it feels a little less like the walls are falling on me every time I walk in.- Get into an exercise routine again – I hardly exercised at all (besides all the walking that DC requires), but I have a plan for August!
- Order prints of our wedding photos – Didn’t do this either 🙂
We celebrated our 2nd anniversary by going to a vineyard in Maryland we stumbled across while traveling last year. It was so pretty! We enjoyed sitting on the patio and listening to the live jazz band so much.
August Goals
I use eight life categories to give me focus and help me realize if I’m neglecting a particular area of my life. The eight life categories are my environment, career, health, relationships, money, personal/spiritual development, fun, and service. Some of my goals hit more than one category, so I won’t always come up with eight different goals for each category. The great thing about using the categories as a guideline is that it gives me some structure to work with and helps me see if I have any blind spots.
Top 3
- Use my Write the Word journal every day – Cultivate what Matters is doing a fresh faith challenge this month so it feels like the perfect time to pull out the Write the Word journal I’ve been meaning to use for so long
- Cull 2014-2015 iPhone photos – This will be the month I get to this, I can feel it!
- Trade-in our old iPhones
Bonus August Goals
- Order wedding pictures to hang in our home
- Schedule a dentist appointment for us both
- Plant some grass in a pot for our cats, because I’m that type of cat mom!
- Gather information to renew our passports
- Finish my summer reading list – so far I’ve finished 4 and started 3 more out of the 12 books on my list
Not as many bonus goals this month, but it feels like the right amount. Part of goal setting involves learning the perfect amount to reach for, and I get a little better every month!
What are your August goals?
