Spring Cleaning and Purging

 Hello friends and happy Friday! We are starting off today's blog post with some FABULOUS news. I had my PET scan this week and got my results back... I can hardly believe it but I am very happy to say that I am officially IN REMISSION. My cancer is GONE!!! I had been told Hodgkins Lymphoma responds well to treatment, but we were all quite surprised at just how well I responded. Especially with it being stage 4. We were hoping to hear the cancer was shrinking, we were not expecting to hear the incredible news we received. 

I cannot help but love the symbolism behind getting such wonderful news right before Easter weekend. A period of darkness and despair followed by a period of light and hope. A period of new life. I swear the world just seems a little bit brighter to me now. Even more beautiful than it was before. 

While the scary part of this journey is over, I am still far from "done". I will need to finish the remainder of my chemotherapy, with a tentative last treatment date in mid-July. Apparently if I were to stop chemo now, there is a high chance that the cancer could come back. By finishing out the next 4 months we are ensuring that we have gotten every single cancer cell and have a much higher chance of being "cured" forever. While I very much hate chemo and don't want to finish this, I also don't want to have to start this all over again a year or so from now. I have already quit my job, lost my hair, had a port surgery, have a wonderful support system set up, etc... I need to just see this thing through to the end and then be done with it for good. 

Thank you for your prayers, your kind words, and EVERYTHING you have done to support me so far! We got wonderful news this week. Now we just need to finish this thing out!

Now, onto today's post...

This month I am attempting a "spring cleaning month" where I do a little reorganizing/purging every day throughout the month. This helps it to not feel overwhelming like it might if I tried to do it in one fell swoop. 

End of the Year Declutter Challenge-- So Far

 Hello friends and happy Monday before Thanksgiving! Do you have plans for the holiday? We will be driving to Florida tomorrow night to visit Devin's grandmother and some aunts, uncles, and cousins. It should be a lot of fun! Devin's grandma is 94 and still such a firecracker. I am looking forward to spending some good quality time with her.

Summer Organization Checklist

 Hello friends! I hope you all had a nice weekend. We spent the weekend in Wilmington with Devin's parents and then came back pretty early on Sunday in order to get our big girl ready for camp. I am really looking forward to her going this week-- she is going to have a BLAST! Not to mention I will have a few hours each afternoon to knock out some projects while Liam naps. 😉

At the beginning of the summer I had all these big plans to get organized and prepped for the upcoming school year. Well, here we are, roughly halfway through the summer and I have hardly made a dent in that to-do list. Anyone else?? This summer is flying by! This week I am hoping to power through as many of the projects left on my list as possible. Here's a look at what I'm hoping to have accomplished by the end of summer:

Not too much, right? I think it'll help us start the school year off on the right foot. So far I have already done the following:

Most of those are pretty self explanatory, right? Basically go from room to room and donate things we no longer use. I feel like I do this several times a year, yet we still accumulate so. much. stuff. As for the pictures, surely I'm not the only one with thousands of pictures on my camera roll. Anyone else out there? I have been getting notifications on my phone that I am running low on storage for the past 91 days.. time to remedy that! Here's hoping I can get a big chunk of this list accomplished this week. 

What about you? Do you make a "to-do" list or something similar over the summer? Anything else you think I should add on here? I always love your suggestions!

Today I am linking up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday. Have a great day!

Summer Morning Routine

 Hello friends and happy Monday! We got home from the beach yesterday and the whole car ride home I was itching to get back into my regular routine and the swing of normal life. Our vacation was wonderful, but I think my body is ready to get back to a normal sleep schedule, healthy eating habits, and feeling productive again. 

These are my latest tips and tricks for starting the day feeling healthy, positive, and ready to conquer whatever the day brings. By no means am I suggesting I have all the answers and this is the "right" way to do a morning routine. My hope is that by sharing what works for our family, maybe you might see an idea or two that could help your morning routine go a little more smoothly too.

Each day is a little different, but here's a glimpse into what my typical morning routine looks like:

Happy Friday from the Beach! What I Pack in Our Beach Bag :)

 Hello hello friends! It has been a beautiful week around here and I am feeling awfully thankful right about now. 

Being a "List" Person

 Hello hello and happy Monday! 

This is 100% true. 😂

Another week and another chance to knock all of our goals outta the park, right? As I write this it is Sunday afternoon and I am in the process of trying to get my week in order. I pulled out my calendar, my meal planning notepad, and a notepad to start making all my various lists. Devin, my very Type-B husband, loves to tease me about my lists. I've often been asked if I have a list to keep track of my lists. To be honest, it's not such a bad idea. 😂 

5 Things/Monthly Goals

Hi There! I had originally planned this post to be a 5 Random-Things-I-Had-On-My-Brain post, but then realized each of the 5 things I was writing about related back to my goals for the month of November. So I guess this post is a little bit of both! The things that are on my brain are also on my list of goals for the month. 😊 

Another Year with The Happy Planner

Good morning and happy Friday! Last week we got the email from Lily Grace's preschool with her calendar for the year. I went to go add the dates to my calendar and realized "uh oh, my calendar ends in December 2021!" I needed a new calendar and because I am such a creature of habit, it had to be a Happy Planner. I attempted a non-Happy Planner at the beginning of this year, but it just didn't do it for me. I am a Happy Planner person through and through. I know I am not alone on this because so many of you have commented over the years that you are Happy Planner addicts too!

This is the one I went with:

Let's Look: Bathroom Organization

 Good morning! Today's theme for Let's Look is Bathroom Organization and as lame as it sounds, I am actually really excited to see how everyone else organizes underneath their sink. All those bathroom products seem to take up so much space but are tricky to stack without getting in the way of each other. I am happy to share our approach to keeping it less messy, but it's nothing special!

Monthly Goals: May

 Nothing like finally getting around to blogging some goals for the month on the 14th, right?? Better late than never 😉 I actually wrote these goals at the end of April and am noticing I have some work to do if I actually want to achieve any of these by the end of the month... so maybe a mid-month check in on goals is a good thing!

Let's Look: Outdoor Organization

Hi there! Today the theme for Let's Look is Outdoor Organization and I have to say... I can NOT wait to read all the tips. Finding a way to store out outside toys was a bit problematic at first. We live in an older house, built in 1972, with very little storage. Oh, and no garage. My house growing up had a basement and a garage... so referring to my usual "what did my mom do?" doesn't work in this scenario. We have done the best we can with what we've got... but I can't wait to see what you all do to store all of your outdoor items!

  

Our little arts & crafts lover enjoying the patio. 😍

Monthly Goals February

 Good morning and happy Monday! I hope your Monday is off to a great start so far.

 We are here at the beginning of another month which means it is time to make some new goals. Last month I read the book Loving My Actual Life, and in the book the author tries an experiment for 9 months to see what changes she make in her own life to see how she can improve it. Rather than be frazzled and stressed out all the time she wanted to see what positive changes she could make and whether or not they would make a difference. One of the things she tried was to incorporate more time for quiet in her daily life-- this really resonated with me! I realized that every day our house is full of noise from 6:30 am until about 7:30 at night. While a lot of it is good noise: kids playing with each other, family talking to one another, etc., some of it is just background noise: Alexa telling us the news, me listening to an audiobook, music playing in the background, a podcast, etc. There is something that really resonated with me about the importance of quiet. Maybe I can be more present in the moment if I don't have so many things going on to distract me. So some of my goals this month will be relating to incorporating more quiet in my day-- something I think I will be very grateful I did!

Getting Organized for the New Year

Good morning friends! So earlier this week I had a couple appointments I needed to put on my 2021 calendar when it hit me-- oh shoot, I don't have a 2021 calendar yet! I usually buy the 18 month Happy Planners each August, but it must've slipped my mind this past August because I never got around to it. The downside of waiting until mid-December is that all the good planners were already sold out 😨. If you've been reading here for awhile then you know I am a big fan of the Happy Planners-- they are hands down my favorite for several reasons. I love the layout. I love how bright and colorful they are. I love all the stickers/accessories they come with. 

They. Are. My. Favorites. 

But now, in December, all the ones that were my favorite layout have already been sold out. There were a few left, but the covers were not my style. 

Classic case of the early bird getting the worm. This worm was late, and this worm is outta luck. 

So I started asking around to a bunch of my girlfriends to find out what planners they use. The answers I got most often were: Erin Condren, Lilly Pulitzer, big desk calendars, and ones from Target. I have used all of those in the past too and liked them, but didn't love them. 

 Then one girlfriend recommended this one to me from Amazon and I figured it was so cheap it was worth a try. It had over 1,000 reviews with a really high rating, so... I needed a calendar, it was cheap, why not give it a shot?

Monthly Goals October

 Good morning friends! It's time for another round of goals for the month, and this month I am trying to focus on getting back into a fitness routine. For the past month or so my usual routine has gotten out of whack and I just workout whenever I find time. The problem with that is that by not making it a priority, I find that I am working out significantly less often. So it's time to change that! Here are my goals for the month:

Monthly Goals-- September

 Good morning friends and happy September!!! Does it feel like fall where you live? I must've jinxed us.. it felt fall-ish for a week or two here but then we jumped back up to 90+ degrees every day. This weekend looks like low to mid 80's again though-- and believe it or not, I'll consider that "fall-ish weather"!

Today I have my goals for the month of September to share. Thank you so much for reading/commenting on these posts because you help to keep me accountable! If somebody out there knows I've set a goal for myself, it makes me feel like I need to  actually keep up with it. Here are my goals for the month:

Monthly Goals-- July

Good morning everyone! I hope your July has been off to a great start. We are still at the beach and are having a blast soaking up the sun. I wanted to pop on and share my goals for the upcoming month because you ladies help to keep me accountable! This month is going to fly by because we have two weeks at the beach, then have family coming in town for Liam's rescheduled baptism. He was supposed to be baptized in March, but then everything shut down due to COVID and we had to reschedule. Here's hoping we are still able to do it 🙏.

Here's a look at my goals for the month:

Goals for the Month of June

Good morning friends and happy Monday! This week our lives begin the slow transition to our new normal. It makes me a little nervous, but I know we are itching to start returning to a bit of normalcy. Lily Grace's swim school is opening back up this week and we have her first lesson back already scheduled. I also have plans to have a few girlfriends over to our backyard to have a little "social distance hangout". I am looking forward to seeing my girlfriends for the first time since March!

Last month my focus was on relaxing and soaking up this family time. I think I nailed it. It turns out "doing a whole bunch of nothing" is a lot more up my alley than I used to think. Pre-quarantine I was that person who always had to be busy, was always checking things off my to-do list and felt more fulfilled when I accomplished more stuff. Being forced into relaxation mode has been chicken soup for the soul, truly. I hate that it took something as awful as COVID for me to realize the importance of doing nothing but spend time with my family. Why spend my days running a bunch of errands when I can just have it delivered and spend that time with my family? 

Anyway, on to June's goals!

Monthly Goals- May

Hello hello, happy Monday! I was talking to a girlfriend last week and we were both saying how this quarantine feels like it has been dragging on, yet somehow we've already been doing this for 8 weeks. Isn't that crazy?? That is an absurd amount of time to be locked up in your house. 

I'm not sure about where you live, but in NC we are beginning Phase 1 of opening back up. Opening up is being split into 3 phases. Phase 1 begins this week and if it goes well for 2-3 weeks, we can begin phase 2 (restaurants and bars can open but with extra precaution taken, public playgrounds can open, churches can have small gatherings, etc.). Once phase 2 goes well for 2-3 weeks, then we begin phase 3 (more things open, but with precaution taken). It seems like a lot, but I feel hopeful having a concrete plan in place.

Anyway, a new month has begun and it is time to set some goals for the month!

I love May. Normally it is a crazy busy, hectic-to-the-point-of-stressful time of year at school. It is always one of the most fun months, but life can get a little hairy due to all the extra activities. This May I am hoping to enjoy all the good parts of May without the stress, because luckily I have nowhere to be!

1. Move My Body OUTSIDE- Normally during the month of May I'm teaching and have to workout in the morning before work if I want to get my exercise in. This entails going to the gym since the sun isn't up yet. Now that I don't have to be at work, just reachable by email and home for the occasional Zoom, I have been able to go for walks/runs outside. Some of our local trails are opening back up for Phase 1 and I could not be more excited about it! My goal is to move my body at least 2 miles a day. It may be walking, it may be running, it may be a combination of both. My goal is to do this unplugged (no headphones) as often as possible. 

2. Read 3 Books- We set up our hammock in the backyard and I see a lot of book reading in the hammock in my future. 

3. Keep Up With Our Garden- Our vegetable garden is coming in nicely! We have tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, radishes, carrots, green beans, and basil planted so far. We also have my lemon tree and blueberry bush, which I love! It really only takes a few minutes each day to stay on top of it and it sure beats letting it get out of hand and then spending an hour out there pulling weeds!

Our blueberry bush has a lot of berries this year!

So really, that's it! The point is to continue to take things slowly and enjoy the extra time soaking up my family because a return to normal life is (hopefully) around the corner. I don't want to look back and think I was any busier right now than I needed to be. What about you?? What are some of your goals this month?

Monthly Goals: April

Happy Friday friends! I'm here with my monthly goals for April and am planning on being pretty lax about these. We are all in survival mode and there may be some days where I don't accomplish a single one of these goals, and that's okay! As long as I am actively working towards them.

Drink More Water: I don't know about you, but this picture above pretty much summed up my life the last few weeks of March! Coffee, coffee and more coffee, followed by wine at night. And I definitely was not feeling my best! My goal is to drink half my body weight in water daily this month. 

Move My Body Every Single Day: It might be gardening, a neighborhood walk, a run or some yoga... but my plan is to move my body every single day for 30 minutes. 

Read 4 Books: Here's hoping!

Check 3 House Projects Off Our List: Living in an older house, we seem to have this never-ending list of things that need to be done. Our usual excuse of "we'll get to that when we have time" doesn't really apply at the moment, so I'm hoping we can get a few things accomplished.

Zoom With Friends a Couple Times a Week: I have had several Zoom chats with friends this week and it is helping me to keep from going insane. The good thing about everyone being required to stay home is that we all have time to chat with each other. None of us have anywhere to be! I'm hoping we keep up with these because it makes all of us feel so much better!

Today I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites. I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Monthly Goals-- March

Good morning everyone! I hope that wherever you live you are starting to get a break from the winter weather and that spring feels just around the corner for you. We are soaking up the beautiful warmer weather here and trying to spend as much time as possible outside.

It's the beginning of a new month, which means it is time to set some new goals. But first, I wanted to take a look at my goals for last month: