Fall is here! Yay!

Here are my goals for the month of October:

1. Make progress with my Lady Lounge.
2. Write at least 500 new words for my WIP.
3. Prepare for NaNoWriMo 2018!
4. Get together with several friends.
5. Finish reading my current book.
6. Donate items to Project Beauty Share.
7. Donate blood.
8. Celebrate Halloween!

Here’s the breakdown:

Make progress with my Lady Lounge.

• There are way too many boxes in there! I need to dedicate some time every weekend to make it less cluttered.

Write at least 500 new words for my WIP.

• I really want to close out this draft!

Prepare for NaNoWriMo 2018!

• November will be here very soon!
• I’m excited to write something completely brand-new!

Get together with several friends.

• We are planning to spend some time with our friends Ashley and Ray, and their son, Adam.
• We’ve also been invited to Kathryn & Tim’s annual Halloween party!

Finish reading my current book.

• It’s a really interesting story, and I’m looking forward to finally writing the Book Review!

Donate items to Project Beauty Share.

• I discovered this Washington-state-based organization through a recent advice column. I want to clear out some unused beauty products, and help others!

Donate blood.

• The next blood drive is Saturday, October 6th!

Celebrate Halloween!

• We’re excited to pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters. We love seeing their costumes every year!

Do you have any goals for the month of October?

If so, I’d love to hear about them!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Image Credit: Country Living Magazine

September was a blur. We are still adjusting to having Pablo in our house, and we know he’s still adjusting to, well, everything. He’s such a sweet boy.

Here’s the link to my September Goals post:

• Getting Personal #138: September Goals

Ready?

Here we go!

1. Celebrate eight years together with Al! — Accomplished!
2. Welcome our greyhound home! — Accomplished!
3. Write at least 1,000 words for my WIP. — Did not accomplish.
4. Read at least two books. — Did not accomplish.
5. Finalize our New York trip plans. — Did not accomplish.
6. Buy a new crock-pot. — Accomplished!

Here’s the breakdown:

Celebrate eight years together with Al! — Accomplished!

• Our dating anniversary was a Tuesday after the long Labor Day weekend, but we enjoyed spending time together after work.

Welcome our greyhound home! — Accomplished!

• Here’s the link to my Getting Personal post: Getting Personal #140: Welcome Home, Pablo!

Write at least 1,000 words for my WIP. — Did not accomplish.

• Nope. Didn’t happen. I hardly looked at my personal laptop all month.

Read at least two books. — Did not accomplish.

• After Pablo came home, I could barely keep my eyes open most nights after 9:00.

Finalize our New York trip plans. — Did not accomplish.

• We didn’t finalize anything. After looking at our numbers, and the calendar, we’ve decided that the New York trip can wait. Hopefully sometime in 2019.

Buy a new crock-pot. — Accomplished!

• Thanks to a very generous Bed Bath and Beyond gift card that I received for my birthday, we bought a larger crock-pot (Eight quarts versus six), and we only spent $13!

Final Thoughts

• I was able to put Accomplished next to three out of six goals – I’ll take it!
• The three goals I did not accomplish: Most of this was time, and spending most of our energy on Pablo.

What about you? Did you have any goals for the month of September?

Come back tomorrow to see my October Goals!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Image Credit: Etsy

Hello, September! I’m so excited for cooler weather!

Every year, I can’t help but think of the famous Earth, Wind & Fire song, September! I always dance around when I hear it.

Here are my goals for the month of September:

1. Celebrate eight years together with Al!
2. Welcome our greyhound home!
3. Write at least 1,000 words for my WIP.
4. Read at least two books.
5. Finalize our New York trip plans.
6. Buy a new crock-pot.

Here’s the breakdown:

Celebrate eight years together with Al!

• Our dating anniversary is September 4th. Hard to believe it’s been eight years!

Welcome our greyhound home!

• We are expecting to get the call either September 9th or 10th. So exciting!

Write at least 1,000 words for my WIP.

• Breaking it down into smaller chunks seems more manageable.

Read at least two books.

• I’m about four chapters into one that I’ve been working on since the beginning of July. It’s high time I finish it.
• I bought three new books with one of my birthday gift cards. I really want to read at least one of those (if not more), before I allow myself to spend the other birthday gift card from my parents.

Finalize our New York trip plans.

• We’re visiting the Big Apple in November!

Buy a new crock-pot.

• I discovered a huge crack in our crock-pot insert recently, so we need to buy another one.

Do you have any goals for the month of September?

If so, I’d love to hear about them!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

August felt like a really long month, but maybe that’s just me. It was really hot, humid, and made me ready for the fall!

Here’s the link to my August Goals post:

• Getting Personal #133: August Goals

Ready?

Here we go!

1. Make progress with cleaning the garage. — Accomplished!
2. See Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. — Accomplished!
3. Celebrate my milestone birthday! — Accomplished!
4. Start preparing for our greyhound’s arrival. — Accomplished!
5. See Christopher Robin. — Accomplished!
6. Get to 50,000 words with my 2012 WIP. — Did not accomplish.
7. Participate in Laura Beth and Kristian’s Blockbuster Challenge! — Accomplished!

Here’s the breakdown:

Make progress with cleaning the garage. — Accomplished!

• We only spent a little bit of time on one Saturday, but it looks a little cleaner, and I was able to make two thrift store runs. Yay!

See Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. — Accomplished!

• I went to see it with my mom and our good friend Kathy on my birthday.
• It was a decent movie – I loved the music, and the scenery is just gorgeous!

Celebrate my milestone birthday! — Accomplished!

• It was such a whirlwind weekend!
• My in-laws came to visit, and we spent time with Nick and Savy at their house with their new puppy, Xeno.
• My mom and dad bought flowers for the church altar, which were beautiful.
• My mom made the best homemade dinner for a host of people, including beef tenderloin, my uncle’s awesome Caesar salad, roasted vegetables, and more! Plus, there was ice cream cake!
• Al scored free tickets to the Norfolk Tides game that was on my birthday, so we enjoyed stadium food while cheering on the home team.
• Many people gave me thoughtful gifts, also.
• It was an awesome long weekend! It was really hard to go back to work on that Wednesday, though.

Start preparing for our greyhound’s arrival. — Accomplished!

• So far, we have two dog beds, multiple toys, a comfy fleece blanket, a bright orange leash, and a Star Wars collar.
• We are supposed to get him either September 9th or 10th!

See Christopher Robin. — Accomplished!

• We saw this with our friends Beth and Casey. We ate a delicious dinner at Gianna’s, an awesome Italian restaurant down the way from the movie theater.
• If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly recommend it. It’s sweet, fun, nostalgic, and a nice respite from all the doom and gloom in the world.

Get to 50,000 words with my 2012 WIP. — Did not accomplish.

• After working so hard in July, I wanted to make more progress. But, I didn’t make any time to write. I’m finding myself having a hard time trying to finish it. I’m sure I’m not alone!

Participate in Laura Beth and Kristian’s Blockbuster Challenge! — Accomplished!

• I had so much fun with this daily writing challenge. We both love movies, and it’s been awesome to see everyone’s comments. Great idea, Kristian!
• You can see them all, starting with Writing Prompt #120: LB and K’s Blockbuster Challenge – Day 1

Final Thoughts

• I was able to put Accomplished next to six out of seven goals – Woohoo! Productivity at its finest.
• The one goal I did not accomplish: Ending things are hard! Especially something I’ve worked on, off and on, for the better part of six years.

What about you? Did you have any goals for the month of August?

Come back tomorrow to see my September Goals!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Image Credit: Blissful Gal

Welcome to August! One of my all-time favorite months, because it’s my birthday month! Yay!!

Here are my goals for the month of August:

1. Make progress with cleaning the garage.
2. See Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
3. Celebrate my milestone birthday!
4. Start preparing for our greyhound’s arrival.
5. See Christopher Robin.
6. Get to 50,000 words with my 2012 WIP.
7. Participate in Laura Beth and Kristian’s Blockbuster Challenge!

Here’s the breakdown:

Make progress with cleaning the garage.

• We talked about it enough in July, so I’m convinced it will start happening this month!

See Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

• My mom is taking me to see it for my birthday!

Celebrate my milestone birthday!

• I turn 30! I’m excited to celebrate with Al, my family, and friends!

Start preparing for our greyhound’s arrival.

• Since we’re waiting for the call now, we’ll be buying things like dog bed(s), comfy fleece blankets, and other dog-related items!

See Christopher Robin.

• This is another movie that I’m excited to see!

Get to 50,000 words with my 2012 WIP.

• Bolstered by my success with Camp NaNoWriMo July 2018, I’m determined to finally reach 50,000 words!

Participate in Laura Beth and Kristian’s Blockbuster Challenge!

• It’s already started!
• Come back to our blogs every day in August to see our answers!

Do you have any goals for the month of August?

If so, I’d love to hear about them!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

Image Credit: Success Magazine

July flew by! It’s crazy!

Here’s the link to my July Goals post:

• Getting Personal #129: July Goals

Ready?

Here we go!

1. See Ant-Man and the Wasp. — Accomplished!
2. Curb my spending. — Accomplished!
3. See Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. — Did not accomplish.
4. Submit our adoption application to Old Dominion Greyhound Adoption. — Accomplished!
5. See Mission: Impossible – Fallout. — Accomplished!
6. Spend at least two hours cleaning the garage. — Did not accomplish.
7. Make sure the Household Bills Spreadsheet is updated before the end of the month. — Did not accomplish.
8. Spend at least three hours working within Evernote. — Did not accomplish.
9. Meal plan as much as possible for the month. — Accomplished!
10. Participate in Camp NaNoWriMo, July 2018. — Accomplished!
11. Update my TBR. — Accomplished!
12. Start another writing challenge. — Accomplished!
13. Plan a special challenge for the month of August! — Accomplished!

Here’s the breakdown:

See Ant-Man and the Wasp. — Accomplished!

• We loved this movie! It was almost better than the first one.

Curb my spending. — Accomplished!

• I’m so proud of myself!

See Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. — Did not accomplish.

• This one is just delayed – My mom is taking me to see it on my birthday!

Submit our adoption application to Old Dominion Greyhound Adoption. — Accomplished!

• We mailed it off on a Monday, and got a call to set up the home visit on that Friday!
• The home visit happened on Saturday, July 25th. Now we just wait for the call that they have our dog!

See Mission: Impossible – Fallout. — Accomplished!

• We saw this with our good friend, Mike! What a thrill ride!!
• To me, it’s one of the best movies in the whole franchise.
• Tip: Make sure you go to the bathroom before the movie starts. You definitely don’t want to miss a minute of this movie!

Spend at least two hours cleaning the garage. — Did not accomplish.

• This was set with good intentions, but didn’t make time for it.

Make sure the Household Bills Spreadsheet is updated before the end of the month. — Did not accomplish.

• This didn’t happen. I may re-evaluate our strategy in August.

Spend at least three hours working within Evernote. — Did not accomplish.

• I didn’t make time to do this.

Meal plan as much as possible for the month. — Accomplished!

• This was successful!

Participate in Camp NaNoWriMo, July 2018. — Accomplished!

• Look for a Camp NaNoWriMo recap post later this week!

Update my TBR. — Accomplished!

• Here’s the link to my latest TBR post: Getting Personal #130: Seventh TBR Recap

Start another writing challenge. — Accomplished!

• See below for the links to my recent writing challenge posts. I’m loving it so far!
• Writing Prompt #115: The ABC Book Challenge (The Letter A)
• Writing Prompt #116: The ABC Book Challenge (The Letter B)
• Writing Prompt #117: The ABC Book Challenge (The Letter C)
• Writing Prompt #118: The ABC Book Challenge (The Letter D)
• Writing Prompt #119: The ABC Book Challenge (The Letter E)

Plan a special challenge for the month of August! — Accomplished!

• Check back in tomorrow for more details!

Final Thoughts

• I was able to put Accomplished next to nine out of 13 goals. This was awesome! I feel really good.
• The four goals I did not accomplish: This was all timing.

What about you? Did you have any goals for the month of July?

Come back tomorrow to see my August Goals!

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂