Updates on Dreams and Goals for December 2023

 

Our month is wrapping up…and I am excited to report in on the goals I made a month ago.

ONE. Celebrate our anniversary. Done! As you know from reading the recap, it didn’t turn out to be the trip we envisioned, thanks to some lackluster weather and plans gone bad, but we still had a really wonderful time away together. We got to rest, spend time talking, and full nights of uninterrupted sleep. It was really sweet, and we are thankful for it.

TWO. Start (and finish) our Christmas shopping. Done! Just in the nick of time. It wasn’t the most low-stress shopping experience, but we got it done, and that’s what matters.

THREE. Enjoy some Christmassing of our own. Yes! I feel like we did a good job of this! We kicked it off on our anniversary trip, going to the St. Louis zoo to see the lights. That was our favorite part of our whole trip, and it was a good start to the season. We went to see the Christmas tree displays at Ryan’s work, and they were GORGEOUS! I got to have some extra Christmas merriment at my work team planning day. We saw our friends in A Christmas Story Musical, and that was SUCH fun. We did a little in-person shopping, complete with a coffee date. We drove around and looked at lights, sent cards, wrapped our gifts, and watched our favorite movies. (Lots of Tv movies played in the background.) Listened to Christmas music in the car, and enjoyed my mom’s annual Christmas candy. We’ve been able to celebrate with some friends, too, which is good.

FOUR. Keep brainstorming for 2024. I don’t know that I’ve ever planned and brainstormed for an upcoming year as heartily as I have this one. I’ve spent hours working on it (so far) and am not done yet. But I feel good about what I’ve accomplished so far!

FIVE. Start preparing for next year’s speaking! I have a color-coded spreadsheet now. It makes me SO HAPPY. I have also added some dates since I even made that goal, so I’m keeping that spreadsheet busy already.

SIX. Put the house back in order before January 1. I did it yesterday. It was a lot of work, and had Ryan not helped, it wouldn’t have gotten done in that time frame, but…it’s done! I am always so sad to see Christmas disappear, but I rest in a fresh start. I do love those.

Also…

·         We overhauled our guest room/office into more of an office and less of a guest room. We also spent hours working to organize the clutter that had gathered in the closet. Ryan worked SO hard to organize paperwork and filing. It feels so much better in that space now. I never dreamed this would be done before the new year starts, but I’m thrilled that it is!

·         Ryan ended up picking up extra classes to teach at the gym. He filled in for a coach that took the month off, and I was so proud of him for getting up for early classes, going back for late classes, and doing extra planning for all of it! I was proud of myself for attending (some) of the extra classes. He lost me on the early morning ones, though.

·         We got to see our former WillowBridge coworkers for the first time in over a year! We went to their daughter’s birthday party, and my GOODNESS is she ever grown up! So good to catch up with them.

·         I took an online garden planning course and have some new ideas for my little spot in the yard for next year.

·         I also got to watch the training course I filmed in Ohio last month. Goodness. Teleprompters and videographers are the BEST.

·         I started taking some other classes online that have been good for my learning heart! They’re self-paced, and I appreciate that. 

GiGiven the craziness of this month and all the extra added in, I am really thankful to have accomplished so much! How about you!? How did your goals go?