Summer was the season of weddings, specifically mine. Now, the honeymoon is (quite literally) over, the present delivery has slowed, and our house is more or less put back together.
The wedding was fun. One of the best days of my life, up to this point. The sun shined, the ceremony was great, the day went by in less than 20 minutes (how is that even possible?), and I even got to eat the food!
Now I’m “just regular married,” and honestly? I prefer it. It’s like being engaged, but now we’re not planning anything. Just this weekend, we got to do things we wanted to do, not things we had to do for the wedding.
Now it’s fall, and it’s time for new projects. The air is slightly crisper, we’ve had a few days of rain, and the trees are starting to turn from green to red. I have a lot of things on my to-do list for the fall, and in the spirit of “posting things publicly might be the kick in the pants I need to get things done,” I’ll list them here. Anyone want to be in charge of kicking me in the pants? ;)
2014 Fall Goals
Minimalism
We are so lucky to have friends and family that helped us feather our nest. Now it’s time to keep only the truly lovely and useful items in our home. I love our home, but we live in a small space, and in order to keep things clean, we have to keep things orderly. Aside from the dog hair all over everything, we’ll have to pare down.
Specifically, I want to eliminate things and create more space in:
- The linen closet
- The office/second bedroom in general, and the closet in particular
- The regular closet
- Both chests of drawers
- The bookcase
- The kitchen cabinets, including the island
This goes beyond the 1:1 rule, where for each thing we bring in, we have to send one out. This is about streamlining our space. I’ll keep track of how we’re doing this, including before and after pictures, and how we’re creating more space.
Health: Skinny Dogs Live Longer
“Skinny dogs live longer,” said my vet, when I took Stanley in to check on an ear infection. I asked if he thought Stanley was too skinny, and that was his response. “By about two years,” he added.
Well, I’ll keep him skinny, then. And while we’re at it, I’m going to work toward getting skinnier too. How will I do this?
- Start running again with Brent
- Work out at the least frugal gym I know (but I love it, and I’m going consistently, and insert justifications here) four times a week. Join me on Saturday! It’s free! If I’m in town, I’ll be there.
- 10,000 steps a day (many with Stanley)
- Eat fewer treats, and more crunchy veggies
Also, it’s time to make a doctor’s appointment. I need an annual exam, and I sure would like a professional to tell me what on earth is the matter with my stomach. Am I a celiac?
Time to find out.
Writing
Write more! I’m publishing once a week here, and three times a week on For Profit Blogging. (By the way, it’s the first of the month, have you updated your stats in the blog stats tracker yet?) and I’d like to keep that up. For the last two weeks, I’ve spent “football Sundays” writing my blog content for the week. That helps with the 80/20 rule of blogging, which states you should only spend 20% of your time blogging, and 80% of your time connecting with others.
Speaking of connecting, I’m working on two collaborative writing projects. I’ll definitely keep you posted when these are more complete, but I think the answer to “how can you be as productive working for yourself as you are working at a company?” is collaboration. I don’t want to let my partners down, so in essence, I’m thinking of them as my boss. I’ll have much, much more to say, soon.
Love
This year, I’ll host Thanksgiving for the first time ever. Dad will come down, Caitlin will come over, and we’ll have a feast in our home. It’s the first holiday we’ll host as a married couple, and I’m excited. I’ll be even more excited if I can convince Caitlin we should eat something other than turkey, but I don’t have my hopes up.
I also want to create a wedding book that includes our whole ceremony, so I can look at it whenever I want.
The first year of marriage is the hardest, says conventional wisdom, so especially now, when we’re establishing “the new normal,” I’ll work to make our marriage a loving one, even if it means I have to spend the afternoon at the DMV. That’s love, Brent. :)
There’s something about the beginning of a school season that allows for a refresh, and a reset. I’m ready. I have all the tools I need: my virtual Trapper Keeper with Lisa Frank separators, virtual protractor, which I still don’t understand, and all the virtual gel pens I could possibly need.
I’m ready, fall. Let’s do this.
What are your goals for this season?
