diy mama

lifestyle blog sharing diy, family, travel, organization & disney tips

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March Goals

(This post contains affiliate links. Although, I did not receive any of the below products for free, I will be compensated a small percentage if you purchase through my links.)

March_featureHello and happy almost-spring! March is always exciting because it means that the snow will start melting soon (although we just got 10 inches dumped on us yesterday, so it may take a while.) We’re not letting the snow slow us down though! We took Soph swimming at the pool yesterday and went sledding today. Keeping busy helps make the winter go by faster!

Before digging into my March goals, let’s see how I did on my February goals. We’ve been really enjoying ourselves at Montessori this past month.

Sophie is a joy to watch interacting with the other kids and improving on her work every week. We went on a family Valentine’s date to Applebee’s because it was an hour wait everywhere (at 2pm!) We made it up by going to Red Lobster the next day. I was sure to give Jeffrey more time to spend on studying and writing throughout the month. I am still reading the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and have added the #40bagsin40days challenge. I have done terrible at finishing the jewelry nook in the closet! I haven’t made the effort to figure out our paint color in there and therefore haven’t been able to finish the project, but I HAVE been having a lot of fun. I made sure to stay very focused on Sophie and making sure I was present for her and Jeffrey and it has made my month very fun! I read The 100 Year Old Man (of which I gave a 3/5). I also learned a lot from Lisa on our chat about Light Room and have been doing all of the posts’ photography editing there. I’ve done fairly well on the 5 post/day commenting. Some days I’ll skip but do more the next day. I’ve also been using co-schedule and tailwind to schedule posts and pins ahead of time. I haven’t seen a great difference in numbers yet but it’s only been a month.

monessori coloring
I honestly can hardly remember February. It flew by. We were able to see Second City when they came to town, which was hilarious! We also went on a party bus downtown Indy and I had a girl’s night out to see 50 Shades. Our neighborhood girl’s night was awesome because we played Cards of Humanity while watching Downton Abbey. I’ve also been having a ton of fun planning our Disney vacation and getting our home decluttered and organized.

nail polish

March Goals:

Family

  • Continue with our 40 Day Spending Freeze
  • Start with Monthly Date Night in a Box
  • Take Sophie to a show or museum

Life

  • Catch up and complete #40bagsin40days
  • Complete Whole30
  • Swim twice per week

Blog

I have a lot of behind-the-scenes secrets that I’ve been working on that I WILL be able to share with you in due time. For now, I want to know about your goals. What do you do to stay on track? Do you have accountability partners? A goal planner? A really organized brain? Let’s talk about this!

PS: Shameless plug guys. I’m on Facebook. I need more followers. I’ve gotten a lot of good tips from high rollers but could use any tips you’ve found helpful! Oh and don’t forget to follow me. I follow back!

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December Goals

december1Happy December everyone! It’s the last month of 2014 and instead of rushing around trying to meet all your goals, accomplish all your deadlines and make this ‘the best holiday season ever’, I say to relax. Take a minute and look back on your year to see all that you have accomplished!

Let’s see how I did on my November goals. I took Soph to every Baby Loves Books (that she was in town and we weren’t sick) as well as did a couch date once per week with Jeffrey (usually in the form of a Red Box movie.) We also got down two new signs with Sophie (more and hi.) For my ‘life’ goals, I got two Project Life spreads done! I also swam at least twice/week, for the three weeks I wasn’t sick, and did a meal plan every Sunday for the upcoming week. My ‘blog’ goals were the toughest to accomplish (as always) because I always put these goals last. I reached 1k followers on Pinterest (YAY), shot the photos for my TOP SECRET project coming up next month and did a couple Blog Life sessions. I did not revamp any old posts or do any new pinnable images, but I’m ok with that.

pumpkin

Now for the fun part, my upcoming goals! My goals for December are going to be light hearted to leave lots of time and love for my family. We already have lots of holiday events planned for this month: Meeting Santa, Company Christmas party, Christmas shopping trip, neighborhood Christmas party, decorating our home, Christmas light scouting and traveling to our family’s for Christmas.

Family

  • Go sledding & build a snow man
  • Transition Sophie to big bed
  • Lots of snuggling

Life

  • Make advent calendar, stockings & Christmas cards
  • Make Christmas gifts for friends and family
  • ‘Fill the Freezer’

 Blog

  • Have a successful Favorite Things Giveaway on the 3rd!
  • 3 Blog Life Sessions
  • Announce TOP SECRET project

stantaWhat are your goals for this holiday season? Are you going to try to jam it full of as many fun activities as possible or are you going to relax by the fire? I’m hoping to do a little of both (plus hot chocolate.) I’d love to hear what goals you have planned for this month or if you’re thinking of a resolution for 2015!

 

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November Goals

november goalsHappy November! I know, it’s been November for a couple days, we’ve even changed the clocks already to fall back, but I’m just getting around to my November goals. This weekend was a whirlwind, literally, with the crazy weather we had here in IL.
We were able to Trick or Treat at a few houses, then came back to share chili with some friends. We also got the house childproofed (more on that later)! We took it easy though, knowing the next few months ahead are pretty crazy with travel, by playing a few board games and watching some new movies.
IMG_6960Let’s see how I did for my October goals. I did fairly well with accomplishing my October goals, in my opinion! This was a huge month for our family. Sophie had her first Birthday, complete with awesome Sprinkle & Confetti party, she started walking, we had a vacation where we went to Medieval Times and watched our 90 year old Grandma fly a plane! I really focused on being present and putting my family first in regards to managing my time. If there was a choice between cleaning up the kitchen, writing a post or just playing chase with Soph and Jeffrey, I chose my family every time. I’m pretty sure the kitchen was never fully clean the entire month of October, but I’m ok with that.

I took Soph to every Babies Love Books but one, because she was still snoozing (you never wake a sleeping baby!) I found a couple people that volunteered to watch Sophie but I’d still like to have an emergency sitter on hand. We also did TERRIBLE at family walks. We took once/week which was 90% due to the cold weather, rain or it being dark by the time Jeffrey got home. I swam 2-3 times/week, read Eleanor & Park (not as good as Fangirl in my opinion) and did not do laundry on the weekends! My biggest disappointment of goal achieving this month was finishing Blog Life, but I worked on it a lot and it’s freaking huge (which is a good thing!) I did, however, make three new pinnable images and revamped 20 Date Ideas and Nail Polish Organization!
pinnable-imagesNow for the good stuff! My November goals are going to be more manageable since there are a lot of things already planned for this month.

Family

  • Continue Babies Love Books (even if it’s raining or snowing)
  • Teach Sophie 2 sign language signs
  • 1 night/week ‘couch dates’

Life

  •  1 Project Life spread
  • Swim 2 times/week & swim lesson
  • Meal plan every week & 1 freezer meal/week

Blog

  • Photos for TOP SECRET project coming in January
  • Blog Life
  • 2 pinnable images and revamp 1 post
  • Reach 1,000 followers on Pinterest

What are your goals for this month? Will you be taking it a bit easy on yourself knowing the madness that is to come, paired with cold/rainy weather and possible sickness? I encourage you to make at least 3 goals for this month that can be measured. It really does help me to stay focused on what I want to accomplish, helping my mind stay on track. I’ll leave you with the best photo taken this month:

leaves

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8 Office Must Haves

If you have any job or hobby that requires you to sit at a desk for more than a half hour at a time, it’s a good idea to have a clear space with items that help you be more productive. For me, there are 8 office must haves.
office must haves
8 Office Must Haves
As I write here at my desk I realize the things that every functioning desk should have. Whether it be for functionality or inspiration, the staples that I like to keep at my desk are:
1. Feminine or graphic at-a-glance calendar.
2. Greenery. In this case a geometric terrarium which is low maintenance and pleasing to the eye.
3. Task lamp. I have a regular desk lamp and a directional task lamp that I use frequently (especially in the evenings when the sun is down and I’m crafting.)
4. A comfortable chair. This chair was a Christmas present to me three years ago and I love it. It’s easy to raise and lower as well as lock it so it doesn’t recline. The only downfall is the white leather. I wore new dark blue jeans on it one day and it now has some spots on the seat. Lesson learned: no new jeans on white furniture.
5. Hardy notebook. I have LOTS of notebooks for various subjects/ideas but this notebook is my favorite for blogging. I keep some tabs near by to mark specific chapters and it still looks sophisticated sitting on my desk.
6. A SWEET pencil holder. I don’t have this brass holder, but I wish I did. I try my hardest to keep my desk minimal of clutter and this holder would be perfect for anyone who does a lot of journaling. It would even be cute with colored pencils in it if you’re a doodler.
7. Your favorite pen. Mine changes every few months but I always have a Sharpie pen nearby. They have the thickness I like and don’t bleed through the page.
8. Reading glasses. Or in my case, fake red rimmed reading glasses. I have no idea why I love these but they make me feel bloggier!? I wore them to Barnes and Noble and felt like I belonged there. I’ll try them out at Starbucks next and see how that goes. In any case, you don’t necessarily need red rimmed glasses at your desk but having something (favorite scarf, lipstick, lotion etc.) you can throw on to make yourself feel good and stay focused is key.
Now I’m inspired to completely slim down my desk again. Let’s see how long it lasts. What are some must-haves for your work or home desk area?
Also, I’ve been working on a moodboard on Pinterest for my dream office/craft space. Do you have a board like this?

Follow Shelly Bergman’s board Office/Craft Room on Pinterest.

This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
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