Setting goals for December 2015. I love setting monthly goals to stay organized.
November flew by, and it is already time to set goals for December! It is hard for me to believe that we have arrived at the last month in 2015. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving visiting a bunch of Mike’s extended family and seeing three of my four brothers and their families. I got to meet my baby brother’s fiancée for the first time (she is wonderful), and I even took their engagement photos. They were way too fun to photograph, which leaves me with way too many great pictures to go through and edit. On the plus side, they will be easier than ever to edit thanks to my purchase of this photo reflector, which my older brother (the one who wrote this photography post) positioned perfectly for me during the photo shoot.
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Reviewing November Goals
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I did okay with my November goals. I have entirely given up on the Jingle Bells trio, because my violinist insists that it is the only song in her entire repertoire that hurts her fingers. Why this would be the case is a bit of a mystery to me, but I figure I will simply appreciate the fact that the kids have been working on the program for a Christmas concert, even if it will be trio-free (and likely solo-only this year). Last I heard, it included three different renditions of Silent Night, so I guess I am lucky that I love that song!
I finished cutting out Lily’s quilt yesterday, and ONLY because it was on my November goals list. This is why I make these lists! I had no trouble finishing Brene Brown’s newest book, Rising Strong, which I highly recommend. We thoroughly enjoyed lots of family time! With all of our travel and visiting family (Thanksgiving weekend and the weekend before) I didn’t get a formal gratitude activity done until after Thanksgiving, when the kids wrote cards to people we appreciate in our lives. I liked this active gratitude activity (as opposed to passively listing, although that is also a very helpful activity in my experience).
I also got a lot of decluttering done in November, thanks in large part to Mike taking the kids out for the entire Saturday after Thanksgiving. It is so much easier to declutter without small children underfoot!
My life needed more simplification if I wanted to enjoy a meaningful holiday season, so I pulled out of the afterschool series I have hosted on my blog for several years. I love the series and may rejoin at some point, but in the meantime it is in the capable hands of my cohosts and I appreciate the extra time.
Setting Goals for December 2015
December is a busy month! I have a wedding to attend (brother #3 out of 4) down in San Diego, Johnny’s eighth birthday to celebrate, and, of course, Christmas – my personal favorite holiday. Mike will be traveling to Japan and I will be photographing an 80th birthday party in between all of those events – just to make life extra exciting. Here are my goals for the month:
- Find shoes for my kids to wear to my brother’s wedding. His awesome fiancée already sent the girls gorgeous dresses (plus suspenders and a bow tie for Johnny, which he loved so much that we added a couple of ties to his wardrobe as you may have noticed in yesterday’s post). I have declared all wedding clothing off limits until the actual wedding has safely happened. Character trait: thankful
- Get brother #4’s engagement photos edited BEFORE brother #3’s wedding. Character trait: helpful and kind
- Celebrate Johnny’s birthday (yes, there will be Qixels). Character trait: thankful
- Send out thank you cards after Johnny’s birthday party. Character trait: thankful
- Start sewing Lily’s quilt. Character trait: curious and kind
- Finish reading The Secrets of Happy Families, which I started based on Michelle’s recommendation. So far it is very interesting. Lots of intuitive tips, but plenty of new food for thought. Character trait: curious and helpful
- Enjoy J’s wedding! I got to meet his fiancée K at our family reunion last summer, and loved her. Character trait: thankful
- Enjoy Christmas! We were excited to start our Christmas carol advent calendar and picture book advent calendar today! Character trait: thankful
What are your plans for December?
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
Looks like some great goals!
December looks like a busy month for you!! But everything sounds fun! I’m sure you will get it all done in time!!
Congratulations on your brother’s engagement!
My goal for this month is to get our house in order, we’ve put most of school on hold to do that.
What a wonderfully full month you have planned! Congratulations on the decluttering – just in time for the holidays! And what a blessing that your brothers are making good choices for their wives. :) So wise to declare the wedding clothing off limits… Johnny looked terrific in his tie. Can’t wait to see more dressed-up-for-the-wedding photos!
I”m sure you will have a wonderful christmas!
Oh, congratulations to your brothers. It must be so different to grow up as part of a big family! Great goals for December!