Category: Reflections & Lifestyle

I am jumping on the bandwagon and making lists for what is is IN this year and what is OUT this year…

IN…

-Moisturizing daily
-10,000 steps a day
-Drinking more water
-Getting out of my comfort zone
-Reading daily
-Duolingo daily
-Organizing my bedroom
-Honesty
-Self-advocacy
-Finding new bingeworthy shows
-Dates with my husband

OUT…

-Couch potatoing
-Mindless scrolling
-Wearing uncomfortable bras
-Alcohol
-Coffee
-Worrying
-Procrastination
-Negativity/Toxicity
-Financial irresponsibility

January in Houston...

Fancy Bitches February…

March Break in Victoria…

Snow Goose Hunting in April…

Gardening in May…

Celebrating our 7th Wedding Anniversary in Style in June…

Lego Exhibit at The Muttart in July…

Afternoon Tea at the Hotel Macdonald in August….

The Importance of Being Earnest at The Citadel in September…

October’s Pumpkin Harvest with my favourite guy…

November in Banff…

The Grinch Life in December…

Today, brings my “three goal a month” series to a close. I have managed to make some positive changes in my life, and as much as I hate to admit it; I have also fallen short this year. BUT, I never gave up and that’s what matters.

For December I wanted to “finish the year strong,” by…

1. Brushing up on my Spanish
-This is one goal I managed to knock out of the park, I am absolutely loving Duolingo. It is like riding a bicycle!

2. Implementing “No Phone Friday”
-This one didn’t turn out; mainly because I sort of forgot about it; I got 100% distracted by an upcoming project.

3. Doing an end of the year purging
-The purge was not as far reaching as I had hoped but of course I did manage to do a big pre-Christmas house clean, and it felt SOOOOOO good.

I am not sure what sort of goals I will set for myself in the New Year, but I am very much looking forward to what 2024 has in store for me. I wish you all happiness and health in the coming coming year.

2023 was all about accomplishing three small goals each month; it was a bit of the mixed bag, but all is not lost. I had a lot of success and I definitely learned a lot. To finish this series of posts I am setting my last three goals!

1. Brush up on my Spanish
   -I spent most of my teens learning the language and I took it in university; in fact that is my minor. I have lost my fluency. I enjoyed knowing a second language; but without using it –you lose it!
   
2. No phone Friday’s
   -Rather than checking out and being a phone zombie; I’m going to relax and check out sans screen. No falling down the Instagram rabbit hole for me.
   
3. End of the year purging
   -Even though I did a massive house cleanse; we seem to have accumulated more junk (stuff that doesn’t bring us joy). There are a lot of people who may need it. To de-clutter our home and ultimately our minds; we can head into the new year in a better state.

Instead of three small goals for the month of November; I participated in a bingo card style Mental Wellness Challenge –which had 20 tasks. I really enjoyed it; I liked the flexibility of having 20 tasks rather than 1 each day because if I got behind or life got in the way I wasn’t panicking to finish it. I did have to make some modifications to some of the tasks. This is how I did….

1	Went to bed at 7:30 pm	11	Enjoyed WALKING AROUND in the sun in Banff
2	Grateful for: feeling better, friends, a chance at TSwift tickets, got caught up, business season was successful, family, new books, got snow tires in time, no drama, having the best husband!	12	Unsubscribe from emails
3	Walked up and down the driveway with the dog	13	CHECKED IN on 5 people
4	Called my husband	14	Woke up 30 minutes earlier to REFLECT
5	De-cluttered my desk at work	15	Planned a DINNER date with my bestie at El Corazon
6	Took one day of social media	16	Went the entire day without complaining
7	Set short terms goals to start journaling again, walking more, increase water intake and cut down on junk food	17	Bought myself BOOTS WITH FLOWERS ON THEM
8	Made a DILL PICKLE SALAD KIT	18	MADE TIME FOR breakfast
9	Watched the sun set	19	Cleaned the bathroom; which I had been putting off for a long time
10	Got rid of all the old pots & pans and living room lamp	20	MEDITATED; in order to be more present

How was your month?

I spent this month “Fighting Fatigue” with my three goals.

1. I lightened my load by reducing the number of posts I had to prepare and that definitely made a difference because I had a lot of extra responsibilities this month. I was able to do all of them, and do them well. I can’t wait to get back to posting three times a week; especially because I start a lot of my Christmas prep/planning in November.

2. I changed the supplements that I was taking by signing up for personalized vitamin packs. I felt so amazing for the first two weeks of the month and then I got really sick. I decided to stop taking them because I wasn’t sure if I was experiencing side effects from the vitamins or whether it was a nasty flu coupled with stress. I did maintain my multi-vitamin. I am going to resume the vitamins to see what other changes I need to make for next month. The vitamin packs included…

AM PM
-Magnesium -Magnesium
-Vitamin D -Probiotic
-Vitamin B6 -L-Theanine
-Probiotic
-Zinc

3. I took in some art therapy and lunch with a best friend. It was so nice to just take a break from everything. We viewed Second Skin, Boreal Barometer, Between Things (AB Ceramics), and A Link With Nature.

One month into the school year while maintaining a growing business and balancing all the other important people, relationships, responsibilities and things in my life has worn me down. I need to make some changes to preserve my mental health.

1. Lightening my load…
   
   -To reduce some pressure; for the month of October I am modifying my posting schedule. Instead of regularly posting on Monday, Wednesday & Fridays. I am decreasing my posts to TWO days a week: Monday and Friday. It’s going to be a little weird since I love writing posts and sharing with you all. Monday’s posts will be a mixture of recipes, current addictions and outfits. Friday’s posts will consist of sharing my journal entries with you. Friday is the new Wednesday basically.
   
2. Supplements…
   
   -I have relied on caffeine for energy and to make up for the lack of sleep I have been getting. Although I take a generic multivitamin; my body needs a bit more assistance (and more water). Since I am almost out of my multivitamin I am going to replace them with a personalized regime. I took the VTMN Packs Health Assessment. I was a little shocked at the cost at first but I figured I would give it shot for October; and if I were to buy them myself from the store it really isn’t that big of a difference.
   
3. Art Therapy (so to speak)…
   
   -A much needed trip to the AGA is on my calendar for this month. It’s an appointment I really hope to keep.

I blinked and September was over; its time to reflect on the three goals I set for myself. I am glad I set simple goals, otherwise I don’t think I would have been successful. I hope you all had a much calmer month than I did.

1. Take the night off and do something fun with a friend.
   –I went to see The Importance of Being Earnest and it was such a fun night! I highly recommend the play!
   
2. Pack a lunch everyday.
   –I filled my Bento box each night before school with healthy snacks to keep me going throughout the day!
   
3. Walk everyday.
   –I minimized how much I sat during the day; the reminder on my FitBit definitely came in handy. I walked everyday at lunch; but it also helps that I HAD to since I asked for extra supervision.

It’s a brand new school year and we are settling back into a new routine. Many of my goals thus far have been centered around mental and physical health and this month is no different because it is very easy to get overwhelmed!

1. Take a night off and do something fun with a friend

2. Pack a lunch everyday!

3. Walk everyday

And with that, summer has come to a close. It is time to reflect on the goals that I set for this month and start thinking about ones for September.

My goals for this month included…

1. Finish Home Renovations
-Guest room is finished, cleaned and set up
-Bathroom is finished, cleaned and set up
-Pictures and other decor are hanged
-Floor has been painted

2. Finish Summer Reading List (composed of 20 books!)
-The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey
-A Murder at Balmoral by Chris McGeorge
-A Botanists Guide to Parties & Poisons Kate Khavari
-A Botanists Guide to Flowers & Fatality by Kate Khavari
-The Housekeepers by Alex Hay
-The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
-Our Hideous Progeny by C.E McGill
-Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz
-Murder at the Mayfair Hotel by C.J. Archer
-Murder at the Piccadilly Playhouse by C.J. Archer
-Murder in the Drawing Room by C.J. Archer
-Murder at the Dressmaker’s Salon by C.J. Archer
-Murder at the Debutante Ball by C.J. Archer
-Murder at the Crown and Anchor by C.J. Archer
-Jane Austen Made Me Do It (editted by Laurel Ann Natress)
-The Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey
-Book Lovers by Emily Henry
-Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
-A Socialite’s Guide to Murder by S.K. Golden
-The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman

3. Back to School Personal Prep
-Although I didn’t manage back to school clothes shopping, I did manage to get a hair cut and I love it!