Goals | April

Well, now that we're nearly a week into April, I figured it's about time I get my post up about this month's goals, as well as updating about March. Don't you think? Though, perhaps part of the delay has been that my mind is a little distracted this week with the happiness of today marking 5 months of marriage to my incredible husband and just 2 days from me turning 25! Where has all the time gone, people?! It's just crazy. But in a wonderful way. :)

At any rate, back to the subject of goals! While I doubt that any of you have been waiting with baited breath to see how successful I was in March, I hope you'll at least find it encouraging/interesting to see how someone else does when it comes to setting goals and attempting to achieve them. I'm no superwoman, and thus you won't see this list entirely checked off, but I definitely found that it helped keep me driven and focused last month to know that I had specific things I was aiming to accomplish on a specific timeline. So, here are the results! Accomplished things are written in bold, and unaccomplished things in plain text.

MARCH PERSONAL GOALS

• Workout 4 times a week (the only exception was the week of vacation in FL, but I don't think that should count)
• Research "couponing" and try to come up with a system that will work for me (still working out the system, but I've at least begun to make a habit of finding and using them!)
• Hang the bulletin board I recently made & decorate with photos (see photo below! :)
• Make at least 4 meals without the input/help of my husband
• Have "girl time" with different friends at least 4 times
• Order my wedding album
• Finish writing all wedding Thank-Yous (Not quite finished, but only like 6 left to go!)
• Mail Thank-Yous (Mailed all that we had done, so again, only like 6 left to go!)
• Catch up on editing & posting personal photos (Didn't get all the way caught up, but did make some progress!)
• Get a tan while chilling on the beach in FLORIDA with my sister and cousin :)

MARCH BUSINESS GOALS

• Sort receipts from January & February
• Blog at least 2 times a week (yes, aiming low...hopefully I'll get faithful with at least THAT and then move onward and upward) I don't think I quite made this...especially because of vacation. But I came close!
• Sort at least 3 weddings and pick favorite photos
• Submit at least 3 weddings to be featured on wedding blogs
• Finish picking photos for my sample wedding album
• Order sample wedding album
• Research workshop/conference opportunities coming up this year (I even attended one!)

So, all things considered, I think March was a pretty successful month and I'm really happy looking at the list and seeing how much I got done, and how close I came even on the things I didn't quite get done. For those of you who decided to set monthly goals for yourselves, how did you do? Did you feel like it helped you stay focused and ultimately accomplish more? I'd love to hear some of your experiences! :)

As for the bulletin board, here are some photos! (I started by purchasing a large framed photo from Goodwill, did away with the glass, painted the frame with one coat of white craft paint - I wanted it to have an uneven, white-washed kind of look - then bought square cork pieces from Michael's, the fabric from Joanne Fabrics and the string and tacks from Walmart.)

It hangs in our bedroom right above my little (not-so-tidy) computer desk.

All of the photos just make me sooo happy. And I chose a lot of ones that probably won't be in the wedding album, because I still loved them and wanted to find some place for them to be displayed. (Rebekah Murray's incredible photography skills make it hard to narrow down one's wedding photos!)

The smaller polaroids were taken at the wedding, too, by one of my dearest friends, Maria (who was also a bridesmaid! She's skilled at multi-tasking. :) They're such a fun addition to the memories of that day, and to the bulletin board.

And, by the way, this is a quick photo of the throw pillows on our bed, which was why I went with the fabric that I did as the background for the bulletin board. It coordinates so perfectly! I really love the grey, white and turquoise color scheme. It's light, fresh, pretty and happy without being overly feminine.

And now, for April goals!

PERSONAL GOALS

• Continue working out at least 4 times a week
• Brainstorm and accomplish 1 for-the-home art project
• Make at least 5 meals without Aaron's input (yeah, that's right - a whole one more than last month! ;)
• Have girl time with at least 4 different friends in person
• Call or hand-write at least 2 far-away girlfriends
• REALLY Finish writing Thank-You's
• Mail the last Thank-You's
• Order Wedding Album
• Finish catching-up on personal photo editing & uploading
• Organize iTunes & all Music folders on computers
• Help my Mom pick out frames & wedding photos to print when I'm in IN at the end of the month! :)

BUSINESS GOALS

• Get all receipts from March in order
• Blog at least 2 times a week (trying this again!)
• Finish researching Business Insurance options & decide on a company/policy
• Organize all 2010 pictures on all computers/hard drives
• Finish researching and choose a company for online backup & off-site storage
• Research new laptops
• Research new desktop monitors
• Make a list of prioritized purchases

And there you have it! I'm already a week into this month, so it's a good thing I had been thinking about what I wanted to put on my lists and have been working towards them, already. Here's hoping for another purposeful, focused, successful month for accomplishing both personal and business goals and enjoying life while I'm at it. :) Happy April, everyone!