February 2024 // A List

February, February, February

My goodness! You came quickly and are leaving just as fast.

You were a month full of lessons.

A month full of making decisions.

A month of looking ahead.

February, you lived up to your theme.

The month of love.

A month of gifts, both tangible and intangible.

A month of good books.

A month of finding comfort in nature.

A month of dreaming about spring.

February, although you are the shortest month of the year,

You certainly left your mark.

March will be here soon.

Although March is a difficult month.

I'm hoping for good days.

So, goodbye, February.

You were quite the month.

Hello March.

Here's to finding comfort, hope, and good energy.

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Friday! Today, I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link-up.

1. Hints of Spring (Today's weather is pure perfection!

2. My Valentine's Day flowers are still alive

3. Garden by Kamauu

4. Back to the Roots Grow Kit (So excited to try these with the boys)

5. Art by Caylee Grey

6. Collages by Jessa Dupuis

7. Great customer service 

8. Good news from the doctor's office

9. Words by Katie Laura Ashton 

10. Early morning light

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Saturday! Today, I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link-up.

1. Valentine's Day gifts from John

2. My new Kedzie Gemini Crossbody Bag (I got mine in Botanical)

3. New spring clothes at Target

4. Mini books from Second Story Cards (I have the Dreams and Write S*** Down mini books)

5. This video of kayakers singing to a bride and groom while floating down a river

6. Working on a Project Life layout and an Awesome Ladies Project daily page prompt

7. Without You by Ursine Vulpine & Annaca

8. Your Grief Counselor Should Not Die by Amy Turn Sharp

9. This piece by Ana Falceta

10. Winter Break is finally here!

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Target Finds

Happy Monday! It's time for another Target Finds! As usual, I've found some great things at Target and am here to share them with you. Valentine's Day is almost here, so don't be surprised to see some Valentine's Day-themed items.

Toddler Boys' Short Sleeve Chest Striped Pocket T-Shirt

I was on the hunt for a picture day outfit for Raphael. I came across this T-shirt and loved it. It's true to size and is so soft. I also love that it reminds me of spring. I also found and bought a pair of jeans to pair with the T-shirt. You can see them here. 

Valentine's Day Shark Mailbox Paper Craft Kit

Valentine's Day is in a couple of days, and I needed to get a Valentine's mailbox for Raphael. I couldn't find a ready-made box that only required to be decorated, and I should have bought one weeks ago, but that's ok because I did find this shark mailbox kit. I haven't put it together yet, but it'll get done.

Heart-Shaped Frosted Donuts

This was an impulse buy. I had plans to buy donuts on a Friday after work as a treat, but I decided that I deserved a mid-week treat after finding these donuts. They were okay, and the boys loved them. They were fresh, and the chocolate frosting/icing was good.

Dashing Diva Gloss Ultra Shine Gel Nail Art Palette

I had my eyes on these nail strips for a while and decided to buy them. I haven't tried them yet, but I really love the designs, and they seem simple enough to apply. I'll have to give a review once I actually do try them.

What are some of your favorite Target finds?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

Happy Saturday! Today I'm linking up with Charlotte, Lindsay, and Beth for their weekly happy and grateful list link up.

1. New arcs that I was hoping to get (Really excited to read I'll Just Be Five More Minutes by Emily Farris)

2. Buying Valentine's Day gifts

3. Starbucks' new Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Crème Frappuccino

4. Spring-ish weather

5. My scrapbooking supplies from Studio Calico arrived!

6. Making mummy brownies with Raphael

7. Discovering new-to-me artists

8. Cadbury TimeOut Roundies

9. Great conversations with my coworkers

10. Never Let Me Go by Ursine Vulpine

What made you happy this week?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

February Goals

Happy Monday! We're a few days into February, and I am glad it's no longer January. Although January started off great and is my birthday month, the middle and end of the month were rough. The beginning of the month was very promising. It's the start of a new year, getting back into a routine, celebrating another year around the sun...all good things. We also celebrated the 100th day of school, and my oldest son received an award. 

The not-so-good...I started to feel unsettled. I have some big decisions to make regarding the next steps in my career, and as I've said before (or at least I'm pretty sure I did), these are good things, but having so many different options is starting to stress me out. On top of being stressed about these decisions, Raphael got Covid at the end of the month. Like literally, on the last day of January, he was diagnosed with COVID-19. Thankfully, he is doing much better and was only really sick that first day. It amazes me how resilient kids are...I mean, the kid was still running around even with a fever.

Now, it's February, and things are slowly returning to normal. This unsettled feeling is still there, but it's starting to go away. I'm feeling hopeful, grateful, and slightly more at ease.

I have some new goals and am looking forward to many good things this month. Since I've mentioned goals, let's check out my new goals for February and quickly recap how I did with my January goals.

Recap of January Goals

• Read 2 books: I read 12 books in January. My favorite reads for January are That's So New York by Dan Saltzstein, Worry Lines: You're Doing Really Well Given the Circumstances by Worry Lines, and How to Baby by Liana Finck.

• Complete my 2023 December Daily: I still need to complete my December Daily album, but I did work on it. I finally got my photos; I just need to add my journaling.

• Work on my Project Life album: I did work on my Project Life album and had so much fun using my Stories by the Month kit. 

• Watch a new (or new-to-me) movie or TV series: I didn't watch TV, but there are a few movies and series that I'm looking forward to watching this month. I'm really looking forward to watching Orion and the Dark with the boys. I'm also searching for a good documentary, so if you have any recommendations, please send them my way.

• Journal at least once a week: I completely forgot about this goal, but I did work in my new Yellow Paper House watercolor pocket travelers notebook. I wouldn't say that I journaled at least once a week, but I am happy that I did journal (I guess art journaled) a lot.

• Work on at least one creative project a week: I worked on something creative every week. Sometimes, that was working on my Project Life album, December Daily, creative writing (i.e., Exhale blog hop, prompts, etc.), and layouts for the ALP team.

• Participate in Exhale's January blog hop: I participated in Exhale's blog hop. You can read my piece here.

• Try 1 new recipe: I honestly can't remember if I tried a new one, so I'm just going to say that I didn't. 

February Goals

• Read 3 books

• Read 2 books I borrowed from the library

• Work on my Project Life album

• Watch a new (or new-to-me) movie or TV series

• Try 1 new recipe

• Go for a walk on the Silver Comet Trail at least once a week

• Participate in Exhale's February blog hop

• Complete February: Five Things challenge/class

What are your goals for February? How did you do in January?

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash

January 2024 // A List

January, January, January...

My oh my

What a month you were.

You came in strong.

And I was excited.

January is always a busy and exciting month.

It's one of my favorites because it's the start of a new year.

It's also my birthday month.

A month full of celebrating.

This year, the month started off great. 

The middle of the month...a bit shaky.

The end of the month was rough.

It's odd how hopeful I felt...

Only to then feel unsettled.

This month was a test of balancing my personal and work life.

A test on taking care of myself and focusing on my needs.

I made sure to remember my word for the year and nourish my body.

Reading books, going for walks on the Silver Comet Trail, and crafty projects helped soothe my soul.

And ease the unsettled feeling that came in waves throughout the end of the month.

The end of the month found our family finally having to battle COVID-19.

I learned a lot of lessons in January.

And received a lot of encouraging words and hugs.

And for that, I am grateful.

The support was most welcome.

Some things didn't go as planned, but January was still great.

Spending time with my family and celebrating another year around the sun

Spending time in nature, clearing my mind, and getting closer to making some big decisions regarding my career 

These were some of the highlights of the month.

January was a long and busy month.

Full of so many emotions

It'll definitely be a month that I won't forget.

But I will say that I'm glad that the month is over.

So goodbye, January. 

Hello, February. Please be easy on me.

Here's to hoping for some peace and rest.

Photo by Magda Pawluczuk on Unsplash