AUGUST! That's wild. I kind of dislike the constant "wow time is flying" refrain that it's so easy to have when catching up with a friend or making small talk, but really . . . the summer has blown past me in the blink of an eye.
I feel so much potential in this month. It's my last full month of being in my current job, the last full month of summer, and the last month before our almost 8,000-mile road trip. We leave four weeks from Saturday and I am so. beyond. excited. More than anything else, I want to feel ready for the trip, and that's my biggest goal for this month. When we hit the road on September 2, I want to have gotten to a point where I feel like I can "leave my life behind" for a month and not have to put out any fires or worry about anything going on. My car will be in storage, my work will be on pause, my apartment will be in ship shape, and Grace's and my hearts will be open for the adventure to come. Even though my to-do list for the trip seems to grow daily, I know that the only way to accomplish it all is to simplify and prune the weeds from my days in order to make the things that matter happen. August, I am so excited for all of the preparation you will hold!
First, how I did on my July goals:
- Book accommodations for a friend's wedding we're going to be roadtripping to in the fall -- yes! So excited.
- Make an "essentials" plan and budget for Alaska (water, gasoline, non-perishables, Canadian car insurance, etc.) -- somewhat; not totally. But, that's one of the things Grace and I are going to spend some quiet time doing on our vacation this weekend.
- Enjoy a family vacation that I could NOT be more excited for in my favorite place on earth--my dad's 60th birthday and the Fourth of July are one day apart, so it worked out perfectly for us to all be together and celebrate -- done & done! And I wish I could go back and relive it! Recap here.
- Use early mornings as a time to exercise, and plan it in advance -- not as much as I would have liked, because I ended up getting pretty sick this month, but I kind of got into a rhythm with this
- Plan a day trip somewhere we've never been for one of the weekends when we're both in town (one of my Summer 2017 goals) -- Grace ended up being out of town WAY more than expected this month, so I didn't go anywhere with her. I planned a day trip to Newport Beach with my friend Tina that I ended up having to cancel because I got sick :( So, illness thwarted some of my goals this month, but I am giving myself grace on that!
And now, my August goals:
- Simplify and prepare my work/home/heart for ALASKA!
- Match quiet nights to read, journal, and rest with early mornings to exercise (on nights that I stay in, I wake up early the next day!)
- Leave my job, and my replacement hire, equipped and with a clean slate
- Set up my new phone to sync with my car bluetooth, transfer notes and photos, and set up my email (this could probably take some people an afternoon . . . but these things are challenging for me so it has to be a monthly goal, haha!)
- Host Grace's sweet parents for a week in LA
- Spend at least a few minutes of each day in silence (inspired by this article I read recently)
Happy first day of August, friends! All of my monthly goal blog posts can be found here.