Last year, I started to get into the habit of making goals.The idea was a little foreign to me. It was something I associated with business men or entrepreneurial women. Not something a stay at home mom and part time blogger would do. But now I am so grateful to those who inspired me to set goals and for Laura Casey’s Powersheetsthat helped me define what those goals should be in my life. I have seen real progress over the last year and in this season of life I have more free time to explore some of the projects I had to put on the back burner when I had babies and toddlers in the house. So for my progress, for my extra time and for the grace of God that helps me put in the effort, I am truly grateful. 🙂
Last month I shared with you my September goals and now it is time to review those goals and make new ones for October.
My main big goals do not change but my mini-goals change depending on the areas I need to work on the most. So here is a summary of my progress and my mini goals for October.
* * *
Main Goal #1: To always have God at the center of my life and to deepen my love for Him. I want his will to be my will and motivation.
September Mini-Goals Reviewed
Continue with the 15 minutes of prayer in the morning until it becomes second nature. – I have been doing well at keeping my morning devotional time, although it still does not come easy. I have to “force” myself to stop and spend quiet time with God before I tackle my To Do list.
Print out and memorize the “Come Holy Spirit” Prayer. – Yes, I printed it out and made it into a bookmarker and printable, which you can download here. It really helped in learning it. 🙂
Continue with the 15 minutes of prayer in the morning until it becomes second nature.
Substitute a half-hour (or so) of watching TV or listening to music with something of greater substance, like listening to an uplifting podcast or reading a devotional/ spiritual book.
Get away from the regular routine for a bit and go to the chapel for prayer and confession.
* * *
Main Goal #2: To be a loving and holy wife to Brian and to work at keeping our marriage strong, to nurture our friendship and spend time alone to reconnect.
September Mini-Goals Reviewed
Continue to plan weekly date nights and monthly out of the house dates. – Going well. We have an out of house date planned for this weekend. 🙂
Continue to work on having the home picked up and my attitude in check so Brian comes home to respite and not chaos. – Mostly good. There were a few days when I was a volcanic mess about to erupt but that wasn’t the norm.
When Brian gets me upset, still treat him with respect and not like he is another one of my kids. – Hmm…I think I have been better. I’d have to ask Brian (or maybe the kids) for an honest review.) 😉
October Mini-Goals Reviewed
Continue to plan weekly date nights and monthly out of the house dates.
Make a conscious effort to thank Brian more when he does something for me or the kids and not just take it for granted.
Let Brian help me out when he offers and stop acting like he can’t do it the way I would do it. Let him have his own way of doing things. (I’ll tell you right now, that one is going to be tough!)
* * *
Main Goal #3: To be a good mother that loves her kids and spends time with them and is not always “too busy.” I want to teach them about their faith and how to love and serve God in their young lives.
September Mini-Goals Reviewed
Revise the kids chore charts now that school is back in session. – Done. For the most part they have been doing a great job at pitching in and doing their chores, even though some unnamed kiddo may give the a drama queen a run for her money during chore time.
Do what dinner prep I can in the early afternoon so I can spend an hour in the late afternoon helping the kids with their homework. – This still needs serious work. The busy afternoons of multiple school pick ups, driving to and from appointments and practices, getting chores done, homework started and dinner on the table is the toughest part of the day. I definitely need to work on this more.
Incorporate three feast days into the family life to help the kids better appreciate the fullness of the faith. This month it will be Mary’s birthday on the 8th, the feast day of St. Matthew on the 21st and feast of the Archangels on the 29th. (This one may be a little ambition but I’m going to add it anyway.) – I think this is the goal I am most excited about! Our evening before bed time is almost as hectic as our afternoon time but on Mary’s feast day I wanted to start evening family prayer time. I thought we could have a little time for prayer, intentions and say a decade of the rosary. It went so well, we did it the following night and the night after that and every night since. It is the perfect way to end the kids’ day and for Brian and I to start our evening. I’ll share more about it on a separate post next week. 🙂
October Mini-Goals
Continue to work on doing what dinner prep I can in the early afternoon so I can spend an hour in the late afternoon helping the kids with their homework.
Get the boys involved in Just Run at school and take walks as a family on the weekend.
* * *
Main Goal #4: To bring order into our home so I am not stressed out by the mess and chaos. When things are organized our family life runs smoother and there is more peace.
September Mini-Goals Reviewed
Fill in my new planner for Sept 2015 – Aug 16. – Done and done, baby. I share my planner here.
Spend some time in the evening working on Mystie’s course Simplified Organization. – I actually put that course on hold to take Mystie’s other course Work the Plan. It had to do with working on goals and how to make those goals happen in a way that suits your family. That is what I have already been working on here and I’d love more direction and tips. I started it at the end of September so this will be ongoing for awhile.
October Mini-Goals
I’ve been slacking on my meal planning and going to the store too often so back to weekly meal plans on Sunday.
Spend time on the weekends with Mystie’s Work the Plan course. I have a full calendar in October so the weekends will be the only times I can have a little extra time for this.
* * *Main Goal #5 – To take care of myself physically, spiritually and mentally so I can be a happy and healthy wife, mother and friend. Taking care of myself mentally also means challenging myself to come out of my comfort zone and facing my fears and trying new things.
September Mini-Goals Reviewed
Track my eating. – Big fat NO. Grr.
Plan a blogging schedule. – This is still a work in progress.
Spend a few minutes a day just writing and getting thoughts down on paper. It doesn’t have to be for a post but just to keep the process flowing. Use the Listers Gotta List challenge for inspiration. – For the most part, yes.
Record more scopes on Periscope. – I never got to this.
October Mini-Goals
Once summer is over I tend to drink less so this month more H2O and take my vitamins. (So easy to do yet I always forget!)
Complete the #write31days blogging challenge and write a post each day on my topic – 31 Days of Gratitude.
Complete the Lisa’s online class #LoveYourLettering about how to love your own handwriting and learn the basics of hand lettering. (I started here.)
Okay, I think those are all doable but if I get even half done I’d be happy. 😉
What about you? What is the one thing that you really want to work on this month?
Hey guys, I haven’t been around my little online home lately and I thought I’d do a quick catch up on what’s going on here now that September is just about to end. What the what?? Well, I should have known that October was almost here since a number of stores already have Christmas decor (!) but that’s a whole other post. 😉 Right now, I’m just touching base on what I’ll be working on over the next month in case you want to join me before September ends! 🙂
The kids have been back in school for a month now and I’ve been trying to carve out an hour a day to work on some projects that have been sitting on the back burner for the longest time. Here are a few things I will be tacking this October 2015.
31 Days of Writing
Last year I participated in the 31 Days of writing, which is a challenge to bloggers to post 31 days in a row on one topic. Last year I did 31 Days of Gratitudewith photos and (mostly short) posts. It was a good exercise to get me used to writing more, taking more photos and to pause and be thankful for the blessings God has given me or to look at a difficult situation and see the good in it.
The project is difficult enough to challenge me but not so hard that I would fail after the first couple of days.
Are you a blogger? Will you be participating? Even if you aren’t, there are a lot of great topics. Check out the categoriesand I guarantee you’ll find a blogger talking about a topic that is of interest to you.
31 Days to Love Your Letting
One of the bloggers participating in 31 Days is Lisa from Creativlei.com. I first got to know Lisa though her Periscopes. She is one of those ladies that just has a loving, generous and creative spirit. She does lovely hand lettering (which I’d describe as is a broader and more creative form of calligraphy) and she will be teaching an online classon how to love your own handwriting and learn the basics of hand lettering. The classes are short and can be done in 10 – 15 minutes to it is really doable with my busy schedule.
I’ve been wanting to learn how to hand letter for years but never really took the time and effort to go beyond a few doodles. Well, that changes this months since I signed up for the (free!) class. Lisa will be posting on her blog and doing live Periscopes to answer questions and show you samples of what we’re learning. So what do you think? Shall we learn together?
Work the Plan
Okay, well that covers the more creative side to my personality but I am also working on making the time to be creative. I have found that even though I have a little more free time I also have so much on my plate that I don’t know where to start. I’ll spend too much time on things that are secondary and then forget to do the things that are mandatory. The situation has gotten so much better since I’ve been making big goals and breaking them down in to smaller goals but I am ready to take it a step further and streamline my planning so there is less “busy work” and more progress.
Cue the lovely Mystie Winckler. Mystie has created a new online course called Work the Plan that “is a streamlined productivity class for moms that will walk you through setting up a system with synergy and the habits to keep it going.” The classes are broken down in short videos that walk you through creating a plan (if you don’t already have one) or streamlining your plan to make it more doable. It is a good introductory class before jumping into the more in-depth Simplified Organization course. You can follow the course at your own pace so 15 minutes a day has been doable for me.
Technically the course doen not start until January 2016 BUT you can join early by September 30th (tomorrow!) at a reduced rate. ($32 instead of $49.)
Well, those are the projects I have set up for next month. It should easily fit into one hour a day, unless I do a longer gratitude post.
The month of October is either going to push me to reach higher than I thought possible or drive me to drown my sorrows in chocolate chip cookies. Here’s to working towards a win! (I just watching Lord of the Ring with my son Andrew, who had never seen it before, and I am pumped to go on this journey and face my own fires of Mordor by putting in the effort to persevere, rather than giving up when it gets too tough. Wish me luck. 🙂
Last year, I started to get into the habit of making goals. I shared with you my summer goals and now that summer has flown by it is time to review those goals and make new ones for September.This month is actually my favorite month to work on goals because after all the less organized, playful days of summer and with the kids return to school, I am ready and energized to tackle some of the needed areas of my life.
My main big goals do not change but my mini-goals change depending on the areas I need to work on the most. This summer although I did not accomplish everything I had planned, there was enough real progress to feel like a made some big strides. For one prone to procrastinate and spin her wheels in the ground, that is muy bueno! So here is a summary of my progress and my mini goals for September.
* * *
Main Goal #1: To always have God at the center of my life and to deepen my love for Him. I want his will to be my will and motivation.
Summer Mini-Goals Reviewed
15 minutes of prayer/ journaling in the morn. – This was a little hit and miss. Not great but not terrible. I could definitely use more work on this area.
Turn my mind to God through the day, even if only for a brief moment. – Yes, I have worked on that and have spent more time turning my mind to God.
Memorize the “Come Holy Spirit” Prayer – Yeah, this did not happen.
September Mini-Goals
Continue with the 15 minutes of prayer in the morning until it becomes second nature.
Print out and memorize the “Come Holy Spirit” Prayer.
Main Goal #2: To be a loving and holy wife to Brian and to work at keeping our marriage strong, to nurture our friendship and spend time alone to reconnect.
Summer Mini- Goals Reviewed
Plan weekly at home date night or an hour long outing on the weekend. –Done and done. 🙂
Once a month, plan a longer date with a babysitter. – Yeah, baby. Done. (Thx to visiting family who made this much easier!) 🙂
Have the kids do a quick clean up before Brian comes home so the place doesn’t look like a war zone when he comes home. – Proud to say, Yes!
Bite my tongue and let Brian come home to a kiss from his wife instead of a tirade of all the drama he missed while he was away at work. –Hmmm… maybe 75% of the time. So, it could still use some work but has been better.
September Mini-Goals
Continue to plan weekly date nights and monthly out of the house dates.
Continue to work on having the home picked up and my attitude in check so Brian comes home to respite and not chaos.
When Brian gets me upset, still treat him with respect and not like he is another one of my kids.
* * *
Main Goal #3: To be a good mother that loves her kids and spends time with them and is not always “too busy.” I want to teach them about their faith and how to love and serve God in their young lives.
Summer Mini- Goals Reviewed
Plan a daily time for the kids to read and work on a little school work so they don’t forget everything they learned. – This went okay but not great. Some progress made.
Have screen-free times during the day when the kids must be outside playing or doing something constructive (ie Legos, puzzles etc). No iPhones, iPads, tablets or computers allowed. (Mom included! Gasp!)) – This one was HARD for all involved but it worked. The kids spent way less time on screens, mama included.
Weekly outings – beach day, picnic, library, aquarium etc. – For the most part, yes.
September Mini-Goals
Revise the kids chore charts now that school is back in session.
Do what dinner prep I can in the early afternoon so I can spend an hour in the late afternoon helping the kids with their homework.
Incorporate three feast days into the family life to help the kids better appreciate the fullness of the faith. This month it will be Mary’s birthday on the 8th, the feast day of St. Matthew on the 21st and feast of the Archangels on the 29th. (This one may be a little ambition but I’m going to add it anyway.)
* * *
Main Goal #4: To bring order into our home so I am not stressed out by the mess and chaos. When things are organized our family life runs smoother and there is more peace.
Summer Goals Reviewed
Make a master TO DO list broken down by each room in the house. I have a tendency to work on too many projects at once and I don’t complete any of them. This way I can pick one item on the list, get it done and mark it off. – I never made a master list because I did not have a lot of free time this summer to work on projects. I sorta forgot that summer also means having kids underfoot 24/7! Okay, maybe not at night but by then I am too exhausted for anything other than vegging on the couch!)
Update my freezer and pantry inventory and plan my weekly meals around the items that will be expiring soon. – I never updated the list but I have been eating out of the freezer and using up forgotten food.
My menu planing has grown stale so this past month I have been trying one new recipe a week. (Preferably using my about to expire food.) So far it has worked out well. – Not each week but every couple weeks, yes.
September Mini-Goals
Fill in my new planner for Sept 2015 – Aug 16.
Spend some time in the evening working on Mystie’s course Simplified Organization. (By the way, if you are interested in this course, sign up for her email first. There is a discounted price through the email.)
* * *Main Goal #5 – To take care of myself physically, spiritually and mentally so I can be a happy and healthy wife, mother and friend. Taking care of myself mentally also means challenging myself to come out of my comfort zone and facing my fears.
Summer Mini- Goals Reviewed
Daily hydrate, take vitamins and walk for 20-30 min. Use my Fitbitto keep track. – I’ve been decent on the water, sometimes lacking in the vitamins but rocked the walking. I made it 55 days straight hitting my goal of walking 10,000 steps a day. However, this week I was sick and needed some rest.
Track my eating otherwise I keep underestimating how much I’m eating each day. – Major fail. Lack of weight loss was the proof.
Plan a blogging schedule that allows me time to enjoy what I love each day without going to extremes – spending no time on the blog or getting sucked into a posting rabbit hole. – Postponed. Family life and summer took over any thoughts of blogging.
Plan some girls day out with local mom friends. – Not as many as I had hoped BUT I did co-host a Blessed Brunch so that was awesome. 🙂
Buckle down on my Goodreads’ 2015 Reading Challenge. I pledged 12 books this year. I am in month six but only on book 3. Time for summer reading! – I am in month 9 and have read 7 books so I have a little catching up to do.
September Mini-Goals
Track my eating.
Plan a blogging schedule.
Spend a few minutes a day just writing and getting thoughts down on paper. It doesn’t have to be for a post but just to keep the process flowing. Use the Listers Gotta List challenge for inspiration.
It may seem like too much but in the season of life I am in now I have a little more free time and I can focus on these things. (I remember a time when I rejoiced if I simply was able to shower and not do bodily harm to myself or anyone else before Brian came home.) Each season looks different!
What about you? What is the one thing that you really want to work on this month?
Last year, I started to get into the habit of making goals. Along the way, I purchased Lara Casey’s powersheets. I’ll be honest and tell you there were months I really took the effort to sit down and answer the questions on the worksheets and I narrowed down my goals. And then there were months when they just sat on my desk gathering dust. (I’m looking at you, holiday season.) Despite the off months, I found the sheets really useful in learning more about myself, what I wanted in life and how I could make my goals a reality.
The powersheets run for the course of six months. I am happy with the progress I’ve made but there are still many areas I want to work on more. I ordered the 2015 Powersheets so I could continue my progress over another six months. It was interesting to look back when I started and compare my answers then to my answers now. My main goals did not change but I learned what worked and what needed tweaking. It was encouraging to see how I’ve grown as well see the areas I still need work. So here is a summary of my progress and my main and mini goals for the summer.
* * *
I Am A Daughter of God
Main Goal #1: To always have God at the center of my life and to deepen my love for Him. I want his will to be my will and motivation.
Progress Made…
I’ve done a better job at incorporating the liturgical year into our daily life. I have also gotten into the habit of monthly confession.
Summer Mini-Goals
I don’t know about you but whenever I am on vacation I always tend to let pray slip, as if that were on vacation too. Now that summer is here and my schedules has relaxed, there is no excuse not to fit formal prayer time into my day.
15 minutes of prayer/ journaling in the morn.
Turn my mind to God through the day, even if only for a brief moment.
Memorize the “Come Holy Spirit” Prayer
* * *
I Am A Wife
Main Goal #2: To be a loving and holy wife to Brian and to work at keeping our marriage strong. To do what can to hep him relax and feel like his home is a haven from the world.
Progress Made…
I feel closer to Brian now than I have in our 15 years of marriage. I think the struggle with his cancer brought us closer together and made us realize how much we rely on each other. It has stretched us and brought out our strengths.
I’ve also learned to accept that despite my physical flaws, Brian loves me and thinks I am beautiful. That has allowed me to be open and vulnerable to him physically and emotionally, which has naturally brought us closer.
Summer Mini- Goals
Now that Bella is 13 (almost 14) I am able to leave her alone for an hour or so with the boys. This means that Brian and I can go out for a walk or grab a quick lunch even if our regular babysitter is unavailable.
Plan weekly at home date night or an hour long outing on the weekend.
Once a month, plan a longer date with a babysitter.
Have the kids do a quick clean up before Brian comes home so the place doesn’t look like a war zone when he comes home.
Bite my tongue and let Brian come home to a kiss from his wife instead of a tirade of all the drama he missed while he was away at work.
* * *
I Am A Mom
Main Goal #3: To be a good mother that loves her kids and spends time with them and is not always “too busy.” I want to teach them about their faith and how to love and serve God in their young lives.
Progress Made…
I finally made the kids updated chore charts and gave them jobs that I had always done myself. My sister has always been great at expecting her children to do a lot and they actually do it. I don’t want my kids to grown up messy and lazy so I have been cracking down on chores. I knew the effort was worth it when one school morning I walked to the lunch box shelf and instead of yelling at kids, “Where are all the darn lunch boxes?!” they were there on the shelf, cleaned out and ready to go. Priceless. Some of the kids have really surprised me at just how capable they are. Others still need a lot of direction but that is good for me to learn patience as well. 😉
Summer Mini- Goals
Plan a daily time for the kids to read and work on a little school work so they don’t forget everything they learned.
Have screen-free times during the day when the kids must be outside playing or doing something constructive (ie Legos, puzzles etc). No iPhones, iPads, tablets or computers allowed. (Mom included! Gasp!))
Weekly outings – beach day, picnic, library, aquarium etc.
* * *
I Am A Homemaker
Main Goal #4: To bring order into our home so I am not stressed out by the mess and chaos. When things are organized our family life runs smoother and there is more peace.
Progress Made…
There is not nearly as much progress as I’d like. There are few areas I have tackled but countless messy areas that overshadow them.
Summer Goals
Make a master TO DO list broken down by each room in the house. I have a tendency to work on too many projects at once and I don’t complete any of them. This way I can pick one item on the list, get it done and mark it off.
Update my freezer and pantry inventory and plan my weekly meals around the items that will be expiring soon.
My menu planing has grown stale so this past month I have been trying one new recipe a week. (Preferably using my about to expire food.) So far it has worked out well.
* * *
I Am A Woman
Main Goal #5 – To take care of myself physically, spiritually and mentally so I can be a happy and healthy wife, mother and friend. Taking care of myself mentally also means challenging myself to come out of my comfort zone and facing my fears.
Progress Made…
There is so much to ponder in this area, it could be a post in itself. Six months ago I wanted to come out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to get to know other moms at school or locally. I volunteered to be a room mom, which gave me ample opportunity to spend more time one on one with other adults and to step up instead of hiding in the back ground.
Blogging has given me an outlet to share myself with others and attending the CWBNCA conferencewas huge in helping me grow as a woman and conquering my fears.
For years I have thought of myself in negative terms – overweight, unfit, messy, shy, unintelligent compared to others, etc. I’m starting to realize that these things are not the essence of who I truly am. As I lost a few pounds and got down a dress size I see that I can lose weight and strengthen my body. As I step out of my comfort zone, I realize that the friendly, outgoing (and a little crazy) girl that my family and close friends know can also be known to other people if I let her out more often. Although I am messy and unorganized, I crave order and am delighted when I get something organized. I am seeing that there is an ordered girl trapped in a messy girl’s body and she wants to come out.
My progress comes in recognizing these things and taking the first steps to making it happen.
Summer Mini- Goals
Daily hydrate, take vitamins and walk for 20-30 min. Use my Fitbitto keep track.
Track my eating otherwise I keep underestimating how much I’m eating each day.
Plan a blogging schedule that allows me time to enjoy what I love each day without going to extremes – spending no time on the blog or getting sucked into a posting rabbit hole.
Plan some girls day out with local mom friends.
Buckle down on my Goodreads’ 2015 Reading Challenge. I pledged 12 books this year. I am in month six but only on book 3. Time for summer reading!
It may all seem a bit lofty but working on these smaller steps will keep me headed in the right direction.
What about you? What is the one thing that you really want to work on this summer?
Over the weekend I attended the CWBN (Catholic Women Blogging Network) conference and it may seem like an exaggeration but it was a pivotal moment for me. God wanted to use it to teach me far more than blogging tips but to dig deeper and work on some areas that have been bothering me lately. As my mom would say, it was an opportunity for healing. 🙂 Part of me thinks, do I really want to put all this down in black and white and send it out there for all to see? Another part of me says, it’s good to show not just the pretty and fun but the tears and struggle so someones else will know that they are not alone. I think the easiest way to do that is to just do it journal style. So here we go.
The Months Leading up to CWBNCA.
When I first heard about the upcoming conference in California, I was ecstatic because it was close enough for me to drive and the dates fit into our family schedule. However, as the dates got closer I seriously thought I would not be able to do it since my FIL was not doing well and doubts were filling my mind about meeting friends that have only known me through the screen. What if they meet me and think I’m weird or too old or too fat or too loud or too quiet or too whatever… Normally I am happy and ready to give someone a smile and a hug but sometimes feelings of inadequacy creep in and instead of participating in a group conversation I’ll just smile and nod. My mind will want to respond with a story or something that happened to me and instead I’ll hear a voice that says, “That’s so dumb. No one wants to hear that story. It’s best you just keep quiet.” It doesn’t happen all the time but when it does I feel like an introverted extrovert. So I worried that those negative thoughts would make me spend the weekend sitting quietly in the corner. But recalling, sweet Hallie’s battle cry to love fearlessly, I pushed the doubts aside. My enthusiasm returned and I was counting down the days.
Thursday
Attendees were posting photos of what they were wearing on Saturday. I posted my mine too.
I started packing for the weekend in typical Bobbi fashion, the day before I had to leave. In the morning I pulled out outfits from my closet and tried things on. Everything was blah, blah, blah. For those of you who have been reading about my health goals, I wanted to lose another 10 by the conference and I was well on my way until Easter came. Darn you, Reeses’ s peanut butter eggs! My total weight loss is small in comparison to my goal but there was enough if it to need a size down in some of my favorites. Since it was a Thursday, the kids were all in school (at least until noon when the younger ones were out) so I jumped in the car and went to the local shopping center to see if I could find something to wear on Saturday. Since we were getting head shots taken, I needed to look a little put together. I debated about dressing up but I’m just a jeans kinda girl so I went with it. I found cute jeans at Macy’s, a orange tank at Old Navy and a short white sweater (YES! WHITE, anathema to moms with young children!) at Khol’s. I tried them on and everything clicked. I felt like me, not me dressing up pretending to be someone else or me stuck in clothes I hate because I couldn’t find anything else that fit me right. Score.
I dug into my closet and found some cute shoes I hardly wore. They were open toed flats and begged for painted toe nails. I know this is going to sound weird but I don’t paint my nails and have never painted my toe nails. But this was a going to be a historic weekend so that evening I raided Bella’s polish collection and sat down to pretty up. Brian gave me a dumbfounded look that said, “WHAT the heck are you doing?” I told him this weekend I just want to feel like a girl! As opposed to?? Am exhausted mom with peanut butter on her shirt, broken fishy crackers in her purse and sore feet from stepping on Legos all day. This was my mini-vacay!
Friday Morning
I felt bad leaving Brian alone with the kids for three days but I left him with the essentials – a rosary, bottle of wine and chocolate. 😉
By Friday morning I was so excited. Self-doubt be damned, I was going to have a good time! But saying goodbye to the kids left me a little teary. Matthew clung to my leg and John-Paul shed tears as he said he’d miss me. Andrew kept blinking back his tears but was putting on a brave face. Bella and Brian didn’t want to see me go but I think they understood that I needed this little get away.
I decided to take Highway 101 South for the journey. It landed out adding an extra 1/2 an hour but driving along the ocean made every minute worth it! Everything went smoothly and I arrived at my hotel without a problem.
Friday Late Afternoon
A few of us had made plans to meet up for dinner and a movie later that evening so I took the time to just relax until it was time to go.
Friday Evening
Meagan, Kendra, Emmy, Micaela, and me. I love this photo but I have to laugh because, first, I am so short compared to the others and, second, I look like a tag-along Mertz who photobombs the shot. 😉 (Photo courtesy of Emmy’s bestie.)
I headed down to Poquito Mas for dinner and was the first to arrive. I sat their nervously until Meagan came. Her warm smile and friendliness put me at ease and we chatted and laughed until the door blew open and in walked the queen of Catholic blogging mamas, Kendra from Catholic All Year. At her side was the incredible Micaela from California to Korea. My mind was officially blown! I mean deep down I knew they are just moms and bloggers and awesome women and not “famous” BUT they were famous in my world and it took a few minutes to snap me out of it and not be tongue tied. We had fun sharing stories over tacos and salsa.
From there we headed to the theater to watch Little Boy. Micaela knew some of the people involved in making it and we wanted to support their efforts. Emmy and her best friend were saving us seats. We chatted a little more then enjoyed the show. It was a sweet movie that had a lot of tender moments. I’ll do a review later but for now, let’s just say that Emmy and I went through a heck of a lot of tissues!
Saturday Morning
I didn’t sleep very well that night and my allergies were really bothering me. My eyes were bloodshot and Visine was not working but I was still excited to start the day. I spent some time in prayer and the day’s devotion from Blessed Is Shewas perfect. What really hit home was the following:
So my challenge to you is to discover your gifts. Pay attention to what it is that makes you feel the most excited about your faith and keep doing it! If you feel like your spouse or a loved one has a particular gift, let them know as they might be afraid to share it with others. And as you’re reflecting on your own gifts today, think about these words from Saint Catherine of Siena as she says, “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.”
The quote from Catherine of Sienna is one of my favorite quotes! It was as if God was reminding me to be brave and just be myself.
I dressed and headed out to Kendra’s house, which was lovely! She removed the furniture from her family room and set up chairs for some of the talks. However, the introductions were out in the backyard. Everything was set up so pretty!
Kendra made cookie as name cards.
There was a directory of participants (smart!), a beautiful print from Blessed Is She and a pretty notebook to take notes. As I walked around, it was the oddest sensation to see faces I recognized and to have people come up and hug me and say they felt like they already know me. I am big on family and sisterhood and the level of sisterhood at the event was incredible. I never felt so comfortable with a group of Catholic women in all my life. Even with the ones, I did not know well, there was already an instant connection.
I was so excited to finally meet Karianna (left)! Out of all the attendees I’ve been online friends with her the longest. 🙂 Amber (middle) was someone I just met that day. She immediately won me over and by the end of the day I felt like she was my long lost bestie. The name of her blog alone guaranteed I’d love her – Laundry Is Never Done.com! 😉
A group shot of all of us.
Kendra (the host) and Micaela (the coordinator) started off the introductions. I cannot tell you how moved I am by all the work and preparation these ladies put together to make this such a special weekend! After we enjoyed some refreshments and introduced ourselves to each other we joined together in prayer.
It was beautiful to hear everyone join together in one voice as lifted our heart and prayers to Our Lord through Our Lady.
Next up, we went into the house for Kendra presentation. She shared her image making skills using PicMonkey. I use PicMonkey for all my photos yet there were still a couple of tricks that were new to me.
My PicMonkey fave tip: Use the color eyedropper to match the exact colors you want and choose a color pallet that suits your blog design. You can make those your signature colors for uniformity. Next up was Kristin from This Inspired Life. TIL is in my Top 5 Podcasts so it was interesting to hear what she had to say. I can’t wait to see how many of the bloggers decided to give podcasting a try as well! (I’m looking at you, Mary Ruth!)
My fave podcast tip: The most recommended IOS app for listening to podcasts is Overcast.
Towards the end of the talk, the room started smelling really good with a Panera lunch waiting for us. I have never tried their food before but they just opened one where we live so I’ll be taking Brian for a lunch date soon!
My fave lunch tip – Try the asiago steak sandwich. It is delish!
About half way through lunch, our four speakers led a panel discussion where we could ask blogging questions and get their input.
My fave personal tip – Pay more attention to the panel and stop spending so much time posting play by play photos on Instagram. 😉
In between all the activities, the amazing photographer Jiza of Olive and Cypress took head shots of all the participants.
After lunch, Micaela shared her story about how she started blogging and her struggles with feelings of pride. She shared how God helped her to over come it and she closed her moving testimony by praying the Litany of Humility with us.
My favorite quote – “We don’t get a free pass to not use our gifts but we have to keep it in perspective.”
Afterwards, we found out about the earthquake in Nepal. We paused to say a decade of the rosary for all the victims.
Next up was the beloved Catholic evangelizing super hero Jenna from Blessed Is She. She shared her stellar social media skills.
My fave Facebook tip – Make a Facebook group for your blog instead of just a FB page. That way your posts will show up in the group members’ feeds more often.
My fave Pinterest tip – Make a “Best of” board for all your best blog posts AND make your blog post logos uniform so when people see them, they know right away it is a post from you. (She recommended Cristina’s board/photos as a good example.)
My fave Twitter tip – Make conversation. Don’t just be a link dropper.
My fave Instagram tip – Figure out what your favorite “look” is and keep your photos cohesive using that look. (She recommended Grace’s post about using Afterlight.)
The final presenter of the day was Andrea Boring, who made the gorgeous CWBN website. She shared that after fourteen years away from the church, her reversion back was sparked by a single social media post.
My fave quote – “We’re all called to be disciples. Our voice is important. It is up to us to use it for the glory of God.”
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At this point my head and heart was so full I could nearly bust! Besides all the amazing info and testimonies, the friendships were hands down the best part. I no longer have to say my “online friend” but can just say my friend because we have officially met in real life! Here are some random shots of some of those new friends. 🙂
Saturday Evening
The conference was officially over for the night but the majority of us wanted to go out together for dinner. I was feeling tired and my head ached but I really wanted to go too so we headed to California Pizza. I sat next to Micaela, Amber and Kristin. We ate and chatted but I wasn’t feeling great. Maybe the previous sleepless night was catching up with me but I wasn’t super talkative and my mind started playing tricks on me. This is crazy but I swear the devil was attacking me. As I was talking to Micaela thoughts would run through my head like this: “Micaela is so intelligent and interesting, she’s going to think I’m an idiot. Was that a “look” she just gave me? She’s going to wish I sat over there instead. What am I even doing here? These women are so much better than me. I feel like a loser…” Ack!!! What the heck?? Get thee behind me, Satan! And get me to bed because I clearly need sleep.
I said my good byes and tried to get some sleep. Unfortunately, a neighboring traveler had a herd on tweens who were running up and down the stairs and at one point around 11pm one of the kids was banging on my door. His sister (I presumed) yelled at him that his mom was in another room. Meanwhile my other hotel neighbor must have had too much to drink because I could hear him getting sick. It was no bueno! Thank God I finally drifted off to sleep.
Sunday
On Sunday morning I woke up feeling better. My head ache was gone and although my eyes were still red and itching (this always happens when I visit So Cal!) I felt good. As I was taking a shower I was thinking about all the things I had learned on Saturday. I also kept thinking about the movie we watched Little Boy. The premise of the whole storyline was the Scripture, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will be able to say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)
God was speaking to my heart, that I may feel as small and insignificant as a tiny mustard seed in the grand scheme of things, but when I put my faith and trust in him, when I let go of fear and choose love, joy and courage, then He can do miraculous things. I may never see them but I can trust that the Holy Spirit will take care of everything. I just need to keep myself docile in His hands.
All weekend I kept hearing the message over and over in my head, “God wants to use your voice. God desires your gifts. You have a special place in God’s plan…” Tears started running down my face, even now as I am typing, they are escaping me again. As much as I mess up and despite all my shortcomings, God sees me as his beautiful daughter. He sees someone made in his image. He sees what I could accomplish if only I’d let go of the chains that bind me down. It is hard to see myself like that but God is slowly peeling back the layers. He is showing me the rotten that needs to be cut out and the good that needs to be nurtured so it can bloom. It is scary as all hell but also liberating! Blessed be God. 🙂
Well, after that enlightening 15 minute shower/retreat, I got dressed and as I was searching through my makeup bag for a barrette, I found Lego Spidey hiding in there. Aw, I missed my babies but knew I would see them by the end of the day. I finished dressing and headed to the San Fernando Mission.
The Mission is beautiful!
After Mass, a few of us headed into the gift shop. I wanted to pick out something that would remind me of this weekend.
I saw this and knew it was the perfect reminder.
My driving buddy Amber joined me again and we headed to Kendra’s house for brunch. It was fun to see some of the husbands and young kids there and match them up to the wives/moms.
After breakfast there was one short closing talk given by Jenny Cook. She shared how she started reading Catholic blogs when she was a Protestant. She reached out to specific bloggers to answer her questions and she was moved by how the Catholic blogoshere embraced her and accepted her her into the community. She was moved not only by the blogs that specifically shared about the faith and apologetics but was also touched by blogs about daily life as a Catholic. Ultimately Jenny joined the church and her kids were just baptized a couple weeks ago. She reminded us all that you never know who is reading your blog and that God can use your words to change lives. It was the perfect ending to the conference!
I gave my last hugs and said my good byes. Jenna, who is almost a foot taller than me, was sitting down so I took a quick selfie so we’d be at eye level. LOL. I love this girl! She is like a younger sister. She is just on fire for God and sisterhood community!
Although I don’t have a photo, my last hug was from Micaela. Her hug, her smile, her kind words to me was a healing balm to my heart. It was God’s final reminder of the weekend to let go of the crazy thoughts and embrace the love that is before me. (Thanks, Micaela. You have no idea how much your presence meant to me this weekend!)
On my way out the famous red door, Kendra suggested we all pose for a WIWS (What I Wore Sunday). A few of us were in traveling clothes (like me) but we were happy to oblige.
The drive home went smoothly and relatively quickly. I lifted my phone and took this shot without looking. It wasn’t until I got home that I saw how pretty it was, despite the dirty windshield. 😉
When I got home I was greeted by these cute faces. They kissed me and clung to me not wanting to let go. It was so sweet. I am so thankful for this time. I am thankful for my sweet husband for letting me go. Even more than the book knowledge, the self -knowledge and the community I experienced was truly priceless! I can’t wait until CWBNCA 2016!! Sign me up! 😉
Oh, and I only mentioned a small handful of bloggers but I met so many incredible women! Next I’ll post a list of the participants and put links to those who have conference recaps as well. 🙂
The 31 Day of Writing Challenge continues. It’s Day 9 of my 31 Days of Gratitude 2015.
Main Goal #1: To always have God at the center of my life and to deepen my love for Him. I want his will to be my will and motivation.
Main Goal #2: To be a loving and holy wife to Brian and to work at keeping our marriage strong, to nurture our friendship and spend time alone to reconnect.
Main Goal #3: To be a good mother that loves her kids and spends time with them and is not always “too busy.” I want to teach them about their faith and how to love and serve God in their young lives.
Main Goal #4: To bring order into our home so I am not stressed out by the mess and chaos. When things are organized our family life runs smoother and there is more peace.
Main Goal #5 – To take care of myself physically, spiritually and mentally so I can be a happy and healthy wife, mother and friend. Taking care of myself mentally also means challenging myself to come out of my comfort zone and facing my fears and trying new things.
