2020 Vision

jumping into 2020 like... 

I may not have 2020 vision, but I definitely see myself making 2020 vision jokes for the next year.

Happy 2020! I hope 2019 treated you well and I hope 2020 treats you better. 

2019 was a good and kinda weird year. I kicked off the year being sick for over a month, which meant the year could only get better from there! Casey and I had some fun adventures, like camping and hiking. I learned to sew (I made seven skirts last year and started on my eighth). We adopted two cats. (Click here to meet Tigger. Below is a pic of Sushi and I'll do a post about him soon!) I started working at the local library, quit working at the local library, and started editing again for a company I love!

Casey and I sat down the other day over tea and coffee and laid out some goals for 2020. (I'll do a 2019 goals recap in a few days! You can see those goals here.) These are some of the things we are working on, but we have a few more things that I'd rather not share on the internet, ha! 

One thing I learned this year was about SMART goals. My bestie is a life coach helps people make and reach goals that are attainable and reasonable. Here's what SMART stands for:

• Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
• Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
• Achievable (agreed, attainable).
• Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
• Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

Using this criteria has helped us to make clearer goals, such as "Plan two date nights a month" instead of "Go on more dates." I highly recommend Googling SMART goals to learn more!

Marriage

• Make sure to have at least one six-second kiss every day. (Science says that it takes six seconds of kissing for the brain to release oxytocin, which is the hormone responsible for connection. We got this info from @dearyoungmarriedcouple, which is a must-follow Instagram account!)
• Two planned date nights each month. We're the worst at planning date nights, so we decided to do better about it! Each of us will plan one date a month.
• I'm making a personal goal to do better at expressing my expectations. I realize I get most upset in our marriage when my expectations aren't met, but how is Casey even supposed to know what I expect when I don't explain it to him? This one will take some work to remember, but I know will be worth it!

Going Green

• Continue using reusable shopping bags, coffee mugs, water bottle, real china and silverware, limiting paper towel use, and refusing plastic straws. Maybe I ought to do a post on this!
• Figure out what to do about recycling. Our recycling pick up has been discontinued in Hammond and I absolutely refuse to pay for pick up, especially considering how awful the pick up was before. We will try to take our recycling to the center on the two available days each month. If you can't tell, I'm super bitter about this. However, maybe it will give me the push to rethink what I was recycling in the first place. Is it something I can do without? Can I purchase eggs in a paper carton that can be composted instead of recycled? This may take some creativity but I know we can do it!
• Shop at the farmers market regularly. We love doing this and want to do even better!

Personal

• Be a better friend. Yes, again! I am so grateful for the friendships I cultivated last year and want to be more purposeful in this. I know I have a lot on my plate right now, so I've made a date with myself in March to sit down and figure out ways I can better connect with my friends, like monthly coffee or lunch dates.
• Read at least one non-fiction book per month. I might make my yearly book goal around 30. Haven't decided yet.
• Create a cleaning schedule for the year. Yeah, this was on my list last year and didn't happen. Oops.
• Complete at least one sewing project per month. I'm already working on my first one! I want to tackle making a dress. I tried last year but ran into some complications and want to try again!

Spiritual

• Read a new Bible plan! Casey and I are doing this together! We are also going to make a habit of praying together daily.
• We are also excited to work on the Grand Finale together. The Grand Finale is a blacklight performance at our annual VBS. Casey has created and directed the Grand Finale for several years now, and I got to help him last year! We hope to have the creative side done by May and are making a schedule to keep us on time.
• Play more worship music at home. We got an Echo Dot for Christmas which is making this way easy! 

I may not have 2020 vision, but I can definitely see that 2020 is going to be a great year!