Category: goals

:2019 word of the year:

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I felt it appropriate to use my first post of the year to announce my Word of the Year. Last year my word was Create, and boy did it create things in our lives. We bought a house, became homesteaders, put down roots for the first time in six years, and started to create the life we have been dreaming of for more than sixteen years!

This year my word is:

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We never really expected to settle in California. To tell the truth this property kinda blindsided us. But now, now is the time when we need to get real about it. We will soon be seeing our first year on the homestead, and we want to this property to be the homestead we always dreamed of. So far, it has been mostly about clean up and getting to know the land. I’ve been writing down a wishlist of what I want to see here: a potage, fix all the fencing, keep cleaning up the lower half of the property, build a guest cabin in the back…Lots of ideas. Going forward, I want to make sure I take action to get things going. There is a LOT I don’t know. I spend time reading and watching YouTube videos to gather ideas on things which may work for us.

So, going forward, I am approaching each day with intention. This is not going to be a quick or necessarily easy path. I just need to keep focused on what I want and move forward with that intention in mind.

Good morning!

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Finally. FINALLY! I’m back.

Hello, dear blog. I’m so sorry I’ve neglected this space, but I had my reasons. Please, hear me out.

You see, dear readers, I (and D) have had a dream for a very long time. We have dreamt of a place where we could breath the fresh air. A place where wildlife is but a step away. A place were we could grow food, tend to our own animals, and let our children roam the land. A place were the city lights are far enough away to see the Milky Way stretched out above our heads on a clear night.

A little homestead where we could steward the natural beauty around us.

We always thought we would find that place once we returned to the East Coast. We have searched Landwatch and United Country for years, looking for the perfect place.

However, we knew with D’s job, that staying in the Bay Area would be a smarter move until we were ready to retire to our country dream.

But, have you seen the prices of rent and mortgages around here?! Oh! They are crazy. Just. Nuts.

Then, we were given the golden opportunity to live in a tiny (800 sq ft) cottage in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We loved the last two years there. D was able to work in town, but we were able to enjoy the quiet of country life.

Then, one day we were clicking around on Zillow last fall, as one is wont to do *cough, cough*, and we saw an open house not too far away (at a steal compared to the houses in the city!) We thought, “Why not? It will be fun to just go look.”

And so we went.

And now here we are:

The (blurry, sorry!) view of the morning from my front window

At the end of last month, we became the owners of an almost five acre homestead in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The view you see there is of the Santa Clara Valley.

There is a lot more to this story, of course. It was a whirl wind process! The deal went down in only 30 days. The fact it was the first property we looked at and then we got it is, from my understanding, unheard of in Cali. I truly believe we were meant to live here. So many things happened to make it possible, it was like the Universe aligned the planets, just to we could be here.

That’s not to say the process was easy. No! I lost ten pounds from the stress of it all (I was not looking to lose weight!)

Anyway, I finally feel I am ready to return to this space. I’ll be posting more often, and as we settle into this space, I will show y’all around.

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:planners set-up for the week:

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I’ve got a crazy week ahead of me and a husband who is off for President’s Day, so today’s post is going to be quick.


Here is my #beforethepen in my Happy Planner.

And here is a new bullet journal spread I am trying out, inspired by Diana Meier-Soriat. I wish I could read German, so I could understand her blog!

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:january 2018 zentangle challenge

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In the past my drawing efforts have been sporadic at best. I’ll do a big piece and then I won’t touch my pens for months. So, to go with my word for the year, I am doing a daily drawing challenge in my bullet journal this year. this is my first effort. Unfortunately, I did not start it until I came back from my trip to Florida, thus the crossed out days.

This month I am going to try a more free-form format. I may not always do zentangles, as I want to start doodling and drawing in other styles as well.

We’ll see how that works out.

:goals for 2018:

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So the first half of January is gone and I have my goals for 2018.

No, I won’t be sharing the entirety of them here, but I will be talking about a few. Mainly I’ll be sharing the ones having to do with crafting, homesteading, making, and writing.

Here are a few:

  • Write two full novels.
  • Blog every weekday.
  • Teach myself yoga.
  • Lots of road trips as a family.
  • Create every day.
  • Learn to sew.
  • Learn hand lettering.
  • Keep a Gratitude Journal, and write in it daily.
  • Study herbalism.
  • Finish the declutter I started last year. (so close!)

I made myself a GOALS Page and stuck it in the front of my planner. Every morning, after writing my Morning Pages, I read my goals and make my my lists based on what is really important to me.