Belle Brita

A Christian Feminist Lifestyle Blog

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June Goals // May Recap

What did I do in May 2015? What are my plans for June? Read and find out!

I feel like I say this every month, but I can’t believe how busy May was! I feel like I accomplished so much in my life, but some of my goals were a little hit or miss. Still, the important thing is keep moving forward, and to celebrate my victories rather than obsess over my lack of perfection.

May Recap:

For my blog:

  • It took me a few tries, but I finally fixed my Google Analytics code. I’m still not sure what went wrong exactly. Bonus: I’m pretty up-to-date with blocking referral spam.
  • A huge MERCI BEAUCOUP to Charlene for being my first paid sponsor and Rebecca for requesting to swap ads with me. The support from these blogging beauties definitely helps me feel confident with the direction my blog is going.
  • I have cleaned up more of my Pinterest boards, but not all of them. It is an ongoing process.
  • My editorial calendar is only planned out through June, alas, and some weeks have four posts scheduled. I’m starting two summer series this week, and a third one next week, which make up the bulk of my calendar.

For my health:

  • I really shined in regards to my health goals! I had my MRE (MRI), colonoscopy, follow-up appointment, and additional tests.
  • I have kept up with my morning and nightly pill regimens. The one change (so far) since my follow-up appointment is the addition of a calcium supplement with a high amount of Vitamin D. I finished an eight-week treatment of prescription Vitamin D because I was highly deficient. Once my latest test results get back, my drugs will most likely change again to include 6mp every day, and Remicaid infusions on a regular basis.
  • Most days I was in bed by 10:30pm and awake by 7:15am. Sometimes I stayed up until 11pm or slept until 7:45am (not counting weekends), but overall, my sleep schedule has permanently changed! I definitely have more energy most days, so I feel like I’ve found the golden sleep cycle for me.
  • Self-care in May mostly looked like saying, “No” to whatever I didn’t feel like doing. Learning that skill is just as important as lighting candles or taking bubble baths.

For my marriage:

  • Dan says I thanked him regularly for all the wonderful things he did for me, both big and small.
  • I wasn’t as helpful in alleviating his stress, but I did give Dan back rubs whenever his back hurt.
  • We attempted to be more social as a couple and sort of succeeded. My friend Chelsea came over for dinner one night, and we enjoyed talking for hours. Last weekend, we went out to the lake with our friend Rich and his girlfriend Charla. Plus we met up with two of her friends. So while we didn’t go out of our way to be social with completely new people, Dan met Chelsea for the first time, and we spent time with friends of friends. It’s a start!

https://instagram.com/p/3E9jLKro8a/

For our household:

  • Meal-planning goes out the window when you spend about four days on a clear-liquid diet. We were very good about eating leftovers, though, and not going out too eat very often. Since those are the overall goals of meal-planning, I think we did okay in the grand scheme of things.
  • I cooked dinner quite often, but definitely not 5 nights a week. Although, again, that was partly because of how often we reheated leftovers.
  • I kept up with the laundry until a few days ago. We only have about two baskets of dirty clothes, which isn’t too bad.
  • Um. Dan cleaned all the toilets, which is the main part of cleaning the bathrooms. Have either of us cleaned a single sink, counter, or bathroom floor? You don’t want to know.
  • Ha, I still have not unpacked all of my clothes. Almost all of them, yes, and I even have my winter things stored away. But there’s one bin left to unpack, and many clothes sort of scattered in my closet that need proper organization.
  • I have not come close to decorating my new bookcase.

For May, I think I just over-estimated how much I could get done considering how much time I had to spend at the doctor. Not to mention how busy I was in my last few weeks at my job. Due to my doctors’ appointments, my last day with Cynexis ended up being May 22nd instead of May 17th. When I set my May goals, I didn’t anticipate an extra week of working full-time.

Still, overall, May was a productive month. Here’s to a successful June!

June Goals:

For my blog:

  • Plan out my editorial calendar through September.
  • Be at least a week in advance with scheduled blog posts.
  • Seek out similar blogs with ad swaps available.

For my health:

  • Start my new prescriptions, as soon as my gastroenterologist gives me the okay.
  • Find a general practitioner for Dan and for me.
  • Schedule a dentist appointment.
  • Start exercising 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week.

For my marriage:

  • Have patience with Dan. Taking care of my Crohn’s and leaving my job meant May was pretty stressful. Dan did so much to alleviate my stress, but I couldn’t tolerate the slightest annoyance that increased my stress levels. June should be better, so I can be more patient with him.
  • Schedule a couples’ massage for my birthday!

For our household:

  • Meal-plan every week. Let’s try this again!
  • Prepare dinner (either by cooking or fixing leftovers) 5 nights a week.
  • Keep up with the laundry.
  • Work with Dan to create an organizational system for the home office.
  • Pick up our bedroom and put everything away.

June is my birthday month, so I want to leave plenty of time for exploring Georgia and spending time with friends!

Announcing 3 New Blog Series!

Starting TOMORROW, I will do a weekly fashion post centered around everyone’s favorite classic: the white t-shirt. White Tee Tuesday is a nine-week series just for June and July. The summer is when everyone, including bloggers, want to take a break, and doing a weekly fashion post will free up some of my time.

Starting WEDNESDAY, I will go through the wedding planning process Dan and I did for our slightly unconventional wedding (and 3 wedding receptions). And you know a wedding series just wouldn’t be the same without my feminist twist on it. This will go through August.

TBD: I will write a series for parents and for teens on what every teenager needs to know before leaving home. I have spent less time planning this, so it will probably be every other week, not every week. Each post will have a theme, like cooking, laundry, roommates, relationships, etc. If you have suggestions for a theme, or a tip you want included under a theme, leave me a comment or tweet at me!

 

Did you set goals for June? What did you accomplish in May? I would love to hear what’s going on in your life!

Blog of Brita Long