Goals for 2016

I promise that I will do a check in on last years goals sometime soon (along with a birth story, a birth announcement, and a general list of things I think a post-partum momma really needs), but I wanted to get these goals out into the universe ON January 1. House

There is really only one house goal that I keep coming back to: a total gut job of the upstairs bathroom. PERIOD. It needs to happen.

bathroom 2

Life: List style

  • Learn how to become Lyla's momma. Not the momma that anyone else thinks I should be, but the momma that Lyla actually needs
  • Go to yoga one day a week and to the gym two days a week at lunch when back at work. This is not a vanity goal... it is a sanity goal. Period. Also, when I go to the gym at lunch I don't spend money eating out. Win win.
  • Allow LB to be Lyla's dad. Trust him to do this well by giving him space to make mistakes without judgment.
  • Read one book a month. They can even be about parenting, but continuing to broaden my worldview by reading makes me a happier person. Plus, I want Lyla to know her momma is a reader.
  • Sleep. Sleep as much as I can, but also not be crazy about it. Coffee exists for a reason.
  • Use my for real camera once a week.
  • Continue to love on and invest in my friends. This also means being bold about investing in new friends too.
  • Leave the house without baby for something just for myself once every two weeks. (Once a week will be hard to do once back at work).
  • Ask for help. Always.
  • Take a for real vacation with Lyla and LB.
  • Bask in the glory that is my little family instead of being so afraid that something will happen to it. I am so lucky RIGHT NOW and I just need to dwell in the right now.
  • Love. Gratitude. Simplicity. These three. Always, but especially this coming year.
  • Continue to evolve organizational systems for our new family of three (babies come with so much stuff).
  • Blog more consistently again as a means to connect to the broader world.. which now includes the broader world of parenting.

And just because I'd be so pissed if someone who's blog I read had a baby, did her first post and didn't give me a picture... here ya go:

IMG_7860

Good Reads: June 2015

Howdy howdy. I have slowed down my pace somewhat on reading because my last crop of books wasn't anything excellent. It's funny how I can get discouraged with reading so quickly- I think it has to do with the money aspect (spend $10 for something you didn't love: boo!).... which is why I am finally discovering .... the Denver library! Hahhahaa. They have e-books on there as well as the old school paper back versions. I certainly appreciate the convenience of my kindle, but have grown more patient with getting titles in order to save some cashola. Here's what got consumed by yours truly over the last few months:

story of happy

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage

People LOVE Ann Patchett and I would definitely love to get coffee with her one day, but this book just didn't get under my skin like I wanted it to. It really is a collection of short stories, some of which I loved and some of which I (cough cough)... skipped/skimmed. I will say that if you have ambitions as a writer, it is a must read.

Rating: 5 out of 10

haus

Hausfrau

Dark. Dark. Dark. And f'd up y'all. And more f'd up-ed-ness. If you are already depressed, avoid this book. If you are a housewife who looks around and wonders at how many ways you can F up your life, avoid this book. If, however, you enjoy a spicy, sexy-ish, sad, psychological tale, then dive on in. (I have no idea what rating to give this).

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

it's what

It's What I Do

Loved, loved, loved this beautiful book. As someone who loves photography, but knows literally nothing about it, this book was inspiring, educational, moving, and suspenseful. It's part history lesson, part biography, part HELL YES GIRL POWER, and all about finding that passion and pursuing it no matter the barriers.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10. 

knockoff

The Knockoff

Eh. Just like every other chick-lit book out there really. It's like a Devil Wears Prada updated for 2015. I did appreciate the nugget of truth in the book about how horribly we 20s and 30s folk treat 40s and 50s folks who are definitely interested in learning about technology, but who also have a TON to offer if we will just listen to them. A good quick read.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10. 

americanah

Americanah

This book is so INCREDIBLY good that I want to savor it like a cupcake. I don't care what your ethnic or genetic or political or ideological or religious background is, if you truly want to gain an insight into the following issues then I demand you read this book immediately: inherent bias, racism, class and gender bias, immigration, the struggles immigrant populations face, love, America, Nigeria, first world v. third world, our obsession with stuff, how said stuff WILL NOT actually make you happy, America's PERVASIVE racism, and how to be a better human.

I mean it... it's convicting and life-changing and glorious.

Rating: 10 out of 10. 

 

Got any gems you've come across lately!? I am looking for new reads for the summer!