February Wrap-Up

It was another one of those months where time seemed to fly but also not move, you know? Like, I think about a discussion I had with Robby and then realize it was three weeks ago, but it felt like just last weekend. We had a few really warm days, some snow, and now it's sunny and cold again. I'm curious if March will bring any last minute blizzards . . . I kind of hope so. I've been waiting for a big snow storm that has yet to come.

Reflections on the Month

My February monthly focus was to be more present by listening to my body, putting my phone down, and waking up early for introspection. My average daily goal accomplishment rate was 55.8%; my one goal that I moved over from January (which was really two) of going to bed by 9:30 PM so I could wake up by 6-6:30 AM was actually accomplished LESS this month. So, sad face about that.

Overall, I feel like I wasn't as successful in my accomplishments - I didn't put my phone down as much as I wanted to or read right before bed consistently like I did that first week. I listened to my body more, but not as much as I would have liked to, and I didn't wake up by 6-6:30 every morning. I did more than January though. When people say, "Baby steps," I usually like to think that I am taking more than I did this past month, but I got up earlier just slightly more than I did in January. I read before bed a few more times instead of scrolling through my phone. So I guess that counts, right?

I did achieve my continued financial goals and actually made some new ones. Because of the tax reform bill, I'm getting an additional $27 back every paycheck, which is $54 a month. So, moving forward, including this month, I'm going to keep putting my routine $25/paycheck back, but it will go into my reserve account while the extra $27/paycheck will now go into my savings account. I did well not touching my savings for TWO months (!!), so I'm aiming to continue that in the future. I also realized that I can totally pay off a credit card by the end of the year if I double my monthly payments - contributing an additional $50 once a month instead of spending it on stuff or food will help me eliminate that credit card, and save me A LOT of money in the long run. I think I can handle the sacrifice :)

I branched out and went antique shopping with my mom this month. Antique shopping is 100% her thing, but I decided I wanted to give it a go to see if I could find fun utensils and dishes for smoothie bowl recipes. When I asked her if she wanted to go, she excitedly agreed, and on a rainy Sunday, we hopped around an antique store (it was huge) - and we had a blast. I had so much fun hearing what she enjoyed looking for, seeing really neat pieces of local and national history, and just spending the day doing something I knew she loved. We had a great day, and I was reminded that sometimes it really is the little things that can show someone how much you love and appreciate them.

Another thing I've noticed is that I'm finally becoming more comfortable at work. I'm not sure if it was because of our big event this month, my new desk location, or the haircut I got on Friday, but either way, I'm really opening up. While I'm still not completely comfortable with totally being myself, which is weird and nerdy compared to everyone else (who is fit, social, and was probably popular in school), I'm finding it easier to initiate conversations with people and to have more confidence approaching projects that I know I can handle before they're assigned to me.

Going along with focusing on my one passion project for this year (my blog, which includes photography), I started an Instagram account for my photos. I'm following a lot of accounts on there that are travel and photography focused so I can get inspiration, keep up with editing trends, and learn. If you're interested in following, you can here!

Books I've Read

I finished up Do the Kind Thing: Think Boundlessly, Work Purposefully, Live Passionately by Daniel Lubetzky. I knew it was going to be a book full of advice on how he started his successful business, KIND, but I read it because I've always been a KIND fan and wanted to know if he was a good person that I could support. My conclusion: he definitely is. I like his style of running his business, and the book was frank about his failures and how he learned from them. However, as with Sam Calagione's book, Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Beer, Lubetzky comes from a financially comfortable family. That is not to be taken negatively - his father was a holocaust survivor who moved to Mexico and successfully started his own watch business to create a comfortable life for his family. It just changes the way he perceives hard times in relation to how maybe someone else perceives it - he often speaks about how he had to forego his salary for weeks at a time, which was about $25,000/year back in the 90's. As a millennial who made $15-16k annually for four years post-college in the 2010's, I could relate. Until he talked about being broke, but still going to Thailand for his honeymoon and, shortly after, to Santa Barbara, CA for a weekend trip. People who are truly hurting can't even think about making those trips. They're distant dreams! But I feel like I'm being nit-picky because, overall, I enjoyed what he had to say. He offered a lot of wisdom on how to just be a decent human being if you weren't in it for business advice, and I appreciate his mission/branding of KIND. I was also interested to learn about his other ventures in food, nonprofit work, and clothing.

Favorite Bible Verses

"The realm of the dead is naked before God; Destruction lies uncovered. He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. He covers his face in the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness. ... And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?"

Job 26:6-10,14

"And he said to the human race, 'The fear of the Lord--that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.'"

Job 28:28

"But I tell you, in this you are not right, for God is greater than any mortal. Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one's words? For God does speak - now one way, now another - though no one perceives it."

Job 33:12-14

"He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark."

Job 36:32

"Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place?"

Job 38:12

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.'"

Galatians 3:13

"For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."

Galatians 5:14-15

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:16 (it takes so much courage)

"In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed."

Exodus 15:13

Media I Consumed in February

I spent most evenings this month watching the Olympics - which is a huge reason I barely went to bed by 9:30 PM most nights. So, I didn't watch a lot of Netflix or Amazon. I didn't see a lot of additional movies. But hey, there was the Olympics and also the Super Bowl - and the Eagles won. What a fantastic game!

Movies: Meet the Robinsons, Black Panther; Rewatched: 3:10 to Yuma, Miracle, A Bug's Life

TV: The Walking Dead (it's baaaaack); Started: The Office (again)

Music: Black Panther Soundtrack; Wait by Maroon 5; Young Dumb & Broke by Khalid; Good Old Days (feat. Kesha) by Macklemore; This Girl by Kungs & Cookin' On 3 Burners; All Night by Big Boi; All These Things That I've Done by The Killers; (All Along the) Watchtower by Devlin & Ed Sheeran

Top Tweets

Gratitude List & March Focus

1. Safe commutes to work!

2. Americans winning Gold medals in snowboarding

3. Those few days of super warm weather

4. Cooking with appreciation for the food I'm using

5. The conversations reading the Bible has sparked with my friends and family

My March monthly focus is going to be hard, I think. It's going to be: Praying for the courage to be my best self. I'm not quite sure what my best self looks like yet in routine form, but I know it's not what I'm currently doing. Part of me is scared, and I'm not sure if it's because I'm scared of succeeding in everything that I've been trying to do but haven't done or if it's because I'm scared nothing will change. In the moments when I've been tossing and turning at night, all it takes is a quick prayer for a restful sleep and it happens. So what's going to happen when I start praying intentionally for me to work at full capacity? It's a little nerve-wracking, but that's going to be my focus. Ugh. Tune in at the end of March to see how that's manifested itself.

Thanks for reading. Smoothie bowl recipes are coming in March! They would have come sooner, but a) I didn't work from home as much in February, and b) the days I did, or on weekends, there was no sun. :(