Category: Monthly Goals and Recaps

Posted in Monthly Goals and Recaps

🎄All I Want for Christmas… Is a Done Goals List

Posted on by Mama

Don’t mind me chuckling quietly to the title of this post, but it’s kind of perfect since Mariah Carey’s song is infamous. ANYWHO…..

A lot of December is going to be enjoying all the gatherings with friends and family, necessary appointments and of course Christmas and HOPEFULLY a quiet New Year’s at home. Fingers crossed on that last one though, but we will see.

This months list isn’t going to bed too long, so bare with me. To be fair, I’m not sure anyone’s goals or to-do lists are very long this month. Pretty sure it’s everyone’s shopping lists that a generally a mile in length and feels like it will never get accomplished. Regardless, let’s get into it shall we?

  • Start Christmas shopping
  • Bake some Christmas cookies with Valeria
  • Wrap gifts
  • Pick up adopted cats for mom and I
  • Pick up some cat food and toys for ours
  • Go out with friends on December 9th
  • Attend therapy
  • Attend a dental cleaning…UGH
  • Clean the fridge….again
  • Continue to put things aside for donation
  • Enjoy Christmas and New Years

And that’s it, that’s all she wrote for this month ladies and gents. If I don’t get to some of it, oh well. If you don’t see me post much, just know that I am wishing you all a wonderful holiday season full of love and happiness for you and your family!

Hope you have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world.

Ciao!!

Posted in Monthly Goals and Recaps

🧣 Bundled Up in November: A Mom’s Monthly Recap

Posted on by Mama

Hey everyone out there in virtual land!

I suppose this is a little late, but better late than never right? So let’s just jump into it because honestly, it’s going to be a short post.

  • Clean the fridge – I did, however it needs to be done again…sigh
  • Take down the Halloween decorations – Decorations were taken down the next day and the following day. Slowly but surely
  • Work on Valeria’s letter – Completed and written into her journal
  • Book some appointments – Done and done
  • Finish the book I’m reading – Yup and review written. Hope you enjoyed it!
  • Celebrate a few birthdays – More than a few, but all wonderful and joyous, especially the kids.
  • Visit my cousin – Sadly we couldn’t go visit because they unfortunately got sick. Tis that time of year, but we will reschedule for when the weather is nicer.
  • Look into some winter activities for Valeria – Uh…yeah. Everything apparently costs an arm and a leg for kids activities now. Which I don’t understand why. So nothing on the books for Valeria at the moment.
  • Taking care of myself physically and mentally – Always a work in progress. Things are weird right now. I’ll keep you posted though.

I’d say this was a pretty good month, considering I wasn’t putting a whole lot of effort into my goals. I really just wanted to enjoy the month and all the celebrations within it. To be honest, I’m sure this month (December) will be much of the same.

Hope you have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Monthly Goals and Recaps

Mama’s November Reset: Comfort, Gratitude, and Growth

Posted on by Mama

Ciao Ragazzi!

This month’s goals are going to be a little different and frankly I’ve already started some of my to-do list as of November 1st. But it’s been a crazy busy few months and it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down in the slightest. So I’ve decided to embrace little moments with my family, self-care and just enjoying the calm this month will hopefully bring. It’s also my Birthday at the end of November so, there is that.

So, this won’t be a very long list this month, but it’s worth mentioning anyway. Let’s get to it!

  • Clean the fridge
  • Take down the Halloween decorations
  • Work on Valeria’s letter
  • Book some appointments
  • Finish the book I’m reading
  • Celebrate a few birthdays
  • Visit my cousin
  • Look into some winter activities for Valeria
  • Taking care of myself physically and mentally

That’s my list and it’s perfection in my humble opinion. Nearly every weekend is booked this month and I truly just want to enjoy some peace and quiet with my little one and husband in-between the chaos.

I hope your November is wonderful and cozy and that you have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Monthly Goals and Recaps

A Heartfelt Goodbye to Our Spooky Season🎃

Posted on by Mama

We sadly will be saying goodbye to our beloved spooky season (this mama’s absolutely favourite time of the year) and venturing into the colder winter months here very soon. But we can’t do that without reviewing our lovely month of October!

So, grab your Halloween candy and a cozy drink and let’s get into it!

  • Plan Valeria’s party – It was absolutely incredible and chaotic! Plans kept changing and I did the best I can with all the preparations for decorations and food. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and Valeria was over-the-moon happy. That was truly the best part of the day, her eyes going wide and the smile on her face when she walked in, not to mention the continuous laughter she had throughout the day. Perfect day!
  • Put together a grocery list for Thanksgiving/Valeria’s Party – Done and we ended up not doing a Thanksgiving dinner, but instead a very delicious BBQ/Pizza party.
  • Plan a weekend to go down to celebrate Valeria’s birthday with Anthony’s family – We had planned for the following weekend, October 18, however I fell ill and we were unable to go down to celebrate. However, we did spontaneously end up going on October 23-24 to spend time with Anthony’s mom. No party just spent time together, it was great. We even got to pop by my sister-in-law’s to see them and the baby. Bonus for Valeria was the gifts she got when we went to visit.
  • Buy Halloween Costumes – Nope, Valeria kept saying “No Halloween, no Halloween”, so Anthony and I decided to stay home this year with her and have a fun dinner, a cozy movie night with her and bake some cookies. We’ll hand out candy to the kids who come by instead.
  • Pictures printed – YES! FINALLY! I have handed out pictures to everyone who I wanted to give them to and even a few for us. However, I need to print more….I need a few 5X7, not just 4X6 for us. *Facepalms*
  • Valeria’s book printed – Yes! We finished it, printed it and included this in with her birthday gifts.
  • New puzzle started – I did two new puzzles this month, both 500 pieces. It took me about a day for each of them. I know…I’m a crazy puzzle lady…
  • New book started – Yes, started and finished, review to come soon.
  • Write my two book reviews – Done and done, book reviews for The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley and Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James are up and under Bookish Babble if you are interested.
  • Do some crafts with Valeria – We did quite a few crafts, including some for her birthday party.
  • Do some Halloween baking with Valeria – We made a pumpkin Spice cake and I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls. We also baked some cookies for Halloween.
  • Get my nails done – Yup! I got a set for Valeria’s birthday that was mermaid inspired and then I just got basic black for Halloween.
  • See my friend Tasha – Yeah, we went for a hike and also we went to one those haunted house events set up for Halloween at our Pioneer Village. It was a blast, very spooky!
  • Go to therapy – Yes, it’s been helping me immensely. I feel like she is the only medical professional who is listening to me lately.
  • Get another Pelvic Ultrasound done – Yes, I had this done at the beginning of the month. The female technician was very kind and polite, however the results were still the same. Frustrated to say the least, but that’s a topic for another day.
  • Buy a new Agenda – Absolutely yes! Am I the only one who still enjoys using an actual written agenda to keep all my plans, notes and so on? It just makes me happy and brings a bit of nostalgia from my school days as a kid.
  • Update our magnetic calendar – But of course! Halloween inspired this month, it was fun.
  • Watch as many Halloween/”scary” movies as possible – Of course! I watched some of my absolute favourites and some I haven’t seen in some time. Also a few really BAD ones I shouldn’t have wasted my time on.

Halloween night was great fun and although Valeria “dressed up” as a little Fisher Lady in her Bass Pro sweater and cargo pants with her toy fishing rod, she only went to Grandma’s and my brother’s house to Trick or Trick. She loved handing out candy to the kids who came to the door, saying “Appy Halloween” to everyone as they left. We ended the night with a little cozy movie night, Hotel Transylvania, which she cuddled for 10 minutes watching before playing while watching the movie. A perfect end to the night.

That’s it! It’s been quite an October, and one that has left me busy and tired, but ultimately pretty successful. Enjoy this beautiful coloured tree and let’s get into November!

Posted in Monthly Goals and Recaps

👻Witch, Please — Let’s Talk October Goals!

Posted on by Mama

This month is going to be a bit of a busy one to be fair beeeeeeecause….

It’s VALERIA’S BIRTHDAY & HALLOWEEN!

Okay, to say I’m a little excited is an understatement and yes I know it’s also Thanksgiving too here in Canada. But I won’t let it over-shadow Valeria’s birthday. I have big big plans.

But let’s dive into the goals this month, there will be only a few. Here we go witches!

  • Plan Valeria’s party
  • Put together a grocery list for Thanksgiving/Valeria’s Party
  • Plan a weekend to go down to celebrate Valeria’s birthday with Anthony’s family
  • Buy Halloween Costumes
  • Pictures printed
  • Valeria’s book printed
  • New puzzle started
  • New book started
  • Write my two book reviews
  • Do some crafts with Valeria
  • Do some Halloween baking with Valeria
  • Get my nails done
  • See my friend Tasha
  • Go to therapy
  • Get another Pelvic Ultrasound done
  • Buy a new Agenda
  • Update our magnetic calendar
  • Watch as many Halloween/”scary” movies as possible

That’s it, I’ll call it there. A few of those are already on the go and the new puzzle was started today. Speaking of puzzles, I did the first layer of Hodge Podge on the finished one. Here it is:

Can you tell which piece I made?

Hope you like it and wish me luck this month! I hope your goals go well too, if you have any!

Have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world.

Ciao!

Posted in Monthly Goals and Recaps

🍂September in a Nutshell – Cozy Days & Mama Goals

Posted on by Mama

I wasn’t being overly ambitious this month and frankly, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d get much of this list done. I really wanted to enjoy the changing of seasons with Valeria and my husband and my goals were more of side quests. On that note, let’s see how the leaves fell…get it? Get it? I know…corny Autumn joke, but I couldn’t help it.

  • Celebrate Hubby’s Birthday – Celebrated and tried to make it fun and special. Got him a really amazing knight statue for his desk and a cool novel about wolves. We celebrated his birthday on the weekend with his family and mine came over on Monday night to have cake and coffee. Not to mention Valeria kept saying ‘Happy Birthday Daddy’ all day long. He seemed extremely happy.
  • Celebrate our nephew’s Baptism – Celebrated and was very touched to be a part of his special day. It was so interesting to see an Orthodox Baptism. Beautiful day all around!
  • Print some photos for the house and for relatives – Hahaha….that is all!
  • Organize and tidy Valeria’s closet – Yes! I tidied it all up and shoved a bunch of her stuffies onto the shelves. Much better now that it’s more organized.
  • Organize the basement – Oh I wish I could say yes, but absolutely not.
  • Complete the new puzzle – I did! It’s beautiful, however I had a clumsy night and spilled some pieces. In the end I was missing one piece and I looked EVERYWHERE for it and couldn’t find it. So, I did the best think I could – I made a puzzle piece from the box cover. No it’s not perfect, but it works!
  • Complete my wood burning projects – Still a work in progress, but it’s getting there.
  • Donate items I no longer need or want – YES! Finally got the corner of my dinning room back. It felt so incredible to get rid of stuff and I have so much more to donate.
  • Search for a pumpkin shaped Cast Iron pot – My search is coming up sort unless I want to pay over $200 and I DO NOT. However, I will continue to hunt for one in a reasonable price range.
  • Finish Valeria’s book – Well I created a cute little story for Valeria, veered off the path of Secret Agent Baby and took another route. The book is called Valeria the Little Queen Of Courage. When I get it printed, I’ll post pictures. The printing part is currently what I’m struggling with.
  • Find some good Crock-pot recipes – I found a few I’d like to try, so I’ll be trying those out soon hopefully.
  • Go to an apple orchard – Yes! We went to Appleland for Anthony’s Birthday and Valeria loved it! It’s one of our favourite places to visit and there is a lot for the kids to do. However, she got sleepy and we had to dash, but we couldn’t leave without a pie and some apples. Yummy!
  • Do some Autumn activities with Valeria – Yes! We’ve done some Autumn crafts, I’ve make some Halloween themed foods, we’ve gone to an Apple Orchard and a Fun Farm/Honey Farm. It’s been a great Autumn so far in my opinion.
  • Decorate for Autumn/Halloween – Absolutely! We are the only house decorated in our little townhouse subdivision, but I really don’t care. Our house is fully decorated indoors and I’ll snap a picture of the outside of our house. Valeria loves it and she kept asking to decorate for days after we finished. Happily making memories with our baby girl.

Wow, I surprisingly finished nearly all of the list. I’ve impressed myself this month honestly. I will get those damn pictures printed, I’m determined to get it done this week!

Now to think up new goals for October….

*Ponders the thought and taps her chin*

Until next time ladies and gents – I hope you have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Monthly Goals and Recaps

Crisp Air, New Intentions: September’s Goal List

Posted on by Mama

Let’s jump right into it, shall we? Or would you prefer I rant a little bit first? Ha, just kidding!

Here’s our list:

  • Celebrate Hubby’s Birthday
  • Celebrate our nephew’s Baptism
  • Print some photos for the house and for relatives
  • Organize and tidy Valeria’s closet
  • Organize the basement
  • Complete the new puzzle
  • Complete my wood burning projects
  • Donate items I no longer need or want
  • Search for a pumpkin shaped Cast Iron pot
  • Finish Valeria’s book
  • Find some good Crock-pot recipes
  • Go to an apple orchard
  • Do some Autumn activities with Valeria
  • Decorate for Autumn/Halloween

This seems like a doable list, but come to think of it, doesn’t it always? Let me ponder that one for a moment…..

One more second….

Nope, this seems doable! I’m itching to use my crock-pot that I got last year and to finish some stuff around the house. Not to mention the beautiful crisp weather we are already starting to see here. Who doesn’t want to be in an oversized sweater and enjoying that?!

Sorry, Autumn girly alert.

I can’t help it, I get one whiff of that Autumn smell in the air or that crisp morning breeze on my face and I’m sold. Plus, Pumpkin Spice Lattes….HELLO?! I’m the most basic, white girl mom ever, but only in the Fall.

I’ll keep you all posted on our adventures, as always, so I hope you guys come along for the ride.

Hope you have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Monthly Goals and Recaps

A Gentle Goodbye to Summer: My August Recap

Posted on by Mama

Now I warned you all that this list was ambitious for this month and I wasn’t entirely sure I’d get ANY of these goals completed. I was about 90% correct on that assumption. We were fairly busy the month of August and I don’t regret just enjoying the last month of summer to be honest.

But here is what I did accomplish…let’s see…

  • Print some photos for the house and for relatives – Nope, in progress
  • Print and laminate Valeria’s flash cards – Yes, and hopefully I did it correctly. Stupid Staples printing online, ugh why can’t we just deal with real people at the printing center any more!?
  • Learn the Cricut – Nope, this is on hold
  • Organize and tidy Valeria’s closet – Kind of….I cleared it out and sorted her clothing from Spring/Summer and Autumn/ Winter and by size. I also hung her sweaters, dresses and coats. It’s a start…right?
  • Organize the basement – Nope, don’t ask
  • Do some day trips with Valeria – Yes, we took some larger vacations, went to the park, went on a picnic with my family, farmers markets. We kept her busy!
  • Start a new puzzle – Well it’s in the process, but I really need to sit down and actually work on it. Though I’ll be honest, my brain wants to rest at night once she’s down
  • Work on some new wood burning projects – Yes actually, I’m working on some signs for the Halloween season and some new cup coasters. Should hopefully turn out well once they are completed, hopefully in September
  • Donate items I no longer need or want – Kind of……Well the boxes are started, it’s a matter of dropping it off
  • Search for a pumpkin shaped Cast Iron pot – No sadly, I’m still searching for a big one so that I can get rid of the cast iron pot I currently have. If anyone has any idea where I can find one, let me know please!
  • Put together some simmer pot packages – No
  • Finish my novel, write a review and start a new novel – Yes, yes and yes. I finished The Graveyard Shift, wrote my review and started the novel The Last Laugh. Also finished that one and wrote a review, go check em out!
  • Finish Valeria’s book – No, but it’s in progress

Not as bad as I initially thought, but it is was it is. I’m not going to sweat the small stuff this month. We thoroughly enjoyed the summer and I really can’t be unhappy with that. Valeria had a blast and can’t wait to see what Autumn brings for us this year.

I hope you have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Monthly Goals and Recaps

Sippin’ Iced Coffee & Setting August Goals

Posted on by Mama

  • Print some photos for the house and for relatives
  • Print and laminate Valeria’s flash cards
  • Learn the Cricut
  • Organize and tidy Valeria’s closet
  • Organize the basement
  • Do some day trips with Valeria
  • Start a new puzzle
  • Work on some new wood burning projects
  • Donate items I no longer need or want
  • Search for a pumpkin shaped Cast Iron pot
  • Put together some simmer pot packages
  • Finish my novel, write a review and start a new novel
  • Finish Valeria’s book

I’m going to cut the list there because frankly, I’m being overly ambitious with this months list. However, I am very hopeful so wish me luck!

Hope you have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!

Posted in Monthly Goals and Recaps

July Recap: Sun, Sweat, and Stats

Posted on by Mama

Just a quick recap of July and I have to say, it wasn’t too bad. A lot of fun, sun and successes!

  • Work on my health – both physical and mental
    • Work in progress, but it’s going well. I’ve started therapy now and continually working on my physical and mental health.
  • Print some photos for the house and for relatives
    • As stated last before, I sorted through photos but didn’t have a chance to print them.
  • Celebrate my mother-in-law’s birthday
    • Went down to my mother-in-law’s to celebrate with everyone. Didn’t quite go as planned, but it was nice nonetheless.
  • Clean the spare room and organize
    • Cleaned up, organized and just waiting for the single bed frame and mattress that my mom is giving us. It’s essentially our “guest” room
  • Organize the basement
    • Well I’ve started, at least part of the basement is organize and part of my desk. However, it’s a work in progress nonetheless.
  • Learn the Cricut
    • I didn’t even have time to look at this to be honest. But not something I won’t be working toward!
  • Finish the novel I’ve been struggling with and get back on track with my reading challenge
    • Yes, I finished The Countess and started a new novel, which I’m almost finished with as well. So happily, I would say I am back on track
  • Get more sleep
    • I can say that yes, I’m definitely been getting more sleep lately. I don’t know if it’s my iron deficiency or the new vitamins I’m taking, but I’ll take it. Sleeping more has been really wonderful and I’m not waking up exhausted and grumpy.
  • Organize and tidy Valeria’s closet
    • Nope, frankly I didn’t even get a chance and I was a little lazy. I also need to include packing old clothes away from her closet as well.
  • Visit family
    • We were suppose to have two big trips to visit family, however we weren’t able to attend the one because Valeria and I were sick. But we did just get back from seeing some family for about five days, so I’ll be writing a post about that soon.
  • Do some day trips with Valeria
    • We went to the zoo with my parents, then a trip to see my mother-in-law, and we took a few day trips on the trip we just came back from. But this is still a work in progress. Still have August to go!
  • Attending my Ultrasound appointment
    • Yes, my abdomen ultrasound went well and thankfully all the results showed was a small kidney stone on the left side and the absence of my gallbladder.
  • See my doctor regarding test results
    • Doctor’s appointment went well, all the results were pretty positive and my doctor is behind me 100% with my health journey. Also found out she was pregnant, so congratulations to her! Will be sad when she is on Maternity leave, but I’m hopeful she found a great replacement. I wish her all the best and a healthy pregnancy/birth.
  • Clean my fridge
    • Yes, I’m trying to make this a monthly task from now on. But it was nice, clean and organized.
  • Set-up our dry erase calendar for July
    • Yes, I’ve been trying to keep the calendar on the fridge to keep on top of appointments and to entertain Valeria with the little art I started to do as well.
  • Write up my book reviews for the month
  • Start a new puzzle
    • Puzzle is started and it’s a beautiful coastal Mediterranean scene. Good portion of it completed, but still lots to go, so definitely work in progress. Hopefully I can get it done this month. 1000 piece puzzle, why do I keep doing this to myself?!

Just a few things to be carried over, but not too bad! Looking forward to the new to-do list incoming for August.

Hope you have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!