From Goal to Action: Self-Care

Well, dear readers, we’ve spent the better part of the last three months breaking down my goals into actionable steps, and we’ve finally made it to the last goal: self care. I’ve posted about self-care before, you can read that post here. And I’m happy to report that the foot surgery referenced in that postContinue reading “From Goal to Action: Self-Care”

From Goal to Action: Family Life

My daughter was around 8 years old when we first started including corned beef and cabbage into our St. Patrick’s Day traditions. Even though my dad’s side of the family is heavily Irish American, we just didn’t really celebrate with traditional (or even American-ized) Irish foods as I was growing up. I’ll never forget herContinue reading “From Goal to Action: Family Life”

From Goal to Action: Teaching

You might not know it based on what I focus on in my writing, but I am a teacher. I’m an elementary music teacher, which brings its own set of challenges and rewards, but I’m also a teacher outside of the classroom. Over the years, I’ve taught professional development classes to my colleagues, I’ve taughtContinue reading “From Goal to Action: Teaching”

From Goal to Action: Home Life

Housekeeping. Besides ironing and grocery shopping, it’s probably my least favorite chore. And for years, I’ve had loads of help with this area of my life: assigned weekly chores for my children to help complete. But now that they are older and have their own lives, it doesn’t quite work to have a chore chartContinue reading “From Goal to Action: Home Life”

From Goal to Action: Life Rhythms

The needles click-clack in rhythm with Murder, She Wrote, and I sit at her feet, mesmerized by the sound, the way her fingers deftly throw the yarn for each new stitch, the way the blanket seems to magically unfurl with each new row. I learned the art of yarn craft, first knitting and later crochet,Continue reading “From Goal to Action: Life Rhythms”

From Goal to Action: Finances

Like most people I know, talking about money is not my favorite subject. In fact, I’ll often go to great lengths to avoid conversations about money. As someone who can be a bit of a perfectionist, handling money, saving for retirement, and making wise financial decisions in midst of a “keeping up with the Joneses”Continue reading “From Goal to Action: Finances”

From Goal to Action: Relationships

I recently shared my 2023 goals and what worked and what didn’t in 2022. Starting this week, I’m breaking down each goal into specific action steps to help me make progress on my goals. As I break down each goal, it’s important to take the long view. This goal-setting process isn’t a sprint, it’s aContinue reading “From Goal to Action: Relationships”

2023 Goals

We are almost a week into the New Year, and some of us have already given up on our New Year’s resolutions. That’s assuming that we actually set any. This is why, several years ago, I switched from resolutions to goals. Yes, dear readers, it’s that time of year again. Sharing my updated annual goalsContinue reading “2023 Goals”

Traditions: Christmas Movie Nights

There’s no denying it: my family loves a good movie. One of our most cherished Christmas traditions is revisiting our favorite holiday movies every year. Sometimes we’ll make a special treat to go along with it (Sticky Popcorn is always a favorite) but often we just pile into the living room and hit play. Here’sContinue reading “Traditions: Christmas Movie Nights”