Just as a heads up, I’m not sure if this post will be of interest to anyone else, but I just want to document as a reminder that God hears, listens, and speaks.

As I briefly mentioned in my last post, April was a really difficult month.  I had been struggling a lot from a situation that had left me blindsided and hurt (I realize I’m being cryptic about what actually happened, but it’s sensitive).  Thankfully between time, prayer, and a fresh perspective, I’ve finally been able to move forward.

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One morning I had gotten up expecting to have another really hard day.  As I walked out the door of my bedroom, the following verse sounded in my head loud and clear…

“This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it”.  

As I slowly walked up the stairs I prayed “You’re right Lord, you did make this day and I will rejoice and be glad in it, regardless of how I feel.” I certainly didn’t want to be glad, but none the less, He did make this day and I could be thankful for life itself, regardless of my circumstances.  I took a shower and repeated the verse a couple more times, willing myself to have a better attitude about the day ahead.

As I continued getting ready for work I listened to the devotional on the YouVersion app. It was only about 2 minutes long but what was said was exactly everything I needed to hear. It was on Mathew 20:28:

“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as ransom for many”

It’s been a couple weeks since I listened to the devotional, but the point has stayed with me – it’s all about humility. In the big picture, our occupation, job status, title, etc. doesn’t matter. We are called to love others and to serve.

It was a lightbulb moment, a clear calling, and a good reminder of our purpose and the importance of humility.

Thankfully the past month is over, time has healed some of the hurt, and things have worked itself out, and through it all, God was right there.

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To all that are struggling, know you are loved and not alone.

Much love to you all,

Cami

A Fresh Perspective

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Currently April 2021

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Not going to lie, April has been a rough, rough month. There’s just no sugar coating this one. There were some things that metaphorically blindsided me and I’ve been dealing with emotional whiplash from it all month long. I am beyond happy to say goodbye to this month and move on to the next since the issues have (mostly) been dealt with and I am ready to move on.

Aside from that drama, here’s what we’ve been up to…

Currently Watching

WandaVision on Disney+!

We still haven’t finished The Mandalorian – at this point we might just wait until the next season is out haha.

Currently Reading

Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

I’ve been dying to read a book that I just can’t put down. I was not really expecting this book to be that kind of book but I. Was. Wrong! I’ve been staying up past my bedtime because I don’t want to stop. I’m almost a week in of reading this and about half way done. That might not seem like much, but considering it usually takes me about a month to finish a novel, it’s pretty impressive. At this rate I’ll be done by the end of the weekend.

Currently Making/Baking

Napa Almond Chicken Salad from Valeries Kitchen.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, we’re beginning to move away from cozy soups and stews and incorporating more light and fresh meals. This recipe was delicious. We used pita bread and it was perfect! I was out of a few key ingredients when I made this, but still turned out pretty good. I will definitely be making this again. It would be a great picnic option!

Current Favorite

This month’s favorite has been all about the little things in life.

Slowing down, enjoying the smell of coffee in the morning, getting rest, reading, bubble baths, etc. When life is hard you have to look for the beauty and blessings that God has given us. It’s so hard to see when you have dense fog and the dark clouds of life in your way, but it makes such a different when you stop to take a moment to be grateful for the things that bring us joy.

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Anyway, I hope you all are doing well and staying safe.

Much love to you all,

Cami

Currently Jan/Feb/Mar 2021

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Excuse me, but didn’t we just turn the calendar to February?? Clearly I have some catching up to do. Obviously from what you can see in my past couple blog posts, I spent a lot of time in January working and planning on my goals for the year. I do plan on doing a quarterly update, so that will be coming up later this month.

February was a little challenging for me. I finally finished a huge organization project at home that took absolutely forever, but it felt so good when it was done! Work has also a bit crazy as I’m learning a new position, so that’s been exciting but also a bit mentally exhausting as I’ve been trying to juggle my current responsibilities as well as learn a new role…which has also contributed to my lack of posting since I tend to write the most on my lunch breaks.

In February Mikey and I also celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. 13…I still can’t get over that much time has passed!

I took a day off from work to celebrate and we grabbed takeout, played a video game (I’m not a gamer, but I’ll try a game here and there), and watched our show. It’s rare these days when it’s just the two of us and it was so nice!

SO, now that it’s March….here’s what else we’ve been up to…

Currently Watching

Mikey and I are almost finished with The Mandalorian. We only have 1 episodes left! We haven’t wanted it to end so we keep dragging it out. We don’t know what we’re going to watch next, so let me know what’s good!

Family movie nights have consisted of…

  • Despicable Me
  • Abominable (different abominable snowman movie than we were thought it was, but it was cute!)
  • Ferdinand
  • Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs
  • Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs 2
  • Soul (I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was! )

Currently Reading

Own Your Life by Sally Clarkson (I rented the audiobook through our library)

I actually just finished this! I discovered Sally on Instagram and was really drawn to her. There are quite a few books of hers that I want to read, but this book seemed really appropriate to start with for the beginning of the year since she talks about priorities and living with intention. She has given a lot of food for thought. She really gets into the heart of “issues” and I’m really thankful for it. While I have felt convicted in certain areas, I have felt equally encouraged and inspired. I might just have to buy this book since there were so many times I wish I could highlight sections.

Un-F Yourself by Gary John Bishop

I honestly would have never picked this book up except my sister had made a comment about this book and I thought she said she read it. Long story short, she hadn’t, but I’m so glad I picked this book up. I thought it might be full of language, but it’s actually not and I can’t believe how helpful it’s been. My mind has been stuck in a rut for a while now and this book has been super helpful in getting myself un-stuck.

Currently Making/Baking

Taco Pizza Rolls

PC: Old ElPaso – Recipe also linked on picture

This was a new meal idea I tried and have put into the meal rotation. We often have tacos and I like the spin. Mine did not turn out quite as pretty, but when you top it with mounds of cheese and sour cream, you can’t really tell. It tasted good and that’s all we really care about. :)

Current Favorite

This is a really odd favorite, but I discovered the “Downtime” feature on my iPhone.

This feature allows you to choose days and/or time to close down apps to limit your screen time. It’s nice because you can pick and choose which apps can stay open and which will be off limits – you can also ignore the limit if you choose.

I get a notification each weekend on how much screen time I’ve had over the last week. It’s honestly shocking to me how much time I waste on my phone. I noticed a lot of my usage is right before bed. I can easily spend an hour mindlessly scrolling through my social media accounts. I really wanted to break this habit because that hour can easily be spent doing something better with my time, like reading.

This feature can be found on your iPhone by going to your settings –> Screen Time –> Downtime. I’m a fan.

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Anyway, I hope you all are doing well! I don’t know about you, but I am REALLY looking forward to spring! I would love to know what you all have been up to! Feel free to leave a comment below!

Much love to you all,

Cami

In my last post I shared my focus word and listed my 21 goals for the year. The quote “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you will land among the stars” keeps running in my head because it’s a pretty big list.

I know just because I made a list doesn’t mean anything unless I make a plan, so this is my deep dive into how I’m hoping to accomplish it all. I’m not going to stress if it doesn’t all get done, but I’m hopeful! Also, I did change a couple items. So here it goes…

21 for 2021 List

~ Fun for everyone

~ Go on a family vacation

Mikey and I are in the talking phase of this one. We had the best time going to the beach last year! We would really love to do it again. Mikey will be finishing up school and it’s also hard to know where things will be regarding Covid by summer, so I have a feeling it might be a last minute decision on what we do. But we plan on something!

~ Do something special for each holiday, including minor holidays

Obviously we go all out for Christmas, but I rarely do anything special for the other holidays, especially the minor holidays. SO, this year I would like to do something special for each one.

I plan to…

  • Make a list of each holiday (Valentines Day, St. Patrick’s Day, 4th of July, etc.)
  • Look on Pinterest for doable ideas one month ahead (I’ve already started pinning ideas for Valentines day)
  • One week before look to see what ingredients/decorations I need for that holiday and make a plan to get them
~ Make a Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter bucket list

This isn’t something new for me. If you’ve read some of my previous posts, you know I like to make seasonal bucket lists. It helps me really enjoy what each season has to offer and it gets me to do something instead of wasting away our days. Plus, it might help me stay on track with this list.

~ Personal

~ Read 12 books
  • Update my “want to read” list on Goodreads
  • Anything goes – ebooks, audio books, and/or book books
  • Pick one book per month (already working on my first book! I’ll update on my currently posts)
~ Start vlogging

Oooh this is a big one and intimidates me a lot. This is something I started contemplating over a year ago and even more so after one of my friends asked me if I had ever thought about starting my own YouTube channel. Since then, I have started to pick up my camera and start mini videos. I’ve been thinking about it so much, I’m just going to go for it. So here’s my plan…

  • Continue to pick up my camera and practice vlogging (it’s weird talking into a camera and it takes some getting used to for sure)
  • Work on thumbnails and learn to edit: 15-30 minutes once or twice/week (honestly, if I can just get through this part, I think I’ll be fine. The more I do it, the quicker it will become. The first video is always the hardest!)
  • Work on getting YouTube set up
  • Pick a launch date (oooooh this is scariest part. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while just for fun. Is fear ever a good reason not to do something?) – I’m thinking March, but if I can get it together sooner, I will!
~ Discover new music and create new playlists

I tend to listen to the same songs but I’ve been wanting to discover more music. I listen to the radio but they seem to rotate the same songs over and over, I’m ready to expand! Music can help pull me out of certain moods and I would like to start listening more.

  • Create a Spotify account – Check! This was something I kept putting off but finally did it! I really like that you can listen to other peoples playlists AND they even make playlists for you.
  • Create a playlist for concentration at work
  • Create a feel good playlist
  • Create a chill playlist
~ Be prepared

Really, this is my attempt to remain consistent in my routines. I started working on these things last year and want to continue.

  • Wake up at 6:00 a.m. (I’m a chronic snoozer, but I finally found the system that works the best and gets me out of bed – although it’s definitely not fail proof.)
  • Get my clothes and jewelry ready the night before
  • Pick out Gryffin’s clothes the night before
  • Meal prep on Sundays
  • Think about things well ahead of time (special occasions & birthdays, holidays, appointments, etc.)
  • Set reminders on my phone

~ House & Home

~ Put together a recipe binder

My recipes are very spread-out – some are on Pinterest, some are saved in a PDF, some are on recipe cards, and some are in my email. A recipe binder where all my recipes are kept in the same place and easily accessible would be a huge time savor.

  • Pick a weekend and get it done
~ Deep clean the whole house

When I say deep clean, I’m talking clear everything out of cupboards, counters, shelves, etc. and scrub everything from top to bottom. Below is my plan of attack.

  • Choose a month & date – I’m picking February 22nd – subject to change. I’m hoping to have it all done by Gryffin’s birthday in March
  • Get my deep cleaning checklists ready
  • Pick 1 room/week (since I work full-time I can’t bust it out all at once)
  • Spend a minimum of 15 minutes every day scrubbing or organizing something (Obviously I will spend a big chunk of time on it on the weekends, but even just 15 minutes/day during the week will at least get me somewhere)
~ Revamp bathroom
  • New shower curtain – Check! Just recently got one
  • Replace blinds
  • Paint walls
  • Floating shelves
  • Paint vanity? I can’t decide
  • New mirror?

Flooring badly needs to be re-done, but that’s going to have to wait.

~ Revamp laundry room (this will be dependent on budget)
  • Redo shelving
  • paint (walls and cement floor)
  • rearrange the washer and dryer
  • Find some décor to spruce it up
~ Replace the deck

This is obviously best done in summer. We at the very least need to replace the existing deck, but if we have the funds we would like expand and put in a lower deck as well.

Mind/Body/Spirit

~ Get a facial

It’s literally been years since I’ve had a facial and I’m thinking it might be a fun birthday treat.

~ Take 12 social media breaks

Even though I don’t post much on social media I am constantly scrolling behind the scenes, mostly out of habit and/or boredom. This forces me to focus and enjoy the life I have right in front of me. Here’s the plan…

  • The first weekend of every month
  • If something is going on the first weekend (i.e. holiday or FB party event), I will choose the following weekend
  • remove my social media apps from my phone from Friday night – Monday
~ Finish my 12 week devotional

I started an in-depth devotional last year and it’s been a true challenge to keep up with it. I’m aiming for this summer.

Relationship/Friendships

~ Go on 12 dates

Mikey and I are alternating planning our date nights. The first one is scheduled for this weekend (Jan 23rd).

~ Say yes to invitations from friends

This was a goal I made last year and I’m keeping it! It’s so easy to get caught up with life and responsibilities and I want to continue to make our friends a priority. In turn, this also has caused me to invite more people to do things with us (in very small numbers).

Fitness/Dance goals

One of my Christmas gifts from my hubby was a membership to CLI Studios (online dance classes). Between YouTube and CLI classes it’s been so refreshing getting back into it dancing. My body obviously isn’t like it used to be, so I’m wanting to work on the following things…

~ Perfect my posture

My posture has completely gone down the drain and getting it back is not easy! It’s really just a matter of constantly reminding myself to sit up straight and align my spine correctly. It gets really tiring after a while, but the more classes I do the more it forces me to work on it.

~ Do the splits
  • Stretch, stretch, stretch!
  • Weekly progress pictures – I’m going on 4 weeks in and already seeing progress! The more progress I see the more I want to keep going. Now that I’m in my 30’s I have to work twice as hard. I would get there a lot faster if I would stretch for 15-20 minutes every day, but I don’t always have the time.
~ Consistent clean double pirouettes
  • Working on leg strength and stability
  • Practice makes perfect
~ 90 degree arabesque
  • working on back flexibility and strength
  • practice, practice, practice

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I hope your year is off to a great start! I would love to know what goals you have this year!

Much Love,

Cami

Deep Dive Into My 2021 Goals

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Happy New Year! I hope you all are having a wonderful start to your new year! We had a pretty quiet evening ringing in the new year. Mikey made a delicious pot roast and then we watched a movie (Despicable Me – Gryffin’s choice), and then I was in bed by 10:30. Haha, big partiers over here this year.

Ok, so on with the point of this post.

The last couple years I have thrown New Year’s resolutions out the door. They always seem like a good idea but I have never stuck to them…ever. A few years ago I heard about some people using a one word theme for their year – something they want to focus on over the course of the year.

Over the last 2-3 years I have loosely chosen a focus word for the year. I have discovered at the end of each year that it has actually held onto a theme (however, it hasn’t always matched the word I chose). So, while I am somewhat loosely choosing a focus word for this year again, this is the first time I’m making it official.

It’s “Embrace”.

I originally had chosen “joy”, but it didn’t quite encapsulate everything I hoped to accomplish, while “embrace” did. I’m taking it a step further and making it more of a phrase.

“Embrace with joy”

For me, embrace means to accept circumstances as they are, to slow down and be in the moment, to accept who I am and who God is shaping me to be, and to buckle up buttercup because this year is likely going to be a wild ride, and I want to embrace it all with open arms.

In addition to the theme word I chose for the year, I have also created a 21 for 2021 list. This idea came from Gretchen Rubin’s “Happier” podcast. I’m not exactly sure if my list is set in stone yet, but it’s definitely a good start. It’s really nice to have specific things to look forward to accomplishing throughout the year.

I plan to do a deep dive on the list and go into how I’m planning this out throughout the year. Also, I’m dividing this into sections.

So here we go….

20 for 2021 List

~ Fun for everyone

  • Go on a family vacation
  • Do something special for each holiday, including minor holidays
  • Make a Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter bucket list

~ Personal

  • Read 12 books
  • Start vlogging
  • Be prepared (I’ll definitely expand on this in my deep dive)

~ House & Home

  • Deep clean the whole house
  • Revamp bathroom
  • Revamp laundry room
  • replace the deck
  • Put together a recipe binder
  • Weekly meal prep

Mind/Body/Spirit

  • Take 12 social media breaks
  • Get a facial
  • Finish my 12 week devotional

Relationship/Friendships

  • Go on 12 dates
  • Say yes to invitations from friends

Fitness/Dance goals

  • Perfect my posture
  • Do the splits
  • Consistent clean double pirouettes
  • 90 degree arabesque

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So, there it is! I would love to know if you have any new year’s goals or a focus word for the year! I hope you all have a wonderful year ahead.

Cheers to the New Year!

Much Love,

Cami

My Focus Word & 21 for 2021 List

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