List

26 for 2026 List

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

Have you heard of a 26 for 2026 list? This is basically a list of things you hope to accomplish in 2026. (Shout out to the “Happier with Gretchen Rubin” podcast where I got the idea ;)  

I’ve loved the idea and this is the first year I put a full list together. While I didn’t choose a specific theme, I did try to think of things for different parts of my life – family, home, career, etc. This looks like a very random list, but a lot of these things have been on my mind a while so I’m excited to see how this goes!

So here we go! I also have a free blank printable at the end for anyone who wants to create their own. : )

Blank printable version:

26-for-2026Download

I would love to know what you add to your list!

Much love,

Cami

Happy New Year and All The New Year Things!

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

Hello and Happy New Year!

‘Tis the season of new year’s resolutions, goals, and words of the year! I wasn’t always a fan of new year resolutions. I would get frustrated when I couldn’t keep up with them. However, after many attempts and failures, I have come to realize it’s about failing forward. It’s okay to lose your streak. It’s okay to forget or take a break. It’s okay to start again, and again, and again. As the saying goes, progress is still progress no matter how small. Fail forward. Keep going. Eventually something will stick.

Last year, I quietly chose the word “grounded” and chose a symbol of a sunflower to represent that word. I worked on grounding myself in Christ by consistently spending quiet time reading my Bible and praying, establishing routines that would actually work for me and my family (still a work in progress but made headway), and worked on feeling more overall grounded and confident as a person. I love that I chose a sunflower as a symbol because it leads so perfectly into what I’m focusing on this year.

This year my focus word is “joy” and I chose a sun as the symbol.

To be honest, I wanted a more unique word, but at the end of the day, what I’m looking and praying for is pure and simple joy. Over the last couple years I have become more serious and stuck on worrying about worst case scenarios. I want to add more laughter and fun. I want to be grateful and enjoy my life, exactly as it is.

In thinking about joy I’m taking a more holistic approach and asking myself a lot of questions – is what am I thinking about positive and/or necessary? Am I managing my emotions or stuffing them? Is what I’m spending my time on the right choice? Am I taking enough care of my body and getting enough sleep, exercise, water, and nutrients? Am I spending quality time with Jesus?

In addition to considering those questions, I also plan to do the following:

~ Celebrate daily wins

For me, this means writing in my journal a couple minutes every day about what went well and things I’m proud of. This will help the end of the day by focusing on the positives of the day and not just the negative.

~ Keep a running thankful list

While I’m at work I like to write down things throughout my day that I am thankful for. This is especially helpful on the days that feel hard or stressful.

~ Laugh every day

Honestly, this shouldn’t be hard, but some days it just is. After a hard day the last thing I feel like doing is laughing, but life is so much better when we laugh! My kids laugh easily and I think it’s time I start laughing more with them.

~ Put my phone away and spend quality time with my family

One of the worst feelings is when I go to bed and realize how much time I spent on my phone instead of spending that time with my family. It is SO easy to get sucked into all the Facebook reels and lose track of time. I have a plan going forward to keep my phone in my purse after work until bedtime.

~ Spend time reading my Bible, praying and memorizing scripture

Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit and is not something I can gain within my own willpower. Honestly, this truth is really freeing. The more connected I am to Christ the more it will naturally flow from within me.

~ Give grace when things aren’t as I feel they should be

For as perfectly as things play out in my head, that is not the reality of how life actually is. I can get really hard on myself and I would like to remember to give myself (and others) grace when things don’t go as planned.

I hope your year is off to a wonderful start! I would love to know, do you have a new years resolution or word of the year? :)

Much Love,

Cami

2023 Summer Bucket List – Recap!

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

This summer didn’t go like I hoped or planned at all, BUT, we still managed to accomplish some things on our list and we even added a couple items (so stay tuned for next year’s list because those things are definitely getting added!).

So here are the activities we DID do!

~ 1.) Went Swimming!

We went swimming a couple times in our little backyard pool but we also went to the big pools too!

~ 2.) Went Garage Sale-ing

We scored some books, dress up clothes for the kids, Pokemon cards, a decorative clock, a super cozy reading chair that I posted about here in the favorites section, garden kits, and more! We definitely found our new summertime hobby. ;)

~ 3.) Planted Flowers

Our sweet Kahlua smelling the pretty little petunias

I was hoping to plant a real garden this year, however, the backyard went a bit crazy with weeds. Once we have that under control we can get started. It is very hard to keep up with when you have a little one! Hopefully next year! At least the petunias made our front porch look pretty!

~ 4.) Went To The Library

We did not go nearly as much as I was planning, but thankfully this is a year-round activity!

~ 5.) Visited A New Park

No picture to show for this one, but I took Gryffin to meet up with a friend and chose a park we hadn’t been to.

~ 6.) Went On A Picnic

I made a couple mom friends when Gryffin went to Kindergarten last year, so we all met up and had a fun time having a picnic together on a Sunday afternoon. Londyn makes new friends everywhere she goes as the big kids LOVE having her around ;)

~ 7.) Went On A Nature Walk

I took Gryffin out for a walk one sunny afternoon and did a scavenger hunt along the way. He always has fun doing them!

~ 8.) Fed The Ducks

We didn’t go to the pond I was originally thinking of with all the ducks, however, we came across a momma with her big babies on one of our evening walks at a different pond and did feed those ones. They were super sweet!

~ 9.) Went To The Beach

Ok, so this only gets a half point as we did this at the end of May. It was a little exhausting taking Londyn to the beach as we spent most of the time trying to keep her from drowning and eating sand lol. Still fun but not quite the relaxing experience I look forward to when going to the beach.

Extra things we did that didn’t make it on the list…

~ 10.) Went To The Zoo!

I posted a little about this on my last “Currently” post, but we had a really fun time getting away for the day and seeing all the animals!

~ 11.) Carnival At The Carousel!

This was a fun little event we went to. Both kids love riding on the carousel and Gryffin had a fun time playing the games. And, yes, there was even a llama!

We didn’t get to do all the fun summer things on our list but we made the best of what we could and had a fun time doing it!

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I hope you all had a wonderful summer! I would love to know – what was your favorite thing you did this summer?

Much Love,

Cami

Deep Dive Into My 2021 Goals

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

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

My Focus Word & 21 for 2021 List

/ Cami Grace / Leave a comment

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