from the desk of tara hope…

i am not going to lie: even though a lot of good stuff happened, september was not my favorite month. if you follow me on twitter, this probably is not a surprise to you, because i certainly did not hide it well. i was so busy i felt like my head was spinning, a jammed hip joint kept me from dancing (and moving in general), and i had to say goodbye to friends that i really didnt want to say goodbye to. i am very ready for october – a new month to breathe deeply and get my life (and my emotions) back on track! i need to get my eating, workouts and life back into a happy groove.

october goals:

1. decorate for fall!
2. throw a special shower for my special friend, amanda! shes going to be a beautiful bride!
3. put my living room back together after our new hardwoods were installed!
4. acquire some new music – new season, new tunes!
5. celebrate husbys birthday by doing something special TBD
6. go to the fair! its not fall in raleigh without a trip to the state fair!
7. continue making my daily routine a habit
8. clean out my closet (for real this time)
9. take a donation to raleigh rescue mission
10. rest. spend time outdoors. be still. seek peace.

september goals:

1. get prepared to start titanic rehearsals (read script, watch online videos, etc)
2. celebrate sweet saylors 2nd birthday! i cant believe my niece is 2 yrs old and shes about to have a little sister!
3. do yoga twice a week- life got in the way. i just couldnt fit everything in this month. but i did start working out with a trainer! A for effort! 🙂
4. start my new daily routine, and make it a habit!
5. clean out my closet- major overhaul
6. clean out 3 boxes in the attic
7. read and review manuscript for LK

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i know i say this every month, but how is it already september?! august absolutely flew by!

september goals:

1. get prepared to start titanic rehearsals (read script, watch online videos, etc)
2. celebrate sweet saylors 2nd birthday! i cant believe my niece is 2 yrs old and shes about to have a little sister!
3. do yoga twice a week
4. start my new daily routine, and make it a habit!
5. clean out my closet- major overhaul
6. clean out 3 boxes in the attic
7. read and review manuscript for LK

august goals:

1. see midnight in paris at the art museum park. havent seen a movie there in years and im so excited!
2. help Mercy at their MN luncheon in whatever way they need me
3. spend some quality time with husby in greenville, boston and the smokies. yay for over a week together!
4. capture a special trip to LA with special friends on my trusty nikon – well, the trusty nikon part didnt work out so well but i got cute pics of the girls anyways!
5. go wakeboarding on falls
6. clean our bedroom. its gotten bad. as in, we are past “it looks like a bomb went off” bad. – i did clean it, but now its messy again. smh.
7. start my dance classes off on the right foot- positive and focused!
8. continue to eat right and stay active!– can always do better, but i feel like im doing pretty good!

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um…can you believe its august already? because i can’t! july flew by, and i have a feeling august will too because it’s another high travel month. in between the coming and going i am gonna make an effort to slow down and breathe 🙂

august goals

1. see midnight in paris at the art museum park. havent seen a movie there in years and im so excited!
2. help Mercy at their MN luncheon in whatever way they need me
3. spend some quality time with husby in greenville, boston and the smokies. yay for over a week together!
4. capture a special trip to LA with special friends on my trusty nikon
5. go wakeboarding on falls
6. clean our bedroom. its gotten bad. as in, we are past “it looks like a bomb went off” bad.
7. start my dance classes off on the right foot- positive and focused!
8. continue to eat right and stay active!

july goals

1. celebrate independence day and papa day’s birthday on the 4th!
2. use the first week of the month to clean out some clutter so i can come back from vacation feeling good about my home- this happened before the first trip but after that all heck broke loose.
3. keep up with my new-found love for yoga while out of town– i didnt take any classes at the beach, but i did in NYC, so that counts right?
4. read as many books as possible while sitting by the water
5. document our family beach trip
6. use as much fresh produce as possible and try new summer recipes
7. paddle my little arms off at the beach
8. catch up with old friends and neighbors in NYC and visit some favorite spots
9. go to the hester street fair- ive missed it!
10. push myself and get out of my comfort zone  in some classes at broadway dance center!

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as usual i am out of town for most of july but, nonetheless, i intend to make the most of every single day!

july

1. celebrate independence day and papa day’s birthday on the 4th!
2. use the first week of the month to clean out some clutter so i can come back from vacation feeling good about my home
3. keep up with my new-found love for yoga while out of town
4. read as many books as possible while sitting by the water
5. document our family beach trip
6. use as much fresh produce as possible and try new summer recipes
7. paddle my little arms off at the beach- im excited about getting a 2nd board so maybe ill have some company this year!
8. catch up with old friends and neighbors in NYC and visit some favorite spots
9. go to the hester street fair- ive missed it!
10. push myself and get out of my comfort zone  in some classes at broadway dance center!

june goals:

1. survive recital week at the studio – 4 shows in 2 days = insanity! oh it was insanity alright! but it was also amazing!
2. catch up with old friends at my high school reunion! (10 years! yowza!)
3. explore venice and paris with joie de vivre!
4. go to the louvre and a parisian flea market (ive been 3 times and never seen either)
5. plan a jammin cast party at the farm for my OK kids we had to move it inside bc of the hot weather, but it was still fun!
6. start my human trafficking awareness training so i can get more involved in fighting this atrocity

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june goals:

1. survive recital week at the studio – 4 shows in 2 days = insanity!
2. catch up with old friends at my high school reunion! (10 years! yowza!)
3. explore venice and paris with joie de vivre!
4. go to the louvre and a parisian flea market (ive been 3 times and never seen either)
5. plan a jammin cast party at the farm for my OK kids
6. start my human trafficking awareness training so i can get more involved in fighting this atrocity

may goals:

didnt get much done this month, but it was a good one!

1. celebrate the baptism of our goddaughter! so honored!
2. spend as much time as possible with my pea while she is in town!
3. finish up a few projects around the house that ive been meaning to do
4. paint the powder room(been on the list since we moved in)
5. finish all photobooks for mom and dad
6. celebrate my bff, “sisters”, mama day, “brothers” and brothers birthdays!
7. use my zumba punch card before it expires
8. look into taking tennis lessons with mom – going to take lessons in the fall…summer is way too busy!
9. go on a family adventure(hiking?)
10. go rock climbing – eesh. at some point i WILL do this again! i miss it!

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may goals:

1. celebrate the baptism of our goddaughter! so honored!
2. spend as much time as possible with my pea while she is in town!
3. finish up a few projects around the house that ive been meaning to do
4. paint the powder room(been on the list since we moved in)
5. finish all photobooks for mom and dad
6. celebrate my bff, “sisters”, mama day, “brothers” and brothers birthdays! (may is a BIG month for birthdays in my world)
7. use my zumba punch card before it expires
8. look into taking tennis lessons with mom (this is a big deal, i dont do sports. but im actually kinda excited about it)
9. go on a family adventure(hiking?)
10. go rock climbing (dont know why i havent done this- i miss climbing SO MUCH!)

april goals:

1. celebrate easter! He is risen indeed!
2. have a girls night to celebrate spring break at the studio!
3. spend some time in SC with husby
4. celebrate my ‘little sister’ stacie getting married to the man of her dreams!!! the wedding was absolutely gorgeous! and the week of was so much fun! love my sisters!
5. help get the word out about Mercy Ministries at their luncheon
6. celebrate my birthday by making someone else’s day brighter- (i had big plans for this but totally forgot i was going to be in the car for 7 hours on my birthday. kinda put a damper on my plans.)
7. soak up a little bit of sun in holden during wedding week
8. finish my monthly reading – half done
9. finish and clean up recital and oklahoma pieces
10. be diligent about working out more and continue eating properly-i did yoga-pilates on the beach with the bridesmaids…that counts as working out more, right? 🙂

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march goals:

1. try to keep my head above water with all the traveling we are doing this month! (nashville, charleston, fairhope, miami- whew, that makes me tired just typing it!)
2. finalize details for the mercy luncheon in raleigh (if you are local and would like a ticket let me know!)
3. finish choreography on my recital pieces
4. celebrate my favorite bride to be before her big day in a few weeks!
5. go see the little mermaid at carolina ballet
6. make something cool in photoshop(im trying to learn)
7. print some photos for the house
8. finish my monthly reading

february goals:

1. explore madrid (ie see a picasso, eat churros & hot chocolate, see the oldest restaurant in the world, etc) with my favorites
2. work on getting my house more organized. clean out some clutter
3. find art or photos to hang on my dining room walls*
4. hang/buy/print new art for master bedroom*
5. work on the downstairs powder room
6. have the locks changed on our house
7. finalize plans for stacies bachelorette trip!
8. read two books for my yearly goal list

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february goals:

1. explore madrid (ie see a picasso, eat churros & hot chocolate, see the oldest restaurant in the world, etc) with my favorites
2. work on getting my house more organized. clean out some clutter
3. find art or photos to hang on my dining room walls*
4. hang new art for master bedroom* (i decided to wait and see if i got any in madrid to use)
5. work on the downstairs powder room
6. have the locks changed on our house
7. finalize plans for stacies bachelorette trip!
8. read two books for my yearly goal list

january goals:

1. make a list of goals for 2012
2. celebrate our newest niece entering the world! we havent met her yet, but we love getting her pictures on our phones!!
3. get our house back organized and in order after the holidays its mostly there 🙂
4. START TAKING DANCE CLASSES! ( i am now taking caitlyns jazz class…and loving it!)
5. get everything ready for our trip to spain next month!
6. find art or photos to hang on my dining room walls
7. hang new art for master bedroom
8. read two books for my yearly goal list (hemingways “dangerous summer” and a sneak peek of “live the dream!” my dads new book coming out in april! )

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