from the desk of tara hope…

january goals:

1. make a list of goals for 2012
2. celebrate our newest niece entering the world!
3. get our house back organized and in order after the holidays
4. START TAKING DANCE CLASSES! (why havent i done this yet!?)
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

december goals:

1. get all presents going to faraway friends mailed out on time
2. take homemade goodies to friends and neighbors
3. host my annual christmas party
4. go on the christmas tour of historic homes
5. eat peppermint ice cream
6. watch a muppet christmas carol… preferably with my brothers, like old times.
7. watch/be involved in the nutcracker
8. celebrate the birth of the King of Kings

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december goals:

1. get all presents going to faraway friends mailed out on time
2. take homemade goodies to friends and neighbors
3. host my annual christmas party
4. go on the christmas tour of historic homes
5. eat peppermint ice cream
6. watch a muppet christmas carol… preferably with my brothers, like old times.
7. watch/be involved in the nutcracker
8. celebrate the birth of the King of Kings

november goals:

1. cheer mom, ricky, bonnie and matt lee on in the NYC marathon!
2. have a date in NYC with my husby and visit some of our fave places
3. have a yard sale with mama day
4. declutter one room/week
5. finish handmade christmas gifts– 99% done! almost there!
6. finish up christmas shopping– 99% done! almost there!
7. paddleboard in virgin gorda
8. start decorating for christmas!!!
9. address christmas cards

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october goals:

1. attend an outstanding in the field dinner
2. buy lots of pumpkins at the asheville farmers market to decorate my front porch
3. celebrate husbys 31st birthday!
4. go to the state fair! i havent been in years, but this was a huge reason i was excited about moving back to raleigh!
5. spend time in the woods, enjoying the fall colors
6. make food that tastes like fall
7. go apple picking in the mountains
8. take maternity pics for my adorable sister in law
9. start taking dance classes again
10. finish blog and photobooks!!!

september goals:

1. go see our first roller derby match
2. show selah around our favorite beach town
3. 30 bags in 30 days  (this didnt even come close to happening bc i was traveling so much this month, what was i thinking??)
4. take my niece, saylor, out to celebrate her first birthday! 🙂
5. meet up with NYC friends when i am there with mom
6. go through 3 moving boxes in the attic
7. clean out my closet and look for fall clothes!
8. celebrate the first day of fall (sept 23)  some of my fall decorations + pumpkin candle…check!
9. finish moms photobooks*
10. finish my blog book*

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september goals:

1. go see our first roller derby match
2. show selah around our favorite beach town
3. 30 bags in 30 days 
4. take my niece, saylor, out to celebrate her first birthday! 🙂
5. meet up with NYC friends when i am there with mom
6. go through 3 moving boxes in the attic
7. clean out my closet and look for fall clothes!
8. celebrate the first day of fall (sept 23)
9. finish moms photobooks*
10. finish my blog book*

august goals:

1. use my new paddleboard at the farm
2. go to the NC art museum
3. explore durant nature park near our house
4. take a bike ride with the dogs
5. finish all of the projects/photobooks for mom
6. recover dining chairs and office chairs
7. get house ready for the mccleskeys visit
8. host matts parents when they visit raleigh to see our new house for the first time!
9. go see a summer concert and hear some live outdoor music!
10. finish my blog book! (how has that not happened yet!?)

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august goals:

1. use my new paddleboard as much as possible at the farm (or the lake!)
2. go to the NC art museum
3. explore durant nature park near our house
4. take a bike ride with the dogs
5. finish all of the projects/photobooks for mom
6. recover dining chairs and office chairs
7. get house ready for the mccleskeys visit
8. host matts parents when they visit raleigh to see our new house for the first time!
9. go see a summer concert and hear some live outdoor music!
10. finish my blog book! (how has that not happened yet!?)

july goals:

1. celebrate independence day with matts family
2. try new summer-y “beach recipes” 
3. paddleboard
4. journal
5. be faithful about quiet time
6. read
7. enjoy the beach
8. read
9. enjoy the beach
10. read

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july goals: ( i am going to be home 8 days in july. just 8. so i will keep this list short and sweet)

1. celebrate independence day with matts family
2. try new summer-y “beach recipes” with mom
3. paddleboard
4. journal
5. be faithful about quiet time
6. read
7. enjoy the beach
8. read
9. enjoy the beach
10. read

june goals:

1. help our new dog hexie adjust to her new home
2. finish hanging artwork and all the little projects around the house that still need to be done  theres always more to do but i crossed a bunch of the list!
3. celebrate my paw-paws 85th birthday!
4. plan trip to and then have a blast exploring LA with 2 of my best friends 🙂
5. try some new summer recipes
6. print my blog book* (its almost ready!)
7. print some of my own photos to hang in the house
8. cheer ricky on at his first MX race of the season (**he got hurt, so no racing for awhile :()
9. get back in the habit of taking all my vitamins (why is this so hard to do? its better but not a habit yet)
10. get back into some sort of excercise routine  walking the dogs twice a day is a good start! now i need to ramp it up!

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june goals:

1. help our new dog hexie adjust to her new home
2. finish hanging artwork and all the little projects around the house that still need to be done
3. celebrate my paw-paws 85th birthday!
4. plan trip to and then have a blast exploring LA with 2 of my best friends 🙂
5. try some new summer recipes
6. print my blog book*
7. print some of my own photos to hang in the house
8. cheer ricky on at his first MX race of the season
9. get back in the habit of taking all my vitamins
10. get back into some sort of excercise routine

may goals:

1. celebrate our 3rd anniversary
2. hang artwork in our house and start making it feel like home
3. finish painting furniture
4. plan our savannah trip
5. get my conceal and carry weapons certificate
6. buy a gun (we bought one for the house, but i still need to buy one for my car)
7. celebrate birthdays all month long
8. finish up blog posts on NYC and print my blog book*
9. explore raleigh with matt– i think hes getting the hang of it! 🙂
10. prepare for our new fur-baby!

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may goals:

1. celebrate our 3rd anniversary
2. hang artwork in our house and start making it feel like home
3. finish painting furniture
4. plan our savannah trip
5. get my conceal and carry weapons license
6. buy a gun (!)
7. celebrate birthdays all month long (almost all of my brothers and sisters and “brothers” and “sisters” are may babies)
8. finish up blog posts on NYC, and print my blog book*
9. explore raleigh with matt
10. prepare for our new fur-baby!

april goals:

1. move in to our new home!!!
2. get the entire house painted! 
3. clean out our storage from chicago 
4. pick out and purchase a cute couch! 
5. celebrate my birthday with my family
6. pick out some group dances to lead at my parents anniversary party 🙂 i didnt actually “lead” any group dances, but i did sing “dont stop believing” with the band, haha!
7. finish up blog posts on NYC, and print my blog book
8. mail out our change of address cards
9. explore raleigh with matt and help him start learning his way around  we were too busy to explore much but the next two weekends will fix that!
10. find ways to be active – i didnt “work out” any, but i did lots of manual labor around the house…that counts, right!?

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april goals:

1. move in to our new home!!! (it will take a couple of weeks but we can’t wait to settle in!)
2. get the entire house painted! (that ugly terra-cotta kitchen has GOT to go!)
3. clean out our storage from chicago (oh my gosh, this terrifies me!)
4. pick out and purchase a cute couch! 🙂
5. celebrate my birthday with my family (that hasnt happened in a LONG time)
6. pick out some group dances to lead at my parents anniversary party 🙂
7. finish up blog posts on NYC, and print my blog book
8. mail out our change of address cards
9. explore raleigh with matt and help him start learning his way around
10. find ways to be active

march goals:

1. buy a journal! done! finally!
2. keep looking at flea markets and antique stores for stuff for the house!!! done. etsy vintage is my new bff. i should buy stock.
3. get organized for the move
4. keep up with my new 4 times a week gym habit done! not totally but pretty close!
5. take some tap classes before i leave the city!
6. find and order cute moving announcements! done! this was really hard to choose but i love the ones i picked 🙂
7. CLOSE ON OUR HOUSE!!!!!

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i didnt get alot crossed off on my list in february… i feel like the weeks are seriously flying by! today is exactly 4 weeks till we move! holy moly! march is going to be a bit crazy, as we wind down life here in NYC and get ready for the move. i am so torn between being already mentally moved out and wanting to savor ever last second here.

basically march is the same as february: im leaving it short and sweet because i know its going to get insane and this is probably about all i can handle 🙂

march goals:

1. buy a journal! what the heck is wrong with me!?( ive been meaning to do this since january!)
2. keep looking at flea markets and antique stores for stuff for the house!!!
3. get organized for the move
4. keep up with my new 4 times a week gym habit (trying to end on a good note!)
5. take some tap classes before i leave the city!
6. find and order cute moving announcements!
7. CLOSE ON OUR HOUSE!!!!! (march 31! cant wait to get those keys!)

february goals:

1. buy a journal so i can start journaling as stated in january’s 4th goal.
2. start journaling.
3. start preparing for the move! the freezer is almost empty and ive started gathering items. lots more to do, though!
4. make the most of every minute we have left in nyc = plan lots of adventures!
5. go watch brother ricky’s first professional supercross race in houston. also…consider buying cowboy boots 🙂
6. take care of “due diligence” stuff for the new house! inspections galore!
7. scour the nyc flea markets for furniture for the new house i didnt get to as many fleas as i wanted to, but i found some great stuff on craigslist! only need a few more big pieces!!! 🙂
8. keep up with daily devotionals, and monthly excercises from “the happiness project”
9. sign up for dance classes***

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