Behind The Scenes Edition 01

I don’t know about you, but I love a good peek behind the curtain of how someone “does it all” – especially a woman, and for me, especially a mom.

I know it can be easy to look at other people’s highlight reels and think they “have it all together”, or “do so much in so little time” or wonder “how in the world do they do that with young kids.”

If those thoughts have ever crossed your mind: hey, me too.

So, I wanted to share my own behind-the-scenes, my seasonal favs, how I get things done, what I’m loving… It’s not a novel, but a quick-hitting list that hopefully has at least one tid bit that you can relate to or adapt for your own use.

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Encouragement

There’s a lot to say about this, but I’ll sum it up: I would not be where I am in life without the Lord.

One of the verses I’ve been praying the last few years for my family is to “let the word of Christ dwell in us richly” (Colossians 3:16). I wanted that for myself, and for my family, so I put it on a letter board as a reminder and hung it on our dining room wall.

I have seen my family grow closer to the Lord and be quite literally transformed by His word since hanging that up. Having it in an area of our home where we spend a lot of time has made it easier to remember, do, and pray.

It hasn’t been perfectly done, and I certainly haven’t been in God’s word every single day since I put it up, but it’s been a constant reminder of the type of person I want to be, and the type of family we want to have: A family where the word of Christ dwells in us RICHLY.

My Planner

Something that has kept me on track in life and business is setting goals and tracking them! I am not a master at it by any means, but I’ve always enjoyed writing ideas down and have been a huge list-maker since I can remember. I even tried to start my own stationery company in an effort to make a planner that does all the things I want it to do. It was not my thing, but I learned a lot trying!

In 2019, I finally found a planner that I still keep going back to year after year, because nothing seems to compare: the PowerSheets Goal Planner by Cultivate What Matters. I purchased the 1-year PowerSheets every year up until last year, when I opted for a different format and ordered their 90-day version of PowerSheets (which is fairly new). And I love it! The format has really been a game-changer for me. If you haven’t ever tried their planners before, you might start with 1-year to get the full experience, but really I don’t think you could go wrong with either format.

I think one thing people always get hung up on, especially in the business space, is whether they need to get two: one for personal, and one for business goals. I’ve always just gotten one, and used it for both, and it works great. The key with goal setting in general, is to not try to put too much on your plate at once, and set realistic goals. The PowerSheets Goal Planners include a really awesome process that walks you through figuring out what really matters to you, and making goals surrounding those things.

I’ve been enjoying the 90-day format because it allows me to keep everything (planner and goals) in one spot. Before, I was using the 1-year PS along with a weekly planner that I bought from another company. I’m now able to have ONE planner, goal planner, and notebook (there are plenty of pages for notes and ideas) in a sleek little format that I can drop in my bag with a few of my favorite pens. It barely takes up any space, so I literally take it EVERYWHERE: on errands, traveling, shopping, etc. You never know when you’re going to have a great idea, or need to glance at your goals, or write something on your to-do list!

Google Docs

I’m a Google Doc fanatic. Really all of the Google apps – calendar, drive, sheets, slides. Google Drive keeps all. my. stuff. for business.

I store notes on notes, frameworks on frameworks, and templates on templates to make my back-end tasks easier, ESPECIALLY the task of creating content. I have a running list of content ideas, my content calendar, my email frameworks, blog template/framework, and much more stored in Google Drive.

The real appeal is that I can access it from my phone from anywhere, and add to or create anything I need at any time. Templates and frameworks also made the job 1000% easier, because I’m not starting from scratch or trying to reinvent the wheel every time. I have a good starting point, even if my task is to outline a blog post.

I plan to share more about my content planning and process in the future, but for now I just had to mention my obsession with Google Docs!

Books

Most of what I “read” lately is an audiobook, full disclaimer!

Soundtracks by Jon Acuff

I have not finished it yet, but this is a really good one! It’s been interesting to think about my thoughts and the things that I let run – and rerun – through my head.

Here’s a mic-drop quote from the book I’ve written down:

“We don’t think we can change them, so we tend to leave our soundtracks up to chance. Unfortunately, when you don’t create, curate, and choose what soundtracks you’ll listen to, the music doesn’t stop – you just hear a bunch of songs you don’t like.”

Raising Emotionally Strong Boys by David Thomas

If you’re a mom of boys, or a grandma of boys, or you’re around boys at all (so, okay, everyone), this one is for you. There are things I’m learning about boys and men that I had no idea about. It’s interesting and fascinating and has not only helped me understand them, but is FULL of tips that have already helped me be a better mom to my son and wife to my husband. And I’m not even finished with it yet!

Some favorite quotes so far:

“Screens are an escape, not a strategy.”

“Kids learn by observation. If you can’t regulate, your son certainly will not. He needs to see you regulating and hear you using expansive emotional vocabulary. He has to see this practiced by the adults he trusts. He needs to hear you identify how you work through emotional moments, and work to a state of calm. He needs to see and hear this, to develop a fully accurate definition of masculinity (over suppressing emotion and self-reliance).”

“Accurately define masculinity by looking through the lens of Jesus as a man: his strength was defined by sacrifice, humility, compassion, love. He trusted a small group of friends, he was a champion of women, he felt anger, he wept, he experienced fear.”

She Reads Truth Easter Study from 2019

I’ve had this study since it came out, but have only gone through it once. One thing I really love about all SRT studies is that the scriptures you’re going through are printed out in the book itself. If you want the devotional part of the study, you can find it on their website. They make a point of putting their studies together this way so that when you get one, you’re actually looking at and studying the scripture first. Then, if you want supplementary commentary, that’s available too in another spot. They also have a great podcast that follows each study!

I also really love that all of their studies are technically free if you just visit their site. You don’t have to purchase any of them to follow along, unless you just want to. I can get behind their mission to see women in the Word of God every day – and they’ve expanded to a line for men and kids, too. I’ve purchased many of the SRT studies (especially Advent) as well as some of their men’s studies and kids resources, and have enjoyed them all.

Getting Outside + Prepping For Spring

I find that I look forward to getting outside every day and taking a walk around my yard, especially during busy weeks, just to get some fresh air, some sunlight, and just think. Or, have what I call walking meetings with myself (more on that below). I also enjoy doing yard work on weeknights when the days get longer, or on the weekends after church.

We have tried to grow many different herbs, plants to look at, plants to eat, and flowers for decor in our day. We even transplanted some prickly pears to our front yard that are now half-dead… They got run over by some sort of bug. Needless to say, I do not have a green thumb. If I did, and if I had the patience, I’d grow a big cut flower garden! But I’ve realized it’s a TON of work to grow anything, from seed or otherwise, and I get pretty upset if it doesn’t go well. So, this year I’ve opted for flowers only, and purchasing them from a nursery rather than trying to grow from seed.

PS: The cat next door ruined my seedlings THE DAY I planted them outside, after I grew them for weeks indoors, so it kind of ruined growing things from seed for me.

We’ve had some nice enough weather lately to move our flower beds and pull some weeds, so I’m really excited for the coming weeks to pick some things out to plant and pretty up our yard!

Walking Meetings (with myself!)

Like I mentioned above, I have realized how much better my mood and overall health is if I take the time to get outside every day. No matter the weather, I’ll try to just put on a raincoat or bundle up, and take a few laps around my yard – even if it’s just 2 minutes and I’m right back inside.

I love the days where I can have a longer stint outside, let my son run around, and take what I call “walking meetings” with myself. I’ll usually grab my phone, sometimes my headphones, and get some tasks done while I walk.

For instance, I’ll make my to-do list, do anything that has to do with writing (respond to emails, write social posts or copy for a landing page, etc.). I’ll update my calendar, or think of ideas for blog posts like this one. Anything that I have to do where I need to think and/or write things down, is a good task for my walking meetings with myself.

And yes, that’s what I call them when I put them in my calendar or on my to-do list.

Good Finds

Tillamook Neapolitan Ice Cream

Oh my gosh this stuff. The strawberry is AMAZING and the chocolate is SO GOOD with that chocolate ripple. I could leave the vanilla – it’s good, but I’m just not a huge vanilla fan… Gimme more of the other two! They’re both just so delicious!

Wild Tonic Kombucha

This kombucha is so smooth, there’s no burn or super acidic taste with the flavors I’ve tried, and – probably my favorite part – it’s sweetened with honey! The packaging is also so pretty, I do love a good package design, and I’m probably drawn to it because I spent half my childhood in Arizona. My favorite flavor is the Blueberry Basil, and close behind that is Orange Dream. I haven’t tried all of the flavors, but I plan to!

Flowers from Aldi

If you’ve never looked at the Aldi flowers, you’re missing out! Our local Aldi is usually stocked pretty well, and you can find a bouquet for under $5. Such a steal. I love to bring them home, cut them and put them in a cute vase. Lately I’ve been putting a few in a glass bottle I’ve reused from coffee or kombucha, or I’ll stick them in some cute little bud vases I bought at Hobby Lobby.

Spark Joy

This winter has been crazy, fun, and hard. It’s been all. the. things. This list is just some of the things that have gotten me through, ‘sparked joy’, and kept my ideas flowing in the middle of it all. I hope you enjoyed this look at how I do life and business things, and just shared some stuff I’m loving right now!

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