Setting Summer Goals

Today is my 2nd wedding anniversary and yesterday was my 28th birthday!

My husband, Brett (if you’re really interested in him you can find out plenty here and here), is a pretty swell guy and has helped me out a lot with everything design oriented here at Lacuna Loft.  He and I journeyed together through my mother’s death and my cancer diagnosis and I don’t know who or where I would be without him in my life.  He is the best thing to have ever happened to me…besides adopting mutts.  😉

Learning to be a good partner to someone is hard and I think that my cancer diagnosis and the time I spent caregiving for my mom has made being a good partner even more difficult.  Learning to share your life while evolving to fit remarkable circumstances is just.plain.challenging!

One trick I have learned along the way that has made all the difference is self care.  Taking care of myself makes taking care of our marriage that much easier.  One way that I like to take care of myself is by setting goals.  Setting goals can be a challenging experience and sometimes getting started is the hardest part.  To break it down a bit, I like to set goals by season.  You can do it however you like though!  Try breaking up goals by week, by month, by season, or by 6 months.  The possibilities are endless!  Think of the kinds of things that you’d like to improve about yourself, or the kinds of things you’d like to overcome.  Consider the new tasks that you’d like to accomplish or the new sights you’d like to see.  When I go about setting summer goals, thinking about the summer experiences I’d like to have and the pieces about myself that I can work on during that time really helps me prioritize.

So, in the spirit of creating another great year of life and of marriage, I have some goals to share with you all!

Mallory’s Goals for the Summer!

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[list_item]take more real pictures.[/list_item]
I am an official iPhone picture aficionado.  I take pictures with my phone all day long.  I also own a DSLR though and a fun, macro lens that I’d really like to try and use more often!
[list_item]bake yummy things.[/list_item]
I love baking.  I’ve even started to experiment with more time consuming baked goods in recent months.  A few years ago my sister in law gave me a french cook book (random note, I speak fluent french and lived there for 1.5 years) and I really want to tackle macaroons soon!
[list_item]continue growing Lacuna Loft.[/list_item]
From the very beginning, Lacuna Loft has been a work of love from me and my husband.  I have worked tirelessly to grow this site from our humble, March 3rd launch.  Our numbers have been growing and the traffic to the site has become a steady stream instead of peaks and valleys.  We have some awesome things coming in the next few weeks and I am really excited to share them with you soon!
[list_item]eat more vegetables.[/list_item]
duh 🙂
[list_item]take a dog walk everyday.[/list_item]
Right now the pups take a walk or run with either Brett or myself every few days.  On the off days they frolic around the yard and house together.  I have discovered though, that taking the time to walk briskly (or run) around the neighborhood with the pups is a really freeing experience.  I love it and want to have these times together everyday.
[list_item]explore meditation.[/list_item]
I deal with a bit of anxiety.  I will share more about this in a post all to itself but for the sake of setting goals, I’d like to figure out ways of settling myself down once I have been knocked off balance (emotionally speaking).  Anyone out there try meditation?  I’ve never tried to practice it daily (or even monthly) but I’d love to hear your thoughts!
[list_item]have fun.[/list_item]
I am a total planner, control freak 🙂  Sometimes I need to just step back and remember that life should be fun!
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And that’s it!  Do you have any goals for the summer or for your next year?  Have you been thinking about setting summer goals but have had trouble putting pen to paper?  Share with us!

wedding photo by Justine Bursoni