18 in 2018 Spring Update

Hello everyone!

Today is my 18 by 2018 spring update! The original post is here, where you can check out my entire list of things I want to do/watch/read/whatever this year.  I'm bringing you a three month update, so my progress of finishing things off from the beginning of January to now!

Books
I've done a pretty good job on finishing books off this year!  In January I read The Hangman's Daughter; it was a pretty average book, and I'm glad I got to move it out of my collection and replace it with another book I wanted to read.

This month, I read two books from my list!  I first finished Milk & Honey, which oh my gosh I didn't expect to love it nearly as much as I did. I gave it 5 stars, a rare thing for me to do, and I plan on purchasing a copy of it for myself. I got it for free through Prime Reading, but it was so good I need to have it on my shelf!

I also finished off Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes that Take 5 Minutes of Less this month.  While it wasn't a bad book, it certainly wasn't my favorite.  It felt too basic for me.

I'm currently reading two more books on my list; Valley of the Kings: The 18th Dynasty, and Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen.  Both are pretty good, but I'm only about 15% into each.  Valley of the Kings is a lot more adult than I had expected, and some parts are making me a little uncomfortable. Still, I hope to finish at least one, if not both of them in April!

Movies
I actually have no progress in this category!  The more I think about it, the more I realize I just don't like movies that much.  I'm still going to try to watch some of the really popular ones, but I still don't feel any pressing need to watch anything.

TV Shows
This category has definitely had the most changes this time!  
 
I actually ended up finishing Total Drama season 1 this month, so I get to cross that show off my list!  It was a lot of fun, a little inappropriate, and a great throwback to my younger years. I probably won't watch season 2 on, because I'd never seen it and don't care enough to, but I'm glad I watched this.  I ship Gwen and Trent so much!

I decided to make a change to my one of the shows on my list as well.  I didn't realize that The Office season 1 was only six episodes, and that I was already on episode 6.  That seemed like a gimme, and I didn't want to just call it good because the whole point of adding this to my list was to watch it, so I decided to switch season 1 to season 2.

I'm currently watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 3!  I ended up finishing off season two at the beginning of March, and wanted to keep going.  I'm on episode 6, so still a ways to go, but I can't wait to possibly get to season 4 soon! I might end up finishing this entire show this year.

Bucket List
My bucket list hasn't been worked on much!  A lot of what's on here actually requires me to be out of school and have a regular job, so I haven't finished much yet. I expect to see a lot more progress in the next two updates.  I was, however, able to finish two "extras", or items I added to the list after the fact as additional things I wanted to complete.

One of those was to update my GoodReads want-to-read shelf, which I'm so glad I did.  I removed over 1,100 books on my list that I'd never heard of or didn't actually want to read!  This makes it much easier to look at my list and feel as though I could pick any book and be happy with it.

I also made a vision board!  It's not quite finished yet, but I do have the basic layout of it done, and I can't wait to finish it up and share it.  I might write a blog post about it as well; we'll see where I decide to go with that.  Either way, it's beautiful and I love it! 

Beauty Products
I've used up two beauty products in the past three months: Bite Beauty's Glace and my strawberry Chapstick.  It's not much, but I hardly wear makeup, so I'm proud of finishing off two!

On the other hand, I have been a decluttering fiend - I've already completed my goal for makeup products with it.  I've decluttered __ products!  I'm just gong to make a quick list of them and a short explanation, since that would take forever!

1. Estee Double Wear Foundation - Rattan (too dark)
2. Fenty Beauty Foundation - 220 (too dark)
3. Smashbox BB Cream - Light (too dark)
4. Bare Minerals Serum Foundation - Light (too dark)
5. Maybelline Baby Lips - Mirrored Mauve (didn't like the color)
6. Mark Jacobs Lip Liner - Primrose (broke)
7. Revlon Lip Butter - Sorbet (didn't need)
8-9. Softlips Lip Balm - Vanilla (formula is bad)
10. Sephora Lipstick - R49 (didn't need)
11. Clinique Almost Lipstick - Black Honey (didn't like the formula)
12. Sephora Lipstick - Truly, Truly Outrageous (didn't need)
13. Lorac Lipstick - Hipster (didn't like the color)
14. Tarte Lip Paint - Fetch (didn't like the color)
15. Colourpop Ultra Satin Lip - So Wavy (didn't need)
16. Urban Decay Vice Lipstick - Big Bang (didn't like the formula)
17. BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick - Speak Your Mind (didn't like the color)
18. Laura Mercier Velour Lip Colour - Sensual (didn't like the color)
19. Touch in Sol Metallist Lipstick - Jasmine (didn't like the color)
20. Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick - Muse (didn't need)
21. Manna Kadar Liplocked Stain - Shae (didn't like the color)
22. Too Faced Melted Latex - Hot Mess (didn't like the color)
23. Manna Kadar Bronzer Highlighter Duo (didn't need)

I'm super proud of my decluttering! I'm working hard to move things out of my collection that I don't or won't use, so this is a great step in the right direction. I don't believe I'll ever be minimalist in my collection, but knowing I'm getting rid of things that won't work for me makes me feel really good.

Skincare Products 
So I've made a decision that I'm really not decluttering any skincare products, so everything on this list is products that I've used up.

1. Youth to the People Moisturizer
2. Derma E Hydrating Night Creme
3. Yes to Blueberry Face Wipes
4. Tucker Ashley Eye Cream
5. Lierac Serum
6. NoTS 28 Remedy Acne Poor Deep Cleanser

I've been bad about doing my skincare routine, so there's fewer products here than I'd like. Still, I'm moving them out slowly and am proud!

Well, that's it everyone!  The progress isn't phenomenal, but I can't be mad, either.  I plan on continuing to work on my list this year, and hopefully I'll have even more progress to share with you all at the beginning of summer!

2018 Goals Spring Update

Hello everyone!

It's that time of the year where I give you the quarterly update on how I'm doing for my 2018 goals!  Here's my original post, if you're interesting in seeing my rationale behind picking them all!

Something I noticed is that I'm really hitting that slump in following through with my goals.  I fully intend to re energize myself, and I already feel so excited to jump back onto keeping up with what I decided I wanted to do!

These are all broken up into different categories based on what they're meant to help improve, just as a way to not have a big list with little direction for myself.  Now let's get into this!

Mental Health
Develop a self-care routine. I'll be honest with you all, I've been really bad about this! I forgot this was even a goal of mine, and I haven't actually done any sort of planning for my self-care, so it's just sort of whatever happens that day. Well, I've decided to change that!  I have a Happy Planner that I bought and don't use for a lot of things (mostly random stuff), so I might as well write down my self-care plan for the day!  I'm using my self-care ideas as a basis for what to jot down!


Read 24 books. This is one goal I can say I'm doing a great job at!  I have currently read 8 books this year, and the end of March is when I should be at 6, if I'm keeping to my 2 books a month goal.  My reading hasn't been super consistent, but that's okay!  I'm really proud of being ahead and hopefully staying ahead.


Finish one coloring page a month. I had great intentions with this, until I forgot all of my coloring books at home.  Turns out, you can't color when you don't have the coloring books!  So, as of now I haven't been keeping up.  I'm going to turn that around starting now, however.  I actually finished my march page already; yay!  It's a super fun dot-to-dot book I found at Wal-Mart.  I'll show you all the finished pages some other time.


Journal every day. This is another goal that I had great intentions with, but then completely fell off the wagon with.  I'm going to have to fix this.  I also downloaded some apps I'm going to try, and see if that helps me with doing some journaling and reflection!


Physical Well-Being
Eat breakfast every morning. I think something that will be a recurring theme is that March is a month that I really didn't focus much on my goals.  Again, I plan on changing that and getting back into eating something every morning to jump-start my metabolism!

Stop eating candy. This is one goal I've done a pretty great job at!  I do have the occasional chocolate, but I've essentially stopped eating candy altogether.

Work out 3x a week. If we're being honest, I haven't worked out more than twice this whole year. I have been feeling some motivation lately, so I might start scheduling it in like I should be. As it stands, I'm kind of failing!  This week that I've been writing my post, I've decided that I'm going to go to the gym so the past two days I've gone and done some running. This is a sign of turning tides, I hope!


Get to 150 pounds. My weight hasn't done any significant change since the beginning of the year! I've been trying to eat better, but not really trying that hard.  Hopefully after I'm out of school and can have a consistent schedule I'll be better.



Education
Graduate with honors. Not much to report on this - I haven't graduated yet, and my grades are what will determine whether I accomplish this or not, so it's a waiting game!

Get A's in every class. So far, I'm not doing too bad!  I can think of at least 3 classes I'll definitely get A's in, and the other two I'm certainly working hard to try and get them.



Finance
Get a job in human resources. I am so excited, because I've started applying for jobs now!  I've currently applied for two, but we'll see how things keep going in the next few months.  Now that I know where I'm settling, I can apply to even more.

Pay off credit card balance every month. After getting my tax return and getting my balance to zero, I think I'm doing pretty well!  I'm spending a lot more this month than I like, so I definitely need to slow down, but I should still be able to pay it off no problem!


Pay every bill on time. I am happy to say that I have been great about paying all my bills, and I've actually been paying them all ahead of schedule!

Begin budgeting and watching finances. Again, March is a month that I fell off the wagon for. I didn't end up following my spending very well this month, but I plan on fixing that asap!  No reason to wait when I can do it now.


"Stuff":
Makeup Low Buy. As of this post, I have yet to purchase a single makeup item!  There hasn't been anything that's drawn my attention as a product I need, so I've been enjoying saving my money. 


18 in 2018 project. I can't say too much on this, as I actually have a post next week that will be going into detail about how I'm doing with this project.  Check back if you're interested in hearing about it!


Space:
Keep a clean and organized living area. I'll admit, I haven't been doing a good job at this!  I have fluctuating moments of being clean and organized, and then just letting it fall on the wayside.  I swear I will get back into this, especially when I can move out of my single room and into an apartment!


Develop and follow a cleaning routine. This is another thing that I just completely forgot about and will need to refocus on!  That same planner I'm putting my self-care plan into I can put my cleaning schedule on.  I will also pick one thing each day to do as my daily task for the week, so that I have a good setup to work from. I can't wait to make this happen!


Read all stories in FF folder. I haven't been super productive in this category, but I'm slowly chugging along!  I'll be sure to keep working on it when I have more time to focus on reading these stories.

Organize Pinterest. This is huge project I've given myself, but I feel like I'm really doing a pretty steady job at working on finishing it!  I've determined what needs to be done for each board, and am making my way through each. As long as I keep it up, I think I'll be done by the end of the year!


Time:
Become more aware of the time I have & use. Having my daily planner is nice to see my day in general, but it hasn't done much to help me improve my usage of my time. I'm going to spend more time focusing on what I'm up to, and I have this awesome app called Atracker that will help! I can't wait to see what I'm doing with my unmarked time and see how I can be more productive.



That's everything!  There are definitely some areas that I've been doing great with, and some that need a little work. That's okay!  It's still early in the year, and my goals are still important to me, so I intend to regroup and focus again.

How have you been keeping up on your 2018 goals?

 

My Low/No-Buy Goals for 2018

Hey everyone!

I'm wrapping up my 2018 posts with some low and no buys that I'll be working on maintaining throughout the year!  If you haven't already, be sure to check out my 2018 Goals and Resolutions post, where I mention my desire to do a makeup low-buy.

A low buy is when you set a limit of either amount of purchases or amount of money spent in a time period; this could be as small as a day, or as large as a year.  If you want to do it for even longer you can, it just might get harder to track.  A no buy is when you set a time period and don't allow yourself to purchase anything.

Since my word of the year is Mindful, I thought that a low and no buy would help with that a lot.  Not only will it help me control my spending, it'll also keep me from bringing in more stuff and help with my "less" mindset.

Makeup - Strict Low Buy
I've talked a lot about this already, so it's pretty clear what I plan.  I'm allowing myself 12 makeup purchases in the year of 2018.  I chose 12 because it's one a month, but I don't necessarily have to only buy one in one month.  If I find 3 things I like in one month and nothing for the next four months, that's okay!  I'm hoping that by the end of the year I purchase less than 12, since I don't count Ipsy in this total.

Stationery - No Buy
If I showed you my stationery collection, you guys would freak out!  I don't want to count totals or try to track down all of the notebooks, sticky notes, notepads, etc.; it would be insane.  I should also include writing utensils and office supplies in general, but I'm not as bad about buying them as I am about buying paper products.  This year, I'm not allowing any purchases so that I can actually use all of the stuff I own; I'll probably never need to buy another piece of stationery in my life!

Stickers - Strict Low Buy
Another thing I own way too much of is stickers.  I don't use them nearly enough, either!  This year, I'm putting a strict low buy on them by only allowing myself to purchase a monthly sticker kit each month for my Happy Planner.  This isn't even something that I really need, so I'm waiting until I feel like I have enough disposable income to buy them again.  This may not be until I have my first adult job!

Clothing - Low Buy
The most difficult decision for me to make this year was how I wanted to allow spending on clothing.  I have a lot of clothes; this is something that I have definitely acknowledged and I'm trying to declutter them as I go this year.  As I am starting to move into the workforce, I'm sure I will find that I need a lot more professional clothing options.  I'm saying low buy because I want to be conscious about what I bring into my closet now.  I don't want to purchase casual clothing anymore because I certainly have enough of it! 

Restaurant Meals - Strict Low Buy 
This is a weird one, but I didn't know what else to call it.  Last year I had the problem of going out to eat way too often; like at least once a week.  This wasn't good for my bank account or my weight.  This year, I'm going to limit myself to going out to eat twice a month, max.  If I don't have to pay for it I might make an exception, but I'll play it by ear!  This also includes any restaurant, so anything from McDonald's (fast food) to Dominoes (delivery) to Perkins (sit down).  Any order where I'm buying prepared food when I could eat at home!

I certainly didn't include everything I spend my money on, but these were the categories I have the most problems with, and what I wanted to focus on controlling.  In general, I'm trying to pay attention to how much I'm spending and what it's on this year.

Are you doing anything to curb your spending habits? What do you have too much of? Let me know!

18 in 2018

If you read my 2018 Goals & Resolutions post, you might have noticed that one of my goals was an "18 in 2018" project.  I want to use this as a fun way for me to make sure I'm either reading books that I've had for a while/love and want to reread, watch movies and TV shows I feel like I'm missing out on, and in general decrease the amount of things on my plate.  I also enjoy seeing a list, so that when I'm done with one I have another right there for me to choose from instead of my entire collection.

I've been a little back and forth on how often I want to update you all on my progress, but right now I think it's going to be every quarter.  While I'm sure I'll be able to get a lot done in a month, I'd hate to only end up showing one or two changes to my lists a few times; it would be a waste of a post. 

Books
1. Wicked: The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
2. 1984
3. The Great Gatsby
4. Milk & Honey
5. The Hangman's Daughter
6. Water for Elephants
7. Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen
8. Habit Stacking: 97 Small Life Changes That Take 5 Minutes or Less
9. Valley of the Kings: The 18th Dynasty
10. The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love the Lasts
11. Pride & Prejudice
12. A Song of Ice and Fire
13. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
14. The Opposite of Loneliness
15. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
16. Black Beauty
17. The Hobbit
18. The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman
There's a few different reasons why I picked these books.  Some of them are books that I've read and loved and want to reread, some have been sitting on my shelf for a long time and need to be read and moved out.  I also have a few of my kindle books that are Amazon Prime books I want to exchange for others and NetGalley books that need a review. A wide array of books!


Movies
1. The Hot Chick
2. Finding Dory
3. Beauty & The Beast (Live Action)
4. The Secret Life of Pets
5. The Little Rascals
6. Stardust
7. Bee Movie
8. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
9. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
10. Breakfast at Tiffany's
11. Walt Disney Short Films Collection
12. Nacho Libre
13. The Benchwarmers
14. Tropic Thunder
15. Moana
16. High School Musical
17. A Cinderella Story
18. Harry & Snowman
All of the movies on this list are movies that I haven't seen yet that are either classics or new movies that I feel like I'm missing out on by not watching!  I also made sure that every movie on my list I can find on either Netflix or Hulu; it would really suck to not be able to watch them after adding them here!

TV Show Seasons
1. Gossip Girl - Season 3
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 3
3. The Great British Baking Show - Season 4
4. Grey's Anatomy - Season 12
5. American Horror Story - Season 3
6. Stranger Things - Season 1
7.The Office - Season 1
8. Friends - Season 1
9. Big Mouth - Season 1
10.Once Upon a Time - Season 1
11.Orange is the New Black - Season 3
12. Sherlock - Season 3
13. Dexter - Season 2
14. One Punch Man - Season 1
15.Total Drama - Season 1
16. The Originals - Season 2
17. Scream: The Series - Season 1
18. The Guild - Season 1
Again, this is a combination of shows that are classics that I need to watch or shows that I started and haven't finished yet.  Can you believe I haven't seen some of these shows?  I can't either.

Makeup Used Up/Decluttered
Unlike my other lists, the make up used up list is going to be added to as the year goes on and not have items crossed off. This is because I don't have any specific makeup items I want to use up this year, I just want to use what I want to use and then see if I happen to finish anything off!  I do still need to focus a little bit on getting things out of my collection which is why I still have a goal of finishing off 18 items.

Skincare Used Up/Decluttered 
This is the same exact idea as the makeup use up.  I have a feeling I'll be able to fly through the skincare since I use this much more than makeup, but I still want to make sure I'm working hard at shrinking my collection.

Bucket List
1. Get an adult job
2. Live on my own
3. Learn calligraphy
4. Make my blog more active
5. Organize my Pinterest
6. Get an Emotional Support Animal
7. Fill an entire journal
8. Paint a canvas
9. Graduate with honors
10. Go to a zoo
11.Visit a trampoline park
12. Start a scrapbook
13. Go to a spa
14. Visit a new state
15. Keep to a budget
16. Have a date night with myself
17. See a musical
18. Go to a wine tasting
As you can tell, my bucket list is full of different activities I want to be able to say I did this year!  Some of them are corresponding to the goals I've already set such as organizing my Pinterest and graduating with honors, while others come directly from my actual bucket list.  Since I'll be graduating college, I really want to start experiencing more in my life. This feels like a great start!

Well, there you have it!  As I write this, I already want to get started crossing things off my list. I'm so excited to have this direction for my year.  It'll also feel so good to be able to minimize my large collection of "stuff", and this is definitely the best way to jump start that.

Have you ever heard of an 18 in 2018 project? Are you interested in joining? Let me know!

 

My 2018 Goals & Resolutions

Hello everyone!

I am so excited for this post!  I absolutely love the new year, because it means new challenges for myself to tackle, new habits to include, and inspiration abound.  I feel really good about the goals & resolutions that I've put together for myself this year.

I've decided that my word for this year is going to be mindful. It fits into so many aspects of my life that it just felt like the best word to apply to this year's goals.  My goals are also sorted out by areas I want to pay attention to with my mindfulness, as you'll see below.

Let's jump right in now!

Mental Health:
Develop a self-care routine. This year, I want to make a big push to work on my self-care!  Self-care is sincerely one of the best things that anyone can do for themselves, and doubly so for myself.  Every day I want to have some small self-care time for myself, whether it be taking a nap or listening to a podcast, for example.  I want to have one pamper night every week, where I do things like masking or painting my nails.  Finally, every month I want to have a "me day", where I only do the things that I want to do and not have to worry about keeping to a schedule.  This may be difficult to do while I'm still in school but I want to really make a push to take care of my mental health.

Read 24 books.  It's always a goal of mine to read, and I seem to fail every year with the amount!  I always pick way too many. Last year I chose 60, which is more than one book a week, and with how busy I was I didn't even come close.  This year, I want to make it a far more reasonable goal and say that if I read two books a month I'll be happy!  I'm hoping I can knock this goal out of the water and add more books on later in the year!


Finish one coloring page a month. I know, this is a bit random!  I own a lot of coloring books and I really love taking the time to color, so I figured this would work perfectly.  Plus I just got a set of 48 colored pencils; it's a sign.

Journal every day. Again, I own a lot of journals and I never use them! This not only helps me get use out of my stuff, it's really good for anxiety to get all the thoughts out of your head.  It'll also be nice to see if there are any patterns in my moods and behaviors. I'm also really excited to be able to look back on my day and see what I've been up to!

Physical Wellbeing:
Develop a healthier lifestyle. I know, this seems like a super vague goal, but it's kind of an overarching goal for the year. I have more specific things I want to do below!

Eat breakfast every morning. The first step of starting the day off right and in a healthy way is to eat breakfast!  It kicks off your metabolism and gives a boost of energy.  I want to make sure I'm giving myself the best head start by eating!

Stop eating candy. I don't eat candy super often, but it really is just a bunch of extra sugar and bad stuff to put in your body.  While there's a lot more junk food I can cut out of my diet, I want to start with this!

Work out 3x a week. This may be the hardest one for me!  Going to the gym is a mixed bag for me as to whether I like it or not.  I struggle when I don't have a clear plan, so I'm hoping that going with a friend will help me stay focused and enjoy being there more!


Get to 150 pounds. I'm a little less strict on this goal!  I would like to lose weight, and that's an easy weight to set my goal at, however it's not all about numbers for me.  If I weigh more than 150 pounds but look fit and healthy, I won't be upset about not technically completing the goal.

Education:
Graduate with honors. This means graduating with a 3.60 GPA or higher. I currently have exactly 3.60, so I'm cutting it pretty close!  It also means I'm going to be working very hard to get good grades this coming semester, so that I can graduate and get those cords!

Get A's in every class. Part of the reason that this is on my list is because of the goal above, and part of it is because I want to leave on a high note. A's are a great way to feel accomplished about a class, and it'll push me to pay more attention and work harder in the classes.

Finances:
Get a job in human resources. This is more career than finance, but it still fits in well. I want to be able to graduate college with a job in the major I got a degree in!  That's the short-term career goal I have set for myself.


Pay off credit card balance every month. I made a nasty habit of spending too much money last year with my credit card.  While I'm not out of control, I'd still like to set a conscious goal of either having my balance at a predetermined amount or have no balance at all. That way, I'm not paying a bunch of interest or leaving myself vulnerable to spending over my limit (highly unlikely but could happen!).


Pay every bill on time. I don't necessarily struggle with paying my bills on time, but I know that the more I have to pay, the more likely it is that a bill will slip through the cracks!  I also want to make sure that I'm not paying the crazy late fees that come up when you're late.

Begin budgeting and watching finances. I set up a spending log where I want to track how much money I spend each day and on what.  This will hopefully help me slow down on shopping and especially buying food at school when I don't need to!

"Stuff":
Makeup low buy (12 items or less). While I certainly don't need more makeup, I also know that restricting myself from buying any new makeup will make me more likely to buy it.  By allowing myself the opportunity to purchase, but limiting how much, I'm much more likely to succeed!  Plus, I'm expecting that I will not end up buying 12 items anyway, as I've been pretty good about not purchasing things that I realize I don't need.  On top of the spending side, my makeup collection is out of control!  I really need to stop adding things to it, and this will help me be more conscious.

18 in 2018 project. This is something I'm most excited for!  I have multiple different categories (movies, TV show seasons, books, activities, makeup & skincare) that I'm trying to either accomplish, use up, and/or move out of my collection!  It seems strange at first, but I'm someone who has an unimaginably long list of things to read, to watch, etc. so by picking 18 things I really want to take care of, I can feel as though I'm accomplishing something!  If you guys are interested, I can definitely do a separate post on more about what 18 in 2018 is and what my specific items are.

Space:
Keep a clean and organized living area. This is a vague goal, but it's something that I just want to see and remind myself.  Clean and organized reduces stress and anxiety for me, so it's important that everything in my home looks and feels nice. 


Develop and follow a cleaning routine. Last year I put together a cleaning list for myself and then I never followed through with it. I'd like to restart that again and actually use it this time! 


Read all stories in FF folder. Look familiar? That's because this was a goal last year of mine to accomplish!  I didn't complete it, as you can tell, but I did get pretty close!  It won't be super hard to finish up this year, it's just a matter of actually taking the time to do it.


Organize Pinterest.Pinterest is a source of entertainment and learning for me, and I want to make sure I have it organized to a way that is easily accessible and understandable to me.  This was another goal of mine last year that I did not accomplish, but I really feel like it's important to do this year. I've already been working on it, plus with Pinterest's new sections within boards, it'll be easier than ever!

Time: 
Become more aware of the time I have & the time I use. While this is a rather vague sounding goal, it's important for me nonetheless!  I have a beautiful planner that I'm using that has a daily page with the times listed on it.  I've decided that I will write out my schedule as per usual, but I will include my daily tasks as well as habits to be written in the schedule.  This will hold me accountable to actually doing the things on my list, so it's a win-win!  I also find this goal important because I tell myself I have no time to do anything, yet I find myself sitting around doing nothing productive more often than I care to admit.


Well, that's it!  I know it seems like a lot of stuff, and it really is, but it's all things that aren't super hard to implement but are so important to being happy with myself and my life. I can't wait to see what this year has to bring for me!

What are your new year's resolutions? Are any the same as mine? Let me know!

October & Fall Semester Goals

Hello friends!

I have an exciting post today!  I want to share with you the goals that I have for my fall semester as well as my goals for the month of October.

One thing that is super important to me is being able to set goals; I use them as directors in my day to day life for things I want to accomplish.  I like to set monthly goals, as well as yearly goals and, being in school, goals for the semester.  It is certainly quite a bit to keep track of, but I also feel like I'm doing something good by following them.

I've fallen a little off of the wagon for my 2017 goals; I'll need to do an update on them as well to both show you all how I've been doing and also do a goal review for myself.

Let's just jump right into them!

Fall Semester Goals
1. Wake up at least 1 hour before class/work.
I chose this goal because I do not want to wait until the last possible minute to wake up; that leads to me not feeling awake or alive when I roll out of bed and leave.

I'm pretty good at doing this when I don't work at 8am; that being said, I work at 8 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, meaning definitely not doing it a majority of the time.  While I do well on my Tuesday Thursday's, I need to get back into the routine. I try to make it a habit of going to bed before midnight but I haven't been following that recently.  Hopefully I'll put myself back into that habit and find myself better able to get up at 7 instead of 7:15 or 7:30!

2. Do homework when it's assigned.
I have a bad habit of procrastinating, so this semester I wanted to try and combat it by setting a goal to complete my homework when it gets assigned and not at the last possible second.

If we're being honest, this is pretty hard to do!  I don't have much homework assigned, rather it's just due on a certain day.  I always get my homework done before it's due when it's worth points, so it would be ineffective to write that I want my homework done before it's due.  I think I will define this goal as completing readings the night before they're due since I'm lagging on this.  I'll give you all an update when the semester is done!

3. Get all A's.
This is always a goal of mine; I want to constantly be striving towards a better GPA and working hard to earn positive grades as well.

Since it's the beginning of the semester, I certainly can't speak to how I'm doing.  I can't say I'm NOT succeeding in this goal since I have no failing grades or low grades thus far, but I do know that I'm not doing enough right now to say that I am actively working towards A's in all of my classes; this WILL be changing! 

4. Don't skip any classes.
This is a goal of mine simply because I want to constantly remind myself that even if it might not seem worth it right now, it's always important to attend every class!

I've only ever missed one class, and that was because I was really sick; I missed work as well.  I didn't email the professor because I woke up right as class started and figured that it wasn't worth trying to get dressed and go for half of the period.  Other than that, I have not missed a single period and am proud to say that! 

5. Stay off phone during class. 
I get easily distracted, and if you're on your phone you're not paying attention, simple as that!  By setting this goal I am reminding myself to pay attention.

This is a hard one for me to do, if we're being honest.  I am struggling to stay off of it which means that I need to try harder than I currently am. I have the Forest app and hopefully I'll get back into using it, meaning that I'll stay off of my phone.

October Goals
1. Read TWO books.
It's always a goal of mine to read two books every month. I'm doing a crap job at that, but I'm still going to try to get it done!  I love reading, I just don't have the time for it. Hopefully I'll have more luck this month!

2. Write ONE prompt.
I also enjoy writing, so I'm going to try to write at least 1 prompt from my 100 Variations Challenge each month.  Again, this is something that I haven't been doing a great job at but I'm going to keep working on it!  I'll never do it if I don't hold myself accountable by setting it as a goal.

3. Makeup no buy.
I've been making this a goal the past few months, but I definitely broke it in September after TJMaxx and Sephora.  I'm going to say that since I spent my money on makeup I didn't need this month, I will definitely not spend any more in October.

4. Work on habits.
This might seem a little weird; making doing habits a goal. However, I'm trying to put a real effort into actually doing the habits I put on my list because they're obviously important to me!  I'll share my habits in a post later on, but for now I just want to try to make them actual habits and not just things on a list that I wish I was doing!

5. Update makeup inventory. 
This month I need to update my makeup inventory!  I did a massive declutter over the summer and have been both bringing products in and removing them, and I need to update my counts and also create a makeup inventory spreadsheet with each item so I can be a little more aware of when I purchase things.

Well, that's it for today!  I'm excited to see where things go this month in terms of applying my October goals and continuing with my Fall Semester goals.  Feel free to share what your goals are, too! I'd love to see what other people are working on.

Hugs and Kisses,
The Cornfed Princess 

2017 Goals: Winter Update

Hello everyone!

Today I wanted to share with you how my 2017 goals and resolutions are going!  In some aspects I'm doing very well, and in other, not so much.

Personal Goals
Read 60 books in a year.
Yeah, this isn't going so well!  I severely underestimated the amount of time I wouldn't have, and it's been tough to spend any time reading.  I've read two books so far, which is literally one book every month. I know I can do better than this!  It's just important that I spend more time focusing on what's important to me, and I'm still learning to do that.  Besides, this semester is just full of a ton of extra stuff!  I'll hopefully pick my pace back up as I get out of school and into summer.

Finish all items in project use it up.
I started the year with a goal to finish up 63 products.  Now, I definitely didn't realize until actually starting that I picked some terrible ones!  There's a lot that I won't be able to finish this year, so this goal really is impossible for me to complete. So far I've used up/decluttered 11 products. That's not bad!  I've been using a lot of different items from my entire collection, and not just my oldest products, but I'll continue to try and use these as often as I can.

Read one chapter a day.
Well, I can tell you all right now this is a fail!  I haven't been doing it nearly as often as I wish I was.  Like I'd mentioned above, I don't feel like I've had enough time to properly devote to it.  Hopefully, I can learn to make time better!

Continue to track finances.
I haven't started this yet.

Create more DIY decorations.
I haven't done this either!  Once summer rolls around, I'll have more time to devote to crafting.

Read ALL stories in FF folder.
Finally, something I have progress on!  At the beginning of the year I had 163 emails, and as of today I have 133. That's 30 less emails!  While it's certainly not the most impressive progress, it's still something.

Clean out my pinterest.
This is also something I've slowly but surely been working on. I've deleted a few boards and organized a few more, so I'm happy with progress!

Complete one reading challenge.
Unfortunately, I don't believe that this will be a goal I complete this year. While I will continue to work towards it, I haven't had enough time to read and really work like I thought I would.

Empty YouTube folder.
I haven't been doing the best job at this!  I need to delete a lot more emails than what I've done so far.  Still, I think I can do this. I just need to take a day to get at lot of cleaning out done.

School Goals
Get A's in every class.
It's half way through the semester now, and I'm not doing as well as I had hoped!  I have a C, a B, and 3 A's. Really, that's pretty great all things considered, but I want to do better! I know I can if I just keep trying.

Attend class regularly.
So, I was doing an amazing job and then I realized that I absolutely hated one of my classes! It's so boring and I feel like I never pay attention or learn everything, so I didn't go for a little while.  However, that's the only class I decided to do that with and I stopped, so really I'm doing a great job!  I just need to keep it up for the rest of this semester.

Finish homework when it is assigned.
Another goal that isn't being met!  As sad as it is, I know that I can do it, I just need to push myself. I have plenty of time each day to get stuff done, I just need to remember that I had a goal of finishing it all early.

Fitness Goals
Squat 160 pounds.
Well, I was doing a good job at the beginning of the year, but I've fallen off the squat wagon!  I maxed out at 115, which is great, but I really need to get back into squatting more often.

Be able to do the splits.
I haven't started working on this yet.

Work out 3x a week.
I've been doing better at this than I had expected, honestly!  I've been pretty good about going there, even if it's not really a difficult or intense workout.  I want to up the quality now!

Do a daily food log.
I haven't even thought about this yet!

Career Goals 
Become a Rho Gamma.
Amazingly enough, I received better than Rho Gamma; I was chosen as the Panhellenic Public Relations chair! This is something I had wanted before, but didn't get the first time. The position opened back up and I got it the second time!  So beyond happy!  Because of my position, I will also be a Rho Gamma, so two birds with one stone! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to prove myself, and it's been amazing so far.

Be fun/points/PR/lifestyle chair.
I've had the opportunity to see and learn about each chair, and I've decided the only position I really want anymore is Points, and that won't be until Spring of next year. This goal will be removed because of this!

Create an event for the College of Business Dean's Advisory Board.
This event is in less than two weeks. How exciting is that?! I'm not crossing it off of my list just yet, but soon!

Well, that's it everyone! I hope that by seeing how my goals have been going, you are inspired to look into your own goals and how you're doing.

Hugs and Kisses,
The Cornfed Princess

My 2017 Goals and Resolutions

Hey guys!

Today I really wanted to share with you the goals I've set for myself for 2017!  It's definitely quite a few, but they're things I really, really want to push myself to do!  If nothing else, I have them as a way to at least get myself thinking about what I want to do and if it's something I really want to push myself for or not.

If I had to pick a single word to to describe what I want to get out of this year, it's "less". I know, this seems like a weird word to pick, but I'm thinking about the sheer amount of stuff I have. Makeup, samples, stationery, clothing, shoes, books, the list goes on and on.  This year I want to work on downsizing my collection of everything before I buy more of it. This means less impulse buying, more focused shopping.  If I find something I really want or need I'll get it, but other than that if I don't need it, I won't get it. 

I categorized my goals into a few different sections, to make it a little easier to see what exactly I wanted.

Personal Goals
Read 60 books in a year.
In 2016, I tried to set a goal of reading 100 books, and I think that was a little too lofty for me.  I had a lot of things change, and didn't make the proper time for reading. This year, I'm going to drop the goal by 40 books, and I don't have moving across states to deal with, which will help with a lot less stress. I really want to make this happen, though, because my bookshelf is beyond full!

Finish all items in project use it up.
If you looked at my Project Pan & Use it Up Post from November, you'll recognize what this is and probably understand why it's a goal of mine. I want to use up all the items I got in 2015 so they don't get too old before I use them completely!

Read one chapter a day.
I know that one chapter isn't going to do it for finishing off 60 books, but I want to make sure I'm taking just a little bit of time each day to relax and enjoy being in another world, especially if it's been a stressful day for me.

Continue to track finances.
I need to make sure I know where my money is going, and watch what I'm spending. As I move into a more independent place of residence, I need to make sure I know where it is so that I'm not caught off guard!

Create more DIY decorations.
Instead of buying things, I want to make more of them.  Also, I just really love being crafty! I see things on Pinterest and just want to recreate them.  There are 5 specific crafts I want to accomplish this year, so you'll be seeing them if I do! I'd like to create at least: a DIY travel photo map, a motivational notebook, a crayon melt, a memories album, and a dream journal. If I see others I want, I'll add them too!

Read ALL stories in FF folder.
I have stories people have written in a folder on my email, and this year I want to read all of them!  That way, I won't have emails from 2014(!) still sitting and waiting to be read.

Clean out my Pinterest.
I've had my Pinterest for a few years, and I've posted quite a bit on it.  This year, I want to clean up each board, delete double pins, change captions that don't fit, get rid of pictures I don't want, etc. If you've gone to my Pinterest, you'll know I have quite the sizable amount of pins, so it's definitely a year long task.  I know I'll feel so much better after it's done, though!

Complete one reading challenge.
Listed on my GoodReads are some different challenges a few groups I'm in think of.  If a challenge sounds interesting, I'll join it and try to read books that fit it and complete it!  For example, there's a "Title Challenge" where you read 26 books that's title starts with A-Z, but it has to be a different letter for each one. I want to complete at least one of these challenges this year!

Empty YouTube folder.
I have a folder on my email where I put all the video emails I get from YouTube. This year, I want to go through the emails I have in it and delete the videos I don't want to watch and watch the ones I do.  The catch is I have a lot of emails, but I think I can do it! 

School Goals
Get A's in every class.
I know that this is a lofty goal as well, and that grades don't matter that much, but I really want to make this work!  It's motivating for me to have a lofty goal to work towards, because even if I don't quite reach it, I still am going to have good grades.

Attend class regularly.
I know that this seems pretty obvious, and it really is, but I still want it on here as a reminder.  Attending class is one of the easiest ways to ensure you understand what you're learning, so I want to make sure I'm showing up. Also, the further I get into classes for my business majors, the more class work is done in class, and you don't get points when you're not there.

Finish homework when it is assigned.
This is a big one for me!  I want to make sure to get my homework done at a reasonable time instead of procrastinating on it like I always do.  Even if it doesn't get done the second I'm free, I want to make sure I'm not waiting until the last minute to do it so that I actually get something out of it and can ask questions if I have them instead of just guessing.

Fitness Goals
Squat 160 pounds.
I'm a little intimidated by this one, but I think I can do it if I just push myself!  I'm starting out with squatting 100 pounds, so I just have to add 60 pounds over 12 months, which really wouldn't be too hard.  That's only 5 pounds a month!

Be able to do the splits.
This has been a goal of mine for quite some time now, so I want to make 2017 the year that I get it done.  I'll be looking up a safe routine and stretching every day until I can do the splits and feel comfortable!

Work out 3x a week.
This is a habit I've been meaning to make happen for a while as well.  Fitness is something I want to get in the habit of now, so that when I'm older and my metabolism doesn't work quite so well I won't suffer nearly as bad.  Also, working out is just good for you and fun anyway! I want to make it happen.

Do a daily food log. 
I want to pay attention to what I eat as well as how much water I'm taking in, and this is the perfect way to do it! I'll probably work my way slowly up to doing it by recording water, then one meal a day, then another and another until I'm recording everything I'm taking in.

Career Goals
Become a Rho Gamma.
One of the biggest goals I have is to become a Rho Gamma, or someone who disaffiliates from her sorority to help potential new members find a sorority they'll fit with. I really hope to have the opportunity to do that, so it's a goal for me!

Be fun/points/PR/lifestyle chair.
I don't want to be chair for all of these positions, but I want to be chair for at least one!  They're various spots in my sorority that have different responsibilities. 

Create an event for College of Business Dean's Advisory Board.
I think I've already accomplished this goal, and 2017 just started! I have an event that I'm in the works of making happen right now, but I won't call this one done until I can make this event actually happen.

Well, that's everything so far!  There are smaller things I come up with here and there, but these are the most important ones I want to accomplish.

I really hope that by seeing the plans I've laid out for this year, you guys can get an idea of what you want to do with your own 2017!  Feel free to contact me if you want to talk about help establishing goals or tracking them!  I'm hoping to have a small series devoted to setting goals, tracking them, and accomplishing them this year.  

What do you think?  Are you inspired to make your own goals happen this year? Let me know!

Hugs and Kisses,

The Cornfed Princess

Weekly Goal Update: 3/12/16

Hello, everyone!  It's time for my weekly update post, where I leave a review of how I did for goals I set for myself at the beginning of there year. Let's see how I did this week.

Work out at least 3x a week.
I didn't do three times this week, but I did do two times!  After a chat with a good friend of mine who is big into working out, I just had this huge motivation kick.  It finally clicked with me that just because I don't work out every day or when my schedule says I need to doesn't mean I should just avoid working out altogether!  For some reason it just really helped me out, so I ended up going on Thursday and today. I probably won't be able to make it tomorrow because I have lots of plans and work, but next week is spring break, so I'm going to get some serious work done!

Use planner daily & keep it updated.
Because I've been doing so well on keeping this goal up, I think I'm going to take this goal off of my list; it's become a habit!

Post blog post every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
Obviously that's not something I have started quite yet, but I've been doing a lot of planning. I think my blog is going to move from subscription boxes to product reviews.  I'll still do makeup subscriptions (Birchbox, Ipsy, Beauty Box 5, etc.) but do other posts to review products that I've tried from the boxes.  I think it'll be a better fit to what I'm looking to do with my time!

Wear makeup more often.
I've been wearing a lot of lip products this week, but not very much for anything else. I don't wear a lot of face products or eye products except mascara, but I'm going to try and start!  It goes along with the direction I'm moving this blog to!

Paint nails.
I even put this on my to-do list for the week, but we can see how well that worked!  I still haven't done it, but I will soon!  A lot of free time next week leads to me being bored and wanting things to do!

Create & follow a skincare routine.
I've still only been using moisturizer in the mornings and at night when I remember, but I'm really trying to find a good cleanser I want to start using!

Start to follow a bedtime (12; midnight).
I still haven't been doing this unfortunately, my sleep schedules fluctuates based on how tired I feel that day!

Wake up at a regular time (7:15am).
I haven't been getting up that early, but I have been starting to get up early enough every morning for breakfast, so no arguing there!

Attend all classes regularly.
If there's one thing I can be proud of, it's that I always go to my classes!  This semester has been very good for that reason. This might also be taken off of my goals list because I'm pretty good at making it to class every day.

Keep desk cleared off.
Unfortunately I seem to have put more things on my desk than taken off, so that's not quite done yet!

Finish homework right away.
Every assignment has been turned in on time, so that counts for something, right?

Take vitamins/fish oil daily.
I have been taking my gummy vitamins every day!  They were a great purchase for me personally.

Eat breakfast every morning
Not a full breakfast still, but I have been eating a little something every day, or at least bringing along  something to class to snack on.

Keep room clean.
Same thing with my desk.  I've been letting things slowly accumulate, shame on me!

Read a chapter a day.
It's again a matter of making the time to do it more than actually having trouble doing it.  Spring break may mean I pull out a book or two from my shelf to finish!

Drink 8 cups of water a day.
Nope.

Watch finances more.
Not this week! I've been bad about buying whatever sounds nice to have.

Do more DIY decorations.
Not quite, I'll need to work on trying to find more ways to use what I have in an interesting way.

Well, that's it for now! I promise some real, good content will be coming your way soon!  My Ipsy came in the mail today and I bought an awesome little Sephora kit I'll show you guys soon.

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess

Weekly Goal Update: 3/4/16

Hi there, I'm going to post an update of some New Year's resolutions I created, and in order to keep myself on track and motivated, I'm going to do weekly updates showing myself the progress I'm making towards the goals!  I'm also going to leave an update whenever something from my bucket list gets completed!

Work out at least 3x a week.
For some reason, even though this is a goal that I really, really want to get started on, I have yet to do it at all!  My time management skills are severely lacking at this point when it comes to working out, so I still have to find good times for that.

Use planner daily & keep it updated.
This is one goal I think I have down!  I've been using sticker kits to really help keep me into using the planner and making it pretty and my own.  As for actually following what I write down, that's a different story..

Post blog post every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
Yeah, obviously that hasn't been going too well.  Life hit me so hard that I just kind of let this sit on the way back of the back burner. I'm trying to fix that now, though!

Wear makeup more often.
I just bought myself some Revlon Matte Lip Colors and I am in love with them. They are so darn pretty, I can't stop wearing them!  I wear mascara every once in a while, too. As for a full face, I haven't done much in the way of trying that out, but to be fair, I don't have a strong desire for foundation.  Baby steps, people! Lipstick and mascara.

Paint nails.
Unfortunately, this one is also a no!  They need to be cut and painted, I just have to get off my lazy butt and do it.

Create & follow a skincare routine.
I've finally started regularly using moisturizer, so I think I'm headed in the right direction with that.  I need to start introducing a good cleanser and some weekly masks, however, to really have a good skincare routine going!

Start to follow a bedtime (12; midnight).
I really have been trying. This week wasn't the greatest, and I've thrown off my sleep patterns because of that.  Hopefully I can fix it again soon because I was going to bed early and now I'm not (just to give an idea, I'm writing this at 12:15 at night..).

Wake up at a regular time (7:15am).
HA.  Let's just say I have been no where near close to this goal. I'm such a night owl that it's really hard to get myself to sleep at a good time and wake up at a somewhat early time. I haven't given up hope yet!

Attend all classes regularly.
Man, I wish I did this update any other week. I skipped a few classes this week, but I swear this is the first time I did it!  I also intend for it to be the last time I do it; I'm really disappointed in myself because it's been something I've been proud of.  Here's to holding myself accountable.

Keep desk cleared off.
I've slowly been decluttering it this week, and it's almost at a point where it's usable for its original purpose as a desk and not as a place to throw all the crap I don't know what to do with.

 Finish homework right away.
Again, this week was not a good one.  I've been trying to get ahead of the curve and do my homework early this semester but I'm not doing a good job at that.  I'm going to try and use this week as my rock bottom and get back to doing my homework early and not the day it's due.

Take vitamins/fish oil daily.
Since I bought myself gummy vitamins, it's been easy to take those when I get up in the morning. As for fish oil.. well, it's nasty and I can't seem to force myself to get it down.  I'll stick with the vitamins for now!

Eat breakfast every morning
While it's not really breakfast and more of a granola bar or pastry crisp from Special K, it's better than nothing.  I've been eating something in the morning, which is a good start. Maybe if I start waking up earlier I can move up to a bowl of cereal.

Keep room clean.
This is one I struggle with the most. I go through periods of extreme motivation to clean/do stuff, and then periods of absolutely zero desire to even look at anything but my laptop.  I've been trying to do a little each day in terms of cleaning up, so I'm getting there!

Read a chapter a day.
This is another one I'm really struggling with.  I love reading, and my current book is pretty interesting, so I'm not sure why it's so hard for me to do.  It probably has to do with my lack of time management, but I'll need to keep working on it.

Drink 8 cups of water a day.
I carry around an empty water bottle with me at all times, if that has anything to say about how I'm keeping up with my goal.

Watch finances more.
I haven't been doing a terrible job at this, but I also haven't been impressing myself with watching every single charge that gets put on my account, either.  I've at least been thinking about the purchases I'm making over just mindlessly spending a bunch of money, so cheers for that!

Do more DIY decorations.
Finally, one goal I've actually improved upon this week!  I've been doing some fun things with a square of corkboard, and while I'm not 100% sure where I want to go with it, it looks cute so far!  It's just got some decorations on it, mostly motivation quotes I got from Erin Condren, and this super pretty fabric that came from a shirt I obliterated in the washer on accident.

I completed two items from my bucket list on Pinterest!
This week was super good for me in terms of doing things I've wanted to do for a while!  Actually, Wednesday was the day I did them both, so yay for Wednesday!

I got my first iPhone, the 6s.  I'm absolutely in love with it, and it's so darn pretty and fun to use. I'm glad I finally hopped on that bandwagon!    

I also came up with a great idea for one of my Dollar Spot mason jars; I turned it into a memory jar!  That's been an item on my bucket list for a while, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to get it done, but I did!  I have a ton of cardstock I can use as well that I got as a Christmas present forever ago.

Well, that's it for my update!  What are your goals?  Are you inspired to complete yours by seeing other people complete theirs?

xoxo,
The Cornfed Princess