On my radar

Fall is nearly upon us! I am absolutely one of "those" girls, and I love fall. Mostly because #sweats, but also because it's generally an exciting time of year. Around here, we're beginning to dig into a little bit of what I'll refer to as preschool but is really just reading a bunch of books. Out in the world, new things are launching for 2019. The cooler temperatures make me feel energized and motivated, and some of my favorite people celebrate big days in this last part of the year. Bring it on, fall.

Now, don't mind me as I basically brain dump on you a few of the things on my radar as we head into the best bit of the year.

+ Clutter

I recently read How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind on a recommendation from a friend (the author is hilarious--a hundred thanks to the girl who recommended her and her blog!), and now I'm ready to tackle some of the clutter around here. This year has actually been an extended season of decluttering, but there's always more to be done, including some of those areas that are real sticking points. This book was funny and motivating. It didn't make me feel inadequate or overwhelmed like other "clean and organize your house" books do, and it's written by someone who's just as bad at homemaking as I am, so it didn't feel preachy or unrealistic. Two thumbs up.

+ 2019 Powersheets release

I discovered Powersheets a year ago. I stumbled across posts promoting the new release on launch day and placed an order on a whim, mostly because I love planners and journals and I completely fell for the marketing hype. For real, though: I've always enjoyed goal-setting but have had trouble with follow-through, so I thought the Powersheets might be a good investment. A year later, I'm in love. Not that my year was perfect re: goals, but the process of using Powersheets and constantly coming back to and refining my goals has been incredibly helpful. Most of all, watching things unfold and evolve for me this year has helped me see ongoing threads that have defined the year and changed me--and I love that I'll have this understanding to build on next year. The new iteration of Powersheets will be released on October 24, and you better believe I'll be placing an order again!

+ Val Marie Paper's 2019 prayer journal 

I've seen this journal before but somehow never connected with the idea. Throughout this year, though, I've had the recurring thought that I need to be praying more beyond myself. Of course, follow-through is still my big struggle. When I "rediscovered" the VMP journals, it clicked, and I placed my order for one of the 2019 yearly journals. I'm excited to try it out and see where God takes me with this tool. The website also has a downloadable one-page sample to use as practice/a test drive of the format, and I plan on getting that printed and started here this week.

+ The Finishing School book

Browsing the VMP website also led me to Valerie's book, The Finishing School. The basic premise is helping you remember and apply what you read rather than just blowing through books and never putting things into practice. That idea totally resonates for me, and I'd love to get my hands on a copy.

+ Our local production of The Nutcracker

E and I watched The Nutcracker on Youtube last Christmas, and she's been obsessed ever since. I'm hoping to get tickets to our local production this year, so she can see it all in person.

+ C's birthday 

C's birthday is at the beginning of October, and I'm trying to come up with a kid-made gift that goes beyond a silly art project (NOT a crafty mom, and no one has the energy for all that clutter). Anyone have a good idea? C is super practical and not at all a knick-knacky person. We've done bookmarks before, which worked out really well except that C still grabs whatever random piece of paper is nearest instead of an actual bookmark. *shrug*

+ New internet provider

Our internet is AWFUL. But the new provider is finally in our area, so at least we have options. We're getting switched over this month and I'm crossing my fingers that we can finally have internet that's at least as fast as old-school dial-up. Yes, it's that bad.

+ Fall bucket lists

I made a bucket list for us this summer, and we actually crossed off most items. This is basically the first time in history that a list like that has worked out for me, so I'm gonna go ahead and do it again for fall. What're your favorite activities? And I don't mean things like "drink cider and walk through crunchy leaves" because I have kids and I need practicality, not warm fuzzies. (Sorry if that's your idea of a good fall time.)