HELLO FEBRUARY AND GOALS

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Hello February!

Hello to everything slowly waking up. Hello to long, yawning mornings and the return of golden daylight. Hello to the smell of water on the wind and the feeling of warmth on my skin, if only the smallest touch. Hello to melting chocolate, warm pink hearts and opening letters, to licking envelopes, rainy grey skies and maybe, just maybe the promise of spring.

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January was a quiet month for me - something that I needed to start the year off. It mostly involved testing out a bunch of things I wanted to do; with varying degrees of success. I think that giving myself a month to ‘screw up’ instead of setting these huge, lofty goals (and inevitably failing at them because, let’s be honest, we’re not robots) was probably the smartest move I’ve made in a while.

So for February, I’m hoping to cement a lot of these habits in to my life, and just start sharing more of myself here and on other parts of the internet. I’ve developed a system for tracking my goals - I’ll share it later on in the month, but it consists of me assigning points to all the different tasks - when I do something, I get points I fill in. Simple, easy, fun.

Although there’s also a bunch of smaller goals, here’s what’s in store for February:

Clean myself and the house more often.
I’m alright with mess. I’m already with looking like a mess. That doesn’t mean either of these things makes me feel good in any way - I’m just capable of dealing with them both. But honestly nothing gets me out of the dumps more than picking up the house, organizing, and then hopping in the shower. The act of cleaning seems to set some really powerful energy in motion. I want more of that.

Explore a few new places in the city.
I love Montreal, and I love exploring the city. Winter tends to put a damper on my joy of going out - it’s very hard to enjoy a stroll around the city when it’s driving snow or freezing cold outside. BUT! I’m going to try and explore at least two new places in the city, be it a restaurant, a building, a new experience. I’m hoping I can find some new favourite places.

Learn, try some new things, and learn some more
Between completing my first french course, reading five books, writing daily, and trying a few new art-related things, I’m going to be learning a bunch of new things in February. I’m also hoping to apply to University again, and hopefully start getting on track with my degree again. We’ll see - I might even be able to fit some sort of dance class in there!

Make an art piece + collect my portfolio
My art is scattered all over the place, in my house, and also halfway across the country. I’m hoping to get my portfolio collected and sorted this month, partly for applying for university, and partly just so I can see all my art gathered in one place and feel good about it (and myself). I’m also hoping to work through a large-scale art piece from start to finish. And of course, document the process so I can talk about it!

Make writing and tea-drinking a daily habit
One of the most valuable things I do every year is Nanowrimo. Sitting down and making writing a daily practice is one of the greatest feelings. I have never felt more creative, more productive, and been able to see tangible growth and progress than when I’m writing a target of words every day. Couple that with a good cup of tea (and hopefully dipping in to our TOO LARGE stash of teas) and I’m hoping I’ll have two new daily habits to add to my growing list.

Take care of the body and mind
Through a daily goal of at least 5 minutes of exercise (no rules as to what it is, although I’m hoping to do some heavier exercise this month by finally signing up at the YMCA), as well as spending a bit of time every day to meditate and stretch my body, I want to take better care of my body and my mind. Because I have the chance to do that, this month, so I might as well take it!

What are your goals for the month? Do you any unique methods of keeping track of your goals, or any system you use? I also keep a page in my bullet journal tracking my goals! Let me know in the comments!

HELLO NOVEMBER

Hello November,

Hello foggy breath. Hello curled under warm blankets. Hello turning pages and breathing in that old-book smell. Hello to cookies and baking and soups and bread. Hello to quiet candlelight. Hello to the last days of fall, the brightest leaves. Hello to the return of stillness. Hello to silence and settling in. Hello to nesting, endless amounts of soup and video games. Hello to windy days and skies full of stars. Hello to remembering and reminiscing and never forgetting. Hello to inner peace and outer peace, stillness and charm. Hello to creating and cozying and making our own. Hello to maybe, possibly getting myself together. Hello to oranges and preparing and calm-before-the-storm. To first snows, to kindness and catching up. Hello to new habits and old habits and working hard. Hello writing, again, and writing even more. Hello to digging in to new books and drinking copious amounts of tea - probably far more than is good for me (no such thing). Hello to laughter, hello to the rollercoaster of the creative process, hello to the crazy-good feeling of creating. Hello to new habits, and to being healthier in every way. Hello to 'this-can-only-get-better' and 'this-can-only-be-good-for-me'. 

Hello November,

Let’s dance.

Hello October...

 Why Hello again, October...

Hello longer nights and full moons. Hello shooting stars and constellations, warm blankets in open fields. Hello cozying up under scratchy wool and hearts getting quick at spooky things. Hello to the ancient art of telling stories and coming together. Hello cooking at home - roasted vegetables steaming and crisp apple skins cracking. Hello to experiencing a city that loves fall. Hello new discoveries and new places. Hello to lacing up my boots and going on adventures. Hello to finally doing the things on my to-do list. Hello to taking care of myself and working hard, and taking more time to breathe and connect. Hello to more of what I want to do, and less of what isn’t. Hello to bringing close the family and friends I love. Hello big bowls of warm soup. Hello hot tea and apples. Hello to late-night movies and cool open windows. Hello to magic and autumn and gold. Hello to brilliant colours and wind’s breathy sighs. Hello to spirits waking up and looking inside oneself. Hello to big, fat fruits and bundles of wheat. Hello to smoke in the air and letting down your hair. Hello to memories, new and old. 

Hello again, October, 
It's gonna be fun.

HELLO...FEBRUARY

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Hello February. I'm sure it's going to be great this year.

Hopefully you'll help me to finish writing a book. Or at least show up to the page every day.
You'll see me writing blog posts regularly. Getting in to the habit - the pressure's on, now that we've picked a date to move.
We'll spend a lot of time imagining spring in rosepetals and pinks and carnations and chocolates and warm body heat and joy and laughter.
We'll go on a trip together - somewhere, anywhere.
You'll see me create art - something I struggled with over January. Please, help me to just create - something, anything, everything.
You'll see me express more gratitude - smile more and laugh more.
We'll work out together. Please - pretty please, let's go for some runs together. Let's do some dancing together. Let's drink some protein together.
You'll hear me speak more french. Lots more. I'm almost halfway to fluency. There's no reson not to, non?

Let's dance, February. This is the only chance we get this year - let's make magic together!