You know what has been annoying me a little bit recently? (I know… there are lots of things about 2020 that are annoying…) My 2020 monthly calendar is travel themed, and it’s getting a bit old each month to pull out another pretty image of somewhere I’d love to travel to in the middle of a pandemic where traveling isn’t possible! I guess I know what theme I’m not picking for my 2021 calendar…

July felt a bit like a blur. I didn’t set any goals, and it was the first month since Covid-19 that we had some normal-feeling events on our calendar. Attending those events reminded us just how not normal everything is right now, but I’m grateful for the month of July and the opportunities it gave me to connect with family who we hadn’t seen since the 2019 holidays.

Looking forward to August, it feels like there is a lot riding on this month - we have our frozen embryo transfer scheduled for the first week of August! Depending on the results of that procedure, the rest of 2020 could look quite different for our little family. I’m trying to remain optimistic and not let my nerves get the best of me, but if you wouldn’t mind lifting Kurt and me up in your prayers and thoughts this week, I know I’d be so grateful. Here’s what else I’m planning to focus on in August!

On my calendar this month:

• Our frozen embryo transfer the first week of August!

• Kurt’s family will be back to visit later in the month

What I’m loving right now:

• I’m taking a few days off from work after our frozen embryo transfer and I can’t wait to watch this reboot of The Baby-Sitters Club. I loved the books as a child and think this new series will be a fun bit of nostalgia!

• We’re trying out a new approach to menu planning this month and I’ve been looking for new food bloggers to follow and recipes to try. This week we tried two recipes (this one and this one) from Half Baked Harvest and they were delicious - highly recommend! And if you have any favorite recipes or bloggers, please feel free to share them with me!

August goals:

• Cleaning up the garden and planting more late summer/fall veggies

• Our decluttering project for this month is going to be the storage closets and areas throughout the house

• Finishing up our kitchen refresh project

• Following our new menu planning routine with planned meal themes and shopping days

• Setting a weekly laundry routine

• Walking with Kurt daily when the weather permits

• Completing another closet edit and sending off a ThredUp bag

As a reminder, many of these monthly goals are directly related to my overall goals for 2020!

I’m doing my best to not let my nerves get the best of me as we prep for our frozen embryo transfer and the waiting that will follow. Friends, I’d love to know, how do you find calm in times of stress? Share your tips in the comments!