Word of the Year

When 2015 rolled around, I knew that I didn't want to have any super concrete resolutions, especially concerning the blog, but when I thought about my goals for this year, one word kept coming back to me. This year, and every year after, I want to be effective in everything I do. I know that I have the habit of taking too much on, and instead of doing a few things well, I do a mediocre job at everything. I want to be effective in 

+my last semester of high school strong

+running a 10K by the end of the semester

+learning to cook

+journaling regularly

+filling my 2015 memory jar with all the awesome things I'll be doing this semester

+blogging regularly

+scheduling posts for when I won't have time to write

+having fun

So as the sun sets on 2014, and rises on 2015, let the games begin! :)

xo, Hima

April Goals

Hey y'all! 

Wow, it's been a while since I've had three posts in one week. Hopefully that means I'm getting better at time management ;) So, remember when I posted my February goals? And then I did really well on all of them the whole month? And then I never posted any March goals? And then I sucked at my goals the whole month? 

Even if you're running on two hours of sleep, you've probably figured out what this post is going to be about. I don't really have any goals to evaluate from last month, so I'll just get right to it. 

1. Read at least 4 books. I've literally had a pile of 8 books sitting by my bed for the last three weeks waiting to be read. I'm still on number one. To be fair, we did TONS of reading for my lit class this month. Look out for my March books post next week!
2. Prewrite at least one blog post per week. I hate not blogging, but I also hate when blogging feels like a chore, and I'm sacrificing sleep to write a blog post. If I have 'em stored up, I can just hit publish and get to the fun part- interacting with y'all. 
3. Drink a half gallon of water/day. I've definitely been slacking on this lately. (Okay, let's be real- there isn't a high school teacher in the world who will let you go pee twice in a period because you're drinking a lot of water.)
4. Mix up my clothes. Like I said in my post about things I'm guilty of, I tend to wear the same clothing combinations a lot. I'm working on changing this and making better use of my closet. 
5. Don't stay up past midnight more than once a week. To be honest this will be hardest to follow through with. 
6. Take time to enjoy the little things, like this adorable note my mom slipped into my lunch on the way to school.

Don't you dare tell me less is more with photo editing. 

What are your April goals? Let me know in the comments below so we can keep each other accountable!

xo, Hima

February Goals

Hey y'all. After 30-something days of slogging through 2014, it's time to figure out what the heck I'm trying to do with myself for the next month. I also wanted to check back in on my 2014 blogging goals and update all y'all on my progress. 

January Goals: 

1. Write more- I said I wanted to write 3 days a week and I owned that. I've developed this blogging schedule where I write on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights, and they count as posts for the next day. I read/comment on blogs almost every day though! 

2. Make more blog friends- totes did this. And I'll definitely continue to!

3. Participate in at least two exchanges. LOL NOPE! Working on this.

4. Figure out how to use Pinterest and Twitter. I tweet a ton, but 0 traffic from Twitter. Pinterest, on the other hand, isn't too bad! Thanks to Ashley for her tips!

5.  At least 1 recipe post per month and a monthly goals post at the beginning of the month- I had 2 recipe posts this month, and I have another in the works. Overnight Oats and Raspberry French Toast Bake (both under 5 minutes prep time!)

Definitely going to try to continue to keep up with all of these- I'd like to try for TWO recipe posts.

Please enjoy this incredibly relevant picture of one of my outfits last week.

February Goals: These aren't really blog focused, just somethings to try for in general
1. Read at least 4 books, and write reviews for at least 2. I've wanted to incorporate book reviews into my blog for a really long time, like Marla and Tiffany, and hopefully this goal will force me to. Recommendations would be much appreciated.

2. Get to the gym 5 days a week. This is going to be really hard, but I know that if I make a goal and make it public, I WILL do this. I've been averaging 4 for all of January.

3. Take my DSLR camera out at least twice and use it. I really love photography, but I tend to take most pictures with my phone, just because it's infinity times more convenient.

4. Start my favorite bloggers series. This has been marinating in my mind (ew that's such a gross idea I take that back) for such a long time now, and I finally want to sit down and get it all put together!

5. Compliment someone every day. Why not spread some more love and happiness? :)

6. I'm currently working with Shutterfly to put together a 20th anniversary gift for my parents. (Long time, I know!) I hope this goes well, and I'm so excited to write about the process.

What are you going to get done this month? Let me know in the comments below. Don't forget to tell me about your favorite book!

xo, Hima

Hi, 2014

I'm a goal setter. I love to sit and write down my goals at the beginning of every year/month/week/day, and then accomplishing them gives me happiness like no other. 

So in the early hours of 2014, as I sat atop Mission Peak, my legs aching from the strain of pushing myself and my brother up the hill, my eyes watering from the wind, trying to soak in the natural beauty surrounding me, my mind turned to my blog, and what I'd like to do with it this year. 

PS: I finally hiked Mission Peak, which means I crossed off item 1 from my bucket list!

1. Write more. 

With my schedule and where I am in life, I can't commit to writing every day, or even 5 times a week, but I'd like to shoot for 3. I tend to waste a ton of time while I'm writing my posts- going on Facebook or checking out what the rest of the Internet is doing. All I have to do is focus on writing and I'm golden. I'm so excited about this I even made a blog planner to keep myself on track :)

clearly, I had a lot of fun doing this. 

2. Make more blog friends. 

While I love love love the blog friends I already have (hi guys!), I definitely want to get to know more of you, because y'all are amazing. I think Noor said it best when she said you can never have enough blog besties!

3. Participate in at least two exchanges.

I love getting mail. I mean, who doesn't? And how better to accomplish goal #2 than to take time to get to know a couple of bloggers well enough to send them a package full of things they love? Have you ever done an exchange? What was your experience like?

4. Figure out how to use Pinterest and Twitter.

As of now, literally all my blog traffic comes from Facebook and Bloglovin'. I'm so lost on using Pinterest and Twitter to pull traffic to the blog, so any tips would be MUCH appreciated!

5.  At least 1 recipe post per month and a monthly goals post at the beginning of the month

Y'all really love those, and it'll help me be more accountable.

Any other goals I should definitely add? What are you looking to do for 2014? Let me know in the comments below!

xo, Hima