I’ll be honest, this month was a challenge. One of those where you just feel like it’s one thing after another. The good, the bad, and the emotionally draining.

I’ve been hammering this message in a lot during the pandemic but this month I needed it for myself too… The reminder that even when things are tough, there is still plenty of good.

When we’re overwhelmed it can be easy to fall into a negative fog and only focus on what has gone wrong or things that are stressing us out. The quote, “you find what you’re looking for” really rings true here.

Despite the challenges this year has brought all of us though, I want to encourage you to also make time to acknowledge some of the good. For me, I do this during my monthly check-ins where I not only reflect on my goals but also life in general. It’s a time to pause. A time to reflect. A time to realign and refocus.

Admittedly, this month I fell short on quite a few things I set out to do. Life happens and there were things I needed to hit the pause button on so I could reprioritize. Truthfully, I was even dreading doing this month’s check-in. When I did though, I realized that even with all of the curveballs I still had quite a few wins. Wins that had I not actually taken the time to reflect on probably would have just fallen through the cracks.

This month I...

1. Celebrated my 10 year blogging anniversary — Ten freaking years guys!

2. Hosted our 3rd session of our Social Media Business Bootcamp at @BoldandPop

3. Completely booked up design projects for September and was able to sign projects for October and November

4. Hosted my first virtual meetup with @TacomaBossLadies to chat about Q4 goal planning

Mapped out my personal focuses for Q4 and Q1 and put together a launch calendar

So whether you came out of last month feeling like you crushed it or you were totally on the struggle bus, I encourage you to take a few mins to check-in. You likely deserve more credit than you’re giving yourself. We’re often our own toughest critics and acknowledging those wins (even when they’re small) can be instrumental in pushing us forward.💗

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Why do I do goal check-ins?

I started doing goal check-ins publically as a personal accountability challenge. Working on my goals and strategies to accomplish them have always been really important and by sharing them I felt an extra weight of commitment. Plus, I wanted a way to try and encourage others to have their own check-ins and keep working on their own goals. Helping others reach their dreams has always felt like my purpose and by being vulnerable and sharing the journey of my own I hope to inspire others as well.

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When we decided to make pickles I thought it would be a big production involving canning and all of that. Turns out you can also make small batch refrigerator pickles and they are SO easy! I’m talking you can have them prepped in a matter of minutes. I made 8 jars in 30 mins the last time and then they only take a few days to be ready to eat! I told you guys…. easy peasy!

Below are 3 of the recipes we’ve used that I recommend! The fun thing about making pickles too is you can experiment and get a little creative on the spice side of things. Pickling cucumbers are preferred for these but honestly I’ve used just normal cucumbers too (because that’s what we grew in the garden this year) and they turned out great!

Sweet Pickles

This recipe fills about 3 pints jars of pickles

• Couple of pounds of cucumbers

• Yellow onion

• 3 cups of sugar

• 1/4 cup Kosher salt

• 2 cups white vinegar

• 2 teaspoons mustard seed

Make them sweet and spicy (my favorite)

• Add 1/4- 1/2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes to each jar (depending on how much spice you want)

Directions:

1. Wash jars and rinse cucumbers and onion. If they’re homegrown cucumbers be sure to rub off the spikes too.

2. Roughly chop onion and cut cucumbers how you’d like them — you can keep them whole if they’re pickling cucumbers or try quartering them or slicing for bread and butter pickles (my go-to)

3. Mix spices and vinegar mixture into bowl and stir well

4. Fill jars with cucumbers and a couple tablespoons of onion then top with pickling mixture

5. Put lids on jars and shake each a couple of times.

6. Put in refrigerator and shake each day for 2-3 days and then enjoy!

The pickles will be good in the fridge for about a month and I do want to note if you make spicy pickles they will get spicier the longer they’re in there so just keep that in mind.

Dill pickles

This recipe fills about 3 pints jars of pickles

• Couple of pounds of cucumbers

• 1.5 cups white vinegar or apple cider vinegar

• 2 cups water

• 1/8 cup of Kosher salt

• 2 tablespoons sugar (optional)

• 3 sprigs of fresh dill

• 6 garlic cloves

• 3 teaspoons dill seed

• 1.5 teaspoons black peppercorns

Make them spicy

• Add 1/4- 1/2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes to each jar (depending on how much spice you want)

• As an alternative, you can also add sliced jalapenos or serrano peppers to the jars

Directions:

1. Wash jars and rinse cucumbers. If they’re homegrown cucumbers be sure to rub off the spikes too.

2. Cut cucumbers how you’d like them — you can keep them whole if they’re pickling cucumbers or try quartering them or slicing for bread and butter pickles (my go-to)

3. Mix vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a bowl until dissolved

4. Add a sprig of fresh dill, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns and chili flakes (optional) to each jar. If you don’t have fresh dill you can double up on dill seed or if you’re in a pinch you can use dried dill it just makes the mix a little messier.

5. Fill jars with cucumbers and then top with pickling mixture

6. Put lids on jars and shake each a couple of times.

7. Put in refrigerator and shake each day for 2-3 days and then enjoy!

19 years have gone by and yet I will always remember this day. I was in 7th grade and stumbled into my mom’s room to watch TV before school when I saw the news. At the time, the east coast felt really far away, but the gravity and fear that came along with what had happened wasn’t lost on me.

When I moved to New York City nearly a decade later those feelings took on a whole new meaning. It was more than a national tragedy our country had faced, it was personal to those closest to me. They didn’t watch the terror play out on the news, they lived it. They lost friends. They lost family. They walked the streets of the city not knowing what was coming next and those experiences would change them from that day forward. While I’ll never truly be able to feel the same pain, seeing how the anniversaries affected the city year after year, watching the readings of the names, and visiting the memorials are experiences that will stay with me forever. 

Today I want to remember each and every one of the nearly 3,000 lives who we lost that day in the attacks. I want to remember all of the first responders who didn’t think twice about putting their lives on the line to help others and everyone who did their best at the hospitals. I want to remember everyone who was injured and those who have lived with long-term health effects ever since. And I want to send my love to all of those who lost someone they loved that day and let them know we will not forget them. 

There is no comparison to the tragedy that took place that day, but the heaviness the country is feeling right now feels faintly familiar. There has been so much loss, destruction and unease. So today I also want to remember what happened in our country after September 11th. How in one of America’s darkest times we were able to set our differences aside and come together and how the city and country was able to rise again. #NeverForget.