Month in Music: February 2015

Each month, I make a Spotify playlist with songs that I'm feeling for the month. Follow me on Spotify to see these lists as they are made. At the end of the month, I'll post the playlist here, with some explanation for the songs that have been filling my speakers, and how they relate to my life.

Wake up, it's March! This year is one sixth over; this is no time to be slacking. February was a short month, which means it's so much more motivating to set February goals than New Year's resolutions. For me, the second month of the year is when I set my goals. You saw my post about my blog goals, and I had also been trying to get a job like a madwoman. So my music needs to help me out -- by pumping me up and making me sing out loud.

Let's have some fun this month with my February playlist!

Hitting That High
Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons - Stay
Misterwives - Reflections
Borns - Electric Love

Baby you're like lightning in a bottle. I can't let you go now that I've got it. - Borns

Hitting super high notes is kind of a challenge, but these songs are just way to much fun to not sing along to. Singing gets my mind off whatever challenges I'm facing, and this month these songs definitely distracted me from my job hunt and a rough ground delay before flying to Florida.


Girl Power
Kelly Clarkson - Heartbeat Song
Katy Perry - Firework
Florence and the Machine - Shake it Out

I can feel it rising, temperature inside of me. Haven't felt for a long time. - Kelly Clarkson

Motivation! This month was all about buckling down and really setting my mind to getting things done when it came to job searching. And guess what? It paid off! I start a new job next week. What better place for that motivation to come from than some fellow women who are really showing us all how it's done?


Get Up & Dance
Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk
Simon & Garfunkel - Cecilia
Michael Franti & Spearhead - I'm Alive (Life Sound Like)
New Politics - Harlem

Everybody wants me to who they want me to be except you. All I wanna do is be with you. - Michael Franti

Most of the time, I listen to songs that I like to sing along to. This month, with the chilling temperatures and crazy cabin fever, I picked some songs that really made me want to grab my puppy's little paws and dance with her! So put these tunes on and really jam out.


Lighthearted Love
Us the Duo - No Matter Where You Are
Thurston Harris - Little Bitty Pretty One
Betty Who - Somebody Loves You

Somebody misses you when you're away. They want to wake up with you everyday. - Betty Who

The relationship between me and The Boy has been taking a slight hit with my unemployment. We're not sure how my new job is going to affect things, especially with his weird hours. In February, these songs reminded me of The Boy when he was out of the house working or we were traveling separately. However, the happy and upbeat nature of these particular love songs kept my head in a good mood, even when we had to be apart.


Calm & Happy
The Avett Brothers - Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise
Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On
Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox - Shake it Off

If you're loved by someone you're never rejected. Decide whatt to be and go be it. - The Avett Brothers

After long days of job searching, cover letters, resume editing, and interviews, I just wanted to relax and unwind. These slower jams definitely helped me do that, but their positive nature sent me some good vibes. Now, I don't know if it was the music, but I did get offered that job, so it certainly didn't hurt!



Full Playlist

My Blog Goals

 

I hate writing down goals. I know, I know, you're supposed to, and make them something measurable and all that. But I've never been able to do that. I don't like tangible goals, because then you can fail so easily. I'm the type of person that once I start failing on a goal, it's a slippery downward spiral.

For example, I don't diet (because I honestly can't be bothered, and I think I live a moderately healthy lifestyle already) because if I did, one cheat day would turn into all the cheat days. And after a week that diet would be a goner.

But despite myself, I've decided to write down my blog goals, and maybe try to actually achieve them. Baby steps. These goals aren't perfect. They don't have numbers and percentage increases. But they do exist now somewhere other than my mind, and that means you can hold me accountable. You can say, "Hey, Kait, have you worked on achieving X goal lately?" and I can shrink down and avoid eye contact. Or (big hopefully here) I can smile and say "Yep, I've totally been doing A, B, and C this past week!"

Without further ado, here they are:

1. Organize my blogging schedule better

Why: Other than to appease my obsessive compulsion, it might make me a little more accountable to post on time. Also, scheduling will make it easier to post time-sensitive material.

How:

• Project management software
• Redefine my blog post workflow
• Stop leaving half finished drafts around!

2. Connect with other bloggers to build a community

Why: A lot of people I know in real life just don't "get" blogging. It's nice to have a group of people to bounce ideas off and lean on when I need support for things like writer's block.

How:

• #Twitterchats!
• Be more active in SoFab and 20sb, my blogging networks
• Promoting real discussions by commenting instead of liking things

3. Promote my blog better

Why: I don't just write for my own health, although that is a big reason. I also want my words out there, and I want acknowledgement that what I do and say could actually be important.

How:

• Be more active with promotions on social media
• Learn about SEO techniques and utilize them
• Discover new social networks and figure out how to use them properly

Things I Loved This Week (And Last!)

Sneak peak: Next week's multigrain cocoa-cinnamon buns!

What I'm Reading

All Roads Lead to Home (Bellingwood Series): I started reading this book series, and I absolutely love the characters! But Diane Greenwood Muir doesn't let the plot suffer either. There is mystery and intrigue, and I am totally hooked! Here's a quick plot description to draw you in: "Polly Giller returns to small-town Iowa from Boston ready to start a new life. She is renovating an old school building and while getting to know new friends, two sets of bones fall out of the ceiling."

Around the Web

When I see the phrase "Amazon bestselling author," I assume your book hit #1 in some obscure category like Underwater Locked Room Mysteries.
— Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) January 27, 2015

A backlit Belgian Trippel, follow me on Instagram for more!

#TheWriteParty: I joined my first Twitter chat this week and it was awesome! I met some fantastic writers, and learned some new points of view about the creative process. Are you a writer too? Join in Thursday at 7, hosted by TheWriteWoman

I write by pen and paper. Tedious, yes. Old school, yes. But, oh the catharsis. #TheWriteParty
— amber thomas (@mrthomasandme) January 30, 2015

This article from Business Insider uses Richard Feynman as an example to show that having more mental models can make unsolvable problems solvable: "If you only have one framework for thinking about the world, then you'll try to fit every problem you face into that framework."

An extremely interesting story by Zachary McDermott, where he discusses his mental illness from a first person perspective: "I could tell the people on the sidewalk were actors, but just barely. They resembled the normal East Village lot, but they were archetypes"

Awesome Instagrams

• This shelf office set-up is basically my dream. Loving the vertical space use!
• This hippo is so happy! I hope everyone has a day like this.
• Food52 regrammed this delectable looking salted hot chocolate. Yum!
• The hot air balloons just make these rock formations even more stunning.
• Beautiful watercolor and good advice all in one gram? Love it.
• Take me to New Orleans please! I can't resist the French Quarter arhcitecture.
• These gorgeous drinks are making me consider some day cocktails
• Canyonlands is definitely on my list. I need to get to traveling!
• Can everyday be National Peanut Butter Day if we get these cookies?

The whiskey is downstairs. I am upstairs. This is #thestruggle.
— Jessica Stapf (@jstapfinator) January 24, 2015

Color Scheme Inspiration: Bedroom

In decorating my new apartment, I was completely starting from scratch in that I owned no furniture or really anything other than the type of items that are generally stored away in a closet (ie, plenty of clothes!) However, when choosing colors, I had to think about what the place already looked like.

Because the whole house has white walls and a dark chocolate brown carpets (with the exception of the kitchen which has gorgeous yellow walls, but we'll get there another time) I had to consider those colors are my starting point.