6 Small Goals for October

Oh, hi, it's October.

Following in the footsteps of a few bloggers I love, like Valery Brennan & Nicole of Writes Like a Girl, I'm testing out a new regular post: "small goals" for each month. This is just as much to keep myself accountable as to give you a peek into my life & what I'm working on. Each month, I'll share how I did on my previous month's goals & what I'm aiming to accomplish in the coming month.

Of course, I'm just starting out, so I don't have any September goals to review. Instead, let's jump right into what I'm hoping for in October - almost all of which are wedding-related, given that we're now a month out! I promise the wedding chatter is almost over...

1. Finish all major wedding prep: Come November, we'll plenty of last-minute tasks like seating &... seating? But I want to have everything else done by then so we're not scrambling to get all our prep work done in the first week & a half of November, right before the wedding.
      
2. Eat as healthfully as possible: I just had a dress fitting, & I seem to be doing all right on that front, but I know I'll be most comfortable on my wedding day if I don't gain any extra weight between now & then - & I'll be even more comfortable if I can manage to lose a little, even if it's just bloating/water weight. I tend to want to snack & eat terribly when I'm stressed, so this will be an extra challenge during an inherently stressful month.
       
3. Whiten my teeth: I ordered a whitening kit from Smile Direct, but I've yet to create impressions to send back so that I can get my personalized molds. I really want to make this happen before the wedding so my poor photographer doesn't have to spend hours & hours Photoshopping my currently coffee-stained teeth.
     
4. Turn in my Cleveland Magazine assignment: As I mentioned in September's book review post, I'm working on a small freelance bit for the local magazine where I interned 10 years ago. I'm very excited about it & hope that if I do well on it, they'll approach me again in the future with similar assignments. My deadline is October 6th, so this one is coming up quickly.
      
5. Pull back on weekday plans: We'll be out of town at other people's wedding during the first two weekends in November, which doesn't leave a ton of free time for wedding-related stuff. As much as I love October, I need to acknowledge that I don't have the time or the energy to do anything right now except wedding prep, which means no extraneous plans. The one exception is that I want to...
     
6. Hang out with my "little sister" twice: I'm 11 months into volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland. My little sister N & I have had some trouble getting a hangout on the schedule lately, such that we didn't get together at all in September. I'd like to make up for it with two outings this month, pre-wedding stress be damned. 

So tell me: Any suggestions for meeting my goals? What are your small goals (or large ones!) for this month?