Category: goals

I woke up this morning and just decided it was time to start up monthly goals again. I took a break due to pregnancy exhaustion and then just didn’t feel the motivation to pick back up until now. My plan is to finish out the year with these and then reevaluate how I want to do goals for next year.

When thinking of my goals this month I wanted to keep it fun and easy. These days things are hard enough with raising a toddler, growing a human, and working. There is also the stocking and cross stitching that I’m working on and will try to keep up with. These are just little extra things that I want to add in if possible.

The garland is something I’ve wanted to try for awhile in my effort to add a little to my holiday decoration stash each year. Thrifting is mostly to look for items for our bedroom. VBS is a weekly family-centered gathering at my church during the month of October that we are going to give a solid effort to attend. My mom volunteered to crochet me a blanket for our bed (I’m sooo excited about this) so I just need to choose the yarn for it. And I have a few ideas for a “just for fun” craft I want to do that I’ll be sharing soon.

Yay October! For me it means the beginning of holiday anticipation, our anniversary (five years this Thursday!), and the month when we usually finally get a cool front. I love it.

So this month might not be very fun. It’s time to make some changes though. I need to eat healthier and my main area of weakness is sweets so I’m starting there. Until now I’ve been having multiple desserts a day. I want to cut back to two a week to try to get rid of the cravings. I also figure that if I get a good water bottle and have it always with me I’ll drink more, which I want to do anyway, and it will also help keep me from snacking.

The exercise thing needs to happen but I’m not sure how. My ideas right now are to do yoga 2-3 times a week in the morning before work (although that will mean waking up super early but I think I can do it), do some sort of workout DVD in the evening with Meredith around (my hope is that she’ll think it’s fun), and to alternate a quick hand weights/plyometrics workout in the evenings too. This month will be for experimentation and not necessarily for consistency until I can find what works.

More boring, unfun stuff includes our budget. We really want to pay off debt and do some saving, but we haven’t been trying. The last few months we’ve been purchasing odds and ends that we need and want in hopes that we can lock down our budget and do some serious cutting back. So this month I want to set a detailed budget and find all the areas we can save.

There ARE a couple of things to look forward to though. I’m ready to start sewing on my quilt but I didn’t set a specific goal because just getting something sewn will be an accomplishment. I need to thread the bobbin, practice awhile, and then who knows how much I’ll screw up before getting comfortable with it. Then I want to finish off the buffet area, which will entail some organizing and decorating. I think I want to fill the area mostly with plants and I’m really excited about it.

Alright June, let’s do this.

Lay out quilt, then stack and label rows. Done! It was so much fun to see it laid out. And my sewing machine is working, so now comes the exciting part.

Complete fifteen CEU’s. Easy. I tried the awesome website we have at work for free ones and I knocked them out in a day.

Figure out Google Calendar. A long time ago I tried to start using Google Calendar but I did it in a really complicated way and it didn’t work for me. So I went back and wiped everything clean, then simplified. The thing I’m most excited about is I figured out how to sync it to iCal on my phone. Super useful. I also started using it to meal plan and I love it because I can put a link to the recipe right there.

Try yoga in the morning. I did this. Using one of the free 20-minute audio classes from yogadownload.com I tried this one morning when I was able to get out of bed on time and Meredith stayed asleep. My thoughts afterward were: I am very out of shape and need to find an easier class to begin with, I remember why I love yoga, I feel invigorated, and I want to visit a local studio again on the weekend sometime.

Start a family prayer time. This has been hit or miss. We try to do it every night before bed, but some nights are crazy or she falls asleep before we can do a good bedtime routine. Meredith has recently gotten really interested in reading (yay!) and will sit still for longer books so I started reading The Jesus Storybook Bible to her before bed and then we pray. She knows to fold her hands and she says “amen” at the end so this is at least a halfway success. :)

Meal plan every week. Yes, I did this, the meals were sometimes lame and it didn’t always work out how I planned but at least I’m back in the habit of it!

So after a very busy April I wanted to take a step back this month in the goals area. There are only six of them, and none are too intense. I’m really excited about laying out my quilt top because I’ll get to see what the finished product will look like (sort of). Then I want to prepare it for sewing.

CEU’s stands for continuing education units, and I need them to keep up my nursing license, my oncology certification, and for annual review at work. I am behind on them so this needs to get done regardless, but I thought making it a monthly goal would give me more satisfaction when I do them.

I am curious about Google calendar. Although I do carry a moleskine around for random notes, I do almost all of my list-making and planning digitally, and it works best for me. For a few months this year I tried out an Erin Condren planner and I intend to do a full review of it, but in the end it was bulkier than I needed. I want to see if I can make Google calendar work for me.

The yoga thing is an experiment. I know I love yoga, and I have the resources to do it at home (even though I prefer in studio). I have been trying to brainstorm a way I can incorporate some kind of exercise into my life and the best idea I can come up with right now is to see if I can do a yoga session in the morning before work. Right now I use that alone time (at 5 a.m.) to do my Bible study so I am thinking that I might alternate days and use yoga time to pray. We’ll see.

Speaking of prayer, now that Meredith is a little older I want to start praying with her daily before bed. I think this will also be good for David and me as a couple to pray together.

And finally, meal planning, my old nemesis. People are so kind to give me all kinds of advice about how to make planning, preparing, and cooking dinner easier for me, but when it comes down to it the main problem is just getting motivated to make a plan. I started this week with our easiest standby meals, but I’d like to branch out a little.

Here we go May!

Cut all cream triangles for quilt. This is done! I’m super excited to move on to the next step!

Have sewing machine repaired. It’s not repaired yet, but it is in the shop. I should know by next Tuesday if parts or further repair (other than routine cleaning) is needed.

Purge & organize all of our clothes. This was one of the main things I tackled on my vacation. I even donated the clothes we don’t want instead of leaving them boxed or bagged up for months, and passed along Meredith’s outgrown clothes to my niece. Feels good.

Get caught up on Project Life. I got caught up, but now I’m on the verge of being behind again, ha. If I can get a spread done this coming weekend I’ll be right on schedule though. :)

One craft or project just for fun. Yes! I didn’t think I was going to finish, but then Meredith took a 4-hour nap (!!) last weekend and I completed and hung my woven wall hanging that I started on vacation. As soon as I get some photos in good lighting I will share it for sure.

Complete one area of the house. Yup, I called the eating nook done.

Give proofs of love. I could have done more, but I did try to give David more random cards and notes of affirmation, along with being more intentionally affectionate. I don’t know if he noticed, but we did have a good month together so I’m happy. :)

It was an incredibly productive month and although I’m a little bit tired I am also still inspired! May goals coming tomorrow.