Goals

It's past mid-June. I usually post goals and updates, but you know what? It's just not working for me. In one of the blogs I follow, the woman makes weekly goals and then shares them. That's great. For her. It's important for me to realize that, yes, I'd love to read two books a month, but at this point, it's not going to happen. I can still make new recipes, read books when I can, but I'm not going to freak about it. Whew. That feels better.

April Goals

I'm a bit behind. At the beginning of March I came back from vacation, and then right after that we decided to remodel our kitchen, and you know what that's like-you can't do just one thing because then something else looks bad and pretty soon you're starting over. We didn't go quite that far, but I do have new counter tops, a new light fixture over the new sink, a tile backsplash, and the walls have a fresh coat of paint. Oh, and our dryer broke, so there was that.

 In looking at Money Saving Mom's goals, she lists them in numerical order from 1-10 instead of numbering each section. This keeps it manageable and I like that, so April's goals look a bit different.

Here's my progress for March:

March Goals

Personal Goals:
1. Read Love That Lasts by Gary and Betsy Ricucci and Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff. (I ditched Cleopatra and read Choosing to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman-amazing book!!! And I've picked up Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels.)
2. Make Broccoli with Walnuts and Parmesan, Kahlua Brownies. (Meh on the broccoli.)
3. Memorize Phil. 2:3-4, I John 4:4, I Tim. 2:5
4. Prep Letter of the Week curriculum for Little Man, letters E and F. (Ooops!)
5. Watch three "Entrusted With A Child's Heart" lessons. (I did one because, just when I was ready to watch two more, I realized a lady at church still had them.)


Health Goals:
Nothing for this month.


Marriage Goals:
1. Monthly date night theme: Mad Libs.(We ended up spending the evening with my husband's family-he doesn't get to see them very often.)


Mothering Goals:
1. Read a chapter book with Bella. (So.bad.with.this!)
2. Make rainbow cupcakes, tissue paper stained glass, and soap crayons and origami frogs.

Financial Goals:
1. Only use cash for personal purchases.
2. Continue to save $20 per paycheck for my perfume. I have to start all over again, but that's okay-it will be worth it! (I got the decorating bug and spent my cash on supplies to make a wreath. That's cool.)

3. Pay off one credit card. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Relationship Goals:
1. Send a care package to the college student I'm "adopting" for the year.

April Goals

Personal Goals:

1. Finish reading Love That Lasts and Too Busy Not to Pray. 

2. Make Sesame Chicken and Tea Cakes. 

3. Memorize Ephesians 5:15-17, Hebrews 4:12.
4. Write and post five blog entries (I'd love to do three a week, but it's not happening). 

Marriage Goals:

5. Plan Choose Your Own Adventure Date. 

6. Write my husband a love letter.

Mothering Goals:

7. Read Meet Kit with Isabella. 

8. Make resurrection cookies and coffee filter butterflies.
9. Print and prep Letter of the Week Curriculum for letters E and F AND G and H.

Financial Goals:

9. Not purchase anything on a credit or debit card. In looking over our budget on Mint.com, it's just not pretty.

Relationship Goals:

10. Send one more care package to the college student I've adopted for the year.

And that's it! This time I'll actually print this out so I can keep track of myself! Sometimes throughout the month I just lose track of this stuff. 

January Goals Update/February Goals

January has come and gone (so quickly?). Time to see how I did on my goals for the month:

Personal Goals:
1. Read The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I read Swamplandia! instead, which was on my list for F. I wasn't impressed with it.
2. Make Blackened Catfish Po'Boys, Roasted Carrots and Potatoes, and Mini Maple Pancake Muffins.
3. Memorize I Cor. 15:58, Gal, 6:9-10, and Phil. 1:6.
4. Prep Letter of the Week curriculum for Little Man, letters A and B.


Health Goals:
1. Exercise five days a week. I've given this up until we can get the XBox Kinect workout game. And even then, it might get kicked off my list...again.
2. Get eight hours of sleep six out of nine days. My husband works six on and three off, and when he's home, I sit up to spend time with him. However, my days of staying up til 2:00 am are over (mostly because we're caught up on Mad Men).


Marriage Goals:
1. Have an 11:30 study time with my hubby. We'll either read a book or study the Bible together. I'm shooting for 4 days a week. I still remain hopeful on this one.
2. Monthly date night theme: puzzle night. Cancelled due to him having to work.


Mothering Goals:
1. Do school with Isabella each week.
2. Read a chapter book to Bella (we're going to the library tomorrow). We did a few chapters of an American Girl book, but I wasn't diligent enough to stick with it.
3. Go outside every day with ideas from this book. We were out 13 days. I have this great app that keeps track of my goals of fruits, veggies, water, and time outside.
4. Make Playdough, Snowflake Tortillas, and Paper bag puppets.

Financial Goals:
1. Only use cash. I did use the debit card a few times.
2. Save $20 per paycheck for splurging (I've got my eye on a perfume).
3. Pay down-not off, yet-one credit card (our goal is to wipe out two credit card bills this year).

Relationship Goals:
1.Write a note of encouragement to a friend. 



February Goals

Personal Goals:
1. Read Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs and three stories from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
2. Make Pasta Carbonara with Leeks and Lemon, Spiced Lemony Brussels Sprouts, and Cream Scones.
3. Memorize Ephesians 2:10 and Colossians 1:15-17.
4. Prep Letter of the Week curriculum for Little Man, letters Cand D.


Health Goals:
1. This is more of a "mental health" goal. My goal is to spend time on ME each week in the form of spa stuff either Friday, Saturday or Sunday night. I know that spending those few minutes with a mask on, or doing my hands or feet will make me a much happier mommy.


Marriage Goals:
1. Do at least three cute Valentine's Day ideas (we don't normally make a big whoop out of it).
2. Monthly date night theme: Bella Notte.


Mothering Goals:
1. Do school with Isabella each week. (We went to a meeting for her kindergarten in the fall and it's fired me up to get her as ready as possible.)
2. Go outside at least three days a week with ideas from this book.
4. Make valentines, tissue paper stained glass, and soap crayons.

Financial Goals:
1. Only use cash for personal purchases.
2. Continue to save $20 per paycheck for splurging; I just scored some tall size end-of-the-season clothes from Eddie Bauer, so that takes $40 from my perfume fund!
3. Pay off one credit card.

Relationship Goals:
1. Go for cupcakes with my girlfriend-woohoo!

Out with the old, in with the new

So, I did fairly well with my 2011 goals, and here come the 2012 goals. I have a full list of goals for the year, but the idea is to make them small, so I broke them all down into monthly goals.

Personal Goals:
1. Read The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
2. Make Blackened Catfish Po'Boys, Roasted Carrots and Potatoes, and Mini Maple Pancake Muffins.
3. Memorize I Cor. 15:58, Gal, 6:9-10, and Phil. 1:6.
4. Prep Letter of the Week curriculum for Little Man, letters A and B.


Health Goals:
1. Exercise five days a week.
2. Get eight hours of sleep six out of nine days. My husband works six on and three off, and when he's home, I sit up to spend time with him. However, my days of staying up til 2:00 am are over (mostly because we're caught up on Mad Men).


Marriage Goals:
1. Have an 11:30 study time with my hubby. We'll either read a book or study the Bible together. I'm shooting for 4 days a week.
2. Monthly date night theme: puzzle night.


Mothering Goals:
1. Do school with Isabella each week.
2. Read a chapter book to Bella (we're going to the library tomorrow).
3. Go outside every day with ideas from this book.
4. Make Playdough, Snowflake Tortillas, and Paper bag puppets.

Financial Goals:
1. Only use cash.
2. Save $20 per paycheck for splurging (I've got my eye on a perfume).
3. Pay down-not off, yet-one credit card (our goal is to wipe out two credit card bills this year).

Relationship Goals:
1.Write a note of encouragement to a friend.

2011-how was it?

Well, another year has come and gone. I looked over my 2011 goals and for my own personal satisfaction; here’s what I wanted to do and how it went:

Personal Goals:
*Read two books each month; one sacred, one secular.

Sacred List:

1. Don't Make Me Count to Three-Ginger Plowman
2. I Saw the Lord-Ann Graham
3. Knowing God-J.I. Packer
4. The Pursuit of God-A.W. Tozer
5. The Presence of God-Brother Lawrence (Didn’t read this one.)
6. God's Wisdom for a Mother's Heart: A Bible Study for Moms-Bobbie Wolgemuth
7. Big Truths for Young Hearts-Bruce A. Ware (Didn’t read this one either.)
8. A Woman After God's Own Heart-Elizabeth George (In process.)
9. The Most Important Place on Earth: What a Christian Home Looks Like and How To Build One-Robert Wolgemuth.
10. Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World-Joanna Weaver
11. The Resolution for Women-Priscilla Shirer (In process.)
12. ?? I think I missed one along the way.

Secular List:

1. The Wednesday Letters-Jason Wright.
2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo-Stieg Laarson.
3. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake-Aimee Bender.
4. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter-Seth Grahame-Smith
5. The Help- Kathryn Stockett
6. Firefly Lane-Kristin Hannah
7. One for the Money-Janet Evanovich
8. My Name is Memory-Ann Brashares
9. All That is Bitter and Sweet-Ashley Judd (Didn’t finish.)
10. A Red Herring without No Mustard-Alan Bradley
11. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie-Alan Bradley
12. The Two Lives of Charlotte Merrywether-Alexandra Potter
13. The Book of Tomorrow-Cecelia Ahern
14. Left Neglected-Lisa Genova
15. Organized Simplicity-Tsh Oxenreider

*Memorize verses and their references. There are a few I’m still sketchy on, especially toward the bottom of the list, but I’ve got about 90% of this list memorized. (Sorry it’s not in order.)

1. John 15:5
2. Deuteronomy 6:4-5
3. Psalm 1:1-3
4. Psalm 19:14
5. Isaiah 26:3
6. Isaiah 30:21
7. Isaiah 55:8
8. Matthew 6:19-21 (parts of it)
9. Matthew 6:33
10. Matthew 11:28-30
11. John 1:12
12. John 10:10
13. John 4:24
14. John 14:27
15. John 16:33
16. Romans 8:38-39
17. Acts 4:12
18. Psalm 90:12
19. Psalm 51:10
20. Psalm 118:24
21. Psalm 119:105
22. Proverbs 22:6
23. Jeremiah 17:9
24. Lamentations 3:22-23
25. John 15:5-6
26. I Corinthians 10:13
27. I Corinthians 15:58
28. II Corinthians 5:17
29. II Corinthians 10:5
30. II Corinthians 12:9
31. Galatians 5:22-23
32. Galatians 6:7

*Try 12 new recipes. I can provide recipes for any of these.

1. Pork with Apples and Pears
2. Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes
3. Pork Shoulder Roast
4. Asian Lettuce Wraps
5. Pasta with Spinach and Bacon
6. Asian BBQ Chicken
7. Blueberry Boy Bait
8. Lasagna Soup
9. Pound Cake
10. Crispy Southwest Asian Wraps
11. No-Bake Energy Bites
12. Chocolate Banana Bread
13. Chicken Canzanese
14. Lemon-Blueberry Cookies
15. Apple Bread
16. Sweet Potato Biscuits
17. Dinner Rolls

Physical Goals:
*Workout at least 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week. Didn’t achieve this one!
*Drink 24 ounces of water a day. Did a fairly good job on this.
*Eat 2 servings of fruit and 2 servings of vegetables each day. Did so-so, but it’s gotten better.

Marriage Goals:
*Have daily Bible study time with Joshua. We started and stopped all year. Currently stopped. :o(
*Have monthly date nights. These are a non-negotiable.

Money Goals:
*Put no purchases on the credit card except gas. I fell off the bandwagon on this one in a big way.
*Pay off our Hyundai. Done! Yay!!!
*Pay off at least one credit card. We bought new windows, so we actually opened another card! We have yet to pay one off.
*Update* My husband got an extra paycheck this month, so the windows are paid off! Woohoo!

Relationship Goals:
*Get together with at least one small group girl once a month. We did a few breakfasts, went Christmas shopping, and I got together with two of them outside group.
*Write an encouraging note to someone each month. Not bad. I can’t say I wrote 12 cards, but I wrote at least one to each woman in the group.

I’ve already got my 2012 goals in mind, just need to do some small adjustments and then I’m ready to hit the ground running!

December Goals

Hi Mom! :o)

Time to check up on my November goals…

1.       Start reading A Woman After God’s Own Heart by Elizabeth George. Still in process.

2.       Read One For the Money by Janet Evanovich.

3.       Memorize: II Corinthians 10:5, Galatians 1:10, and Galatians 5:22-23. I didn’t memorize while on vacation, and for some reason, II Cor. 10:5 has been really tough to memorize.

4.       Make: No-bake energy bites and chocolate banana bread (we’ll be in Missouri for almost two weeks for Thanksgiving). Not bad. Too bad I didn’t get around to the banana bread!

5.       Finish Christmas shopping/making gifts. Ha!

6.       “Zone clean” my kitchen and Ryan’s room. In process of doing Ryan’s room.

And set up goals for December…

1.       Finish reading The Resolution for Women and A Woman After God’s Own Heart.

2.       Memorize: Galatians 1:10, Galatians 5:22-23, Galatians 6:7-10.

3.       Make: Coffee-Hazelnut Granola, Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup, Cinnabon Clones, Chinese Five-Spice Chicken.

4.        Finish Christmas shopping by the 15^th.

5.       Decide on at least one goal for each category for 2012. (2012?!?!?)

6.       Print my calendar for next year and put in all the important stuff.

7.       Update both blogs at least once a week (one blog each week).