A Welcoming Heart: January 2016

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Eat That Frog! Part 5

I feel good that I got a few things done this month that I was procrastinating on. Some of my projects were things that I had put off for a long time and others were just things that I found that needed down.

My FROGS

Day 25: My FROG was to use the craft supplies that I own to make Valentines for my husband. I used paint chips that I picked up this weekend and clear stickers for one set. I used card stock and magazine cut-outs for the others. I sorted supplies for my tea themed paper bag book. I bound the book about 4 years ago and have been slowly collecting teas themed stuff to make the book. I was inspired by a tea card swap that I was involved in 5 yrs. ago, an old daily Mary Engelbreit calendar, Yogi Tea tags, and scrap scrapbook paper. I may use other supplies as I work on the book. I did complete one layout.

Day 26: My FROG was to have another crafty day. I decorated an envelope for date night questions for my husband and me. I put together a Pinterest board of ideas for my grandson’s 2^nd birthday. I’m doing a low budget Curious George theme for our family party. I printed Curious George coloring pages, hats, and his face. I started making a banner. I’ll bake a Curious George cake and buy ice cream. His birthday is February 3^rd but we’re having the party on the 7^th. I finished another layout in my Tea Themed paper bag book.

Day 27: My FROG was to have an office day. I did bills, updated our budget, checked out how our Baby Steps 2, 3, and 4 plan is working.

Day 28: My FROG was to spend time working on my Gallery wall. I’m trying to figure out a new arrangement on my Gallery wall and can't decide. I tried a couple different arrangements but nothing seems right. I ended up printing a picture of my wall to draw out what I have in mind. I piddled away on Pinterest looking for ideas. I may have to go thrifting soon to get a few interesting frames. All the ones I have are collage style frames.

Before:

After:

My Plan:

Day 28: My 2nd FROG was to spend time working in my office. I found a couple projects to add to my list in my Homemaking Notebook. I made table of contents lists and labels for the section dividers for my Interests and Fabric Crafting Notebooks. I went through my Valentine supplies to picked cards for my kids and grandkids. I put them in a manila envelope in the February section of my Winter Notebook.

Day 28: My 3rd FROG was to mend 2 clothing items. I sewed 2 buttons onto my navy blue coat that has been waiting to be done all winter. I sewed a button onto my black Carpi pants that have been waiting since fall. That's all that I had in my mending pile.

Day 29: My FROG was to work on a page in my Tea Themed paperbag book. My Focus for January was Organizing. I filled out my list of all the projects that I did this month. I complete 45 items by doing the Frog challenge. I worked about 2 hours each day and it took multiple days to complete most of my projects. I’m so happy to have things cleared off my list. I might be able to get a few things done this weekend but it’s looking busy so I may not. I did meal prep for the weekend to avoid spending too much eating out. My husband and I are going to the Columbus Prepfest on Saturday and Snow Tubing on Sunday. Our youngest son works at Mad River Mountain and is able to get people in for free on Sunday evenings. This weekend is a good start to my February Focus of Connecting. I’ve started my list.

Day 30: My FROG was to buy 6 frames for our gallery wall and 2 cans of spray paint. I spend $20 total and am happy I found frames at the first thrift store that I visited.

Day 31: My FROG was to clean the fridge, plan and prep for our meals for next couple days, and plan for February. My Theme for February is Connecting. A few of the projects that I’m planning are to update and organizing my recipe notebooks/cookbooks, plan low cost meals with good nutrition, redo my Gallery wall, scan family photos, and set up my exercise room. I’ll have to see what else I can do for my Connecting theme. The events I’m planning are my grandson’s 2^nd birthday, two Sunday family dinners, Lent, a Mother/Daughter day out with my girls, Valentine’s Day, and a 4 day winter getaway with my husband.

You maybe interested in:

Eat That Frog! Part 4

Eat That Frog! Part 3

Get Home Bag and Bug Out Bag
Eat That Frog! Part 2
Eat That Frog! Part 1 Motivation Board
My Family Notebook

Friday, January 29, 2016

Clutter Busting Challenge January 2016 Part 2

I've purged 125 items this month.

My Purge Pile:

You maybe interested in:
Clutter Busting Challenge January 2016 Part 1

Thursday, January 28, 2016

January 2016 Reading List

The Rose Trilogy by Beverly Lewis

The Thorn

The Judgment

The Mercy

Colorado Lace by Rachel Druten (Romancing America Series)
The Long Road Home
Alias, Mary Smith
Out of The Ashes

Fervent by Priscilla Shirer

Legacy Journey: A Radical View of Biblical Wealth and Generosity by Dave Ramsey

Monday, January 25, 2016

Eat That Frog! Part 4

This month I'm working on FROG’s; you know those things that you tend to procrastinate on. I’m trying to do one per day in January.

MY FROGS:

Day 19: My FROG was to have a Pamper day. I haven’t done one since before Thanksgiving. Of course, I’ve done the basics but haven’t taken the extra time or painted my nails. I took a nice hot shower, gave myself a manicure, and a pedicure. I relaxed with my book and hot tea since it’s a cold winter day.

Day 20: My FROG was to do a little fluffing of my home. I decide to do a nicer tablescape today. I have a big potted plant, evergreen, and primrose. I decided to group them on the table instead of separate places in my kitchen. I used a table runner that I typically use in the fall, along with a tray and snowman figurine from my Christmas tote. I think it makes for a more put together look in the kitchen.

My 2^nd FROG was in my office. I worked in the January section of my Winter Notebook. I purged a few pages, moved a few things around, updated my list of projects, and made sure a few things were getting done. I spend time reading a few books that I’ve been putting off. I love to read fiction and have no problem reading 3-5 books a month. I tend to put off the non-fiction books that I would like to read for self-improvement. I don’t want to miss the opportunity to read good books by having to return them to the library before I’m able to finish. I have 4 non-fiction books going right now. I’ve been reading 2 of them most of this month and started the other two today. I’m getting quite a bit of office tasks checked of my list this month.

Day 21: My FROG was to work through chapters 1 & 2 of How to blog for Profit by Ruth Soukup. There is an Action Plan at the end of each chapter that I’m working through. I made a map for main theme, subtopics, and categories as suggested in chapter 1. I’ve done this before but wanted to do a new one. In chapter 2 I created an editorial calendar. I’ve done this before but needed one for 2016. I worked on my blog too. This project lead to organizing my files & folders on my computer. It further had me working on my Homemaking Notebook, Interest Notebook, Cooking Notebook, and Winter Notebook. I purged a small stack of papers. I felt like I was working down a rabbit hole, but it’s all good. My husband and I discussed the direction and possible updates to my blog. He did a backup of my computer files too. Good thing it was office today because I got a lot done.

Day 22: My FROG was to update my blog by changing the background and template. It took several hours to fix everything once the template was changed. It was frustrating but I’m happy to have it done. The best part is that my blog has better tabs to pages and sharing ability to social media. I will need to update a few other areas but its good for now.

Day 23: My FROG was to work on several posts for my blog. My husband did the last of the sanding for our exercise room. I helped clean up the supplies. We washed the walls and floor. It took us a couple hours. The next step is to apply several coats of Shellac and sand between coats. We are hoping to move everything into the room at the beginning of February. We have to be diligent this week to get it done.

Day 24: My FROG was to organize our first aid supplies. My husband put the first coat of Shellac on the floor in the exercise room. We had Sunday family dinner and hung out. I did a craft and played with my grandchildren.