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’ll bake a themed cake and make decorations. I’ll need to buy ice creamI’ll bake a themed cake and make decorations. I’ll need to buy ice creamI 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 1Motivation Board
My Family Notebook

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

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

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. 
 

You maybe interested in:

Week 3: Eat That Frog! Challenge

Get Home Bag and Bug Out Bag
Week 2: Eat That Frog! Challenge 

Week 1: Eat That Frog! Challenge
Motivation Board
My Family Notebook

Unique Melody

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strangle land? Psalm 137:4

Listen selectively by mentally tune out all but one sound for awhile. Sit for a few minutes and listen to a friend, sister, or child. Once we listen and truly hear the "tune" they're playing, their unique melody will always be distinct to us. The chaos of the day will be weeded out, and God's music will be easier to hear. 

In the midst of a busy day, it takes effort to hear all the melodies of those around us which make up the symphony of our life. But as each strain becomes distinguishable, a pattern emerges, and you can rejoice in God's unparalleled creativity in His world.

Eat That Frog! Part 3

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 13: My FROG was to clean the whole main level of our home. I had put off doing the floors for a week and washing dishes for a day. It needed it. Thanks to purging so much and resetting to zero, what felt like a mess to me wasn’t that bad. 
 

Day 14: My FROG was to get my calendar in my homemaking notebook filled in and decorated. It took a couple hours but I was able to get it finished. I used my planner from last year to help give ideas, reused stickers, and washi tape. I decided not to buy a planner this year; instead I am using a notebook that I decorated to write my daily stuff into along with my notebooks calendar. I filled in my family wall calendar too. I enjoyed going through my old planner to see everything that I did from last year.
 

Day 15: My FROG was to clean my office. I organized and purged our vehicle files. I moved a few things to my husband’s office filing cabinet since they are used in that location. I returned my childhood album to my album tote in the basement. I purged packaging from my snacks and organized them in my drawer. I had a few post-it notes that I transferred the info to lists in my Notebooks. I reused some of the washi tape from my old planner in my new one. Basically, I did a bunch of small office tasks. 
 

Day 16: My FROG was to organize and purge my errand bag. Boo, I did it a day late and had to toss my grocery coupons. I collect anything I need to return to a store, or the library, or give to someone in my errand bag during the week. I use my bag to collect the same types of things to bring home. I did a bunch of other daily type chores. My husband worked on sanding our exercise room. We went shopping and out to dinner before coming home to watch a Hallmark movie.  
 

Day 17: My FROG was to put the last of the groceries away from Friday. I had bought a bunch of holiday cake mix stuff on clearance. I like to stock up on that type of thing for easier Sunday dinners since I cook for 11 people. I’ve gotten lazy with making homemade desserts and often use a box mix. I’m not as temped to eat the box stuff. I used up a bunch of veggies in the fridge to make a vegetable soup for lunches this week. I cleaned out the hall closet; this was my second time taking things out of the closet this week. I had my grandkids things in the closet but my sewing and some guest room stuff got moved their a couple months ago. My daughter and her husband are using the guest room where the stuff had been stored in the closet. I decided it was time to let a few things go and make the closet more usable. My husband worked on sanding the exercise room again. We didn’t have family Sunday dinner today so in the evening I read and we watch Hallmark movies. 
 

Day 18: My FROG was to cut down a 2010 calendar to fit into my Cooking Notebooks. I got this calendar for free a long time ago and had planned to use it for decoration to divide sections. I had attempted to do this project a couple time but never finished. The problem is that no matter how I cut the calendar pages it doesn’t fit. I haven’t been willing to let go of the idea, because I really like the pictures and the scripture. I decide to just do the best I could to cut it to fit and put the pages in my Notebooks. I may end up tossing the calendar pages later but for now I just needed to complete the project and get it off my list. It’s not perfect but it’ll do. It’s one step closer to having my Cooking Notebooks be what I envision them to be.

 

You maybe interested in:

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