Mini-Goals for June

My "money/financial" mini-goal I want to accomplish/DO in June is to eat out less and spend less on snacks. I’ll make a soups and sandwiches to pack for lunches. I’ll have dinner make when my husband gets home from work so we are not temped to eat out. I’ll make homemade desserts and snacks with what we have around the house.
 

  

My "house/home" mini-goal I want to accomplish/DO this month is to spring clean my little office. This will help me prep for the bigger project of painting my office. My office is the size of a walk-in closet so everything has to be removed. Once the bathroom is finished, we’ll be painting the exercise room, which will lead to moving my office stuff to the empty exercise room so that I can paint my office. 

 

 












My “homemaking/family mini-goal is to celebrate our youngest son’s 19^th birthday and our 23^rd Wedding Anniversary. Our son is having a bonfire/LAN party on Friday night here with friends and a family party as part of Sunday dinner. I’m planning to make as much of the food for my son’s party’s as possible with what we have already. My husband and I will use a gift card to the Cheesecake Factory that our oldest son gave me for Mother’s day. We’ll window shop the mall after.

 












My "just for me" mini-goal I want to DO is to enjoy the summer. I’ll enjoy outdoor activities and watch what I eat to loss a few pounds. I’ll continue with enjoying nature in my backyard, and working in my yard and garden. 

My personal "minimalist/purge" mini-goal is to read the older Heartsongs Presents books that I own with white covers. There are 57 of them; I’m going to try to read half of them before October. The fact that I’ve read 47 total books in 5 months, I’m sure that I can read 29 of the books in 4 months. I have read a good amount of books that are collections with 4-9 books in each.















I love the stories in these books but the plain white covers do not bring joy. This will help me purge books and the ugly white covers. 

 

What’s on My To Do List for today?

My daily chores of dishes, laundry, taking out the trash, vacuuming, do a general pick up around the house and making dinner. My zone for this week is the bathroom so I need to do a detailed cleaning. I need to find 7 things to donate for my “Toss 7 things each day in May” Challenge @ Money Saving Mom. Yesterday I found 9 craft books to donate to the library.

 My daily focus for today is office tasks. I need to see if there is anything I need to add to my lists for upcoming family events, work on my blog which means writing about my experience with “Organizing For A Fresh Start”, and get pictures taken and flyer finalized for the upcoming yoga class I am teaching. I am also prepping for going to my daughter Brittany’s tomorrow to bake 100+ cupcakes for my granddaughter’s party on Sunday.

Just for fun I plan to finish reading my current book called “The Ruse” it is one of three in the Maryland Bride’s Series I am reading. The genre I like to read is Historical Christian Romance. I thought this was appropriate for the month since my two daughters are kind of Maryland Brides. I may read the two Yoga Journal magazines I borrowed from the library to go along with my office day.

This afternoon I need to work in my garden since that is my projects for this week. I planted two flats of vegetable plants yesterday but have some space left in my gardens so I may get more this weekend. I am planting the last flat of flowers today along with three 3-packs of melon plants, 6 pots of herbs and picking up sticks in the yard to put in the fire pit.

Later tonight I have Zumba, and am watching the documentary my husband and I started on Tuesday called “The Weight of the Nation”.

My List of DO’S instead of BUY’S for March

I decided to make a list of all the things I have done this month for free or cheap that have keep me busy and entertained. I am sure there is more I could add to this list but this will do.  I still have so much that I can DO next month!

Fun and Fitness on the cheap:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I attended my Yoga and Zumba classes several times this month but not as much as I should have due to not feeling well. This was not free but I already paid for it so I am using it.
 

I went outside and enjoyed the sunshine along with a walk with my daughter Brittany and my granddaughter on a Sunday afternoon.
 

I read several books from my bookshelf March 2013 Reading List and then donated them to the library.
 

I went to the library and got several books on topics I enjoy such as fitness, healthy cooking, and crafts. I got a stack of magazines to read such as Woman’s Day, Family Circle, Country Woman, Yoga Journal, and Cooking Light. I borrowed some Christian Praise music such as Third Day- Miracle, Sidewalk Prophets-Live Like That, and Michael W. Smith-Healing Rain. I got a TV series to watch (Downton Abby Season 2). I borrowed and watched two movies Country Strong and Serious Moonlight. All for FREE and no clutter since it goes back when I am finished.

 

I spend a couple hours reading magazines that I got for free and had been piling up in my basket. They were donated to the library for someone else to enjoy. That's 10 magazine out of my house.

 

I spent a Sunday afternoon grooming my nails and painting them a nice color.

 

 

My Organizing and Decluttering Projects:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I painted a little bookcase cabinet, shelf, and toy chest bubblegum pink for my granddaughter’s room. I plan to use leftover paint on the guest room closet shelves.

I decluttered and organized My Closet . I bought new baskets and a shoe rack to keep things organized. It wasn’t free but was a nice splurge treat for myself which I don’t do very often.

I reorganized and decluttered several areas in my Basement Storage such as my extra kitchen equipment, my craft stuff, holiday stuff, the workout area, personal needs storage, food storage, and our bug-out bags. I worked on this at least 6 days this month one area and one category of stuff at a time. I still have areas to work on but it’s getting done.

I set up my sewing machine in My Guest Room.  I made My Sewing Space by moving my sewing supplies and fabrics from the basement into the unused closet in the guest room along with organizing and decluttering everything.

I spent a day organizing my craft supplies, and jewelry beads in my little office. I worked on the beads for 3 hours and was getting bored but kept at it until the job was done. I made My Quilting Plans after attending a Sewing Smorgasbord were I learned new crafting skills.

I decluttered and sparkled up My Bedroom.

 

In the Kitchen:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I cleaned the freezer above the fridge since it is almost empty and I’m trying to use stuff up.

I planned some meals this month to use up thing’s that had been in my kitchen for awhile before they went bad and wasted my money. I already paid good money for the stuff I might as well use it up before it goes to waste. I look for ways to use up frozen foods in the freezer before they set too long. I used up perishable things in the fridge and breads before they expired. I used up some boxed and canned foods before they expired. I baked some yummy desserts to avoid spending money on new snacks and treats.

I made some yummy German Soup.

I left the St. Patrick’s Day and Easter clutter in the stores while using decorations and craft supplies I already own.

I checked the freezer and we have a holiday ham for Easter and I have plenty of broccoli for a Broccoli Cheese Bake. I am going to make Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole and Potato Salad with a big bag of potatoes I bought this month. I’ll make a carrot cake for dessert with a box of spice cake mix, carrots, and canned pineapple. We have a SHOP at home feast for the family.

My Mini-Goals for November

I am posting my November goals late so I have already make some progress on them:

1. The one "money/financial" mini-goal I want to accomplish/DO in November is to plan for the Holiday Season. I am blowing the dust off my calendar, grabbing my notebook, rummaging through my recipes, and checking my craft stash. My plan every year is to DO the holidays– NOT BUY the holidays!

2. The one "house/home" mini-goal I want to accomplish/DO this month is some baking and candy making during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving for the freezer. This helps me to have some food already prepared ahead of time for my family so it isn’t as crazy when the special day comes. I also use some of it for get-togethers we attend, and give away to family and friends.

I made a snack mix last week that is a variation of Pumpkin Pie Crunch using what I had on hand and tossed in powdered sugar. I made chocolate popcorn, added peanuts, and pumpkin candy corn I mixed it all together then dressed them up in fall baggies tied with yarn.

On Monday I made a large batch of granola clusters using chocolate bark candy and a box of granola cereal that nobody was eating. I put some of it in my turkey cookie jar, sent some home with Brittany on Tuesday, and the rest is in a freezer bag for later.

My husband brought home some over ripe bananas from work so on Tuesday My daughter Brittany and I baked 10 loaves of Banana Bread with different add-ins such as walnut, chocolate chips, oatmeal, and chunky peanut butter. I set 2 loaves on a platter for my family to eat, sent 3 of the loaves home with Brittany, the other 5 went into the freezer in bags for later.

3. My "just for me" mini-goal I want to DO is to enjoy the season.

I am going to do my devotional and prayer time each morning and give a special Thanks to God for all that he has done in my life over the last year.

I am reading the holidays books and listening to the audio books I got from the library while drinking a mug of hot chocolate.

I am also looking forward to my annual black Friday tradition of staying in bed all day reading and watching movies on the Hallmark Channel with my husband and eating Thanksgiving leftovers. When the kids were young we would watch movies all day in the living room and eat leftovers and they have since said that they have enjoys this more that the actual Holiday.

Updates on Previous Months Mini-Goals:

My Mini-Goals for September which was cleaning and organizing themed is something I am always working on. I have been doing the Home Organization 101 Challenge @ A Bowl Full of Lemons which started on September 1^st and runs through December 8^th. I need to update my blog soon on my progress.

My Mini-Goals for October were nutrition and fitness related. I did really well the first two week in October by prepping meals for myself and my husband and making soup each week for lunches, and not snacking on unhealthy foods but then I let myself backslid and regained the 4 pounds that I had lost. The Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred kicked my butt and I could defiantly see progress in my fitness level. I wish I hadn’t stopped after the first 2 weeks and but I may do this DVD again in the future. I have moved on to doing Leslie Sansone: WalkAway the Pounds - Walk Strong DVD and am enjoying her 30 minute 2-mile walk.

What are your mini-goals for November?

Mini-Goals for October

There is no failure in running, or in life, as long as you keep moving. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27


In October I plan to continue working on my Mini-Goals for September which were Cleaning and Organizing themed. I have made a lot of progress and could just be done with them but I want to work on them to completion.

My Mini-Goals for October are Nutrition and Fitness related. I have previously completed two 5K races by walking and have continued with my walking routine of 4 miles. These nutrition and fitness mini-goals will help me with my larger goal of running a 5K in the spring and walk/running a 10K by the end of next summer.

1. The main goal in October is to Lose Weight.

I’m 5 feet 2, my current weight is 140 lbs. and I would like to lose 5-10lbs. by the end of the month. When I lost weight in 2010 I used portion control, calorie counting, and exercise this seems to be what works for me. I don’t need to lose much but my jeans are getting tight and this is the month to take care of it before all the holiday feasting begins.

My husband Shawn has agreed to join me in losing 10 lbs. by month’s end himself. I will be helping him with nutrition and he will be helping me with weightlifting along with being each other’s accountability partner.

 

2. My Nutrition plan for October:

My Portion Control and Calorie Counting have slipped during the last year so I am going to make a greater effort this month to work on it.

 

I am going to try doing a No/Low Carbohydrate and No/Low Sugar diet. I have never done this before but for one month I thought I would give it a go since sweets are my weakness this seems to fit. I am going to replace my carbohydrates with vegetables and my sugar with fruit and yogurt. I am not going to drive myself crazy with this but I am going to make a solid commitment for the month.

 

 

3. My Exercise plan I want to accomplish/DO this month:

I will use the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred each morning. I have not done this exercise DVD before but since it is a 30 day program I thought it would work nicely as a goal for this month.

I am going to be more consistent with my weightlifting and plan to lift weights each evening using 10 lb. weights since I am going for a toned/fit look not muscular. My husband has set up a plan using the book StrengthTraining (Step-By-Step) by DK Publishing.

 

I am also continuing with my weekly Yoga with Weights and Zumba classes on Monday’s.

What are your mini-goals for October?

Mini-Goals for September

I thought I would make a few mini-goals for the month to help me get a couple things done.

1. The one "money/financial" mini-goal I want to accomplish/DO in September is to organize my fall seasonal notebook to include low to no cost activities and recipes that I can use over the next 3 months of the autumn season.

I started working in August on my fall notebook but didn't get it finished. It is now time to get this done so i can celebrate the season and not just let it pass without all the yummy foods or fun activities I like to do.

2. The one "house/home" mini-goal I want to accomplish/DO this month is organize my recipes and cookbooks.

I have had recipes and cookbooks on my list of things to do for a while now so I need to make a dent in that this month. I may not be able to finish this goal by the end of the month but I hope to atleast get to the half way point of completion.

3. My one "just for me" mini-goal I want to accomplish/DO over the next 31 days is to make a bucket list for my 40th Birthday in October to accomplish over the next year until my next Birthday.

I have been praying about what to include and what God wants for me over the next year and I plan to have a list to work from.

What are your mini-goals for September?