Goal update and goals for this week

Here is an update of last week's goals:

1) Make gifts for Cameron's teachers- When I gathered the stuff I needed, I realized I was missing one of the key ingredients.  I did do the parts I could and will finish these tomorrow evening.  I am taking them off the list, even though they are not done, because I NEED to finish them by Wednesday morning and, aside from going to the store, they will only take about 15 minutes (or less) to finish.

2) De-clutter and organize "my corner". -I failed on this one as well, but I did get it half-way done.  I will carry this goal over to next week.

3) Finish cleaning out and organizing the medicine cabinets.-

4) Take the kids to the science museum and planetarium.

5) Complete 2 lesson plans.- I didn't even get 1 completed, but I am going to work on them tonight until I have both done.  I am removing this from the goal list, but it may come back another time,

6) Finish reading Inescapable .- Read the review here.

7) Read Asher of Bethlehem: The Story of a Young Beggar, His Best Friend, and the Birth of an Extraordinary Child with the kids.- I decided to create a lesson plan to go with this book, so it is taking us a bit longer to get through it.  We are half way done now and I will be carrying this goal over to this week so we can get it done.

8) Finish reading The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands.

9) Continue cleaning out my e-mails.- I cleared out a ton of e-mail.  I still have a bunch to go, but I am making progress.  Some have asked why I don't just delete the whole bunch of them.  Here is why: this week, I came across an e-mail from October 2010.  It was payment for a blog post I had written and then forgot about the e-giftcard they were supposed to send.  It was for a significant amount so I am glad I did not just do a mass delete.  This will also carry over.

10) Bake 2 loaves of bread this week.- I did not get this done in the manner I wanted, but the dough is rising now for 2 loaves and I will bake them this evening.  I had hoped to bake the 2 loaves on different days, but this works for me too.  I can't cross the goal off yet, but it will be done by tonight so I am not carrying it over.


Now for this week's goals:

1) De-clutter and organize "my corner".- See note above

2) Finish reading Asher of Bethlehem: The Story of a Young Beggar, His Best Friend, and the Birth of an Extraordinary Child with the kids and finish the lesson plan to go with it.

3) Read The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage.- This is also a book by Dr. Laura and I am reading it in the  perpetual effort to improve my relationship with my husband.  This is not to say we have a bad marriage, just that I think there is always room for growth, even in the best relationships.

4) Write 4 non-sponsored/non-review blog posts.- This may seem lofty in light of the lack of posting I have done over the past several months, but I think I can do it.

5) Take the older girls to the local library for geocaching.- Ok, technically it is not geocaching, but that is what the library calls it.  It is really a scavenger hunt, but I think the girls will enjoy it and it will help them to learn where everything is in the library's new building.

6) Take a walk with the kids 3 times this week, weather permitting, or go to the YMCA if weather is not conducive to walking.-  We all can use the exercise and if we end up at the Y, the kids can exercise there too.

7) Write up a class description and biography for continuing education courses I want to teach.- I am still putting thought into this so I do not want to mention what I am thinking of offering.

8) Continue cleaning out the e-mails.- I think it will take another 2-3 weeks, but I made siginificant progress this week.

9) Clean and out and declutter under bathroom sink.- I am working on decluttering the bathroom, one step at a time.

10) Make a special lunch for my son's first day of Pre-K, and the girls' not-back-to-school picnic.

This week's goals

I have been setting goals each week for myself and trying to ensure that I reach each one.  I have been doing okay, on my own, but I am hoping that by sharing my goals with you, and following up with my progress (or lack there of), I will accomplish more of them.

Here are this week's goals:

1) Make gifts for Cameron's teachers- My son will be starting pre-K next week and I want to send a little gift along for his new teachers.  I know what I want to make and have the supplies, so I just need to do it.  I will post what I make once they are done.

2) De-clutter and organize "my corner". - During my pregnancy, a lot of stuff got piled up on an end table next to "my" seat on the couch.  This goal is being carried over from last week.  I started it, but have a ways to go on it.

3) Finish cleaning out and organizing the medicine cabinets.- This is something I started last week (just as a part of cleaning, not a goal), but did not get finished.

4) Take the kids to the science museum and planetarium.- We bought a membership in May and finally have some time to go.  Plus, we studied astronomy last week, so the planetarium is fitting.

5) Complete 2 lesson plans.- I am trying to get ahead on our homeschool plans.  I have a rough plan of the topics we will study, but I need to pull the actual lessons together.

6) Finish reading Inescapable .- I am reading this for a review I will be posting soon.

7) Read Asher of Bethlehem: The Story of a Young Beggar, His Best Friend, and the Birth of an Extraordinary Child with the kids.- This is another book I am reviewing.

8) Finish reading The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands.- This is just a book I am reading in my quest to always be the best wife I can be.  I may post a review, but it would be something I would be doing completely on my own.

9) Continue cleaning out my e-mails.- I will not say how many unread e-mails I have, but it will take me a LONG time to get through them.  I know I can just delete them, and I often do mass deletions, but there are some I still want to read, so it is easier said than done.

10) Bake 2 loaves of bread this week.- We are working on eliminating high fructose corn syrup from our diets.  Many breads are made with it, so making it myself is the easiest way to ensure there is none in there.  It is still very convenient and inexpensive to pick a loaf up at the store, so I need to ensure I have some made to avoid that temptation.

What are your goals this week?

Simple Changes

 I am not a fan of resolutions because resolutions often get broken and forgotten.  However, I do like the idea of making simple changes in my life that help bring me closer to my goals.  In past years, I have tried to implement several changes all at once to cover a wide range of areas in my life (marriage, housework, diet, etc), but this year, I am going to choose to focus on 2-3 changes at a time.  I will still cover all the same areas, just not all at once.  I think this will be much more manageable.  So here are my changes for this year:

Financial:  We paid off all our credit cards last tax season and I could not feel better about that.  I want to continue to reduce our debt by paying off my student loan this year.  My current payments are $50 a month and I am planning to pay at least double that each month.  In order to do this, I need to increase my personal income so my current goal is to research various ways to do that.

Marriage:  While I try to stay happy all the time, my marriage is not perfect.  I realize however, that I cannot change my husband so I am working on accepting him as he is.

Health:  It is my long-term goal to lose quite a bit of weight.  My current goal is to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables I am eating each day and to fit some form of exercise in at least 5 days a week.

Spiritual:  I want to work on including personal scripture study in my daily life.  I will start by reading for 10 minutes every day.

Blogging: I have been pretty irregular in my blogging over the past few years.  My goal for this year is to get back to a blogging schedule and to start by blogging at least 3 times a week.

Children:  It is my goal to get back to parent/child date nights once a month so that we can build stronger personal relationships with our kids.


I am sure other goals will come to mind throughout the year, but these are the important ones to me right now.  It is my plan to work on the health and the blogging one right now and to fit the others in as I feel I can.  Happiness does not happen overnight and I expect these few simple goals will take some time as well.  I am up for the challenge though and look forward to what this year will bring me.  How about you?  What changes are you planning this year?


***Disclosure***
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Simply Orange® blogging program. If I am one of the first 65 blogs received by SocialsMoms, I will receive a $25 Target gift card and a gift pack that includes a Simply Orange® cooler bag and logoed fleece.

Family Friday: Achieving Family Goals

Last time I posted I asked you to discuss some family goals for the new year. Now that the goals are set, how will you go about achieving them? Start by writing your goals out for everyone to see on a daily basis. This will serve as a daily reminder of what you are trying to achieve.

It will also help to break your goals down into small steps and then into even smaller steps if necessary. This will help make the goal more manageable. Here are two different types of examples:

Goal- Add $10,000 to savings account this year
Mini-goals: Reduce weekly spending by $85, Increase monthly income by $500
Smaller mini-goals: Reduce weekly spending by increasing use of coupons, consolidating driving, eating out less, using up leftovers and buying in season/on sale as much as possible; Increase income by babysitting 3 days a week, monetizing my blog, and performing 10 mystery shops per month

Goal- Take a family vacation to Seattle
Mini-goals: Plan out transportation, Plan out lodging, Plan activities while in Seattle, Pack

The first goal, adding $10,000 to savings, is a bit daunting at first,but as you break down how you are going to do it, it becomes easier to see that it is possible. You may have other things you can do to reduce spending (for some it may be cutting out/reducing the cable bill, going down to one vehicle, etc) or to increase income. It all depends on your family and personal goals and circumstances. Breaking down the second goal, the vacation, allows for tasks to be delegated, at least for information gathering purposes. For example, your (older)children can research airline costs or driving time/mileage and/or local lodging options. They can also research what activities are available and give their input as to what they would like to do.

Another tip for achieving goals is to not give up if you falter a bit. Again using the $10,000 in savings goal, if I am only able to reduce my weekly spending by $50 and/or increase monthly income by $300, I am not going to give up the goal. As the year goes on, I will try to find other ways that will work for us to try and reach that goal. Goals can also be re-evaluated and altered throughout the year. Come the end of June if we have only been able to increase our savings account by $3500 and we are doing all we are comfortable doing to decrease spending and increase income, we may change our goal to $7000.

So to reiterate:
1) Write your goals out
2) Break the goals down into small steps
3) Stick with your goals, but be flexible
4) Believe in yourself and your family

The goals I listed above are not actually goals we have set ourselves, but could be. Whatever goals you have decided on, believe you can do it and it can be achieved.