Update

Hello my friends!

I just wanted to give you a little update on what's going on with me these days.

First off, I wanted to let you know that I am trying to remove myself from Facebook as much as possible. It's become mostly a negative in my life insomuch that it wastes a lot of my time and sometimes the stuff people post makes me judge them in ways I don't like.

I'm going to keep using Messenger and keep my Facebook linked to my Instagram, and I'll probably get on there as needed to ask for suggestions and coordinate stuff, but I am trying to cut the newsfeed out of my life almost entirely. That being said, if you need anything or there is something you need me to see, you can always send me a message or tag me on something or write on my wall and I'll get an email about it.

In the week since I've cut back, I've noticed myself using the time I would have spent scrolling aimlessly for different things. I've been reading a lot more news articles and I've been messaging with friends directly. I like this. I appreciate knowing more about what's going on in the world and having more time to spend talking with the people I care about and developing those relationships instead of randomly pressing like on 432908 different things without actually communicating much of anything. Life feels a lot quieter somehow and I like that.

The second item of note is that I have decided to stop doing monthly goals posts on here, at least for now. I'm trying to focus on creating habits rather than checking things off of a list. I mean, I've still got about five or six handwritten lists going at any time, but those are more short term goals and tasks that need to be completed. Instead of creating random goals for writing or exercise, for example, I'm creating time each day or each week for these habits to form. I do well with routines so I feel good about this change.

Anyway, I just wanted to take a minute to update. I'm trying to be the best version of myself and I hope these changes are helpful! As always, feel free to leave a comment here or shoot me a message if you'd like to chat :)

November and December Goals

November Goals Analysis

November was a busy busy month and I am glad I did not try to accomplish too much outside of these few goals. The month truly flew by. I think December will be another light month for goals as there is already so much going on. 

Have a super awesome time in the Dominican Republic - Well this wasn't hard! I got to go with two lovely fun ladies and stay in an incredible resort where food and drink were always available and I got daily naps. It was the best. I have never been on a trip with friends or stayed in such a nice place and I am so grateful for the opportunity to do something special. 

Celebrate Lexi's birthday - Check. With everything that was going on, we celebrated early and it was fun. This was also the first year I did not make the cake myself and it was kind of a relief even though it was expensive to buy one. I can't believe she is 8! I was traveling on her actual birthday but Tim and her grandparents made it special for her :)

Welcome a nephew into the family - Check! I have the sweetest little nephew, Gryffin. In a family full of girls, it will be exciting to see what this little boy is all about. 

Plan out the rest of 2016's science lessons for Legacy - Check! Turns out we didn't have many days of actual class left. I'm getting a head start on next semester's planning as well. 

Assess reading and math skills - Check. Doing well in both areas. Assessing helped me discover a few areas that we needed to revisit, which was helpful too. 

WRITE A 50,000 WORD NOVEL! - Freaking check, man! This deserves a separate post so I'm working on that. 

Do cool stuff with cool people - What kind of goal is this? Not very quantifiable, geez. I had a blast on my trip as I mentioned and enjoyed Thanksgiving with our families. But I don't know if I actually did enough cool stuff with enough cool people...where does one draw the limit?

Make something for Thanksgiving that isn't a salad - OK to be fair, I was told to bring appetizers and games and I brought those, plus some champagne. But all I "made" was a trip to Target, so....

Continue with weights twice weekly - I did well until my trip. Then I came home to Thanksgiving and other busy situations and I have not been back :(

Attempt to incorporate cardio with some regularity - See above.

Brainstorm what to do next with the YouTube channel - Yeah, nope. Which means there probably should not BE a YouTube channel, but there is just something fun about it. For me. And Laura. Probably not for anyone who watches. I think this definitely needs to go back to the drawing board. Or maybe just straight into the garbage can. Who knows.

December Goals

House

Continue brainstorming what to do with the kitchen/fireplace room, as we call it
Agree upon a name for that room

Personal

Incorporate some phone-free quiet time into each day
Slowly reincorporate journaling into my life

Family

Drive around and look at Christmas lights together

Wellness

PUT DOWN THE COOKIES AND GO BACK TO THE GYM! (Maybe tough love is the right approach?)
Actually practice karate outside of class and be prepared for testing day

Social

Host a gathering of some sort

School

Ask the kids for ideas on what they'd like to learn about in Science and Social Studies
Take some time to do traditional Christmas/Winter activities
Research and consider adding an extracurricular activity for the kids

Creative

Work on and possibly finish a short story I've been putting off for a while
Read the story I wrote last month and try not to cry when it's garbage
Develop a rough outline for said story 

October & November Goals

October Goals Analysis

  Hey, so we're 1/3 of the way through the month and I decided it was probably time to go over my monthly goals. October felt really busy but I didn't do a great job with my goals. I'm glad I've at least continued assessing my goals regularly. That feels good! Cutting straight to the chase.

Spend some time in Lawrence at the Pumpkin Patch - Check. We had a fun day in Lawrence. I might want to get back to living there someday. I even managed to lose my wedding ring there.

Try out my Dad's gym - Check. I even resisted free pizza night.

Consider getting a membership and starting a weight routine - I now have a membership and I've been shooting for weights twice weekly. Going to add in some cardio as time permits. I'm enjoying it, especially now that I know the WiFi password ;)

Get together with friends every week in some form - Yup. This is so nice. I love you, friends!

Finish the next writing unit - Check. It was like pulling teeth in some ways, but we got those suckers done.

Get caught back up with planning - Pretty much. 

Publish at least two more episodes of That's Puzzling (the first episode is here if you haven't had the pleasure of watching it) - Yep. I think a total of 2 people have watched them, so that's good. 

Have someone come out and look at our kitchen - So he came and looked but that's as far as we've gotten. We have a semblance of a plan but haven't executed it yet. 

Finish a story - I didn't finish a story but I made headway in one story. 

Finish at least two chapters of Alexander Hamilton - I finished one chapter and started another. This book is fascinating but it's hard. Lots of words, haha, and it's not so much a bedtime story as it is a history book. 

Pick out a new sink - Nope. But MAN do I want one! With a sprayer. 

Pick up and unpack more boxes - Didn't even go through the boxes I picked up. I suck. 

Get into a morning routine for writing and Bible reading - Nope.

Have Book Club? - Nope. I haven't even tried to read the book. Sorry, friends!

~~~~~

November's goals are short and sweet, mostly because one of them is to WRITE A FREAKING BOOK. So I'll be pleased if I can just get that one crossed off.

November Goals 

House

Sorry house, I'm not making any promises this month

Personal

Have a super awesome time in the Dominican Republic!!!

Family

Celebrate Lexi's birthday
Welcome a nephew into the family (I have zero control over this, it's all you Lindsey! Very excited.)
Make something for Thanksgiving that isn't a salad

Wellness

Continue with weights twice weekly
Attempt to incorporate cardio with some regularity

Social

Do cool stuff with cool people

School

Plan out the rest of 2016's science lessons for Legacy
Assess reading and math skills

Creative

WRITE A 50,000 WORD NOVEL!
Brainstorm what to do next with the YouTube channel

September & October Goals

September Goals Update

September was kind of a weird month, in my opinion. It was blazing hot for the most part, which I didn't love. The good news is that my allergies were under control and I was able to be outside without feeling like death. It was a busy month of getting back into routines, which was nice. I feel like I accomplished quite a bit, but there's still a lot to do, particularly where the house is concerned. But maybe there will always be updates to make. We shall see.

 I did not miss our old house at all, despite the fact that it entered my dreams a few times. I love it here! I got a new haircut that has made me feel sassy and adventurous so get ready for that. My friend and I started a YouTube channel called That's Puzzling, and I'm pretty sure I will make millions being a YouTube personality some day. Please fill me in on the puzzling issues in your life so I can talk about them on the internet like a regular friend would do. 

 Anyway, here's how I did with my goals this month. 

Start setting up my basement mom cave - I've got a couple of tables and puzzles going down there. I need to decorate a little and maybe get some chairs that can live down there. 

Clear boxes and junk from main floor - Check

Arrange new and old furniture - The main floor is looking better

Go to Spinach Festival together - The kids and I went with my parents. It was fun.

Have a movie or game night/Schedule and host some kind of get together - Had a puzzle night with friends a couple times and had my brother over for dinner and games

Attempt another date night - We had lunch and saw Mastermind. It was pretty dang dumb. 

Continue karate and volleyball - Check. We won a game, shockingly. 

Walk every week - Check. It was soooo hot early in the month but now that it's cooler I'm getting out there more. 

Go see Masterminds - Check. Like I said, dumb. Which is unfortunate because it had a great cast. 

Practice handwriting with Lydia more regularly - Check. 

Continue writing regularly, in whatever form inspires me - Check. 

Create a space for journaling and/or Bible study - I got some bar height chairs and made a space. Just need to better utilize it. I also have a decorating idea. 
Work back up to a full schedule of subjects - We're nearly there. 

Pick up the rest of our boxes from Mark and Kathy's garage and go through them - I picked up a van load. Most of it is in the garage or spread all over Lydia's room. Blarf. 
Return all the stuff I bought that I don't want (it's a real struggle) - I returned a lot of stuff. Got a couple of tension rods floating around...
Get a grip on the new budget - Still have yet to have a normal month of expenses and pay, so I'm waiting to see what that's going to look like. 

Read two books - So I made the call to buy the book Alexander Hamilton, an 800+ page biography of the guy. It's fascinating but it's not quick reading. So it's going to take me a while. Also working on a book a friend wrote. 

October Goals 

House

Have someone come out and look at our kitchen

Pick out a new sink

Pick up and unpack more boxes 

Personal

Finish at least two chapters of Alexander Hamilton

Get into a morning routine for writing and Bible reading

Family

Spend some time in Lawrence at the Pumpkin Patch

Wellness

Try out my Dad's gym

Consider getting a membership and starting a weight routine

Social

Get together with friends every week in some form

Have Book Club?

School

Finish the next writing unit

Get caught back up with planning

Creative

Finish a story

Publish at least two more episodes of That's Puzzling (the first episode is here if you haven't had the pleasure of watching it)

August and September Goals

SEPTEMBER IS HERE!!!!

I don't usually enjoy September, but I am excited about it. I'm excited because that my shows are coming back!  I missed them very much. School is back, activities are returning, the weather is cooling off. I like fall. Not winter though, winter can suck it. 

Plus, September means that we're on the other side of the move and that is great. All went pretty darn well. I'm exhausted and I don't know if it's just the last couple of months catching up with me or what. I've started my iron again and life is settling down so hopefully I'll be back to normal soon. Allergy season is upon me but I've kept it under control so far. Hoping that continues!

I did well in August, it was a crazy busy productive month of change and chaos, but I stayed on top of most things. Here's how I did with my goals:

PACK - Got it done! We have too much stuff. 

CLOSE - Probably the easiest of the bunch. Show up, sign things, get keys. 

MOVE! - Check. We paid movers and it was expensive but worth it, honestly. 

Get an estimate for patio repairs - Got one. Looking for a couple other bids. We may wait til next spring to tackle this. 

Get an estimate for kitchen updates - We're going in another direction with the kitchen and I'm excited about it.

Furnish at least one living space - Yep, figured out where the living room will be. New furniture arrives this week!

Finish reading Lean In - Finished it, along with several other books: reread Night by Elie Wiesel, which was...wow. Also picked up It Gets Worse by Shane Dawson while waiting for an oil change at Walmart. It was hysterical. I'll be reading his other book whenever the library gets it to me. 

Schedule a date with Tim - We ended up having three dates somehow. It was fun! We should make it a habit. We saw a movie, went out to eat, packed up our house without the input of children, and just enjoyed uninterrupted conversation and TV time.  

Scope out some places to walk near my new home - I went on a long walk last night. There are lots of shady flat places to walk, which is awesome. 
Volleyball and karate on Mondays - Having fun with this! Wish they were on different days ;)

Schedule a karaoke night with friends - It's on the calendar, looking forward to it!

Finish a short story - I really nailed this one, finished five stories of varying length and quality. My latest was the best, which means perhaps I am learning as I go! 

Determine a space for school in our new house - Setting up a room upstairs, although I'm sure we'll spill over into the rest of the house too. We have a lovely, huge room to hide all the school stuff and books in, which is great. 

Get the first month of Legacy planned and gather supplies - Got the plans made, just need to gather the supplies and see how it plays out with the different age groups.  Still brain storming how we're going to keep plants alive for study :)

Blog at least twice - I technically had three posts in August, but one was the monthly goals post and the other was posted before I set the goal of blogging...so yeah...kinda lame. I have been in creative writing mode rather than my usual. 
Try out a couple of different routines to see what works best - I don't really know what I meant by this, but I think school goes best when we start with science or social studies then split up for reading and whatever else. We'll slowly be adding all our other subjects back in and getting used to have other activities to go to again as well.  

Try to incorporate journaling regularly, if not daily - I did not do a good job of journaling this month. I hope to create a space for this and Bible study that will get me into the routine. I'm looking at the bar in the kitchen. 

July and August Goals

July Goals Review

I'm not late on this post because I've been busy, I'm late on this post because I've been trying to decide if it is worth it to have any goals for August besides move into a new house while maintaining some semblance of sanity. I decided to go ahead and make a list, because I've done well keeping up with these monthly goals and I don't want to skip a month and lose momentum. We'll see how it goes!

Read a book - I read 3! The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Dinner, and The Life Changing Magic of not Giving a _____. The first was an amazing story that I really enjoyed, second was kind of mediocre, but third was an absolute life changer. I highly recommend you check it out, unless you're easily offended by foul language. You've been warned. 

See the new Ghostbusters movie - May or may not have seen it more than once. Loved it! Highly recommend. This movie is important for women. I'd love to lecture you about it if given the opportunity ;)

Make Lydia's birthday special - The kid got to celebrate three different times. She had a blast turning 5!

Coffee and/or dinner with friends - Check, more than once. 

Celebrate my 30th birthday - Check. I got three glorious days and nights kid-free and got to celebrate with some people I love!

Figure out a curriculum for Legacy for the fall - Check. 

Find a great house and buy it!!! - Check! We close in a couple of weeks! Can't wait.

Get back into some kind of routine - We started up a bit of school again, I think we all needed some sort of structure. We're easing into it, just a couple of subjects going currently. 

Blog weekly - I didn't post a blog entry each week, but I worked on some posts for several days, I wrote every single week, did a lot of journaling, and finished a short story. 

Do an additional purge - Aside from throwing away a lot of stuff from Lydia's room and getting rid of a lot of my clothes, I still have purging to do. 

Do some art projects - Yeah, not so much. I mean I painted something, but not with the kids. 

~~~~

August Goals

House

PACK

CLOSE

MOVE!

Get an estimate for patio repairs

Get an estimate for kitchen updates

Furnish at least one living space

Personal

Finish reading Lean In

Family

Schedule a date with Tim

Wellness

Scope out some places to walk near my new home
Volleyball and karate on Mondays!

Social

Schedule a karaoke night with friends

School

Get the first month of Legacy planned and gather supplies

Determine a space for school in our new house

Try out a couple of different routines to see what works best

Writing

Blog at least twice

Finish a short story

Try to incorporate journaling regularly, if not daily

Two weeks until moving day! We'll see what I manage to accomplish this month :) I don't think I'm going to feel too guilty if I don't get much more than moving done in August. There's always September. 

June & July Goals

June Goals Review

June was a most ridiculous month. I did SO VERY MUCH work on our house, you would not believe the amount of stuff I evicted from our home. It felt great. A good chunk of our belongings are packed and frankly, I have been thinking about donating several boxes without even opening them again. I read "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" during part of this process, which was excellent timing.

So, our house is in the inspection period, yay! We listed it, left town, and came home to 5 offers, 4 of them being above asking price. It was an awesome feeling, and it was great to not have to keep it super clean for an extended period of time for showings. It looks like we're going to close at the end of August. (PS, if you're looking for a great realtor, call Carla. She's the best!) The market is wild and crazy, and we've made multiple offers of houses. Hopefully, we will find our place soon. For right now, it's kind of a waiting game. It's nerve-wracking, but I have faith that we will end up in a good place.

I met the majority of my goals this month, which was great. I'm setting up some goals for July but I still don't completely know what it will look like. We will see. Oh, there were no "meh" goals this month, weirdly.

I'm feeling kinda lazy so we're limited to whatever graphics are already available on my blog haha.

Purge every room of the house - I got rid of so much stuff, it would blow your mind. Now I'm on a roll and I want to get rid of even more!
Organize the basement rooms - Not gonna lie, they look beautiful.
Finish organizing my files into the new filing cabinet - Check. I'm more organized than I have been and I hope to stick to it.
Clean every room of the house - Yup. Did you see the pics?
Get the house on the market for the weekend of June 25th - Check! It was a tight squeeze but I finished the last of my cleaning as the photographer arrived to take pictures. We've accepted an offer and are now in the inspection period.

Enjoy a staycation - We had a good time with this. It ended up being a fun way to do something different without breaking the bank. We hit up Old Shawnee Days, went to the pool and enjoyed eating treats.

Try out one new pool (and hit all the OP pools by summer's end) - We went to Youngs, which was fun!  One of the slides nearly killed me. Turns out there's only one pool we haven't been to, Marty Pool, so we'll have to hit that later.

Enjoy a reunion with the Paden side - We had a wonderful time. We need to see those lovely people more!

Host Usborne books party and purchase books to use for Science and Social Studies - Checkity check. Can't wait for the books to arrive. It'll be better than Christmas. 

Write something every week - Check.

Accept the fact that we may not do any school til August - Haha yeah, I've accepted that this summer is going to be pretty chill for the kids. I think they need more structure. Hopefully I'll have time to get to that soon.
Finish a book, maybe - I've read bits and pieces of 3 or 4 different books and I finished The Life Changing Magic yesterday. So a day late. Whatevs, that counts.

Pack up all non-essential items - I did a pretty good job at this. There were a few cabinets and drawers that I did not have time to get to. Honestly, I think I need to just get rid of the majority of the non-essential items anyway.
Coffee with a friend - Running errands with a friend counts, right??

Figure out how we could implement MoneySmart family system in a way that we can stick to - I mean I have some ideas about this but there's no way we are going to get started until we have a clearer picture of what is going to happen with our house and when our move will be. I'm debating whether I want to buy a copy of this for reference.
Determine a rough outline for Science and Social Studies for the upcoming year - Not so much. I mean, I bought the books, so I have an idea of what we are going to learn about...but that's as far as I have gotten.

July Goals

Personal
Read a book
See the new Ghostbusters movie

Family

Make Lydia's birthday special

Social
Coffee and/or dinner with friends
Celebrate my 30th birthday

School
Get back into some kind of routine
Do some art projects
Figure out a curriculum for Legacy for the fall

Writing
Blog weekly

House
Do an additional purge
Find a great house and buy it!!!

June Goals

It's been a while since I've done monthly goals but I feel like now is a good time to start up again! I'm feeling like my old self again, which is a wonderful feeling. We're several days into the month but I'm going to give this goals thing a go anyhow!


No pretty pictures because my life is chaotic. We're currently having the trim and rooms on the main floor of our house painted, so random things are everywhere. The living room has no furniture other than a TV stand. Next week, we're having the floors refinished and we'll need to remove all the furniture from our bedroom and Lexi's room as well. Good times!

Since we're planning to get the house listed this month, House Goals are going to dominate my life ;)

February & March Goals

Hey March! Glad you're here. This post is a little late, seeing as we're already 11 days into the month, but what can you do?

February was good overall, but I'm glad it is over. The further away from winter, the better! I'm still dealing with random anxiety here and there and trying to get that all sorted out with my doctors. I've got appointments coming up and ideas to try so I'm feeling hopeful. Not giving up! Can't get rid of me that easily ;)

Here's how I did with my goals. Actually, a word about goals first.

Sometimes I think "goals" is too strong a word. It's more like a to-do list. I print it off, hang it in my room, and check things off when they're done. I like checking things off. Some things cannot be checked off though, which probably means they are not good goals since they need to be broken into measurable parts. I guess I'd say I have a pretty good mix of goals and things to get done. Some little things that build toward bigger things, like becoming a writer or growing in my faith. But I like having some easier things on my list too because it gets me started and makes me feel accomplished.

Annnnnywho, here we go.

Finish Season 4 of Grey's Anatomy - Check. I'm really good at watching TV, when I put my mind to it ;) Actually, I've been watching a whole lot less than I used to, but I am hooked on Grey's and it's pretty much all I want to watch. Which is kind of ridiculous, because it's on Netflix and not going anywhere, whereas there's stuff on Hulu that leaves after a few weeks. Also, after 7 months of waiting, disc 2 of Outlander was finally ready for me at the library...and I only watched one episode before I returned it. I love that show and I love the characters but I was kind of over it. Plus, if you've read or watched, you know what happens at the end and it ain't pretty. So yeah. But I'm slowly making my way through Grey's, the goal is to be caught up before season 12 leaves Hulu but we'll see.

Attend a Bible study/Church class - Check. I've been going to a women's Bible study that I like, and Tim & I are starting the Alpha class too. Those will continue through March.

Put on new Jamberries instead of biting my nails - Well, I did put them on. And then when I took them off, I bit all my nails. So yeah. I think I need to get new nail clippers because the once I have don't work and it's easier to just bite.

Go see Star Wars for Tim's birthday - Check. We both loved it.

Analyze the budget and set some $$$ goals - Check. I spent the better part of Valentine's Day working on this and it was good. We think we've got a plan that we can keep up with and we talked about long and short term goals. We're going to have a monthly budget meeting to keep on top of things. We weren't in a bad place or anything, just needed to sit down and talk it out since our finances have changed since last year with new jobs, changes in insurance, etc. I think I'm more adult than I give myself credit for.

Take Lydia on a date - We went to Target :) I let her pick out a couple of new dresses and we got some school supplies and stuff we needed. Lexi and I also went on a double mom & daughter date with some friends.

Go on a walk every week - Yep. It was even warm enough to walk outside a couple times! I'm lucky that I have some friends to walk with too.

Go on two coffee/dessert/whatever dates with friends - I managed three and it was lots of fun. Yay friends :)

Tentatively decide on Science topics for the rest of the semester - Check. Now to see how the timing pans out.

Take myself on a writing date where I can work quietly for a while - Check. I loved this! I want to do it more often. It took me a bit to get into the flow of writing (especially because Starbucks was noisier than I anticipated) but it was fun. I think next time I may try the library.

Finish Chapter 1 of my story - Check. I'm surprised at this, because I had a really long period of time where I didn't write a single word. But I wanted to accomplish a chapter, so I did. It's not perfect, but it's written. And that's a step in the right direction.

Pray more and consider a routine for it - I started writing (actually typing) my prayers again and this worked pretty well. I didn't do it every night, but I did it more often than I have in a while. I'm a writer as well as a very distracted human, so typing/writing prayers is a good way for me to stay more focused in my prayers. I set an alarm on my phone to remind me to do this, but I haven't found a consistent time that works well. I'll keep playing with it.

Play more games - I did play more games this month, but didn't come up with a regular family game time. I played a lot of games with Lydia, which was great, because I'm always looking for ways to connect with her. I tend to "get" Lexi because she's very similar in personality to me, but Lydia is a little bit tougher for me to understand, so I like to find ways we can relate. The library has a couple of chess sets out right now and she begged me to play, and we did. I was surprised that she stuck with it and we both enjoyed it, so I ordered No Stress Chess from Amazon so we could play at home together. I'm impressed by her patience with it, I don't think I would have liked it at her age.

Find and try 2 new recipes - So I tried one new recipe and it was a flop, sadly. Then I made a roast for the first time in YEARS and it turns out my kids didn't hate it- and what's crazy was that they devoured the baked potatoes I served with it. This is huge because my kids have been anti-potatoes since birth. So it's nice to have a new option for side dishes. Yay.

Use the weekend to plan each upcoming school week - I did well with this for our personal school. I pretty much plan the week on Sunday nights. I tried to implement this for my new part time position, and it went okay, but I remembered something about myself as a teacher. I do well coming up with general ideas in advance, but then I have to let them marinate for a while until I'm inspired and then I can bring it all together and come up with a framework. I tend to do well under some pressure, which is why I procrastinated a lot in school. So I'm going to try to strike a balance that allows me time to be inspired without rushing too much at the last minute.

Write every day - I wrote some days, but not every day. Mostly journaling. I didn't do much creative writing, didn't do any blogging either.

Consider implementing some kind of "centers" for Lydia - I made a list of all the fun preschoolish stuff we have around here and hung it on the wall. I had a lot of resources I'd forgotten about. We did do more of this kind of stuff, but I don't really have a routine down yet. And I think that's okay. I'm a fan of letting kids play and do their thing when they're little.

Read three books - The second I published this goal, I knew I wasn't going to get there. Not sure why I made it so high ;) Anyway, I did read Orphan Train in a 24 hour period and I LOVED IT. I checked out several other books from the library but nothing really did it for me. I am about halfway through Teaching From Rest, which is good, but not the kind of book you binge.



So yeah, I did well overall in February! Blogger has been super crazy lately, I've been having all sorts of formatting issues again and it's frustrating. So I'm just going to post this plain text list of goals for March since we're already well into the month and I need to start checking things off the list.

March Goals

Personal

Read 1 really great book
Go through the kids' clothes and see what they need for this spring/summer
Attempt to buy a few articles of clothing for the kids second hand (I hate this kind of thing so this is big for me)
Watch at least one Sporting game
Make some decisions about summer plans
Schedule dentist and eye appointments for the kids

Family

Go on a family movie date
Go on a date with my husband

Wellness

Walk twice per week as the weather allows
Try making one new type of salad at home

Social

Go on at least two dates with friends
Call someone to chat each week

School
Sell some of the curriculum that we aren't using
Incorporate Spelling into school at least 3 days per week
Get a meter stick for Math
Spend some time during Spring Break getting ahead in planning
Look into the cost of getting the Spielgaben Kindergarten workbook printed and bound

Writing

Finish a draft of Chapter 2 of my story

Take myself on another writing date
Write 3 days per week

January & February Goals

I can't believe it is already February! I am very glad. I am sick and tired of winter and each month that goes by brings us a little closer to spring. Thank goodness. The sun is staying out longer every day and that makes me happy. I can't wait til I can start walking in the evening again. 

Blogger has been doing really weird things, so excuse any weird formatting that pops up. Also, I thought about making more graphics and adding more pictures to this...but it's already a week late and I just need to post it ;) Maybe I'll be snazzier in March!

January had its ups and downs, but ended on a positive note.  I'm feeling a lot better and feel really blessed to have such supportive friends in my life. Thanks friends, I love ya!

Here's a look at how I did with my monthly goals in January. 

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Read five books this month - Check. Finished three Harry Potters and a couple others. I knew that I would binge the HP books which is why I made my reading goal so high ;)

Watch at least one Star Wars movie - Tim and I watched Episodes IV, V and VI. SO much better than Episode I, that's for sure. Harrison Ford is a hottie and Princess Leia is a badass. I'm glad I finally watched them! We're planning to go see Episode VII soon. 

Take Lexi on a Mother/Daughter date - We went out to lunch and shopping. 

Figure out a way to better organize the girls' rooms - Got them some storage tubs at Ikea, and now, before they are allowed screen time, they must pick up their rooms, the kitchen, living room, and basement. Works great.

Figure out something consistent to do with Lydia - We started Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. She can do it! Her attention span is short, but she's managed to read a couple of Bob Books and she is excited about that! We've gotten into a bit of a routine most days now that Lexi can work independently on some things. I also found some fun learning apps for her to play on her Kindle when Lexi and I work one on one. 
Talk to the vet about the stupid cats pooping in the basement - Had a conversation with him and we're pretty sure it's behavioral. He ordered a pheromone diffuser for us and suggested a carpet cleaner. I am glad we at least have a plan!

Eat a nutritious lunch most days - I started eating salads again. Not every day, but frequently. Good for me.

Walk with a friend at least once per week - I think I managed this most weeks.

Be more diligent about Lexi practicing piano - I've been better at reminding her. I'm introducing a daily checklist for her so that I'm not constantly nagging.

Write, in some form, every day - I have been writing nearly every day! I've started a story, which is why there haven't been as many blog posts. Also, I get distracted easily.
Invite people over for dinner and/or games - It was on the calendar than needed to be rescheduled. But we'll get there! Got two dinner plans on the calendar for Feb so far. 

Come up with some way to connect with God regularly - I've been reading and doing devotions/answering questions out of my Busy Mom's Bible now and then. We've been attending some classes/Bible studies that have been good. I don't have an exact routine. It's a start though. 

Do an Art Lesson each week - I think we did 2 or 3. They enjoyed them!

Finish & publish the Faces of Homeschooling posts I have lined up - Blogger has been giving me formatting issues, so I am just now getting those finished. One has been posted and the other is nearly ready. 

Go on a date with my husband - Sorry Tim. Got two dates on the calendar this week, so that sorta makes up for it ;)

Do a Walk at Home DVD or play Just Dance each week - I think I did this once. Oops.

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I've been mulling over my goals for February and it's been a little tricky, because I've been trying to decided what my priorities are first, rather than just setting random goals. I did much better reaching goals in January than I did in previous months, probably because I set fewer goals overall.

 I'm going to be light on wellness goals for a while. I kind of needed to focus on just feeling better mentally, since everything else stems from that. I saw my doctors and we are trying different supplements to keep my hormones and feelings, well, less insane. It's a bit of trial and error. First thing we tried didn't work but the supplement I'm trying now (lithium orotate) seems to be working really well. Time will tell if it's what I need!

I have also started a long term substitute teaching job at a homeschool enrichment center. I am excited about it! The girls get to come with me, which is great because we probably couldn't afford something like this if I weren't teaching there. I get to use my creative teaching brain in a classroom setting, which is going to be fun. I get paid, which rocks. I think it'll be great. We still need to adjust to going to bed and waking up earlier. For those of you who are unfamiliar, this is a one day per week program that provides Art, Music, Sign Language, PE and other classes to groups of kids who are homeschooled. They are grouped by age level and get to have lunch and recess together and have fun doing activities that easier to do in groups. 

Anywho, These goals are kind of random, but that's kind of who I am. 

Personal

Read three books
Pray more - Consider a routine for this

Attend a Bible Study/Church Class
Go to bed by 11pm on weeknights
Finish Season 4 of Grey's Anatomy (I take my TV watching seriously!)
Put on new Jamberries instead of biting my nails

Family
Go see Star Wars for Tim's Birthday
Play more games - Consider a routine or regular family game time
Analyze the budget and set some $$$ goals
Take Lydia on a date

Wellness

Go on a walk every week
Find recipes for and try 2 new meals

Social

Go on two coffee/dessert/whatever dates with friends

Homeschool

Use the weekend to plan each upcoming school week
Consider implementing some kind of "Centers" for Lydia
Tentatively decide on Science topics for the rest of the semester

Writing

Write every day

Take myself on a writing date where I can work quietly for a while
Finish Chapter 1 of my story