Goals for the Week: June 17 – 23

{For some reason this didn’t post yesterday.  Better late than never, right?}

Here were the goals for last week and how I did on them:

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {June: Plan and Incorporate a Morning Routine}.  ~~ Totally bombed on it this week.  Need to regroup and try again.
~ Read a couple of chapters of Slave.
~ Focus on getting 7 – 9 hours of sleep.  ~~ Probably averaged 6 hours a night.
~ Begin teaching my daughter how to write her name.  ~~ We did begin.  She’s working on the first two letters!
~ Go to the toddler reading hour at our local library.
~ Work on upcoming weekly blog series.
~ Exercise 5 days – try a workout DVD I haven’t used in a while.  ~~ Didn’t use a DVD.
~ Take an uninterrupted bubble bath….  Ok, ok, I’ll settle for just the bubble bath.  :)
~ Review May’s budget.  Finalize June’s budget.
~ Clean off my office desk and catch up on filing papers.  ~~ My desk is under here somewhere, right?

And here are the goals for this week:

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {June: Plan and Incorporate a Morning Routine}.
~ Go on a family date.
~ Focus on getting 7 – 9 hours of sleep.  Seriously.  I need help on this.
~ Begin teaching my daughter how to write her name.
~ Find a space in our home that can be dedicated to homeschooling and the supplies.
~ Research new dishwashers.  Mine bit the dust in a thunderstorm a few weeks ago.
~ Exercise 5 days — try a workout DVD I haven’t used in a while.
~ Take an uninterrupted bubble bath….  Ok, ok, I’ll settle for just the bubble bath. 
~ Deep clean floors.
~ Clean off my office desk.

What are your goals for the week?

Goals for the Week: June 10 – 16

Here were the goals for last week and how I did on them:

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {June: Plan and Incorporate a Morning Routine}
~ Catch up on reading through the Bible in a year.
~ Focus on getting 7 – 9 hours of sleep.  ~~ I did this about half of the time.  I realize that I go to bed too late and the kids get up too early!
~ Take the kids to watch their first movie in theaters!  ~~ We had a lot of fun!  I plan on doing it again soon.
~ Find a local church that is hosting VBS along with the dates/times.  ~~ Found one for next month!
~ Work on upcoming weekly blog series.  ~~ Coming along on this.
~ Exercise 5 days — at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity each day and strength training 3 days.
~ Give myself a mani/pedi… I am waaaay overdue.  ~~ My tootsies look much better!
~ Review May’s budget.  Finalize June’s budget.  ~~ Yeah, it just didn’t all get done. 
~ Clean off my office desk and catch up on filing papers.  ~~ Again, didn’t all get done but I did make progress.

And here are the goals for this week:

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {June: Plan and Incorporate a Morning Routine}.
~ Read a couple of chapters of Slave.
~ Focus on getting 7 – 9 hours of sleep.
~ Begin teaching my daughter how to write her name.
~ Go to the toddler reading hour at our local library.
~ Work on upcoming weekly blog series.
~ Exercise 5 days – try a workout DVD I haven’t used in a while.
~ Take an uninterrupted bubble bath….  Ok, ok, I’ll settle for just the bubble bath.  :)
~ Review May’s budget.  Finalize June’s budget.
~ Clean off my office desk and catch up on filing papers.

What are your goals for the week?

Goals for the Week: June 3 – 9

I missed a week of goal planning!  Argh!  And let me tell you, I know that I did by the unproductive week I’ve had.  So I’m back in the swing of things and ready to start the week off right with some goal planning!

Here were the goals for week before last week and how I did on them:

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {May: Less Procrastinating; More Doing!} 
~ Catch up on reading through the Bible in a year.
~ Make a few freezer meals.
~ Read at least one e-book.
~ Start going over lesson plans for preK.
~ Make and freeze extra baby food.
~ Exercise 5 days — at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity each day and core strength training 3 days.  ~ I’m researching core exercises now.  Will work on this.
~ Transplant the remaining carrot seedlings.
~ Weed the garden.
~ Deep clean the guest bathroom.  (So much fun.)

And here are the goals for this week:

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {June: Plan and Incorporate a Morning Routine}
~ Catch up on reading through the Bible in a year.
~ Focus on getting 7 – 9 hours of sleep.
~ Take the kids to watch their first movie in theaters!
~ Find a local church that is hosting VBS along with the dates/times.  (Our home church is over a 3 hr round-trip… we can only go on Sundays.)
~ Work on upcoming weekly blog series.
~ Exercise 5 days — at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity each day and strength training 3 days.
~ Give myself a mani/pedi… I am waaaay overdue.
~ Review May’s budget.  Finalize June’s budget.
~ Clean off my office desk and catch up on filing papers.

What are your goals for the week?

12 Habits for 2013 {May Recap}

January’s habit was:  Daily Bible study.
How I’m doing:  I was doing pretty great with this one… until my Bible study ended.  I must make this more of a priority by getting up earlier and getting it done first thing in the morning.  Every morning.

February’s habit was:  Exercise daily (even if it’s just 10 minutes).
How I’m doing:  I’ve done quite well with this one for this month.  I think I missed two days during the whole month.

March’s habit was:  Drink 8 – 10 glasses of water daily.
How I’m doing:  Rockin’ the water intake.  I tend to drink at least 8 glasses daily; sometimes 10 – 12 a day.

April’s habit was:  Be early or on time for everything.
How I’m doing:  I tend to do ok on this one now.  I just had to get a routine down and figure out exactly how much time I need each time to get myself and two kiddos ready.  And remember to add extra time for meltdowns or missing sippy cups.

May’s habit was:  Less procrastinating, more doing!
How I did: I am happy to say that I’m feeling pretty good about the strides I’ve made on this habit during the month.  I tackled several major things that I’ve been putting off and feel soooo much better for it.  My motto for the month:  Just suck it up and do it now!

June’s habit will be:  Plan and incorporate a morning routine.
I was going to focus on my evening routine this month, but I realized that I need more help on my morning routine right now.  So, for the first week I will be looking at what I do now in the mornings and how long it takes to do those things.  Then I’ll figure out what actually needs to be done to make my morning go a bit smoother and come up with a new routine.  Finally, I’ll take that routine and incorporate it into our lives and tweak as neccessary.  Simple, right?

June Fitness Challenge

source: freedigitalphotos.net

Last month I determined that at this point in my life (while I’m breastfeeding) I am just not able to exercise as intensely as I need to be able to lose a lot of weight.  And I get so frustrated when the scale doesn’t budge and the inches don’t dissapear.  It makes me want to give up.  I mean, what’s the point, right?  Why do all of this stuff if I can’t see the reward in doing it?

So I completely re-evaluated my goals and had a nice long talk with myself.  Because even if I can’t see any results on the scale, I know I have more energy when I eat well.  Even when my pants still fit the same at least I know I’m also giving my son the nutrients he needs when I eat well.  So that makes it worth it.

I decided not to have a pound/inch loss goal.  For right now I would just focus on getting fit.

And here were May’s fitness goals:

~ 1,000 fitness minutes — yup, I’m going for it!
~ At least 31 different strength training moves; but of course I’ll repeat some through the month
~ An outdoor activity at least once a week
~ Walk an average of 6 miles per week

And here is how I did on them:

~ 1,300 fitness minutes
~ At least 18 different strength training moves (forgot to jot them down some days)
~ An outdoor activity at least once a week (usually twice or more)
~ Walked an average of 5 miles per week

I feel quite pleased with the progress I made this month.  I signed up for an online challenge which helped motivate me to exercise more and eat healthier.  I wasn’t as concerned with the numbers on the scale (I did weigh myself once a week for the challenge) and apparently all I needed to do was stop worrying about the numbers on the scale.  I lost 4.2 pounds and half an inch each in my bust and abdomen.  Yay for me!!  I’m super pumped about the abdomen loss!  Like most women, especially after giving birth, I’ve got quite a pooch that I’d really rather not have ever again (unless I get pregnant again, of course).

So since I’m on a roll, so to speak, I’ve kind of ramped up my goals for the month of June.  And here they are:

~ 1,500 fitness minutes
~ Strength training at least three days a week
~ Find a better core workout and concentrate on that 2 – 3 times a week
~ More time on the elliptical — at least twice a week

I have found that my core is quite weak.  I realize that having a c-section will have had something to do with that but it’s past time that I started strengthening it again.  I need to find exercises that are suitable for me (“regular” core exercises like crunches seem to hurt more than help since the surgery) and work on that.

Here’s to a healthy and happy month!

Goals for the Week: May 20 – 26

Here were the goals for last week and how I did on them:

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {May: Less Procrastinating; More Doing!}
~ Complete Week 8 (the last week!) of Leading Like Jesus Bible Study.
~ Make a few freezer meals.  ~~ I’m determined to do this soon.  I’m running out of freezer meals and I love having them already made up and ready to pop in the oven/slow cooker.
~ Read at least one e-book I’ve been accumulating.  I read over half of three books, so I’m counting this. lol
~ Gather the supplies I’ll need to teach my daughter for preschool in a couple of months.
~ Bake something special for my hubby.
~ Exercise 4 days — at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity each day and strength training 3 days.
~ Transplant the remaining carrot seedlings.  ~~ (Still have a few left to do!)
~ Clean out the pantry.
~ Clean out fridge and both freezers.

And here are my goals for this week:

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {May: Less Procrastinating; More Doing!}
~ Catch up on reading through the Bible in a year.
~ Make a few freezer meals.
~ Read at least one e-book.
~ Start going over lesson plans for preK.
~ Make and freeze extra baby food.
~ Exercise 5 days — at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity each day and core strength training 3 days.
~ Transplant the remaining carrot seedlings.
~ Weed the garden.
~ Deep clean the guest bathroom.  (So much fun.)

What are your goals for the week?

Goals for the Week: May 13 – 19

Here were the goals for last week and how I did on them  (I’ll give you a hint:  Not well!):

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {May: Less Procrastinating; More Doing!}  I’m getting a bit better about this.  I’m sure there are still some things I’m procrastinating about… right now it’s dirty dishes!
~ Complete Week 7 of Leading Like Jesus Bible Study.
~ Make a few freezer meals.
~ Read at least two e-books I’ve been accumulating.  I actually read a couple of books!  Yay!  I need to make this a habit.  It’s nice to excape for a bit.
~ Have some one-on-one Playdoh time with my daughter.
~ Bake something special for my hubby.
~ Exercise 4 days — at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity each day and strength training 3 days.  Finding my groove again!
~ Transplant the remaining carrot seedlings.
~ Clean out the pantry.  *Sigh* Since this month’s habit is about procrastination…
~ Clean out fridge and both freezers.

And this week’s goals… which look suspiciously like last week’s goals:

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {May: Less Procrastinating; More Doing!}
~ Complete Week 8 (the last week!) of Leading Like Jesus Bible Study.
~ Make a few freezer meals.
~ Read at least one e-book I’ve been accumulating.
~ Gather the supplies I’ll need to teach my daughter for preschool in a couple of months.
~ Bake something special for my hubby.
~ Exercise 4 days — at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity each day and strength training 3 days.
~ Transplant the remaining carrot seedlings.
~ Clean out the pantry.
~ Clean out fridge and both freezers.

What are your goals for the week?

Cool and Zesty Crunchy Salad

So, so easy.  And so, so healthy.  And so, so good.  I didn’t even think I liked radishes until I made this.  I’ve been making it for a while but only today did I actually “measure” what I put into it.  So play around with it.  Add to or subtract from it.  Substitute things.  Make it a math lesson with the kiddos. 

It really doesn’t take much time at all to make, unless you’re like me and don’t like to use a food processor.  I enjoy the process of making uniformly chopped vegetables… which probably says a lot about me, but whatever. 

And here it is:

Cool and Zesty Crunchy Salad
makes 8 half-cup servings

Ingredients:
3-4 lg or 5-6 med radishes, chopped (about 1/4 – 1/3 c.)
1/4 lg red onion, chopped (about 1/2 c.)
1 lg carrot, chopped (about 1/3 – 1/2 c.)
1/2 lg cucumber, chopped (about 1 c.)
1 lg stalk celery, chopped (about 1/2 c.)
1/4 lg red bell pepper (about 1/3 c.)
1/4 lg orange bell pepper (about 1/3 c.)
1/4 lg yellow bell pepper (about 1/3 c.)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
pepper, to taste

Directions:
Chop all of the veggies and place in a large serving bowl.  Drizzle olive oil over the veggies and toss to coat.  Add pepper if desired.  Or chopped green olives.  Or hot sauce.  Whatever floats your boat.  It is also fantastic with some salad leaves and your fave dressing. 

Enjoy!

Goals for the Week: May 6 – 12

Here were the goals for last week and how I did on them:

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {April’s: Be early or on time for everything; May: TBD}
~ Complete Week 6 of Leading Like Jesus Bible Study.
~ Make some homemade vegetable broth.  My first attempt at this.  It was easier than I thought!
~ Make baby food for my son:  sweet potatoes, carrots and bananas.  I love making his food.  I know what goes into it and it’s made with love!
~ Use letters flashcards with my daughter a few times this week.  She *loves* working with them and she hasn’t figured out yet that she’s learning something in the process.
~ Finish staining and sealing the deck (weather permitting).  ~~ Weather permitted, but we still didn’t get around to it.  I’m still taking this off the list though because the hubby is going to do it!
~ Exercise 4 days — at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity and 2 strength training moves each day.
~ Weed the herb and vegetable garden. Transplant the carrot seedlings. Plant radish seeds.  ~~ Still haven’t finished transplanting all of the carrots.  I did over 50 though!
~ Clean the utility room.
~ Clean out daughter’s closet.  (Why do they grow out of clothes so quickly??!?)

And here are my goals for this week:

~ Continue daily the Habit of the Month {May: Less Procrastinating; More Doing!}
~ Complete Week 7 of Leading Like Jesus Bible Study.
~ Make a few freezer meals.
~ Read at least two e-books I’ve been accumulating.
~ Have some one-on-one Playdoh time with my daughter.
~ Bake something special for my hubby.
~ Exercise 4 days — at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity each day and strength training 3 days.
~ Transplant the remaining carrot seedlings.
~ Clean out the pantry.  *Sigh* Since this month’s habit is about procrastination…
~ Clean out fridge and both freezers.

What are your goals for the week?

12 Habits for 2013 {April Recap}

January’s habit was:  Daily Bible study.
How I’m doing:  I’ve done better on this one during April than I did during February or March.  I love the Bible study I’ve been doing on Luke, and being in a group Bible study (even if it is online) helps keep me accountable.

February’s habit was:  Exercise daily (even if it’s just 10 minutes).
How I’m doing:  I’ve not done as well on this one this month.  I missed a few days here and there.

March’s habit was:  Drink 8 – 10 glasses of water daily.
How I’m doing:  Much better with this one this month.  I only had a few carbonated beverages during the month.  I usually just drank coffee or water.

April’s habit was:  Be early or on time for everything.
How I did:  Besides a few times (which were totally not my fault… I’m sure the kids or the hubby were to blame! ) where I was a few minutes late I think I did well on this one.  I really enjoy being early, and I especially enjoy not rushing around trying to get ready because I’m running late.  That stresses me out too much.

May’s habit will be:  Less procrastinating, more doing!
I have totally been putting this one off (I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere…) and I just need to stop.  So this weekend I’m going to make a list of things I’ve been procrastinating about and start tackling them one by one.