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.

May Fitness Challenge

source: freedigitalphotos.net

I stated in the April Fitness Challenge post that I needed to change what I’ve been doing to lose weight because, well, I wasn’t losing any weight.  To jumpstart that I listed my goals for the month:

~ At least 900 fitness minutes (aerobic or strength training)
~ A different strength training move each day
~ Outdoor activity at least once a week (while it’s still cool enough to do so here in the south)
~ Walk 6 miles a week
~ Lose 2 more inches
~ Lose 5 pounds

And here’s how I did:

~  860 fitness minutes… so close
~ A different strength training move each day… I hate to say it but I did not do well on this; probably because I didn’t plan well.
~ Outdoor activity at least once a week ~~ I walked a few miles and did lots of gardening
~ Walked an average of 5 miles per week.
~ Lost no inches
~ Lost 1.5 pounds

I have about 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.  If I do then my milk supply goes down.  And that’s definitely NOT what I want to happen.  Oh, and all of those people who told me that the weight would just fall off while breastfeeding?  Yeah.  They lied.  It doesn’t happen like that for me.

I eat right (most of the time) and exercise (most of the time) and I get so frustrated when the scale doesn’t budge.  Not a pound.  Not an inch off my tummy.  Nothing.  Nada.  Grr!  And all this does is make 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’ve 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.

And maybe I’m just being too hard on myself.  Maybe this is a mental roadblock.  I just don’t know.  So I’m still going to make goals for the month.  Because if I don’t then nothing gets done.  But they’re going to be a bit different.  I’m not making a pound/inch loss goal.  Maybe later, when I’m not breastfeeding.  But for now perhaps I just need to focus on getting fit.

So here are 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 if you’re on your own fitness journey and don’t seem to be getting anywhere… don’t give up.  Take it day by day and just do it.  Because the little things add up, even if you can’t see the rewards right now.  You’re becoming a more healthier you.