#3in30 August goals - Week 4 update

You can read about my other goals for August here.

Goal #3 - Reclaim my mornings.


I have not been good about getting up this week, often dragging myself out of bed at 545 or later. But I have still spent time in prayer while I'm getting dressed and I've still be fixing breakfast for my kids.  Most days.

We've had breakfast tacos once, oatmeal twice, and cereal/smoothies once.  Today's another cereal today.

I think I'm just getting to bed too late and that's what is making it harder to get up in the morning, but I'm not positive.  SleepBot says I'm 4:33 hrs behind on my sleep, although it certainly feels like it's more than that.  {Today is a bad allergy day, which doesn't help.}

I need to work on my September goals today.  I have so many ideas floating in my head that I'm going to have to write them out and prioritize them.

#3in30 August goals - Week 3 update

Wow.  I can't believe it's already time for my 3rd week update, but it is.  School starts on Monday and my hubby is so glad!  haha

Goal #1 - Clean out and organize the bathroom cabinets.   
Goal #2 - Finish my Good Morning Girls book study. 

I am still working towards finishing up all the SOAP scriptures for the GMG study before the 1 John study starts on 9/19. So far I've been doing one a day, right before bed, but I may sit down this weekend and try to get a few weeks worth finished. 

Goal #3 - Refocus myself to #hellomornings and getting up early enough for exercise and quiet time.

My Sleep Bot app says I only had 2 late days this week, which is better than last week.  I've made it a point of getting my QT and worship time in regardless of what time I got up.  Exercise is somewhat limited right now.  I strained my upper right arm somehow, and being the relatively same location as a 5-year old recovered tear injury, I'm being very cautious until I know it's fully healed.  I do not want a serious injury like that again!  Officially, #hellomornings is between sessions but the fall session starts 9/15.  Head over to Inspired To Action and keep an eye out for her sign-up post if you want to join us next time!

I'm loving that I find myself now thinking ahead for future goals and projects that need to be done.  It's funny when I come across something and I catch myself thinking - oh, that'll be perfect for next month or that'll work better scheduling wise if I wait until October.  LOL  And to think back in April I gave up so easily!

#3in30 August goals - Week 2 update

This week has been incredibly hectic for me.  Monday I was off work for a dental appointment and Friday I was off so I could help chaperone Andy's orchestra camp field trip.  So work was hectic cramming 5 days of things into 3, including the effort of scheduling 80+ people for software testing.  I love my job though and I'm so glad God put me in a position where my skills are both useful and appreciated.

Home has been just as hectic though, but it too has been productive.

My last July goal - to purge the boys' unused clothing - is complete.  To the best of my knowledge anyway. I admit that I have not entered their rooms to actually confirm that only the things they routinely wear remain.  That will be projects for another month. ;-)  But I dropped off 2 bags of clothing in the donation box on my way home from the grocery store tonight with a sense of satisfaction.

My 2nd August goal - to finish my Good Morning Girls book study - is also complete.   I'm still about 6 weeks behind on SOAP scriptures, but I'm going to make it a priority to do one scripture every night before bed until I'm done.  My goal though was to actually finish the book, and with 8 chapters to go, I spent the majority of my evening doing just that.  I'm not going to blog on the last 2 topics - Training and Service - because the answers to the study questions are ones that are more introspective to me and require thought and prayer. Maybe someday you'll get to read my answers.  I do want to share with you though my favorite quote from what I read today:

Sin in our lives makes us resist responsibility. (The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson, p. 191)

I can't explain why this one little sentence resonates so deeply with me, but it does. My own conviction perhaps?

Goal #3 - Refocus myself to #hellomornings and getting up early enough for exercise and quiet time.  Only 2 days this week did I actually get up at 5am and exercise, but I did work in a 20-minute Zumba session this morning before I had to get ready for breakfast with our friends.  I whined a little bit Friday to my online friends about not having enough time for everything, but I think I've figured it out since then.  

If I actually get up at 5am, I have 45 minutes to myself before Alex's alarm goes off. That's plenty of time as long as I get myself into a regular morning and evening routine and get to bed on time.  Keep praying for me my friends. LOL
I did decide I'm going to do Good Morning Girls' Fall Bible Study on 1 John.  It's SOAP format and I'm going to keep up with it a journal rather than online.  My mornings will be much smoother if I keep exercise short and QT simple. Trying to fit time for actual #B90Days reading into my morning is too stressful, and often leaves me feeling slightly resentful that my time is not my own. So my bible reading needs to remain something that I do in spare moments throughout my day and finish up with at night.  Lately I've taken to reading in bed until I fall asleep and I love it.  It's such a wonderful way to end my day.

However, I'm happy to say that I'm holding steady with the #B90Days reading.  I did fall a little behind earlier in the week when I was just so mentally exhausted from work I couldn't comprehend what I was reading.  But I made the most of my off-time Thursday night and Friday and on this lazy Saturday, and caught up. Tomorrow's reading is Day 35 and the start of Nehemiah. I think it also makes us about 40% complete.

On that note, I'm calling it a night my friends.  Even though all I've done is read all day, I'm tired.   Have a great night a blessed Sunday!

#3in30 August goals - Week 1 update

Goal #1 - Clean out and organize the bathroom cabinets.  Complete!

This was a time consuming task, even more so than I thought it would.  Our recent acquisition of a mirrored stand for our bedroom meant I could move my things into the bedroom. 

I was beyond thrilled since we only have 1 very poorly ventilated bathroom and it's always a hassle to share it with the boys in the mornings.  Moving my things was going to be part of my clean out process. Unfortunately Fortunately, that meant I had to first clean off my dresser in order to make space for the new stuff.

My make-up bag, the rest is not mine.

The white pail, peach soap, and purple/orange hair products are mine. The rest is not.

I claim only a few things from down here too.

Only the socks on the left edge belong to me.

As you can see, everything was cluttered and just tossed helter skelter and never really put away properly. {Most of the mess isn't mine though.}

After several hours of sorting, tossing, scrubbing, and organizing, it's done. And it'd better stay nice and neat or heads will spin.  ;)

Scrubbed clean except for things to be relocated to the bathroom

Done!  My stuff on the right, sunscreens and aloe in the middle, extra bath products and lotions on the left.

It looks so much better now!  {The blue container is homemade face wipes.}

Nice and neat and organized!  Lotions, perfume, nail polish, makeup.  {The brushes will get a good cleaning tomorrow.}

With the lotions now on the dresser, my hanging organizer is only for hair  products and accessories!

Goal #2 - Finish my Good Morning Girls book study.  I have a dental appointment tomorrow, so it'll be a good time to get caught up since they don't like you on your cell phone in the back.


Goal #3 - Refocus myself to #hellomornings and getting up early enough for exercise and quiet time.  This has to become a priority. I've got 2 weeks until school starts, and the boys have to start getting up early this week too.  

#3in30 July goals - Week 4 update & August goals

**Edited 8/1 to include pics!**

It's so hard to believe that July is almost over.  Where did it go?  While I don't feel my month was nearly as productive as it could have been towards my 3in30 goals, it's been much more productive than past months have been.

Goal #1 to clean out my rolling cart was finished, leaving behind a lovely box full of stuff that falls into August goal territory.

journals and study books

exercise equipment

cross stitching projects and supplies

box of misc stuff - lots of CDs, cables, and lotions

Goal #2 to create a new filing system, location, and actually file my papers is partially complete.  Alex fixed the filing cabinet the other day; I simply haven't had enough time at home to go through what's in there and straighten it up.  I'm planning on doing that in the morning, in between morning Zumba with Alicia and our late lunch meet-up with Twitter friends Jenn and Heather. I don't expect it to take me long to clean things out once I get started, it's just making the time to actually sit there and do it.

Last used in 2005 - now it's clean and relabeled

the school supply crate

crammed full and there's still more to get

Goal #3 to purge teenagers' clothes is going slowly, mainly b/c it's a task that I have to actually get them to do.  I'm hoping to get them to finish it tomorrow, but it's realistically going to be Sunday afternoon before it gets done.

the start of a pile

I will get them done, and I would dearly love to get them all finished this weekend before July officially wraps to a close. If not, then I'll just wrap them up in August BEFORE I start on my August goals.  :)

So here are my August 3in30 goals.

Goal #1 - Clean out and organize the bathroom cabinets.  I already have lots of cute little baskets ready and waiting to be filled.

baskets are my friend

Goal #2 - Finish my Good Morning Girls book study.  I know I won't finish with the group by August 12 because I got behind on reading again after starting #B90Days.  And I'm not really sure how I'm going to juggle both reading projects unless I can get several days ahead in the Bible.  Sally Clarkson's The Ministry of Motherhood is a good book and I've enjoyed what I've read and learned so far, and I really do want to finish reading it.

Goal #3 - Refocus myself to #hellomornings and getting up early enough for exercise and quiet time. Getting to bed too late and subsequently being too tired in the morning when my alarm goes off is not working for me.   Starting Monday I'm going back to my 9:30 bedtime with a goal of being out of bed by 5:30 and working towards a 5:00 wake up again.

So there are my goals: practical, spiritual, and physical.  Check back next week to see how it's going. :)

Saturday Recap

It's been such a busy week that I decided it was easiest to squish it all together into one multi-subject post.  I promise it shouldn't be hard to follow.  ;)

Bible in 90 days - week 2 update...

I've pushed myself hard and made my #b90days reading my priority above everything else with much success.  I'm on track with Day 14 and have read 13.6% of the Bible (4 books) in just 2 weeks!  I'm super excited about my progress; I feel like I really can do this.  :)  I'm also loving the friends I'm making, the conversations we're having, and the knowledge I'm gaining.






#3in30 July goals - week 3 update...

I haven't made any new progress on my goals, but I haven't fallen behind either.

Goal #1 - Clean out and organize rolling cart. Repurpose drawers.

I've thus far managed to not rejunk my cart.  School supplies continue to be purchased and put in their new crate. (In fact, all I have left to buy are binders, pens, and spirals.)  I do still have a stack of new organizer trays and baskets sitting on top of my cart, but some of those are for an August project and some are for the kitchen and 31 Days to Clean.

Goal #2 - Create new filing location and system. File papers.I'm still waiting on Alex to straighten my filing cabinet if he can.  I've been telling him all week and it's obviously not done.  I'll be sure to make it get done today. I want to get some progress done on this task one way or the other.


Goal #3 - Purge teenagers' clothing items and identify what needs to be replaced.
This hasn't been done either and will be this week's project for them.

Coffee... 

New phones...

For the past few week's I've been participating in Coffee Lovin Mom's Coffee Trifecta giveaways.  I was absolutely THRILLED Thursday night when she DM'd me to tell me I'd won the 2 bonus mugs she was giving away. They haven't arrived yet, but I'll share a picture when I get them.  I love following Amy's coffee-related tweets throughout the day. Sometime's they're the caffeine-free inspiration I need.  :)





My old G1 finally decided to die last weekend. It's been acting up for a while now, but while Manny and I were out with friends he saw first-hand what it was doing.  Since T-Mobile no longer carries batteries for it, he went ahead and upgraded me.  I got the Samsung Galaxy S phone and I LOVE IT!  I have everything I need and more at the swipe of my finger. The screen is larger and clearer than on my G1, and makes it an absolute breeze for bible reading.  I also love that I have a Kindle app on it, because I can buy Brooke's Warrior Prayers for Kindle now. (On a side note, I can't believe how easy it is to read on the Kindle app. No wonder people love it so much. I might have just been converted!)




Fitness...

I'm holding steady but I'm tired of it.   I've been tracking my food and exercise for a while, but I've been lackadaisical about exercising enough to make a difference.  But now I have an even better form of motivation - my bestie Alicia is getting married next summer and needs an extra big push to stay motivated and drop a few pounds before the wedding.  And so we decided it's time to get real and do this thing right.  Teaming up with another of my best heart sisters, Vickie, we've got a plan for 3 days of Zumba together (it's always more fun with friends!) and I created a shared spreadsheet where we can track numbers and goals. I can't wait to report on our progress! Since I'm not squeamish about sharing my own weight loss information, you can expect to hear more on the subject in future posts. 

Current weight: 193 

Final goal: 140 

Mini goal: <189 

2 week maintenance reward: Mandisa's new CD

I realize my mini goal may sound odd, but I was at 186 in May, went up to 191 post-vacation, and have been bouncing back and forth between 191-193 ever since then.  I'm tired of it, so I decided that if I can just get into the 180s and stay there for 2 weeks, then I'll reward myself.   Then I decided that all rewards will be based on a 2 week maintenance cycle b/c it syncs up with my paydays and makes it easier to budget in rewards but it also means I have to work harder to earn the goal.  It's a lot harder to maintain a goal weight than it is to reach it, IMO!

#3in30 July goals - Week 2 update

I am so excited to be able to say that I finished one of my #3in30 goals this month!

Goal #1 - Clean out and organize rolling cart. Repurpose drawers.
Goal #1 is done.  Complete.  Accomplished!   I took everything out of the cart, putting school supplies in their new crate, papers that need to be filed and the miscellaneous assorted CDs and cables and lotions in a filing box until they can be put away properly, wiped down inside the drawers, and then put the stuff that belongs there back.  The bottom drawer is restocked with my cross-stitch supplies, the top drawer is journals and bible/book study supplies (including the unread books), and the middle drawer will be for my small exercise equipment.  It feels so great to have all that done though, and I really really want to get that box of stuff taken care of so it doesn't just sit and accumulate more junk.  LOL


Goal #2 - Create new filing location and system. File papers.
I still have to get Alex to straighten out my filing cabinet if he can, and if he can't, I'm going to go buy a 2nd black crate and use that. It's got little ledges inside so it can easily be used for hanging files and the crates would stack together nicely in a corner.

Goal #3 - Purge teenagers' clothing items and identify what needs to be replaced.
This hasn't been done either, but at least I think they've gotten everything washed.  I've decided that anything not worn in the past 6 months gets tossed, handed down, or donated. That should eliminate about 80% of the "extra laundry" I always end up doing.  I'm not kidding when I say that Alex probably has 2 drawers crammed with t-shirts that haven't seen the light of day since we moved into this house 3 years ago.   Once that's done, they'll be better prepared to take inventory of what they have so I know what they need.

Even little accomplishments boost the spirit

Just a short post before I head off to get ready for bed, but I wanted to share my accomplishments from the weekend.

Goal #2: Filing - Yesterday we went shopping and I decided to hold off on buying anything new for filing until I can determine (a) what all we'll have that needs to be filed and (b) whether my current filing cabinet can be fixed to work properly. Ultimately I'd like to get a small portable locked metal box that we could grab and go in the event of an emergency, but that's something for a future purchase.

Goal #1: Cart Clean-Up - On a later shopping trip, I did buy a crate type box that I decided would be perfect for storing the extra school supplies in.  I have a ton of them in various locations around the house, although I think I've maybe consolidated the majority into my craft cart.  I want to pick up a few of the oddball extras like protractors and such since those are cheap right now and not so cheap 6 months from now, but inevitably will be broken by the time my child actually needs them.  I also plan to pick up a small plastic pencil box to hold the extras once the package has been opened.  My kids love to take 2 pencils out of a package that is then put down and never found until after another new package has been opened.  LOL  Hopefully having all the open extras in an easy to grab spot will make the homework battles and 6:30am oops, I forgot I needed more of this situations less prevalent.

A few weeks ago, one of my best friends emailed me her 31 Days to Clean Mission Statement.  I decided that I was going to come up with mine that very day, and I did.  Although I didn't think mine was as good as hers, she reminded me that it doesn't matter!  You can view my final Mission Statement here, but it says:

• I want my home to be a warm and inviting atmosphere.
• I don’t want to be embarrassed to have visitors over.
• The Lord is directing me to step up to my duties in my home and I want to be obedient to him.
• I want my kids to learn good cleaning habits and they need to see me cleaning to do that.

It was several weeks ago that I finished my Day 1 task, but I can happily say that today I finished Day 2 (cleaning inside the fridge and freezer).  I had originally only intended to cut up the fresh veggies I'd bought this weekend, and dump the assorted fruits out of their bags and into the fruit bin, but when I pulled open one of the drawers and saw again how icky it was inside with dried bits of this or that veggie, I decided it was well past time to get to cleaning.    We won't even discuss how icky the bottom of the freezer looked once I took everything out.   Suffice it to say that both are cleaned and deodorized and everything was restocked nice and neat where they make sense to be.  I'm sure it'll look totally different by the time I get home tomorrow.  LOL

I did manage to get almost all the veggies sliced, and tossed the celery tops and wilted carrots into a freezer bag for future stock use, which is an entirely different accomplishment.  :)   The only things that didn't get done were lettuce and strawberries, and that's b/c Alex had already started emptying containers and I no longer had any room to work.  By the time he was done washing everything, I was too.

I'm going to make it a goal to do those in the morning but that means I've gotta get to bed NOW or I'll never get up on time in the morning!

My July week 1 progress for #3in30

I'm hoping that if I make a focused effort to link up weekly to #3in30, maybe I'll actually make some decent progress this month.  One can only hope, right?  haha

Before I go visit my fellow #3in30'ers, I'm going to post my own update and remind myself that there is no comparison. God made me who I am and He loves me for me, even with all of my imperfections and procrastination tendencies. I will not compare my progress with someone else, but they're not me. :)

Clean out and organize rolling cart. Repurpose drawers.  I looked long and hard at my rolling cart, previously used for craft work and now filled to the overflowing, can't cram the drawer shut brim with a hodgepodge of assorted items.  I told myself last weekend I was going to do it over the holiday weekend so I could feel good about having gotten one of my goals - probably the simplest of them all - knocked off the list.  A week later, the cart hasn't been touched, except for when the kids piled more stuff on top of it.  Maybe tomorrow...

In all seriousness though, I have been giving it a lot of thought as to what all is in there and where I'm going to put it.  Right now I have a major lack of storage in my house, so some plastic tote boxes would be needed most likely. I just hesitate to buy them without knowing exactly what I'm going to use them for since I don't want to get something I won't end up using.  I thought about using my laundry baskets to temporarily hold everything while I sort it out, but I know how I work and if I didn't go immediately to the store for boxes, sooner or later everything would get dumped back into the drawers in order to do laundry.   At minimum, I think I'm going to pick up some bankers boxes in the morning while I'm out running errands.  I know some of the things in there is stuff that needs to be donated, and that would at least be a good start.

Create new filing location and system. File papers.   My filing situation is similar to my cart. We have an old beat up 2-drawer filing cabinet right now and I don't have a clue what all is in there. I know the boys' baby books are in there, and a ton of really old bill statements from before we went electronic are in one drawer, the bottom drawer mostly has spindles of CDs and a handful of new-ish appliance manuals.  The top of it is a major hotspot and so it'll also need a new home.  I think I have a corner in my bedroom that would fit it perfectly if I can get one of the guys to undent the drawers enough to make it useable.  I do have hanging files already in there, so if I can fix the cabinet it'll be a cinch to get stuff cleaned out, relabeled, and filed.

Purge teenagers' clothing items and identify what needs to be replaced.  Somewhere I have this great list I made last year that lists every category of clothing my children own.  I added a blank line next to each category and made them count everything they had.  I need to find or recreate the list, but first I have to get them to do all their laundry. I know both boys have a ton of things they haven't worn in months, and as far as I'm concerned it's time for it to go. 

July challenges

Since this is the first week of July, I'm claiming today as a fresh start.  I'm not looking to the past, I'm looking ahead to the future.  May I present to you my July #3in30 goals.

1. Clean out and organize rolling cart.  Repurpose drawers.
2. Create new filing location and system. File papers.
3. Purge teenagers' clothing items and identify what needs to be replaced

Motives for motivation

After months of putting off finishing up a project and weeks of not doing the mundane tasks I dislike, not to mention the subsequent 'Lord help me focus' statements that went with my delays, I finally shut down the computer and did the mundane.

What gets me is my darling husband questions about why. While it bothers me on a higher, in general, level, it also bugs me that I so rarely do things around the house that when I do it bears questioning. :(

All the more reason for me to get off my bum and get busy, right?

So at least clothes are bagged for donations tomorrow (3 bags worth), old shoes and trash are trashed, bags are nicely repacked and ready to store, and Mt. Laundmore is put away. I even replaced lightbulb s in the ceiling fan because I found them. LOL

Now I'm going to enjoy some coffee and my book before bed.

posted from Bloggeroid

April 3in30 Goals

Earlier today I stumbled upon Ashley's 3in30 post challenging readers to pick 3 goals each month to tackle.  Since it sounded like a great way to get some things done around here with a little more focus than normal, I signed up for April.

I now give you my April goals.  Come back each Friday for an update on my progress.

1. Finish cleaning closets and dressers to weed out the things that are unworn and then donate them to charity.
2. Clean out my craft cart and rid it of the junk so I can use it for crafts again.
3. Identify favorite recipes and get them typed up so we can work towards meal planning.