Progress

Happy Wednesday March 9th. 

I thought today would be a great day to revisit my monthly goals and evaluate what's going well and what's a struggle for me.

Goal 1 was to exercise 20 times in the month.  The first week of the month I had a flare up that left me pretty much useless.  I laid around on the couch barely functional.  I hate when I get like that.  Exercise helps so I finally pushed past and got to the gym on Monday.  I can't tell you how much that helped me!  I went again yesterday but was wearing the wrong shoes and ended up with terrible shin cramps after only a couple minutes of running.  Those shoes hit the trash can as soon as I got home.  The way this is shaping up, I will need to go shoe shopping on Saturday.  Today I don't have time to hit the gym so I figure I will do squats and lunges while watching Billy play at the McD's playland.

Goal 2 was to read 3 books. I am about 2/3 of the way thru Mansfield Park which is good because book club is the 18th.  Since I broke my Kindle, I picked up Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn.  I had forgotten what a great writer she is.  She has such an amazing sense of humor.  Stay tuned for a book review in the next few days.  It is such a great read!  I don't want to say too much now.  I still haven't decided on book #3 but I'm sure I will know it when I see it.  I was thinking about reading Lisa Whelchell's book Taking Care of the Me in Mommy.  I picked it up a couple years ago and still haven't read it.  Oh and does finishing The Tale of Desperoux with Billy count?  That is one long book!

Goal 3 was to find a place to sell my crafts.  I have a couple really great ideas but as of right now I haven't done anything towards that end.  I am thinking of going on Etsy but want to make sure that I do it right so I don't get lost in the vast expanse that is Etsy.  I am also looking into the Fairview Crafters Market.  And my sweet Jake is applying for the Gresham's Farmers Market.  If he does that and sells my goods and I do the Fairview one and sell his, we should be able to sell some...I hope!!! We both spend too much money in supplies to not make money doing what we really and truly enjoy.

Well, that's where I am at.  How bout you?  How are you doing in reaching your goals?

Progressing

Since I haven't posted in a bit, I thought now would be a good time to do an update on this months goals that I posted earlier in the month. 

Goal # 1, reading at least 2 books.  I finished 3 Cups of Tea and Divine Appointments.  I am about a third of the way thru Mansfield Park.  Making very good progress getting where I want to be.  Of course I have 5 more books that I want to read but those will have to wait for now.

Goal # 2, getting rid of 4 boxes of "stuff" from my home...well, that one I have not done as well one but I still have a week to get it done.  I am confident I will accomplish this task.  The only question is where to start.  I think I will focus on my stuff instead of Billy's room.

Goal # 3, completing the travel agency training and promoting the agency is by far my biggest challenge this month.  By the time I get home there is so much to do that I don't have the time I would like to do it.  I think I should still be able to get this done by the end of the month as I will be reducing my office hours 3 days/wk which will give me some free, unclaimed time on those days. 

Health and fitness has been a huge struggle.  I have been getting to the gym more often and being more consistent but my eating is still totally crazy!  My water intake has been very inconsistent.  I am thinking that I need to actually post goal updates more often so it helps keep me focused and on track.  Breakfast is still a huge problem area for me as are cutting out the sweets/excess carbs.  Today is a new day and a new opportunity to take control.

How are you doing on your goals for this month?

Happy Days

Good morning!

I hope you had a fantastic Christmas filled with love and hope that is what this season should bring out!  Love is what God showed when He sent his precious son to this world for our behalf.  Hope is what Jesus brought us thru his resurrection!  What amazing gifts we already have.  This was the focus of our Christmas. 

We choose to buck the American tradition of overspending and pay for our Christmas with the money budgeted and planned ahead to spend.  I started looking for Christmas gifts in August and watching the wonderful blogs Money Saving Mom and Frugal Living NW for special deals.  That really helped. 

We had a nice quiet weekend at home, just the 4 of us spending time together and relaxing.  We didn't put any pressure on ourselves to go and do but rather to just be and enjoy. 

As I've been back to work the past couple days, I have tried to bring the weekends calm with me.  Problems have arose, like they invariably do but they are not causing a panic or anxiety like they normally do.  I have just been rolling with them and they are getting resolved.  Truck break downs, intense snow storms, road closures are just part of the business but in my being proactive about tracking the trucks that are in bad weather, I have been able to head off upset customers not getting their product on time by letting them know the problems before the truck just doesn't show up.  Much better way to go. 

That's my big success of the week.  Being proactive so I don't have to react to the situations.
I have a lot of goals for the new year but that is matter for another blog.  This proactive approach is something I want to get down to where it's 2nd nature before I try to tackle the rest of the list. 

How was your Christmas?  Did you make it thru without having to incur the financial hangover that comes in the mail in January?  I hope you did but if not, I encourage you to start today looking at the way you budget and plan for Christmas.  It comes every December so it shouldn't take us by surprise when we get there. 
By planning I was able to get my family far more and better gifts than I do by waiting til later to prepare.  If you don't follow any blogs about saving money and getting more out of what you spend, I highly encourage you to do so.  There are so many great one's out there that provide everything from the latest store deals/coupon match ups to how to stretch your money to save for your goals to basic budgeting.  If you need help finding one for your particular needs/wants, let me know and I will help point you in the right direction.

Coming soon, I will be blogging about a great book I'm reading called Blind Hope.  It's incredible so far.

I will also be sharing some of my goals and plans for the new year. 

Take it easy and be safe.