2015 Goals

For the past few years, I’ve made a point to write out specific goals at the start of the year. Although I often fall short of these goals, I find that it is very helpful to me personally to write these goals out. In particular, it helps me to be aware of ares in my life that I know I need improvement. Many goals are the same as in the past years; some because I didn’t complete them and others because they ought to continually be on the list.

Spiritual Goals:

• Daily Bible Reading
• Focused/Planned Bible Study
• Focused Bible lessons for the kids. We've been doing a lot of review over their Bible class material during our devotional time, but I want to incorporate more specific Bible lessons. (It would actually be good for me to write out some specific goals of what I'd like the kids to learn over the year. . .)
• Continue using the Scripture Memory System with the kids (and me!). We've been diligently working with this system since I started homeschooling Ella in September, and it has been a great blessing for us.
• Develop a deeper and more specific prayer life.
• Make an effort to be aware of others’ needs, as well as how to help those in need.
• Make an effort to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Always be ready and eager to share the gospel.
• Maintain and exhibit an attitude of joy that should be evident in my life because I am hidden with Christ (Col. 3:1-4).

House Goals:

• Get the house organized, and purged of excess junk at the beginning of the year. This feels like a never-ending goal, but it is good to get a big purge done at the beginning of the year, especially after filling the house back up with Christmas presents. : )
• Clean out, organize, and get the kids' rooms set up. We are in the process of moving Ella and Troy into one room (Luke and Troy had been sharing a room, but with sleeping schedules (especially that of a toddler), we've decided it will be better for Ella and Troy to share a room now)).
• Teach (and enforce) good habits to the kids for keeping their areas picked up. This was a goal that I had last year, and the kids definitely follow my lead on this (which means I need to LEAD). If I do a good job reminding them (as well as enforcing), they do a pretty good job at keeping things picked up, but it is easy to let things go.
• Keep up with Flylady’s daily assignments to help keep the house in a manageable state. 
• Handle papers (mail, or otherwise) when they come into the home, rather than just piling them up to handle later.
• Get one “house” project done each month (paint the front door, repair the floor, etc.)
• This isn’t technically a “house” goal, but it fits here best: Keep our cars clear of junk and trash.

Health Goals:

• Get back into a regular cardio routine even if it just means pushing the stroller around the block.
• Gain strength and endurance.
• Continue healthy eating. It took almost all of 2014 for me to get into a healthy eating habit, but I did pretty good for the last two months of 2014 (I actually weigh less now than I did at the beginning of November, which is a big deal to me when you consider all the eating that normally takes place in November and December!).

Family goals:

• Eat at home more often.
• Cook dinner with the kids 1-2 times a month. I really want to involve them more in cooking, but I get stuck in this bad habit of not involving them because it is quicker/easier for me to do things myself (and dinner time always seems to be hectic around our house).
• Try out a new meal at least once a month.
• Cook a hot breakfast for the family at least once a week.
• Stick to our budget, and look for ways to save more.
• Emphasize the concept of respect with Ella and Troy.
• Encourage Ella and Troy to have the heart of a servant.
• Encourage Ella and Troy to be thankful.
• Foster a good relationship between the kids (teaching them about sharing, patience, kindness, etc.)
• Give Ella and Troy more responsibilities around the house (chores, etc.) 
• Get outside more with the kids.
• Get down on the floor and play with the kids more.

Photography goals:

• Learn more about off-camera flash.
• Learn more about Adobe Photoshop.
• Learn more about graphic design.

Other goals:

• Become fluent in Spanish.
• Exhibit more patience towards everyone, but especially my husband and children.
• Work on time management, including getting up at a more consistent time in the morning, and going to bed earlier in the evening.
• Finish reading Bringing Up Girls and Bringing Up Boys.
• Re-read Your Mama Don’t Dance.
• Continue reading A Well-Trained Mind.
• Read Home Education.
• Continue working on Ella's homeschool (figuring out what to do next, considering what things have worked/not worked, etc.)

2014 Goals

For the past couple of years, I’ve made a point to write out specific goals at the start of the year. Though I fell short in many of my goals last year (for lots of reasons, some legitimate, some not so much), I find that writing these goals out really helps me to focus and reflect. Many goals are the same as in the past years; some because I didn’t complete them and others because they ought to continually be on the list.

Spiritual Goals:

• Daily Bible Reading
• Focused/Planned Bible Study
• Write Bible study lessons (and execute them) for the kids.
• Continue using the Scripture Memory System with the kids (and me!). We started this system last year, and I really loved it! However, I started slacking off though in completing this with the kids, and I want to get back on track with it. 
• Develop a deeper and more specific prayer life.
• Make an effort to be aware of others’ needs.
• Make an effort to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Always be ready and eager to share the gospel.

House Goals:

• Get the house organized, and purged of excess junk at the beginning of the year.  I feel like this is a never-ending project. I cleaned things out fairly well before having Luke, but I still need to clean out more!
• Clear out and organize the kids' rooms and playroom. 
• Teach (and enforce) good habits to the kids for keeping their areas picked up. This will be particularly important once Luke becomes mobile.
• Have a garage sale.
• Keep up with Flylady’s daily assignments to help keep the house in a manageable state.
• Handle papers (mail, or otherwise) when they come into the home, rather than just piling them up to handle later.
• Get one “house” project done each month (paint the front door, repair the floor, etc.)
• This isn’t technically a “house” goal, but it fits here best: Keep our cars clear of junk and trash.

Health Goals:

• Get back into a regular cardio routine even if it just means pushing the stroller around the block.
• Gain strength and endurance.
• Refocus on healthy eating. Between severe extended morning sickness and gestational diabetes, pregnancy always does a number on my eating habits, and last year’s pregnancy with Luke was no exception.

Family goals:

• Eat at home more often.
• Cook dinner with the kids 1-2 times a month. I really want to involve them more in cooking, but I get stuck in this bad habit of not involving them because it is quicker/easier for me to do things myself (and dinner time always seems to be hectic around our house).
• Try out a new meal at least once a month.
• Cook a hot breakfast for the family at least once a week.
• Stick to our budget, and look for ways to save more.
• Emphasize the concept of respect with Ella and Troy.
• Foster a good relationship between the kids (teaching them about sharing, patience, kindness, etc.)
• Give Ella and Troy more responsibilities around the house (chores, etc.) 
• Get outside more with the kids.
• Get down on the floor and play with the kids more.

Photography:

• Learn more about off-camera flash.
• Learn more about Adobe Photoshop.
• Work on posing. I’ve come a long way in my posing over the past couple of years, but I feel like it will be something where I can always learn more. 
• Learn more about graphic design.

Other:

• Exhibit more patience towards everyone, but especially my husband and children.
• Work on time management, including getting up at a more consistent time in the morning, and going to bed earlier in the evening.
• Spend less time on the computer.
• Finish reading Bringing Up Girls and Bringing Up Boys.
• Re-read Your Mama Don’t Dance.
• Read A Well-Trained Mind and Home Education.
• Continue researching schooling choices for Ella, and make a decision with my husband about Ella’s schooling in the fall.

Words of Inspiration

I officially completed the Couch to 5K workout program today! I’m excited for my progress, but I’m sad to say that I’m not actually running a 5K distance . . . my pace is still too slow. BUT, considering where I came from, and how out of shape I was in the beginning, I’m thankful that I can actually jog for 30 minutes straight! Now I’m going to start working on my speed a little bit so that I can actually run a 5K in 30 minutes.

With that said, I saw a quote on Pinterest recently that really got my attention.

No matter how awful I’ve felt after a workout, I’ve never regretted completing it.

 

What do I regret?

 

All those times I should (and could) have worked out that I chose to be lazy instead.

All those times that I should have gotten up early to workout, but chose to sleep in instead.

All those times that I ate food without considering the effect it was having on my body.

All those times I told myself that it really didn’t matter.

All those times I told myself that I couldn’t do it or that it was too hard.

The years that I have spent neglecting my health (eating and exercise).

 

BUT, I think I may have changed. I think I’m on a road to less regrets when it comes to my health. Sure, I know I’ll have ups and downs when it comes to taking care of my body. But, hopefully, I’m finally on the path where the ups greatly outnumber the downs.

My on-going journey to a healthy life

Journeying to a Health Life: 3 Month Report

It has been a little over 3 months since I committed to living a healthier life, and I’m excited to say that, so far, I’ve actually stayed pretty well on track! I’m finally getting to the point that eating healthier and exercising seem like a natural part of life. Staying within my calorie goals everyday isn’t a burden like it was in the beginning (I still remember those first few weeks feeling like I was going to starve!). Is it always easy? No. In fact, today has been one of those days where I haven’t done so well eating, but I’m ok with that because it isn’t my lifestyle to eat poorly anymore like it was before. {As a side note, mostly to myself, I suppose, I definitely get the urge to snack more when I have a lot of nervous energy . . .I probably should have put that energy into a workout instead of snacks!}

I’m down 14 pounds since November (9 since coming back from the Christmas holidays over which I had gained a bit back). Although I don’t really feel “skinnier,” I have finally been able to see some changes in how my clothes are fitting. I am down a pant size! It is great to have that kind of progress (even though I still have a long way to go).

I’ve also noticed a great improvement in my physical fitness/endurance. I’ve been completing the Couch to 5K program, and I’m a week and a half from finishing it. I can actually jog for 28 minutes without stopping, which is a HUGE accomplishment for this non-runner. Unfortunately, about a week and half ago I sprained my ankle (from being a clutz tripping down my front porch, not even jogging!) and I haven’t been able to jog since I hurt my ankle. I’m really hoping I’ll be able to pick back up on Wednesday. I was really, really bummed when I hurt my ankle. BUT, it has given me a great opportunity to make sure that my eating stays on track without burning extra calories from exercise, and I’ve actually done pretty well with that.

2 Month Report