Weekly Goals {Week 36}

Another week, another set of goals. I've been in a pretty good place lately and I think that's really helped. I really must credit the impending season of fall. Things are just so much better when your favorite season is right around the corner. Here's how I did:

GOALS MET IN WEEK 35: 10.66/13

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Do at least one art project together. We colored together a good couple times...does that count? Seeming as Bean has been acting especially two lately, I think yes.

2. (Family) Eat dinner as a family most nights. Check!

3. (Marriage) Plan an *actual* date night. Check! September 26th here we come!

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights! Yes! And even a tad early some nights.
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! Half credit. I didn't do it daily but it's now up to date.
6. Do less. Yes. I definitely took some time to relax this week.

HEALTH:

7. Work out x3. 2/3rd's credit. I went only twice. Can I make an excuse? I can? Well...I was super tired that day and I started getting sick/allergies. Is that good enough? Probably not, but I'll take it.

8. 9,500 steps/day goal. 10,993 steps/day average! Killed it! (Calculation is slightly off...I didn't wear it two of the day unfortunately...)

9. At least 7 glasses of water a day. Half credit. I did alright. Some days went really well, some days didn't.
10. Cook more at home. After seeing the ungodly amount of money we spent on restaurants and convenience food last month, we've definitely been eating at home more. We just have to get through this withdrawal period, lol.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Work on HPC craft swap. Yep! Finished one item!
12. Post in HPC at lease once.Yep! A couple times actually and I've declared my career path.

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Yep!

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Play outdoors more! (Yes, even when it's hot...)

2. (Family) Eat dinner as a family most nights.

3. (Marriage) Take a night off from all projects and just hang out and be. And be together.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!
5. No frivolous spending this week. Essentials only! (We shall see how this goes!)

HEALTH:

6. Work out x3.

7. 10,000 steps/day goal.
8. Lose 1 pound. (Gasp! Making an actual weight loss goal, I know!)


CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

9. Finish another item for Back To Hogwarts craft swap.
10. Finish all of June Project Life pages. 

11.  Write 3 blog posts. (This one counts!)

Yes, that's right...only eleven this week. I'm trying to simplify and I'm thrilled about that. To anyone else making goals this week....Go get em!

-Mrs. 246

Weekly Goals {Week 35}

Oh September. How I love thee? I am very excited that it's September 1st today. So much awesomeness: it's almost fall, it's almost Christmas time (I start early!), it starts to cool down, you can maybe take walks outside finally, 30 Days of Lists, new HPC semester. I broke out the Leaves candles and I am ready to go! I have a reeeeaaallly good feeling about this fall/winter. Let's hope I'm right.

GOALS MET IN WEEK 35: 11/13

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Read at least 3 books together everyday.Killed it! We read a lot more than I realized which is awesome. Book of the week was "Found"...I think she's a bit obsessed.

2. (Family) Plan something special for next weekend. (My weekend off!) Yes! We went to an engagement party Saturday night and the Zoo on Sunday. :)

3. (Marriage) Game night at least twice and a movie at least once.Completed! Although, I did fall asleep during game night #2. Mr. 246 says it still counts.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights! Yep!
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! I had a lot more money left over in my budget than I thought I would have so I kind of spent all willy-nilly and didn't track anything. I'm planning on getting caught up today!
6. Finish reading The Giver and start reading the next book! I don't know where I found all the time but I finished The Giver, the second book, and the third book and am now on the last book in the series. I loved The Giver in grade school and I never knew there were more books so it's been neat to read it again with the sequels!
7. Be nice to myself. I did!

HEALTH:

8. Work out x3. Yep! I went to Zumba on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday - my favorite nights to go because of the instructors. :)

9. 9,000 steps/day goal. Average steps goal: 11979 steps/day.
10. Track all food eaten for at least one day. Erm. No.
11. Drink more water! Yes! Probably not as much as I need to be but I definitely made a conscious effort!

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

12. Finalize which crafts to make for the Back to Hogwarts Craft Swap. Check! But I can't tell you because it's a secret. ;)

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Check!

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Do at least one art project together.

2. (Family) Eat dinner as a family most nights.

3. (Marriage) Plan an *actual* date night.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget!
6. Do less.

HEALTH:

7. Work out x3.

8. 9,500 steps/day goal.
9. At least 7 glasses of water a day.
10. Cook more at home. 

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Work on HPC craft swap.
12. Post in HPC at lease once.

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

Best of luck this week! Hope it's a wonderful start to September!

-Mrs. 246

Weekly Goals {Week 35}

Yep. That's right...I'm channeling the big guns: Oprah Winfrey. It was an alright week. Felt kind of crappy physically and mentally. Called off sick one day for that same combination of crappiness in hopes a day of rest would fix me. It kind of did. I almost skipped this week's post but I'm pushing through in hopes that making goals for next week might at least keep me somewhat on track. Here's how I did:

GOALS MET IN WEEK 34: 8.5/13

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Have a full Luna/Mommy day on Thursday.Yep! We hung out in the morning, went to storytime, had a special McDonald's lunch and played dollhouse before she took a nap.

2. (Family) Spend more time at home instead of stores. Success!

3. (Marriage)Annoyance hugs...see last post for full explanation. I actually didn't need these, but Mr. 246 has. Haha.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!(Continued from last week!) Success! Doesn't keep me from being tired however. I think work is just too much. Lol.

5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! (Continued from last week!) Still tracking! It counts!

6. Write a "Two Minute Journal" each day. Half credit! I did it a couple times but not every single day.

7. Keep the end in mind! Make some long-term goal reminders and place them where I will see/remember them. Didn't end up doing this, though I thought several times this past week how useful it would be. Sigh. Maybe next week.

HEALTH:

8. Work out x3. Half credit. Worked out twice.

9. 9,000 steps/day goal. Big fail apparently. Only averaged about 6700/day. However, I didn't wear my FitBit fully each day so not all my steps were counter. I'll be honest though, even with those extra steps I'm pretty sure I didn't reach my goal. I've been lazy lately.

10. No fast food or restaurants alllll week. Psssshhh....I don't know why I make this goal anymore. I'm a horrible eater. Lol.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Work on OPERATION: PROJECT LIFE CATCH UP! I got prepared to work on it, but no -- I didn't work on this yet. Half credit, right?
12. Work on #30lists book. (Oh, and sign up for #30lists!) Yes! And got my book all ready for September!

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Yep!

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Read at least 3 books together everyday.

2. (Family) Plan something special for next weekend. (My weekend off!)

3. (Marriage) Game night at least twice and a movie at least once.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget!
6. Finish reading The Giver and start reading the next book!
7. Be nice to myself.

HEALTH:

8. Work out x3.

9. 9,000 steps/day goal.
10. Track all food eaten for at least one day.
11. Drink more water! 

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

12. Finalize which crafts to make for the Back to Hogwarts Craft Swap.

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

I'm going to try to be nicer to myself. I've been in such a flux lately with my moods. Monday, let's do this. Let's aim for a lovely week. Not awesome, not kick ass, just a nice lovely week would be perfect. :)

How do you stay motivated when you're feeling bleh?
-Mrs. 246 

Weekly Goals {Week 34}

 

This past week wasn't the awesomely amazing week I wanted it to be. I was blind-sided by a terrible bout of PMS accompanied by extreme fatigue and general annoyance for the world. That kind of mind frame isn't the most conducive to being a happy, productive individual. All issues aside, I didn't do too bad. Let's check out how I did:

GOALS MET IN WEEK 33: 10.5/14

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Find and do a book-related craft with Luna. Yes! We had Go Dog Go and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie coloring and we made a hat after reading Hooray for Hat which we picked up from the library this past week.

2. (Family) Have official family dinners every night. Official enough! We cooked at home every night! :)

3. (Marriage) Mr. 246 is on break between semesters for the next two weeks so my goal is to spend some quality time in the evenings since he won't be studying! Okay, so I didn't do the best at this during the week because I was just so drained. We did have a lovely movie night, though, where we made pizza and Noah.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!(Continued from last week!) This. And then some. Gosh, I was just so tired all week.
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! (Continued from last week!) Success!
6. Keep utilizing new planner daily! Yep!
7. Write a "Two Minute Journal" each day. Eh, I did it about 3 days. Truthfully I forgot on the other days. This week I'm going to add it into my to-do list.

HEALTH:

8. Work out x3. I worked out exactly once. Ugh. I was all set to go the second time on Friday night but then my mind wandered and I forgot to go, lol. Sucks because Friday night Zumba is the best!

9. 9,000 steps/day goal. 9689 steps/day average. Pretty good considering my amount of laziness this week!
10. No fast food or restaurants alllll week. Half credit. We really did eat at home all week except for Saturday when we were at the Sacramento Ikea. We were hungry and far from home and I really didn't feel like packing a picnic to go to Ikea. Lol. We ate a Ikea and technically that's not really fast food or a restuarant, right? It's more like a household store food court. The goal didn't mention anything about that. Haha!

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Finish (or at least finish 75%) of Luna's sweater. This was the one thing I was motivated about this past week and let me tell you -- it is awesome! I can't wait to show you guys! It's a tad wonky in some places but I'm pretty proud of it!

12. Plan out next month or so of crafts that need attending to. Check! Lots of fun stuff coming up!
13. Catch up and post on the Harry Potter Craftalong. Done!

14.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Fail.

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Have a full Luna/Mommy day on Thursday.

2. (Family) Spend more time at home instead of stores.

3. (Marriage) After PMSing last week and being generally annoyed with everyone and everything I found myself being very "snippy" with Mr. 246. Yesterday I started giving Mr. 246 a hug everytime I started to feel annoyed. Lol. It helps the moment "pause" so I can reset and who doesn't love hugs?! 90% of the time I felt annoyed and snippy it was just my general bad mood and really had nothing to do with Mr. 246 or his actions. (He's a saint I tell you, putting up with me! Lol.)

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!(Continued from last week!)
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! (Continued from last week!)
6. Write a "Two Minute Journal" each day.
7. Keep the end in mind! Make some long-term goal reminders and place them where I will see/remember them.

HEALTH: (keeping all the same ones from last week!)

8. Work out x3.

9. 9,000 steps/day goal.
10. No fast food or restaurants alllll week.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Work on OPERATION: PROJECT LIFE CATCH UP!
12. Work on #30lists book. (Oh, and sign up for #30lists!)

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

Well, let's hope this week brings more motivation and energy than last week! If you'd like to check out previous Weekly Goal posts, visit here to check them out.

And to help me out with some ideas for next week I pose a question for any readers:   
Do you have any fun short term marriage goal ideas?
I'm needing some inspiration and I'd love to hear any ideas!

-Mrs. 246 
 

Weekly Goals {Week 33}

Okay, I'm not gonna lie -- I kicked Week 32's butt. I've come the closest I ever have to completing all my goals for this week. You may wonder what changed and brought on this sudden surge of motivation and perserverance and I credit two new changes to my success.

1. I got a new planner. I love it. It's nothing particularly fancy but I like the colors and I like the amount of space. I enjoyed using it all week and crossing things off and it just worked lovely. 
2. I created a "Goals" table in an Evernote note. I made a table to keep track of my goals and other information for the week and I filled it in every day. (Goals/info tracked: weight, steps, amount of water drank, did I go to the gym, did I blog, did I complete my journal, did I go to bed on time, did I track my expenses). It was kind of fun to fill it in everyday and it was a good visual device to see how I was doing and what else needed to be done.

I plan on doing the same thing this week. Slooooowly I am become more organized. It's not necessarily organization that is an issue for me (or anyone really) but finding some sort of organization or system that works for yourself. I'm hoping maybe that I've actually found it.

GOALS MET IN WEEK 32: 11/12

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. Do a painting project with Luna at least once. Yes! I had Luna do a little watercoloring and she liked it! Last time we tried painting she wasn't that into it but we'll definitely be doing more soon!

2. Family outing next Saturday on my weekend off! Success! We went to the San Francisco Zoo yesterday and had a blast! We even had some time to go walk along the beach as well. :)

3. I thought of a fun little goal. I'll keep it a secret til next week in case he decides to read this. Hehe. My secret goal was to write little notes to Ryan all week. Truthfully, I had one day with multiple notes but I'm still counting it as a success because I managed to fit in at least something small and sweet to do for Ryan.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights! I actually did this! My body was very grateful as well.

5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! I did this too! We're using "You Need a Budget" and it's actually kind of fun to do. Already managed to save a big chunk of my savings goal for this month.

6. Read and reflect every night before bed. Take much needed mental breaks. Maybe perhaps not the relaxing I imagined but I was successful in crocheting and watching PLL before bed each night. When you're into a show it takes you to a different world that's not your own. To me that's the best kind of mental break.

HEALTH:

7. Work out x3.Success! I know I was making it my goal to go 4x a week before but it was much more manageable for me to go only 3 times. It gives me a cherished afternoon back. And also the opportunity to just not go to the gym after work if I've had a long terrible day.

8. 8,500 steps/day goal. Killed it! My average was 10464 steps/day!
9. No fast food for the rest of the week. (Except for possible Saturday family outing.) Largest fail of the week. I broke this goal earlier in the week and then said "Screw it!" for the rest of it. (Side note: since I'm tracking all my expenses, I can actually see and visualize the ridiculous amount of money we've spent in this first 10 days of August on restaurants/fast food and I am newly motivated to start fresh for this week.)

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Send off Yarndale mandala. Check! You can read more about it here!
11. Three more colors on my granny stripe blanket. (Note to self: I'm on dark purple right now.) Check! And now I've started on this amazingly awesome toddler sweater for Luna.

12.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Check! I even wrote three posts this week. Wahoo!

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Find and do a book-related craft with Luna.

2. (Family) Have official family dinners every night.

3. (Marriage) Mr. 246 is on break between semesters for the next two weeks so my goal is to spend some quality time in the evenings since he won't be studying!

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!(Continued from last week!)
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget! (Continued from last week!)
6. Keep utilizing new planner daily!
7. Write a "Two Minute Journal" each day.

HEALTH:

8. Work out x3.

9. 9,000 steps/day goal.
10. No fast food or restaurants alllll week.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Finish (or at least finish 75%) of Luna's sweater.
12. Plan out next month or so of crafts that need attending to.
13. Catch up and post on the Harry Potter Craftalong.

14.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

Let's see if I can keep up the momentum from last week! Could I possibly complete 100% of this week's goals?! We shall see!

What's your number one goal to finish this week?

-Mrs. 246

Weekly Goals {Week 32}

I'm going to admit...I haven't been doing so great lately in the goals department. I kind of sucked at Week 30 and then for Week 31 I didn't even make goals. You know what? I could definitely tell the shift in my life from making goals and not. I was much less productive. (I only went to the gym once last week!) 

Honestly, I didn't even feel like making this post today. That's the thing with letting things "slide." When you do it once it makes it easier to let it slide the next time and then the time after that. Then, before you know it, you're off the wagon. I'm not going to let that happen. So, allow me to visit my not-so-great Week 30 and we'll make some new goals for this week!

GOALS MET FROM WEEK 30: 8.25/13

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Take Luna to the park at least twice. Check! I think we may have even gone 3 times.

2. (Family) Go swimming together. Check!
3. (Family) Take more pictures! (Ongoing and repetitive but necessary to include: must take more pictures!) I made a conscious effort to take more. Whether I actually took more or not I don't know but I did pretty alright.

4. (Marriage) At least 2-3 times, when I get things ready for the morning, get his/Luna's things together to so he can have a little bit more of a break in the morning. Twice I did this then never again. Lol.

PERSONAL:

5. Start reading the new book I got: The Opposite of Loneliness. Yes, I started it. Then stopped. I wasn't loving it as much as I thought I would.
6. Save all receipts/update budget twice. Stick to my budget!During week 30....no. I'm doing a bit better right now though!

HEALTH: (We'll try this again...same goals as last week.)

7. Work out x4.Three times. I'll take 3/4 credit.

8. 10,000 steps/day goal. Nope. It's been so hot lately I haven't wanted to do anything.
9. 8 glasses of water a day.The hot weather has its benefits. I've been drinking my water!

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Finish Yarndale Mandala, take pictures, and send it off! Half credit! I made it and took pictures. I just haven't got it ready to send out yet.
11. Make an HP Craftalong post Yep! All caught up and I found a new app for keeping up with forums to use for Craftster...pretty neat. (It's called Tapatalk. Check it out!)

12.Work on PL at least one night.

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Erm, no. Sorry!

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Do a painting project with Luna at least once.

2. (Family) Family outing next Saturday on my weekend off!

3. (Marriage) I thought of a fun little goal. I'll keep it a secret til next week in case he decides to read this. Hehe.

PERSONAL:

4. Go to bed on time on work nights!
5. Save all receipts/update budget daily. Stick to my budget!
6. Read and reflect every night before bed. Take much needed mental breaks.

HEALTH:

7. Work out x3.

8. 8,500 steps/day goal.
9. No fast food for the rest of the week. (Except for possible Saturday family outing.)

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Send off Yarndale mandala.
11. Three more colors on my granny stripe blanket. (Note to self: I'm on dark purple right now.)

12.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

Okay week 32...I'm gonna kick your butt!

-Mrs. 246

Weekly Goals {Week 30}

This past week was simply terrible. First full week after vacation and work was terrible and chaotic every. single. day. I enjoy the particular job I have now based on previous nursing jobs where I would have a sense of impending doom/dread before each shift. It was like that every day. I like this job because I don't get that feeling. But if I have another week like last week...it may turn into that. It was that bad. 

I did pretty darn good considering! The only thing I was lacking in were my  health goals. That was mostly due to being so physically and mentally drained after work. 

Here's how I did last week:

GOALS MET FROM LAST WEEK: 10/13

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Take Luna on at least one official playdate.  Playdate with mommy and daddy's friends? It counts.

2. (Family) Get out of town - get some quality family time in on my weekend off! Check! Drove up to the Sierras with some family friends to take their engagement photos. Went hiking, found new, amazing beautiful areas that we're definitely going back to.
3. (Family) Take more pictures!! At this rate I'll have nothing past the first week of July. I didn't turn into a shutterbug again but there were a couple times this week where I actively thought, "You should take a picture of this," then I did.

4. (Marriage) Leave Ryan little surprises all week. :)Nothing as grand as I would have liked but I fit in a couple surprises.

PERSONAL:

5. Scented candle time every night! It's one of the smallest things but I got a hold of "Leaves" from Bath & Body Works and it just makes me so happy every night. I think I'll have to stock up! Yes! I've even got Mr. 246 on board. We may have bought more candles. Why didn't I do this before?! Oh yea....read a book about all the chemicals a couple years ago. Ermm....still beats animal smell?
6. Stick to my budget!Success!

HEALTH:

7. Work out x4. I went 3 times. Pretty good for the horrible week I had.

8. 10,000 steps/day goal. I didn't have my FitBit set right but I'm pretty sure I didn't make this goal.
9. 8 glasses of water a day. Didn't count every day but I'm pretty sure I failed.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Two more rows of border for my crochet blanket. After a whole year of working on it....IT'S DONE!
11. Make an HP Craftalong post Check!

12. Finish secret project. Check! It was a minibook for my friend's engagement. She loved it! (...I think.)

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Check...wrote three!

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Take Luna to the park at least twice.

2. (Family) Go swimming together.
3. (Family) Take more pictures! (Ongoing and repetitive but necessary to include: must take more pictures!)

4. (Marriage) At least 2-3 times, when I get things ready for the morning, get his/Luna's things together to so he can have a little bit more of a break in the morning.

PERSONAL:

5. Start reading the new book I got: The Opposite of Loneliness.
6. Save all receipts/update budget twice. Stick to my budget!

HEALTH: (We'll try this again...same goals as last week.)

7. Work out x4.

8. 10,000 steps/day goal.
9. 8 glasses of water a day.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Finish Yarndale Mandala, take pictures, and send it off!
11. Make an HP Craftalong post

12.Work on PL at least one night.

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

Wish me luck! And good luck to you too! Let's kick this week's butt!

-Mrs. 246

Weekly Goals {Week 29}

WEEKLY GOALS MET: 11/15

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) No sneaking peeks at my phone during playtime. If I'm playing or reading I want to be all there. The rest can wait. I did better, I think!

2. (Family) I'm gonna continue with taking more pictures! An honorable goal, right? I was terrible at taking pictures this week.
3. (Family) Cook at least two meals this week! Half credit. I cooked once.

4. (Marriage) Have a video game date night. I haven't played as much lately and I know Mr. 246 loves it. Lol. Last night! We played another level of Skylanders.

PERSONAL:

5. Continue with project organization: Keep calendar up-to-date, get ready night before, continue with daily chore lists. I did pretty well...things went smoothly this week for the most part.

6. Continue organizing Luna's room. I only did a little bit, but it every little bit counts.

7. Gasp! Work on starting to get a budget together. No more willy-nilly crafting/food/random crap spending whenever I feel like it. Wooo! I did this! Mr. 246 helped me set up "You Need a Budget" on my computer. I'm gonna try this! I've set some pretty lofty savings goals and it'll be awesome if I can keep to it.

HEALTH:

8. Work out x4. Half credit. I didn't do so well and only worked out twice. It was a busy week though - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

9. 10,000 steps/day goal. Average of 10,260 steps/day. I'm actually surprised I made this goal. I really am.

10. Update MyFitnessPal in hopes I may start using it again. Check...I've started half using it again. Counts for something, right?

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Finish secret project. *EDIT: Or work on PL at least once. Fail. But I'm a crocheting machine!
12. Catch up on blogs at least every other day. Yep!

13. Finish Luna's dress that I started in January. *EDIT: Finish one complete row of border for crochet blanket. Goal obtained last night! If you follow me on instagram you can see my progress!

14.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Check!
15. Submit assignments on the HP Craftalong. Check!

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Take Luna on at least one official playdate. 

2. (Family) Get out of town - get some quality family time in on my weekend off!
3. (Family) Take more pictures!! At this rate I'll have nothing past the first week of July.

4. (Marriage) Leave Ryan little surprises all week. :)

PERSONAL:

5. Scented candle time every night! It's one of the smallest things but I got a hold of "Leaves" from Bath & Body Works and it just makes me so happy every night. I think I'll have to stock up! 

6. Stick to my budget!

HEALTH:

7. Work out x4.

8. 10,000 steps/day goal.
9. 8 glasses of water a day.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Two more rows of border for my crochet blanket.
11. Make an HP Craftalong post

12. Finish secret project.

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

I'm not feeling as "gung ho" about this week. Don't know why. Maybe it's because I'm writing this post at 2:00 am Sunday night, but I'm just not feeling quite so kick ass. I am feeling enthusiastic about my crafting however. I've got a renewed enthusiasm to finish my granny square blanket and move on to the next project. And I've got to have my "secret project" finished by next weekend and it's already looking amazing. Maybe crafts will get me through this week. Haha.

Anyway, go forth and kick butt this week. Hope everyone accomplishes what they set out to do!

-Mrs. 246

Weekly Goals {Week 28}

Hello again dear friends! Sorry about the lack of posts last week. We went to visit family for vacation and I had meant to write a "Hey, I'm gonna be gone for a bit" post but time got away from me.

Anyway, I'm back and I'm motivated and I'm feeling very refreshed after our trip! (More on that in another post though...) Let's revisit goals from before vacation then my goals for this upcoming week!

WEEK 26'S GOALS: 10/14

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Practice more patience in the evening. If I have no patience, don't be afraid to use my words and tell Mr. 246 I'm taking a break. Check! I'm doing much better lately I think.

2. (Family) Take more pictures! I'm slacking on work days.Check! I may not be taking a ton but any effort produces more pictures.

3. (Marriage) Get all prettied up and have a fun date night on Saturday.  Check! And I won lots of monies!

PERSONAL:

4. Keep organized: input need-to-know things on my phone, get ready the night before, keep things orderly.  Check! I'm new to using Evernote but I'm quickly realizing how freaking awesome it can be.
5. Here's a weird one - look in the mirror more often. I'd say I'm doing a bit better.

HEALTH:

6. Work out x4.  Check!

8. 9500 steps/day goal. 9809 steps/day average! Woo!

9. Eat only when hungry and only until I'm full. Erm...not quite. I know why I'm overweight and it's because I love food. And lots of it. And the crappy kind. ;)

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Finish secret project. It's half done. Packing and my trip put a pause in it but it's turning out fantastic!
11. Catch up on blogs at least every other day. At the time, yes - I was caught up. Lol.

12. Send out blanket. Check! And they liked it so double check!

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Check!

14. Submit assignments on the HP Craftalong. I'm the worst Head of Household ever. I've got the next two days off though so hopefully I'll get this done.

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) No sneaking peeks at my phone during playtime. If I'm playing or reading I want to be all there. The rest can wait.

2. (Family) I'm gonna continue with taking more pictures! An honorable goal, righ
3. (Family) Cook at least two meals this week!

4. (Marriage) Have a video game date night. I haven't played as much lately and I know Mr. 246 loves it. Lol.

PERSONAL:

5. Continue with project organization:Keep calendar up-to-date, get ready night before, continue with daily chore lists.

6. Continue organizing Luna's room. I started yesterday and I want to eventually get through the whole room. This week's goal: cut the "huge pile of crap" that needs gone through in half. Any donations? Take them to Goodwill ASAP! Don't let them sit around.
7. Gasp! Work on starting to get a budget together. No more willy-nilly crafting/food/random crap spending whenever I feel like it.

HEALTH:

8. Work out x4.

9. 10,00 steps/day goal.
10. Update MyFitnessPal in hopes I may start using it again. Do measurements and track weight/water every day.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Finish secret project. *EDIT: Or work on PL at least once.
12. Catch up on blogs at least every other day.

13. Finish Luna's dress that I started in January. *EDIT: Finish one complete row of border for crochet blanket.

14.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

15. Submit assignments on the HP Craftalong.

I'm off work for the next two days and I'm feeling motivated. My mini-vacation to Ohio last week left me feeling very motivated and goal-oriented. We're pretty sure we want to move back to Ohio toward the end of next year and there are lots of things I'd like to get in order before that happens. I've got some goals related to that that I'd like to keep to myself for now but I'm very, very excited!

Hope you guys have a great week. It feels great to be back! Happy Tuesday!

- Mrs. 246

*EDIT on 7/10/14: I'm feeling quite crafty at the moment and the things I feel like working on aren't the things I was planning on working on so some craft goals have been updated. You gotta do what makes you happy, right? ;)

Weekly Goals {Week 26}

Week 26?! You know what that means? It means this year is half over. I have mixed feelings about this. I'm happy because it's closer to fall and Christmastime and warm coziness and crocheting. I'm also a little anxious because -- "Holy crap! Didn't this year just start not too long ago? Where is time going?" Maybe you feel the same?

 

I did alright this week considering I didn't feel like doing much of anything. I don't have much to say either. I'm just trying to truck along and do things the best I can. That's all we can really do, isn't it?

LAST WEEK'S GOALS: 9.5/14

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. Plan a fun Thursday with Luna when I'm home from work. Check! Storytime, playing at the park, a nice lunch together, and a little shopping in the afternoon. :)

2. Electronics-free hour and a half each night. Erm. I suppose playing Mariokart while Luna's still awake is kind of a fail on this one.

3. Make reservations for Mr. 246's and I's first night away from Luna.We don't get to do what I originally wanted to do but we made alternate plans so I'm counting it.

4. Make lists and plan, plan, plan for Ohio trip (15 days!) so then next week I can actually get ready. Eh, fuck it. We'll wing it. Hehe.

  PERSONAL:

5. Use planner all week. Schedule and stay on top of things. I'm making the switch to my phone because it's something I always look at and take with me everywhere. We'll see how that goes. I also got Evernote. Yes, I realize it's been around forever but I never really paid attention to it until now. I think I'm going to like it!

6. Read something calming and inspirational before bed every night. If the second Game of Thrones book calms me down and helps me get ready to sleep it counts, right? My goals, my rules. I'm counting it. Lol.

HEALTH:

7. Work out x4. Zumba Tuesday - Friday. Go me! I think I'll do the same this week. I like those classes the best.

8. 9500 steps/day goal. 9138 steps/day average. Seriously? I was that close. I blame yesterday. I did lots of scrapbooking and not so much moving.

9. At least 7 hours of sleep each night. Give or take a couple minutes, yes! Most work nights I even went to bed early.

10. Track food. Hahahahano.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Catch up on blogs at least every other day. Yes, maybe didn't comment as much, but I read!

12. Do at least 2 more full rows on crochet blanket border. It's fiiiinnnnnished! And I took pictures today so expect a post soon!

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!) Sometimes in life you have to do what makes you happy. And when you've only got an hour or two in the evening to actually get personal stuff done sometimes you just have to do what you feel like doing. And I didn't feel like writing blog posts. I felt like playing Mariokart and going to sleep early. So be it. (Half points!)

14. Check in/catch up for the Harry Potter Craftalong. I caught up with logging points and what not. Now I just have to post the projects I've been doing.

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. (Motherhood) Practice more patience in the evening. If I have no patience, don't be afraid to use my words and tell Mr. 246 I'm taking a break.

2. (Family) Take more pictures! I'm slacking on work days.

3. (Marriage) Get all prettied up and have a fun date night on Saturday.

PERSONAL:

4. Keep organized: input need-to-know things on my phone, get ready the night before, keep things orderly.

5. Here's a weird one - look in the mirror more often. This isn't like a weird self esteem thing. I don't not like how I look or anything...I just don't really care any more. Now that I'm older it's like I'm confident enough in myself that I don't need to make sure I look a certain way. Here's the issue with not looking in the mirror - you don't notice you have food in your teeth, or a spill on your shirt, or your hair is getting crazy, or your makeup is smearing. These are essential situations I should probably fix. Soooo....goal for this week is to give myself a good look in the mirror everytime I go to the bathroom. Lol. Yes, even at work when I'm crazy busy (and I'm lucky I even get a bathroom break.)

HEALTH:

6. Work out x4.

8. 9500 steps/day goal.

9. Eat only when hungry and only until I'm full. (This is my solution at the moment if I'm not going to buckle down and track calories.)

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Finish secret project.
11. Catch up on blogs at least every other day.

12. Send out blanket.

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

14. Submit assignments on the HP Craftalong.

I've got work for the next 3 days, then we're going out of town Saturday for our date, then next Monday it's OHIO time! Woooo! If I don't accomplish my goals this week I won't be disappointed. I'll just be happy if I manage to pack everything.

Also, I know I normally post these on Mondays and it's now Tuesday. I hope your Monday went well and the rest of your week goes well too!

- Mrs. 246

Weekly Goals {Week 25}

Ahhh Monday: A fresh start, a new set of goals, a chance to start over. That's what I love about Mondays. I did surprisingly well last week. 11 out of 14 feels pretty good and I kept in a relatively good, organized mood all week. I think that helped a lot.

I read a lot before bed this past week...just for 10-15 minutes (that's all it took to make me sleepy). I read mostly from what I call my "Buddhist Library." I have about 15-20 different spiritual books, mostly Buddhism-related. I didn't get into any one book but would keep a small stack by my bed and open one at random and decided that that was the message I needed to hear and read and learn from that night. Most of the time it was. While reading I came across this quote from Henry David Thoreau (Walden) that really hit home:

"Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail."

I've had this quote in my mind the past couple days and I know what I need to do...but it's going to take some time to get there.

Anyways, for the sake of time-saving and simplicity...let's get to business: Weekly Goals.

LAST WEEK'S GOALS: 11/14

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. Do a craft session with Luna. Yes! We did a sticker-fish craft pack thingy and made something special for Mr. 246 for Father's Day.

2. Keep household running, stick to new cleaning schedule, prepare for going back to work full time. Holy crap. I did this. Annnnd working on the other unit the past 2 days hasn't been too bad either.

3. Do/make a small surprise for Mr. 246 this week. (Take two since I failed last week. Oops.) Check! We made Father's Day extra special for him by making him a mini-book of him and Luna. Luna helped decorate it. It was a little rushed since I decided I wanted to make him one and had exactly half a day to accomplish it, but I did it!

  PERSONAL:

4. Use planner all week. Schedule and stay on top of things. Sure did!

5. Take breaks when Ito. Didn't feel like going to the gym one night...so I didn't. The world didn't end and I went to bed early. Success.

HEALTH:

6. Work out x4. C'mon! I can do it! Zumba x 3 and a run/walk yesterday. Check!

7. Track steps again. Aim for 9,000 a day. Average steps per day: 10,033. Wahoo!

8. At least 7 hours of sleep each night.I'm going to give myself this one. There were a couple nights I didn't actually sleep until like 15 minutes past my goal bedtime  but I've vastly improved so I'm counting it.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

10. Catch up on blogs at least every other day. Check!

11. Finish watercolor project! Almost done!

12. Finish crochet blanket except for the border. Done! Well, with the blanket part. About a third done with the border then I'll be done!

13.  Write 3 blog posts. (This one counts!) Check!

14. Check in/catch up for the Harry Potter Craftalong. I really need to do this.

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. Plan a fun Thursday with Luna when I'm home from work. (Motherhood)

2. Electronics-free hour and a half each night. This means no glancing at our phones during our "spare moments." Years and years from now I know I will wish I had spent more "spare moments" focused on my family rather than checking Facebook updates or looking at Reddit. (Family)

3. Make reservations for Mr. 246's and I's first night away from Luna. Still have to double check the finances, but if they're there then I wanna go! (Marriage)

4. Make lists and plan, plan, plan for Ohio trip (15 days!) so then next week I can actually get ready.

  PERSONAL:

5. Use planner all week. Schedule and stay on top of things.

6. Read something calming and inspirational before bed every night. (I've done this for the past week and it's been awesome!)

HEALTH:

7. Work out x4.

8. 9500 steps/day goal.

9. At least 7 hours of sleep each night.

10. Track food.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:

11. Catch up on blogs at least every other day.

12. Do at least 2 more full rows on crochet blanket border

13.  Write 2 blog posts. (This one counts!)

14. Check in/catch up for the Harry Potter Craftalong. 

Happy Monday! Go forth and kick this week's ass. While you're at it, let me know: What's your hardest goal this week?

-Mrs. 246

Weekly Goals {Week 24}

Alright, here's my announcement...in a couple days I'll be going back to work full time. It's hopefully temporary. My boss asked me (again) if I would work full time even though she knows I don't want to. Then she tempted me by saying, "How about just for a month? If you don't like it, you won't have to stay." I agreed, but really just thought, "Hey, if I work for a month or so I can rack up some money quick then go back to full time." After I agreed, however, I hope they won't try to pull anything on me if/when I decide to go back to part time. Oh please don't let this be the case.

Working full time makes me nutty. And miserable. It's fine if I don't want to do anything. We cut it (finacially) very close while I work part-time but it gives us a life, you know? What's the point in making all that money if all I'm doing to working to live? Work, eat, chores, sleep, repeat. There's no time for relaxing, hanging out properly, having a hobby. I'm such an introvert I need a ridiculous amount of "recharging" from the real world.

I suppose it would be different if nursing were my passion but it really isn't. One day I hope to have a career in a field I'm passionate about but this is not the time while Mr. 246 is still in grad school. I'm just grateful to have chosen a temporary career that allows me to make decent money not working all the time. (Honestly, that may have been a key factor in choosing nursing.) I'm pretty alright at my job and I love my residents and find myself more compassionate at work than others who have chosen this field but it just isn't for me.

Anyways, this post is about goals, right? I did one goal better than last week and hopefully this upcoming week I will do even better than that. Let's review:

LAST WEEK'S GOALS: 9/12

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:
1. Write a sentence a day for Luna all week. Check!
2. Take a nice, relaxing family trip this weekend. Even if it's somewhere small. I didn't properly plan to go do a real day trip but we did go to the zoo on Saturday!
3. Do/make a small surprise for Mr. 246 this week. He deserves it after putting up with my horrible attitude while I was sick. This was an embarrassingly easy goal and I didn't complete it. (Truthfully I forgot about it, but sadly that really shouldn't be an excuse not to do something extra special for your husband.) I was nicer this week...that should count-ish, right?

  PERSONAL:
4. Take a bubble bath. Read some books in it. Relax. No bubble bath but I did something equally relaxing...I started watching Orange is the New Black this week. Haha. Totally counting it as my relaxing activity.
5. Write up upcoming schedule for next month or so. I had a couple days of planner freakout. Nothing was how I wanted it to be and it still isn't so I sucked it up and starting using the planner I already had for the meantime. But anyway...yes - next month is planned! (I even went overboard and did a blogging schedule, cleaning schedule, and color coded a bit of things. Woo!)


HEALTH:
6. Work out x3. Starting slower in case sickness-fatigue comes back. Check!
7. Track steps again. Aim for 9,000 a day. I can do it! Not so much. Averaged 7346/day which isn't so bad with some really lazy days thrown in.
8. At least 7 hours of sleep each night. This means pre-work bedtime is 10:30pm and non-work bedtime is 1:00am. I did alright on my work nights. Not so much on my nights off. It didn't help that Luna decided she now wakes up at 7:15 instead of 9:00.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:
9. Catch up on blogs at least every other day. Check!
10. Finish secret freebie project. Yes! Printable Calendars for Project Life can be found here!
11. Do at least 3 rows on crochet blanket.Yes! I did MORE than 3 rows even. Not too much longer and I'll be on to the border.
12.  Write 3 blog posts. (This one counts!) Check!

____________________________________________________

THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:
1. Do a craft session with Luna.
2. Keep household running, stick to new cleaning schedule, prepare for going back to work full time.
3. Do/make a small surprise for Mr. 246 this week. (Take two since I failed last week. Oops.)

  PERSONAL:
4. Use planner all week. Schedule and stay on top of things.
5. Take breaks when I need to.


HEALTH:
6. Work out x4. C'mon! I can do it!
7. Track steps again. Aim for 9,000 a day...if I work out like I'm supposed to this should be easy-peasy.
8. At least 7 hours of sleep each night. This means pre-work bedtime is 10:30pm and non-work bedtime is 1:00am. (I'm gonna stick to this goal again this week and maybe actually do it. We shall see!)
9. No fast food/going out to eat all week. We're going to try to not eat out until we go to Ohio. Wish us luck.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:
10. Catch up on blogs at least every other day.
11. Finish watercolor project!
12. Finish crochet blanket except for the border.
13.  Write 3 blog posts. (This one counts!)
14. Check in/catch up for the Harry Potter Craftalong.

I still have couple days before I "go full time." I hope these goals aren't too ambitious. I also hope once I work more my blogging won't suffer too horribly. I've been enjoying myself lately. I'll give you guys the heads up if it decides to go that way. I'm trying to stick to my organization to give myself a fighting chance to get everything I want to get done, done. Wish me luck! I hope we all have a good, sunny week! Happy Monday!


-Mrs. 246