Weekly Goals {Week 22}

So, remember last week when I thought setting 18 goals for one week when I was coming out of a funk was a bit much? It kind of was. I went to work an extra day too so that threw things a bit off as well.

I'm definitely cutting back on making so many goals this week. Maybe I'll just focus on the top things I reeeally want to get done. Plus, I'm working 4 days this week (T, Sa, Su, M) so that kind of limits things as well.

But first, let's look at how I did last week! (And yes, I'm going to calculate percentages because so many things were only partially done. Haha. Every bit counts, right?)

LAST WEEK'S GOALS: 10.6/18

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. One quality date night. Yes! Multiple date nights thanks to our new Skylanders addiction. Lol.
2. Make dinner at least three times. Uh....I'm trying to think back and I may have not cooked dinner at all this week. I think twice I got things all ready then Ryan ended up cooking it. It's more delicious that way anyway. He's a much better cook.
3. Minimize extra spending. Half credit. I worked an extra couple hours on Friday and in my mind that money directly went into my pocket for fun stuff instead of spending.
4. Take more pictures and videos! Success! Not my most photo/video heavy week but considering we didn't do a ton I did pretty well. Just making a more conscious effort definitely helped.

PERSONAL:
5. Savor, enjoy, and finish the new Artful Blogging issue. Yes! Love that magazine!
6. Plan my days out in advance. Does mentally planning count? I'm gonna say yes.
7. Take a moment before reacting to certain situations. Mind my emotional responses. The hole-in-the-door incident happened before I made this goal. (Which is why the goal was made in the first place. Haha.) I didn't do the greatest on this goal though. I worked on it but wasn't as successful as I would have liked.
8. Take a break to do whatever I want if I need to. Even if it's not what I had planned on. Yes! This is a funny goal. It's the goal that is met when the others are ignored. Lol.

HEALTH:
9. Work out x 5. (Maybe Zumba 3x, and running/weight lifting 2x) I did Zumba 3x, yoga 1x, and running x1!
10. Track steps again. Aim for 10,000 a day. 4/7 days. Eh. I had almost a month of 10,000+ steps/day and now I didn't even do a week. Eh. Laziness happens.
11. Track food at least 5 days. Erm...no. Definitely did not happen.
12. Go to bed by 10:30pm on work nights. A definite fail and I've been paying for it ever since.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:
13. Catch up on blogs at least every other day. Done! :D
14. Submit projects for HPC. Nope. Didn't do. The thought of looking through pictures seemed a bit too much.
15. Submit at least one assignment for HogwartsIsHere. I didn't do this either. I had a lot of busy nights.
16. Finish PL pages up through April 13. Done! I'll show them off soon!
17. Finish main part of crochet blanket. (Wish me luck here! I haven't been watching nearly enough television to complete it. Lol.) TV watching was very minimal. I didn't touch the blanket all week. Ooops.
18. Write 3 blog posts. (This one counts!) I did four! AND a new layout! (Do you like it?) Do I get bonus points?

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THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:
1. Plan and do one new activity with Luna.
2. Make dinner twice. (I'm starting smaller this week. Haha.)
3. Give Mr. 246 quality uninterrupted time to work on his classes.

  PERSONAL:
4. Give myself one "free" night to be lazy and do whatever. No guilt!
5. Get ready the night before for work.


HEALTH:
6. Work out x4. I have to work so much I'm going to be easy on myself.
7. Track steps again. Aim for 9,000 a day. (See...I'm aiming a bit lower this week. Whatever works, right?)
8. Go to bed by 10:30pm on work nights.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:
9. Catch up on blogs at least every other day.
10. Submit projects for HPC.
11. Do at least 3 rows on crochet blanket. (See? Aiming lower. Last week's goal was to finish it. Haha.)
12.  Write 3 blog posts. (This one counts!)

BONUS GOALS: Since I'm aiming lower on my goals this week I have a couple bonus goals - things I'd like to get done if I have time-ish but aren't as important.
    *Submit at least one assignment for HogwartsIsHere.
    *Do next week of PL pages.
    *Finish crochet blanket.


Aiming lower this week feels good. No need to get crazy each week. We all need to breathe and give ourselves breaks every now and then, right? Happy Monday! What's your big goal for the week that you'd like to accomplish? Go forth and conquer!

-Mrs. 246

{This Moment} Week 21

A Friday ritual inspired by SouleMama. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment to pause, savour, and remember.

If you participate in "This Moment," please feel free to leave a link in the comments. I'd love to check yours out! 

-Mrs. 246

That Time I Kicked a Hole in the Bedroom Door

Also known as this past Monday...

I was home with Luna for the day with just a couple things on the To-Do List. It may have been such a glorious morning and shopping trip that the thought "I'm like a Super-Mom today!" crossed my mind.  But then we got home and a series of events unfolded so quickly that my PMS-hormonal mind didn't even have time to process them. (In a matter of a mere 3 minutes!)

We got home from grocery shopping and I ask Luna to wait while I grab as many bags as my arms can hold and then Luna starts climbing up the cement stairs to the upstairs neighbors. We usually let her go up a couple but this time she's a little over half way up. I ask her repeatedly to come down so we can go inside. Usually she listens pretty well. Not today. My arms are full of groceries. It's heavy. I kind of have to pee and she's deciding she doesn't want to listen. I tell her she needs to come down and sit in time out and thankfully she finally listens.

The Sometimes Frazzle-Inducing Toddler

That was okay,  I think. Luna walks inside and sits in her timeout spot. I'm slightly flustered at this point hoping it will be a peaceful and good timeout. I hurry up and unload all the bags on the floor then take the dog immediately to the back outside so he can go outside to pee.

I still have to pee but of course that can't happen yet. I tell Luna to wait in time out while I run outside real quick to get the last couple bags. This may or may not work. She's not even two but miraculously when I come back in 30 seconds later she's still sitting in time out. Whew. I have an amazing child. I do the whole "Do you remember why you're in time out?" spiel and she starts getting silly and not really listening and I admit it annoyed me, but we worked through it and finished the spiel. It's okay. I can handle that.


The dog is barking this whole time I'm talking to Luna. I go run to let the dog in. Finally it's my chance to go the bathroom! I go and pee and walk back in the main room and the f*#king dog is peeing on the grocery bags, specifically a half opened one with fruit and produce in it. I JUST LET HIM OUT AND HE IS PEEING ON MY DAMN GROCERIES! I am furious at this point. All I want to do is scream obscenities at the dog.

I have a small child. I cannot scream obscenities at the dog at the top of my lungs because then she will scream obscenities at the dog at the top of her lungs.

The Cute and Innocent Looking Chihuahua

I admit I do raise my voice somewhat and command the dog to go back outside. He's not listening. This infuriates me more. I have to physically pick him up and put him outside while he barks and tries to bite me (aren't chihuahuas lovely?). All the while I'm trying to remain as calm as possible in front of Luna.

Luna is in the way and not listening and won't leave the room. I'm a little annoyed with her but I deal with it. I try to guide Luna back into the living room but she's too interested in the dog barking at the back door so I physically have to guide her back the living room.

Still furious but trying my damndest to summon all calming energy to my soul (Spoiler alert: It wasn't working) I try to quickly shut the bedroom door behind us so Luna doesn't run back in there and...I slam my finger in the door. 

I'm pretty sure was the tipping point.

Again, for the second time in less than three minutes I feel like screaming obscenities at the top of my lungs and cannot. My body couldn't hold it in any longer and released its rage in a backward kick to the bedroom door.

It wasn't a super hard kick or big kick but apparently the cheap apartment doors and the perfect angle and placement of my heel was just enough for my foot to go halfway through the door.

My finger is throbbing, I just kicked a hole in the door, and my loving child looking at me like I'm crazy. I instinctively dropped to the floor. Luna immediately came to sit in my lap and I just sat and hugged her and literally laughed out loud at the sillyness of it all and the fact that I just kicked a hole in the bedroom door. I must have looked pretty crazy.

-Mrs. 246

P.S. Why share this somewhat embarrassing story? Because I love reading about moms' not-so-perfect moments and figured someone else might too. We all have them and not everyone shares them in the internet world/social media. Sometimes online we like to put up the persona that life is perfect and everything is awesome in real life. Let's stop lying to each other: we all have our mess ups and sometimes they're hilarious and sometimes you aren't your best and you're not Super-Mom/wife/student/ect and that's okay. 

Feel free to share any of your not-so-perfect moments in the comments. I'd love to hear them! We can all laugh together at how crazy we are.

Let's be photo friends!

I've been super into Instagram lately. I don't know what's hit me with the sudden urge to Instagram everything but I'm having quite a lot of fun doing it. It's just so fun to share and see snippets of everyone's day.

I've been using it for a while now. Originally when it first became available to Android I was super excited then I never used it because I just didn't "get" it. What's the point when you can share your pictures on Facebook? Well, it's not quite the same. You get a different audience and the hashtags are useful for finding like-minded people with similiar hobbies and lives. It's just really neat and it cuts out alot of the stuff I don't like about Facebook (sponsored posts, multiples of the same post, ads, ect).

That being said, I'm in definite need of more friends to follow! Leave your Instagram name below in the comments or add me (twofortysix) to your friends list. I can't wait to see what everyone else has been posting!

-Mrs. 246

Weekly Goals {Week 21}

Alright, "Weekly Goals" is BACK! And it's definitely the kick in the butt I'm going to need to get myself into gear again. If you read my "Case of the Bleh" post you'll know I took a little break because I wasn't quite in the right mindset to do anything. I'm trying to get back to baseline and what better way to do it than to hold myself accountable to my goals?

First, let's take a look at how I did on the last set of goals I set way back on April 28: 

LAST WEEK'S GOALS: 12/18*

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:
1. One quality date night. Done! Our together activity may have been Skylanders...such fun!
2. Clean the master bathroom. A very thorough hardcore clean is much needed and I've been putting it off. I'm putting it under "family" because I'm pretty sure everyone will benefit.
3. Find one new activity to do with Luna this week. We gave Perler beads a try. Luna is really good with her fine motor skills. I realize she's not two yet but I figured we'd give it a try. She was able to put the beads on there and did for a while but then decided a short cut would be to take small handfuls of beads and pour them over the tray. We then moved onto lunchtime and a nap. I may or may not have spent her naptime playing with Perler beads.

PERSONAL:
4. Read a little bit of something inspiring every day. Done! A combination of books and MyFitnessPal success boards.
5. Plan my days out in advance. Done for the most part.
6. More of a to-do list item but it must be done since I am now completely out of birth control (which is making me very fatigued and just "off" in general): Make doctor's appointment so I may have a refill!Ugh. I was supposed to do this today during naptime but I forgot. The difference of my hormones is making me a little lazy and a little moody. Whatever's in those pills...I need it back.

HEALTH:
7. Weight lift at least twice. Done! I'm planning on trying to lift at least twice a week from now on so I'm not just doing cardio.
8. Go to a yoga class. I didn't make it. I would have went earlier in the week had I known I wouldn't have been able to go Friday night. There's always this week!
9. Track food everyday. Even if I "mess up" I need to track it. Done! Knowing that I'm going to track my food makes me watch my food a bit more even if I am going over my goal.
10. 8 glasses of water a day! Done!
11. Log 41 miles this week. 37.63. Didn't make it. I probably would have but I didn't make my mileage goal the past two days. I've felt a little overwhelmed if I didn't get my walking in earlier in the day and if I had a lot left to do at night I found myself getting upset that I had to go do stuff when i didn't want to. I decided to say "Screw it!" and just not do it. These aren't laws I'm following. I can give myself a break. Lol.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:
12. Catch up on blogs at least every other day. Done!
13. Update HP classes on HPC. Didn't really comment on anything, but classes have been updated!
14. Submit projects for HPC.
15. Submit at least one assignment for HogwartsIsHere. I am loving HiH!
16. Take more pictures.
17. Edit at least some PL photos. Done, but not much.
18. Do at least 4 inches of crochet blanket. One movie or so later...4 inches done!

*These goals were from April 28. I took a little break from weekly goals for a while.

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THIS WEEK'S GOALS:

FAMILY/MOTHERHOOD/MARRIAGE:

1. One quality date night.
2. Make dinner at least three times. (Mr. 246 is back in school for the new semester so I've got to help out a lot more in the cooking department.)
3. Minimize extra spending. I'm putting this under family because finances affect us all. Since I'm only working part time I still have to watch myself so I can contribute enough. I've needed to save more lately so I'm making it an official goal this week.
4. Take more pictures and videos! I always take pictures, but lately not enough. And I really want to try taking more videos. (Let's be honest, I just want to include more QR code links in my PL layouts. Lol.)

  PERSONAL:
5. Savor, enjoy, and finish the new Artful Blogging issue.
6. Plan my days out in advance.
7. Take a moment before reacting to certain situations. Mind my emotional responses.
8. Take a break to do whatever I want if I need to. Even if it's not what I had planned on.

HEALTH:
9. Work out x 5. (Maybe Zumba 3x, and running/weight lifting 2x)
10. Track steps again. Aim for 10,000 a day.
11. Track food at least 5 days.
12. Go to bed by 10:30pm on work nights.

CRAFTING/HOBBY/INTERNET:
13. Catch up on blogs at least every other day.
14. Submit projects for HPC.
15. Submit at least one assignment for HogwartsIsHere.
16. Finish PL pages up through April 13.
17. Finish main part of crochet blanket. (Wish me luck here! I haven't been watching nearly enough television to complete it. Lol.)
18. Write 3 blog posts. (This one counts!)


"Hey, I've been feeling kind of crappy and unmotivated lately. I'm kind of getting back on track...perhaps I should make 18 in-depth goals for this week. It'll feel totally great when I don't even complete half of them by the end of the week. (*note sarcasm*)" Hahaha. That was my immediate thought when I finished writing this list just now. But the good part about feeling kind of bleh? If I don't do well, I'm in the kind of mindset of: "Heh. Who cares?" And I'm really not one to beat myself up over things.

So....forward march! Let me hope to conquer this week with my previous self's stamina, motivation, and good cheer! I wish the same to the rest of you! Happy Monday! Go forth and conquer!


-Mrs. 246

Project Life Catch Up: April 1-6 2014

EDIT//06.03.14// A lot of people really liked the calender I used for this page and I did too! This calender in this post is from a PL kit buuuuut I just made a bunch of similar free printables for you to use! Check them out here: Project Life Calendar Printables.

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Hey guys! I haven't posted about my Project Life pages since this post back on April 2nd and since I've been on a Project Life kick lately I'm even more motivated to share my most recent pages. I've been looking at a lot of different people's pages and getting lots of ideas.

Sometimes when you do this kind of project it's easy to use your old stand-by techniques without a second thought but I was relying more and more on just adding extra elements in the photo editor instead of actual embellishment. That's fine and all (especially if you're doing digital pages!) but my aim wasn't to do digital pages. It was a bit silly just to do everything digitally, print them out, cut them up, put them in pockets with the occasional embellishment. It is time for me to shake things up a bit in my scrapbooking. 

Here are my pages from April 1-6 that I just finished this past weekend:

In what I'm calling my signature style of "mish-mash-anything-goes" I love this page. Lots of bright and happy and fun memories.

The "April" Title card was a bit more muted then I'd like and it was hard finding elements that would go together to fill up the space. Don't you just love those letters though?

Holy moly. This calendar is probably my favorite part of the whole page! I think it'll be so neat to look back on this years from now. I didn't keep track of what we did or anything. I just kind of looked through pictures to jog my memory of what we did and for days I didn't have pictures  and didn't know I just kind of filled in whatever. (i.e. "Mommy working" and "TGIF" Lol.) I think I may use one of these every month. And actually keep track of things better for it. I love it! *The card is from the 5th and Frolic Edition Core Kit by Dear Lizzy. I think it's a Michaels exclusive. I love this kit.*

I had more journaling I wanted to do on this card so a little pull tab worked perfect. I love including some hands-on elements too. I think it's neat!

Before if I wanted to jazz a picture up with some text I would do it in the photo editor but I'm trying a bit more to use handwriting on my pictures. I definitely need a better pen for this but I like the way it turns out. And yes, that's me and little Boo Radley cuddling in bed. (Cell phone pic quality for sure. But thank goodness for cell phones because if not, I'd have a lot less pictures.)

This page was kind of "eh" in my book. But the memories are documented and that's all that matters, right?

Here's the neat part though! I came across this Flip Flap pages by Close to My Heart somewhere on the internet and I knew I just had to have them. They have all sorts of different sizes and there's an adhesive strip on one side to attach them right to your PL pages and you have a fun little way to add extra pictures or journal. You can even layer them for a little mini album within your album. Ahh! The possibilities! (This is perfect if you have one to two more pictures you want to add to a layout but not enough to justify adding another whole insert. Plus, it's a fun hands-on element!)

And moving on....our day trip to Big Trees State Park!

I used a Becky Higgins Design H Insert for our Big Trees State Park pictures. We didn't take a ton of pictures since we've been there a fair amount before, just not with Luna!

I forgot I had this too so I had to put it in. We had bought Luna a sticker book full of bear stickers at the gift shop. I needed to entertain her a couple days later and asked her to make mommy a bear card for my scrapbook. She happily obliged. This girl LOVES stickers.

This picture didn't turn out so well since I had a lot of glare on the photo pocket but how freaking cute is that picture? I had a mini running theme for these pictures of words on stop of that clear and green striped washi tape, as well as black handwriting/stamps.

 

I didn't have a ton of room for journaling so I included a insert card and used lots of tiny writing. The card is from that same 5th and Frolic Becky Higgins Core Kit. I slipped in our parking pass from the day as well.

 

Another Flip Flap page! The typed sticker saying are from various Cosmo Cricket Tiny Text packs. I LOVE these packs. Easy cute embellishment on the cheap. I have 3-4 different sheets. I'm making it my goal to get them all. Lol. Note the journaling right on the picture. I'm liking it! I used to not want to do it. What if I'm ruining the picture, I thought. Well, it's the digital age. Print another one. Problem solved.

I forgot to take a picture of the whole back of the insert but this is in the top spot. A mini collage of us and the HUGE trees. I used a combo of letter stamps using Staz On ink (a new favorite!) and handwriting for the embellishing.

A new favorite!!! QR video codes!! I've thought about doing this for a while but I couldn't help but thinking that it was a bit silly. QR codes haven't caught on much and in twenty years will I even be able to scan them? What will the next technology be? Then I figured it can't hurt if it's not around anymore or something happens to the links. It's pretty neat for right now.

I was sold on the QR video codes once I was reading someone's blog this past week that their 4 year old loved looking through the PL books and her favorite part was scanning the QR codes and watching all the home videos. I think I should still be able to scan them in a couple years and I'm pretty sure Luna will get a really big kick out of it. (And so will I!) Expect more QR codes in the future!

The last picture of the insert. Luna and Ryan at the warming hut after our hike, having some hot chocolate (Luna's first taste!) and Luna playing in the snow.

That's it for now! What I've learned on these pages: I love journaling/writing right on the picture and I love QR codes. Expect more in the future.

Thanks for taking a look! Let me know if the comments if there's any fun little "techniques" you've come across for Project Life. I'm open to anything!

-Mrs. 246

A Bad Case of "The Bleh"

Yes, Bleh. It's much worse than the Blahs. I might even be lying to you all by calling it a case of the Bleh. It's more like: angry-for-no-reason, irrational, unmotivated, and just a wee bit of sadish-for-no-reason.

That's why I've been absent. I've got "The Bleh". I'm slowly emerging from it on one whole piece. I'll be much better come next week...it's the soonest I could get into the doctor for more birth control. Actually, June 18th was the soonest. But my loving husband decided he's willing to pay out of pocket for me to go see a different doctor and get some so I have an appointment next Friday. I must be bad, right? Haha.

I've had ridiculous PMS since high school. I was actually diagnosed with PMDD and took Sarafem (rebranded Prozac) for a while which helped me get a bit better into balance. I haven't taken it since college though. As I've gotten older I think my hormones have balanced out a bit. I'll have my days but it's totally manageable.

My "Bleh" started soon as I ran out of birth control. The past couple weeks have been rough. I just put myself on a Zumba hiatus (I've been going 4-5 times a week) because I almost lost it and walked out of the class because the damn girl in front (beside?) me couldn't figure out how to properly space herself. She was all up in my space. I kept having my move myself to orient myself around her cause she was all over the place. I showed up early dammit! I showed up early so I could claim my damn spot and not have to fucking deal with that. I spent most of the class livid and not having fun at all. Pointless? Yes. Could I have asked to her move? Probably, but even in a good mood I wouldn't have since I am shy/awkward in social gatherings and never would have worked up the courage. Hahaha. This is what the PMDD rage does to you though. I am getting mad just writing about it. Lol.

In high school it was rough. I'd have two really good awesome weeks, then I'd have two really fucking terrible weeks. I'd feel such anger (for no reason!) build up inside of me I had banged my head on the floor repeatedly once. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for pharmaceuticals. And thankfully I'm not as terrible as I used to be.

And since I'm feeling a bit better these past couple days off work I'm feeling recharged a bit so I'm going to try to write more. Monday Weekly Goals will be reinstated! Also, I'm on a Project Life kick right now so expect to see some soon!

Anyone else get really bad PMS? How do you deal with it?

-Mrs. 246

P.S. Or this is all in my head and I'm actually pregnant. I'll definitely let you know if that's the case. Lol.

P.P.S. I've seen articles and comments before discrediting PMDD as a "real thing." Normal PMS is bothersome, yes, but PMDD disrupts your entire life. It's like having a mental illness for 1-2 weeks, then your period comes and you turn into the normal person again. You forget about it because you're doing so awesome at life...then it comes and knocks you on your ass. Again. And it repeats every single month for quite a long while. (But like I said, I definitely evened out a bit toward the end of college, thankfully.)