2014 Goals

8 days into 2014...I think I am done with my list! I was trying to make a realistic list of things that need to be done and things that I really want to get done in 2014. There is a lot going on right now that I am just letting unfold, so I want my goals to be obtainable.
Will be lots of changes in 2014 but we will accept them and move on :-)

House:
*Organization (Upstairs and Downstairs)
*Cabinets/Ceiling in Kitchen- Both need painted and I want to organize my Pyrex on top of cabinets.

Marriage:
*Dates-Plan ahead
*Overnight Trip
*Work together on our healthier life journey

Finance:
*Maintain OSF
*Use Cash book for Yard Sales/Thrift Stores

Family:
*MOVE/EXERCISE
*Continue on Real Food journey
*Chores(Need a better approach)
*Family Vacation
*Farmers Market
*Family and Individual Kid Pictures
*Camping
*Hiking- (This has been on my goals a couple times now...TRUTH, I am lazy BUT, I am terrified of bears/snakes...yes really!)
*Sign Abbey up for GoodReads and keep track of books better
*Sunday Lunches
*10 Pinterest projects
*Take Abbey to a concert(Her wish for 2014)

Personal:
*Continue Weight Loss-2 more pant sizes
*Connect More outside of Facebook!
*20 books
* Blog more
*Write in Cursive more(FYI, if you don't use it you lose it)
*Learn how to use my camera...really
*Unplug from computer more
* More creative with kids lunches
*More Meal Prep on Sundays
*10 Pinterest Recipes
*"Take the phone off the hook and disappear for awhile"   ;-)

2013 Goals Update

I am VERY happy with my goals from 2013!!! I did 25/39 or 64%!!!
Looking forward to seeing where 2014 takes us  :-)

Home:
*Make a "Home Binder" like this one.
 * I DID do this! Hopefully I will get a post up about it soon, as I am still tweaking it to the way I want it!

*Garden (Making some changes of how we did it last year)
 *Garden was some better this year, however, with all the rain that we got we did not get any tomatoes...not one!! We had plenty of cucumbers,zucchini,and yellow squash though :-)

*Flower Beds (Big Daddy wants to redo them)

*New Oven (Mine is like 30yrs old)
 * We got a new(to me) oven in September! Working great :-)

*New Recliner
 * Got a new(to us) Leather Recliner and Leather Couch

*Estimate/Do paved driveway
 *We did get an estimate, and it was more than we wanted to pay right now.

Finance:
*Maintain Emergency fund (We call this the "Oh *&^% fund) HA HA- New glasses,tires,appliances,etc..

*Add to savings

*Pay down 50% debt

* Buy 2013 Christmas throughout the year (I do this by shopping thrift stores and yard sales)
 * I always do well at this :-) Anyone that does not do this should really consider it! Saves lots of money!

*Cash Book-(I was given a simple cash book, to keep better track of the cash I spend)
 * Did not do this...could not get in to it...will try again in 2014.

Marriage:
*Date Nights
 * We have had a few sprinkled through out the year, thanks to my Momma,Daddy and his Step Dad(Papaw) for watching the kids!!

*Overnight Trip

*Time together more during week

Family:
*Myrtle Beach
   *Decided not to go this year

*3 camping trips

*Abbey Softball
 *She played baseball so she could play kids her own age, she didn't love it

*Both kids swimming lessons
 * Abbey did hers over the summer, we decided to wait on brother

*Kids Birthday pictures

*Park/Picnics

*Titanic Museum

*Cherokee
 *We did this on our "Adventure"

*Sunday Lunches with Family

*Get rid of Brothers Passy
  *We did this with no problem :-)

*Keep track of Abbeys books read

*Work on Brothers preschool learning(colors,shapes,numbers,etc..)
 * Brother is doing great on these!

*Shadracks Light Show
  * We carved out a perfect time and Papaw got to go with us too! Kids had a great time and got to see Santa!

Personal:
*Drop 2 pants sizes (Doing good with this, lost 10lbs so far and so has Big Daddy)
 *I DID THIS!!! 25+LBS DOWN  WOOT WOOT!

*Eat Breakfast (Been doing Juice)
 *EVERY day now!

*Juicing (Juicing fruits and vegetables for breakfast and snacks)
 *I love juicing, BUT I do not do it as often as I was because I realized very quick that I was not getting the fiber from the produce and my body didn't like it at all! I love me some smoothies though with fresh spinach and Kale!

*Use Crock pot more
 * 2-3 Mondays out of the month I make a soup in the Crock-pot to eat on through out the week! I have used it more this year, but still looking for more REAL FOOD Crock-Pot recipes!

*Read 12 books
 * I ended up reading 34 books this year!!! You can check out what I read HERE

*Write "Thank You" cards more often

*5 Hiking Trails(at least)

*15 Pinterest recipes
  *Yes, I got this in the bag! LOVE me some Pinterest!

Pinterest Hits

*10 Pinterest projects
 * Yes

*Blog More
 * I did slack some on my menus but, I posted recipes and kids stuff through out the year :-)

*Unplug more

*PATIENCE
 * I have noticed that I am not yelling as much as I was...but maybe need to keep this on list for next year as well! HaHa  ;-)

2013 Goals

Better late than never...right?

I am keeping my goals realistic!!

I can honestly say I suck at New Years "resolutions", and usually end up disappointed in myself.
A goal list keeps me motivated! Plus, nothing I love more than crossing things off a list!
So here it is, this is what I want to do,change,get,and places to go, etc... in 2013! :-)

Home:
*Make a "Home Binder" like this one.
*Garden (Making some changes of how we did it last year)
*Flower Beds (Big Daddy wants to redo them)
*New Oven (Mine is like 30yrs old)
*New Recliner
*Estimate/Do paved driveway

Finance:
*Maintain Emergency fund (We call this the "Oh *&^% fund) HA HA- New glasses,tires,appliances,etc..
*Add to savings
*Pay down 50% debt
* Buy 2013 Christmas throughout the year (I do this by shopping thrift stores and yard sales)
*Cash Book-(I was given a simple cash book, to keep better track of the cash I spend)

Marriage:
*Date Nights
*Overnight Trip
*Time together more during week

Family:
*Myrtle Beach
*3 camping trips
*Abbey Softball
*Both kids swimming lessons
*Kids Birthday pictures
*Park/Picnics
*Titanic Museum
*Cherokee
*Sunday Lunches with Family
*Get rid of Brothers Passy
*Keep track of Abbeys books read
*Work on Brothers preschool learning(colors,shapes,numbers,etc..)
*Shadracks Light Show

Personal:
*Drop 2 pants sizes (Doing good with this, lost 10lbs so far and so has Big Daddy)
*Eat Breakfast (Been doing Juice)
*Juicing (Juicing fruits and vegetables for breakfast and snacks)
*Use Crock pot more
*Read 12 books
*Write "Thank You" cards more often
*5 Hiking Trails(at least)
*15 Pinterest recipes
*10 Pinterest projects
*Blog More
*Unplug more
*PATIENCE

Updated 2012 Goal List

It's that time again...I have updated the 2012 Goal List!
I had 40 things on my Goal List last year, however we did take 2 of them off the list(see below)
So down to 38, I achieved 25 of these, so 66%...I am OK with that  :-)

Some of the goals that were not achieved will be carried over to 2013 list, that I am currently working on.


House:

• Basement Clean/Organized- This happened in 2011, however, my Father-In-Law gave Big Daddy about 2 truck loads of Nascar items so they are taking up his side of the basement. My side got bombarded with toys and other "crap" after Christmas! This will be done soon b/c I can not get to my stockpile, and that my friends is VERY frustrating! It is not clean now because we have Christmas stuff pulled here and there and yonder but it WAS clean and will be back in shape in a few weeks!

• Garden- I have been talking about this for a few years now but I really want to buckle down and do this! When I was younger we had a huge garden every year and I hated working in it...but loved the food! We live on a hill and its very rocky so we may have to do some raised beds. Papaw helped me and we had a garden! It was my first so it was not much to see but we had LOTS of tomatoes,zucchini, and squash!

• Clean Windows- Obviously I don't do this enough for it to make the big goal list HA HA Have done this a number of times this year! ha ha  ;-)

Finances:

• Maintain $1,000.00 Emergency Fund-This isn't savings, this is the "Oh crap I need new tires,washer,glasses,etc... money."  DONE 

• Add to "Family $"DONE

• Pay down 50% of our debt- We do not have any credit cards, but we do have a few things here and there that we need to work on. DONE, Then added some when Big Daddy had to get a vehicle last month...still counts  ;-)

Marriage:

• Date Night once a month...at least. Movies,Dinner,etc...

Really wish Big Daddy and I could buckle down and commit to this but, never really seems to happen...a couple times here and there...

• SHOW Hubby I love him more often- After 10 years together he knows I love him but I need to make more of an effort to show him I do, and to let him know how much I appreciate him working so hard, so I can stay home with Brother!  Worked hard on this, and Big Daddy says he could tell  :-D

• 1 weekend Getaway

Canceled at last minute..will try again in 2013!


Family:

• Family Vacation  We did go on a Family Vacation this year, although I never did get a post up about it  :-/   We went to Chattanooga,TN(about 2 hours from our house) this is where our daughter wanted to go this year! We went to the Aquarium,Rock City,Look Out Mountain, Children's Museum,Zoo,and the Train Museum! It was an awesome trip and we all had a great time!

• Take kids to the park and play/Picnics

I really wanted to try to make an effort on this...I am going to try again in 2013!

• Sissy 2nd Swimming Lesson  She actually took 2 swimming lessons last year!

• Sissy Bowling She had her 7th Birthday Party at the Bowling Alley

• Visit the Titanic Museum

Never got around to this so it will also be moved to 2013 as this is something we really want to do!

• Family Pictures My oldest brother got a new camera and he took pictures for us!

• Brother potty trained Ssuccessfully potty trained(thanks to YaYa for getting the ball rolling) he is fully potty trained..HOWEVER, in the last 2 weeks he has started peeing his pants to #1 Get attention  #2 When he is mad!  ARGHH!

• 2 weeks no processed foods

This did not happen in 2012 but it is something that I really want to do, so I am in the process of talking Big Daddy in to it! It really needs to be something we do as a family and when Sissy isn't in school!

• Craft Projects We did many little projects through out the year!

• Spend focused time with each kid every day doing what they want to do I tryed my best on this, whether it be just playing cars with Brother or reading a book with Sissy...

• More crafty with Sissy's Bento/Including notes We did really well with this, would like to do more in 2013 though!

• Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze

Big Daddy and I discussed this and decided it was a waste of money...the kids have fun but it is way over priced so maybe this is an every other year activity...

• Christmas 2012- Buy through out the year I did VERY good with this! 60%(or more) of the kids Christmas came from Garage/Yard Sales and Thrift Stores!

• Shadracks Light Show We went and everyone loved it!!

• Opryland Christmas

Last year they had like a festival of sorts, this year they didn't, so it fell off the list!

Personal:

• Sleep Schedule- I have to get more sleep so I can have productive days!! Big Daddy and I finally came up with a schedule that works for us! YAY!

• Start my day by getting dressed- Seems simple enough right? But no, there are many days where Brother and I do not get dressed until it is time to go get Sissy from school.  Brother and I TRY to be dressed before 10am...  ;-)

• Make a "To Do" list every day- At east 5 things...Laundry,Change Beds,Blinds,etc... This helps out so much in my day-to-day life. 

• Exercise/Lose Weight- Hope I can still do this with a bum knee :-(

This one is getting carried over to 2013...  :-/

• Read 12 books- Want more but at least 12!

I did read 10!

• Contact with Friends more- Need to put more effort into this as well! The "friends" may have changed but I have put a lot of effort in this!

• Girls Night- Hopefully a couple!!

NONE

• Cut TV/Computer time in half  I have cut it in half...

• 5 Pinterest projects Definitely got this one! From recipes to kids crafts we got this one in the bag! Check out the tab to the right "Pinterest Hits"

• Be positive/No yelling- I yell...a lot...I come by it honest but still need to tone it down...

I YELL A LOT...

• 2010/2011 photos printed and put in books

Didn't happen :-(

• Blog More/Make Blog schedule

Didn't happen

• Get Blog Button

Didn't happen

• Make at least 3 recipes from the Ball Canning Cookbook- Strawberry Jam(with YaYa), Salsa, and Can Tomatoes

Didn't happen

• Take more Pictures of my kids while they are kids.... Lots and Lots and Lots of pictures  :-)

• Have more Fun/Laugh more/Smile more- These things are very important!  Oh ya, I got that one!

Thanks for reading my goals! If you are not big into resolutions but have things you want to happen in 2013, make a goal list for the year, keep yourself accountable.

2012 Goal Update

Three months down, thought I would update my goals for this year, and tell y'all how I have been doing. Going pretty good so far! :o)

House:

• Basement Clean/Organized- This happened in 2011, however, my Father-In-Law gave Big Daddy about 2 truck loads of Nascar items so they are taking up his side of the basement. My side got bombarded with toys and other "crap" after Christmas! This will be done soon b/c I can not get to my stockpile, and that my friends is VERY frustrating!

*We have worked hard down there and about have it cleaned back up, about 60% done 

• Garden- I have been talking about this for a few years now but I really want to buckle down and do this! When I was younger we had a huge garden every year and I hated working in it...but loved the food! We live on a hill and its very rocky so we may have to do some raised beds.
• Clean Windows- Obviously I don't do this enough for it to make the big goal list HA HA

Finances:

• Maintain $1,000.00 Emergency Fund-This isn't savings, this is the "Oh crap I need new tires,washer,glasses,etc... money."

*Done so far

• Add to "Family $"

*Done

• Pay down 50% of our debt- We do not have any credit cards, but we do have a few things here and there that we need to work on.

*We paid a big chunk of this with tax return...YAY!

Marriage:

• Date Night once a month...at least. Movies,Dinner,etc...

*We have got to go out together a few times with no kids...

• SHOW Hubby I love him more often- After 10 years together he knows I love him but I need to make more of an effort to show him I do, and to let him know how much I appreciate him working so hard, so I can stay home with Brother!

*Trying my best :o)

• 1 Weekend Get-away

Family: 

• Family Vacation
• Take kids to the park and play/picnics
• Sissy 2nd Swimming Lesson

*Done, 3rd lesson starts next weekend.

• Sissy Bowling

*Done, Birthday Party at the Bowling Alley! FUN!

• Visit the Titanic Museum
• Family Pictures
• Brother potty trained
• 2 weeks no processed foods

*We ARE eating A LOT less processed foods but we still have some things...

• Craft Projects
• Spend focused time with each kid every day doing what they want to do
• More crafty with Sissy's Bento/Including notes

*Been doing good with this, averaging 3-4 days a week!

• Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze
• Christmas 2012- Buy through out the year
• Shadaracks Light Show
• Opryland Christmas

Personal:

• Sleep Schedule- I have to get more sleep so I can have productive days!!

*Some days are better than others...

• Start my day by getting dressed- Seems simple enough right? But no, there are many days where Brother and I do not get dressed until it is time to go get Sissy from school.
• Make a "To Do" list every day- At east 5 things...Laundry,Change Beds,Blinds,etc...

*Been doing good with this!

• Exercise/Lose Weight- Hope I can still do this with a bum knee :-(

* Late start but, Treadmill/Exercises for 1 hour most nights for 2 weeks! Have lost 5lbs so far...

• Read 12 books- Want more but at least 12!

*3 months in and I have not finished 1 book! BOOO!!

• Contact with Friends more- Need to put more effort into this as well!
• Girls Night- Hopefully a couple!!
• Cut TV/Computer time in half

*Been doing well with this the past 3 weeks! HaHa!

• 5 Pinterest projects

*I have done 3-4 so far(will post)

• Be positive/No yelling- I yell...a lot...I come by it honest but still need to tone it down...
• 2010/2011 photos printed and put in books
• Blog More/Make Blog schedule

*Trying  :-)

• Get Blog Button

*Anyone wanna help me??

• Make at least 3 recipes from the Ball Canning Cookbook- Strawberry Jam(with YaYa), Salsa, and Can Tomatoes
• Take more Pictures of my kids while they are kids....

*Doing good with this! :o)

• Have more Fun/Laugh more/Smile more- These things are very important!

2012 Goals

Well, I haven't added any more goals to my list in a few days so, I think I am done. I have a long list...however I like to have specific goals, so it takes me awhile to think of everything I want to do! :o)
I decided this year to break them up in different categories. Today I will print this and frame it and hang on the wall in my bedroom so I can mark everything off as I go and be accountable! Hopefully I will follow through and share updates through out the year!

House:

• Basement Clean/Organized- This happened in 2011, however, my Father-In-Law gave Big Daddy about 2 truck loads of Nascar items so they are taking up his side of the basement. My side got bombarded with toys and other "crap" after Christmas! This will be done soon b/c I can not get to my stockpile, and that my friends is VERY frustrating!
• Garden- I have been talking about this for a few years now but I really want to buckle down and do this! When I was younger we had a huge garden every year and I hated working in it...but loved the food! We live on a hill and its very rocky so we may have to do some raised beds.
• Clean Windows- Obviously I don't do this enough for it to make the big goal list  HA HA

Finances:

• Maintain $1,000.00 Emergency Fund-This isn't savings, this is the "Oh crap I need new tires,washer,glasses,etc... money." 
• Add to "Family $"
• Pay down 50% of our debt- We do not have any credit cards, but we do have a few things here and there that we need to work on.

Marriage:

• Date Night once a month...at least. Movies,Dinner,etc...
• SHOW Hubby I love him more often- After 10 years together he knows I love him but I need to make more of an effort to show him I do, and to let him know how much I appreciate him working so hard, so I can stay home with Brother!
• 1 Weekend Get-away

Family:

• Family Vacation
• Take kids to the park and play/Picnics
• Sissy 2nd Swimming Lesson
• Sissy Bowling
• Visit the Titanic Museum
• Family Pictures
• Brother potty trained
• 2 weeks no processed foods
• Craft Projects
• Spend focused time with each kid every day doing what they want to do
• More crafty with Sissy's Bento/Including notes
• Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze
• Christmas 2012- Buy through out the year
• Shadaracks Light Show
• Opryland Christmas

Personal:

• Sleep Schedule- I have to get more sleep so I can have productive days!!
• Start my day by getting dressed- Seems simple enough right? But no, there are many days where Brother and I do not get dressed until it is time to go get Sissy from school.
• Make a "To Do" list every day- At east 5 things...Laundry,Change Beds,Blinds,etc...
• Exercise/Lose Weight- Hope I can still do this with a bum knee  :-(
• Read 12 books- Want more but at least 12!
• Contact with Friends more- Need to put more effort into this as well!
• Girls Night- Hopefully a couple!!
• Cut TV/Computer time in half
• 5 Pinterest projects
• Be positive/No yelling- I yell...a lot...I come by it honest but still need to tone it down...
• 2010/2011 photos printed and put in books
• Blog More/Make Blog schedule
• Get Blog Button
• Make at least 3 recipes from the Ball Canning Cookbook- Strawberry Jam(with YaYa), Salsa, and Can Tomatoes
• Take more Pictures of my kids while they are kids....
• Have more Fun/Laugh more/Smile more- These things are very important!

Updated 2011 Goal List

 Last year around this time I made a goal list. Something to keep me accountable through out the year! I got this idea from Wendy over at Wendolonia
I did pretty good, I got 50% completed! It's not exactly what I wanted but, I am not going to dwell on it...I am currently working on a new 2012 goal list to be posted soon!

Here is an update version of my 2011 goal list!

1. Play outside more with kids
*Have done this more than I did but would like to get in A LOT more time!

2. Figure out the blogging world
 * I seem to be doing OK with this!
   
3. Be more crafty with Sissy's bento.
 * I really want to do better with this, I got lots of new bento from my Hubby for Christmas!
  
4. Pack Hubby's lunch more often
 * He was not interested in this...I am going to keep trying though!

5.Work on Sissy's and Brothers baby books and picture albums
 * I am such a procrastinator with this...they are currently spread out in my bedroom floor! Hope to get these done this week!!
 
6. Clean and organize basement
 * This happened at one point in 2011, it is currently a wreck again!!
   
7. Exercise more
 * I got a treadmill, need to put more effort into this!
 
8. Lose 35 pounds
 *This is now lose 60lbs!! I gained SO much weight when I quit smoking.

9.Stop eating after 10pm
 * Really need to work on this, my sleeping varies so much though...
 
10. Call my brothers more often 
 * I have talked to them more!

11.Get recipes on blog
 *Seem to be doing OK with this, there are currently 51 in my recipe folder
   
12.Go out with Hubby at least once a month
*We got to go shop and go out to eat a few times! THANK YOU YAYA AND PAPA!

13.Have a weekend trip with Hubby
   *We went to Savannah!!
 
14.Take kids to the Zoo
* We went on a field trip!

15.Decorate house more (with yard sale and flea market finds)
*I have got a few things here and there.

16.Take Sissy to Santa Land

17.Take Sissy to Children's Museum

18.Take kids to Chattanooga Aquarium

19. Take kids to park and have picnics

20.Get work paperwork more organized
 * My "work" organization now consists of my menus,recipes,kids stuff, house etc...

21.Read more
*Got Kindle for Christmas and new books!

22.Take more pictures
* Got a new camera for Christmas!

23.Make better budget on weekly groceries

24.Family Vacation at the beach

25.Go to Farmers Market more often

26.Get quote have on remodel.
    *This has been put on hold since we only have 1 income right now.


27.Put more money in savings
   * I think we did pretty good for what we could do.

28.Clear clutter in house

29.Use more coupons
 * I did very well with this in 2011 and have a great stockpile to show for it!

30.Clean/detail car once a month

31.Donate food to local Food Bank more often
*About every 2 weeks!

32.Try at least 4 new recipes every month
* Sometimes its 3 in ONE week! :-)

33.Take Sissy to movies
*She got to go see 3-4 movies this year!

34.Have more Girls Night Out
* I didn't get ANY of these....

2011 Goals

So taking que from Wendy over at Wendolonia.com I decided I needed to make a list of goals for 2011. For instance there are a few things that Hubby and I want to do as a family but also things that I just want to get done or change in my life. So here it goes...in NO particular order! Just as they popped in my head.

1. Play outside more with kids
2. Figure out the blogging world
3. Be more crafty with Sissys bento
4. Pack Hubbys lunch more often
5.Work on Sissys and Brothers baby books and picture albums
6. Clean and organize basement
7. Exercise more
8. Lose 35 pounds
9.Stop eating after 10pm
10. Call my brothers more often
11.Get recipes on blog
12.Go out with Hubby at least once a month
13.Have a weekend trip with Hubby
14.Take kids to the Zoo
15.Decorate house more (with yard sale and flea market finds)
16.Take Sissy to Santa Land
17.Take Sissy to Children's Museum
18.Take kids to Chattanooga Aquarium
19. Take kids to park and have picnics
20.Get work paperwork more organized
21.Read more
22.Take more pictures
23.Make better budget on weekly groceries
24.Family Vacation at the beach
25.Go to Farmers Market more often
26.Get quote on remodel
27.Put more money in savings
28.Clear clutter in house
29.Use more coupons
30.Clean/detail car once a month
31.Donate food to local Food Bank more often
32.Try at least 4 new recipes every month
33.Take Sissy to movies
34.Have more Girls Night Out