Resolution Amendment

So, I've been doing a lot of thinking these first few weeks into 2014 and have already thought of some amendments to my New Year's Resolution List...

I want to add the following:

12. Start Couponing... really hard core coupon cutting. I've seen some people do some amazing saving with coupons and I want some of that action.
13. Work on my Documented Life Project. I still have a LOT of "prepping" that still needs done; Month pages (I'm only done through April,) Weekly pages (I'm only done through Feb,) and I haven't done any "tip-ins" yet, except for a few of the projects that I've done already. I'm not sure if I'm going to put them in ahead of time or just do them as I go. I also got some medical paper tape that I want to make my own washi tape out of. It's quite see-thru and I like that because I tend to draw/write/doodle/etc. right to the edge of the page.

14. Plan meals better. But this probably should fall under the whole "get organized" portion of the list. But I've been wanting to get going with proper meal planning and cooking in bulk so I can have frozen meals that can just be heated up throughout the week.
15. Read the scriptures daily. I had been doing fairly well at this a while back, but I've slacked severely recently. Now, I've been back at a daily scripture read this whole week and it feels good.
16. Spend more time with my boys. Pay more attention to them and add in some new and fun activities throughout the week. I already spend a TON of time with my boys, being a Stay-at-home-Mom, but I feel like I can give more "Quality" time to them than I do currently.
17. Not waste so much time. Pinterest is a great source of ideas and inspiration, but let's face it, it's a time sucker. (As is Facebook and all other social media, but that's a whole other post!) I get on the laptop to do a couple things and hours later I realize that I've wasted the day.
18. Stop procrastinating. This kind of goes along with #17, but expands it a bit. I tend to wait until the last minute to do... well, everything. And then I'm rushed to finish. I usually do my best work in the Eleventh hour, but I shouldn't have to for absolutely everything. Plus, I tend to underestimate how long it will take me to do something, so that gets me more stressed out. I usually finish and usually by my deadlines, but I just don't need to do that to myself.

So, have you kept any of your resolutions so far? Or have they fizzled out early? Or have you done as I have and added/amended to your list?

52 Week Savings Plan Challenge

$ $ $ $

I came across an interesting, brilliant and great idea on how to save money.  (Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark the page and Googling the idea gives me a TON of different sites to chose from, but I can't find the one I had seen, so I apologize to the person whose blog I found this on.  If I ever find it again, I'll edit this post and give proper credit.)  But with my husband's paycheck every two weeks, I've decided to make my own pattern of how much to put into savings.  

The basic idea is that each week is numbered and there are 52 weeks in a year, so the first week of the year is week #1 and you would put aside $1, the second week would be week #2 and you would put aside $2 and so on until you get to the last week of the year, the fifty-second week where you would put aside $52.  But if you're like me, the end of the year is a bit tight with Christmas, particularly if you have kids.  So, you can always do it backwards, but I've decided to shift things around a bit.  This makes it easier on us, so that it's not so much put aside in one month.

The following shows the week # and the amount to put aside

1.      $1

2.      $52

3.      $2

4.      $51

5.      $3

6.      $50

7.      $4

8.      $49

9.      $5

10.  $48

11.  $6

12.  $47

13.  $7

14.  $46

15.  $8

16.  $45

17.  $9

18.  $44

19.  $10

20.  $43

21.  $11

22.  $42

23.  $12

24.  $41

25.  $13

26.  $40

27.  $14

28.  $39

29.  $15

30.  $38

31.  $16

32.  $37

33.  $17

34.  $36

35.  $18

36.  $35

37.  $19

38.  $34

39.  $20

40.  $33

41.  $21

42.  $32

43.  $22

44.  $31

45.  $23

46.  $30

47.  $24

48.  $29

49.  $25

50.  $28

51.  $26

52.  $27

  

 I then got my planner out and wrote down each amount on each Friday.  Speaking of which, I need to go transfer some money....

40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge

Just in time for the new year, I came across a new challenge (yet another one!) that I desparately need. 
40 Bags in 40 Days
The idea is to get rid of 40 bags of stuff from your house (and my whole family are packrats) in 40 days in any way... out to the garbage, donate, yard sale, etc. and by the end of it, have a cleaner, less cluttered home. 

So, starting January 1st, 2012 I'm dedicating myself to getting a bag together each day.  The size of the bag doesn't matter.  If you need a big garbage bag, use it, if you only need/gather a small shopping bag's worth, then do that, but what matters is that you do "A Bag A Day" for 40 days. 

Apparently, it came from the idea of the 40 days of Lent.  I think this is a wonderful challenge and have been in the cleaning mood lately, so hopefully this should work out.  Having just cleaned up the living room and kitchen for Christmas, I've had a jumpstart, so I'm excited about it.  I also plan to blog about my progress as well.  Please post comments about your progress as well if you plan to join me and post a link to your site if you're going to show your successes as well.  I'd love to see your pregression through the challenge.

Challenge Shmallenge

From Mama Kat's Workshop, I chose #3 of this week's prompts...


3.) What do you find most challenging about blogging?

Well, lots of things, really.  What to write about,  How to find time to write,  How to get people to my blog,  Figuring out what I want my blog to become, etc. 

Finding time to write in my blog is a big challenge with a 10 month old running about.  Every other minute, I’m running after him for something!  He’s walking now and is quite mobile.  And he’s attracted to all the dirty/dangerous areas.  He has toys and a toy box, but does he go there?  Noooooo, he doesn’t… that’s apparently passé.  He goes straight for the dirty mop and broom that I just used, or he finds a big ol’ fur ball from the dog that was hiding in some forgotten corner. 

Figuring out what I want the blog to become is another challenge.  I have too many interests and I think that shows in my blog.  I’m currently working on that, so we’ll see how that turns out. 

Getting people to come to the blog is a challenge too.  I have people who stop by, my stats show that, but to get them to actually comment is another story.  I’ll share my blog posts on Facebook and Twitter now and then too, to try to get people to come, and I’ll get a comment here and there and a few “Likes” but I want the comments on the blog… and I’m just not sure how to get that. 

Hmmmm….

I suppose that first, I need to figure out what I want it to become, then find the time to write, then I can worry about getting people to stop by and comment.  If I don’t get the first two things figured out, there won’t be anything for anyone to come see and comment on!  Well, except for this post, of course!  LOL

Project 365 (Day Four)

So, my question is:  How do you only choose ONE picture to post?  I've taken THREE today that I really like and I'm going to post all of them.

I've also decided to challenge my whole family to the Project 365.  I think it would be wonderful to be able to look back on the year and see what each of us saw and did and where we went and how we saw the world.  I've already challenged our son, now I just need to tell Hubby when he gets home!  :o)

Ok, here are my pics of the day...

Sunrise Through Fog

(The fog was so thick this morning in some places,

that it gave off a strange glow to the sun.)

Sunrise Through Tree

(With the fog lifting a bit, it was just beautiful

through the branches and leaves of this tree.)

My Honey gave me this flower the other day. 

It was just barely blooming with one flower. 

Now there are three of them coming out!