Resolution Check Point

It has not been a week, I know.  Sunday seems like a good day to reflect on the previous weeks progress.

I am only going to cover the things I am actively working on this time around.  I might change it up later.

1. I have been reading 2 of the books on my 26 books list this week.  I haven't finished any but I am on my way.

2.  I have been working really hard on this.   I've been reading my read the bible in a year passages every night along with 2 different devotionals and a book about prayer.  I am also currently working on a design for a prayer / bible study journal.  I am excited about figuring out exactly how I want it.

5.  While I have not officially laid out my clothes I did have a good idea of what I was going to wear every day.  Again, progress even if not perfection.

6.  This has been going very well.  We got a dishwasher for Christmas and we have been keeping the kitchen clean.  We have also been working on the library a little bit everyday and have been making significant progress.  I am hoping to have my study set up in there this week.

10.  I have tracked my calories every day.  It's not pretty but hopefully that comes this week.  And hopefully I don't make brownies.  If you want to be friends on MyFitnessPal I do too!  Leave a comment and let's be accountabiliabuddies.

11. Oh budgeting.  I love spreadsheets.  Actually enforcing the spreadsheet not so much. My husband and I have worked on the household budget.  I am pretty stoked about it and hope we can stick to it.  Now I just need to work on my personal budget.

12.  Eating at home more is also going very well.  Again I credit the dishwasher as I am not constantly doing a cost benefit analysis about having to do the dishes after cooking.

13.  The social media goal is going poorly.  I would say I am down to 2 facebook checks a day and I still consistently check my Feedly.  I am hoping to go facebook free starting Monday.  Stupid habits.

This is also what is in store for my Monday:

With 5 inches of snow.  So, that should be fun.

How go your resolutions?

New Year, The Usual Resolutions

You are not going to be shocked by anything on this list.  It is my usual list that I obtain some degree of success on every year.  The more I do actual New years resolutions the more I see why we do this as a culture.  While most of the time I keep my resolutions far past the January joiner stage, something about the onset of fall always results in a dropping off the rest of the years habits.  Then it's holidays and it's cold and we are busy and I don't care anymore..... and then TA DA its a NEW YEAR.  Time to get back on the horse again.  All of the horses.  In their various manifestations.  I am much less organized this year, but here is the list and my plans.

* Specific exercise goals like I covered last year will be a different, more motivated post.  One step at a time.*

1.  Read at least 26 books.

I am a reader.  Always have been.  This year was pretty pathetic on the reading side of things.  I think TV watching and staring at my blank computer screen filled in the time gaps.  My husband has 1000 hobbies and is always at work on one of them.  I have reading, video games, and working out.  I've mostly just been doing the gaming and staring at my computer screen.  No more!  2 books a month or bust!  I also already have the 26 books picked out, but I am open to changes.

2. Bible Study.

I was doing really well with this for a month...maybe two.  Then I just stopped.  No particular reason.  I was really enjoying my daily Bible readings and going over passages I particularly enjoyed to help set up prayer times.  To keep me on task this time I have set up a reminder on my phone ( Using the Life Reminders App) to go off every day at 8 pm.  This will hopefully remind me to go get my study Bible and go through the reading for the day.

I am also adding to this goal to meditate at least 2x a week.  I need to get some more tools in my meditations tool box and I can't do that unless I am practicing regularly.  I realize two times a week is not regularly, but you have to start somewhere.

3.  Masters

I really need to stop being a cry baby whiner and just start a masters program.  This is getting ridiculous.

4.  Stretch every morning and 5.  Lay out Clothes every morning. 11. Budget

On every goal list I've ever had since the beginning of time.  Ever.

6.  Cleaning.

When I was little my mother use to try to shame me into cleaning my room by saying something about how horrible my house was going to look when I grew up.  I am not a cleaner.  Never have been never will be.  On top of that I am  a serious clutter bug.  So this goal is two fold.  Clean AND declutter.  I set up my schedule on life reminders for the cleaning and my husband and I will work on the decluttering together.

7.  Call my brother more - Self explanatory

8.  Work out three days a week  10 Track calories

I've been really really terrible at working out.  Other times when I said I was doing terrible I was still in Spin class or taking weekend rides.  I've been doing NOTHING for MONTHS.  I had some medical problems and was not able to ride my bike or take spin class.  Once that habit was gone it was really really gone.  I need to get back into a routine and get some muscle back.

9.  Take more pictures

I got the super awesome camera that I wanted for Christmas.  I've been able to play with it a bit but I am really looking forward to taking more and better pictures this year.

12.  Eat at home more

My brother and sister in law gave me two eat healthy cook books for Christmas.   I am hoping it helps with the eating at home thing.

13.  I am really over the ridiculousness of Facebook.  Again.  Starting January 1 I am going to follow last January's plan again.  I can only get on FB or read blogs 1 day a week.  Saturday or Sunday.  I am realllllly looking forward to the self imposed ban.  I do not need to limit news this year.  Unlike social media which slowly crept back into constant use after last years January avoidance, I still avoid most of the news like it's the black plague.

Do you have any goals for the new year?

If this post didn't bore you to tears and you want read last years resolutions that I keep referring to you can see my fitness goals here, my internet goals here and a follow up to the internet goals here.

 I leave you with a couple of my first pictures on my new camera.  They are not anything amazing but they were some of my very first attempts so I like them.

The Reason For God - Study

I am going to be participating in Stefanie from Ni Hao Y'all's study of the "The Reason For God".  I didn't plan on sharing my side of the study here until I received an email from Stefanie.  She mentioned that posting on our personals blog about it and it sounded like a great idea.

 I talk about goals here a lot.   Mostly my exercise goals.  A goal that I have not shared with you is more of a spiritual nature.  During 2011 I had three surgeries and spent a lot of time being ill.  I spent a lot of time watching TV (we still had cable then).  Specifically History Channel International and The Naked Archaeologist.  While you can find more criticism of the show than positives, I loved it.  Between that and the nature of being home and in pain all the time, I found myself turning to my faith more.

That was 2 years ago and I have not made the progress I wanted too.  One of the things I wanted to start doing was spending time every day either doing a devotional or reading the Bible.  I picked this up 100 times and forget after a day two 101 times.  One of the things that Stefanie asked us to do was "Set aside at least 15 minutes every morning to pray or read the Bible or just sit quietly with the Lord." .  Which gives me my 102 opportunity to start working on this again.

The reason I signed up for her study was so I was forced to work on my spirituality.   Her encouragement of prayer and quiet time with God is helping me to keep focused and stay active in my relationship with God.

I am excited for this study, I am excited to have the excuse/outside reason to study the Bible and to spend time in prayer.  I plan on keeping a journal for my self ( another suggestion) as well as trying to post about the study and how I am feeling and growing here once a week.  Chapter 1 of the study goes up on Ni Hao Y'all on May 14.  Wish me luck!

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