This post took extremely too long to write, but such is life with an active 9 month old! At least I got it done before the end of January. I took the last week of December, and the first week of January and went over my 2014 goals (results posted here), and decided what worked and what didn't. Although I accomplished a LOT of my goals, I felt as though some were un-cross-off-able (new word I just made up, your welcome). Even though I had accomplished them for the month, they rolled over into the next month. I still have some of them this year, but there are fewer. I also tried to be more comprehensive in the description of my goals, so I can better decide whether I have completed them or not.
Household:
- De-clutter the whole house in January, February, and March -- I was realistic here and gave myself 3 months to complete this goal, since I have a little one running around and 'helping.' I am hoping that by getting rid of excess clutter, when I go back to work in April, life will run smoother because we have simplified.
- Do a Deep-Spring, and Deep-Fall Clean in March and November As well as keep up with my weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly cleaning chores. -- Kept this one from last year.
- Paint the Windows/Sills/Trim in the Kitchen and Nursery. -- I am hoping to get this done in March, but I'm leaving it open-ended time-wise, but it needs to get done soon!
- Write a 'love letter' to Joe each month -- Instead of trying to be a loving wife, which is way too open-ended, I decided to try this instead - we'll see how it goes!
- Take a trip to Maine in June with the hubby, and Howard. -- Kept this one from last year, hopefully we will get to go this summer!
- Take a Trip to Ocean City in August -- We did this last year, and it was so much fun! I'm looking forward to see how Howard likes the pool this year!
- Get together with family at least once a month -- Kept this one from last year too -- I love that we got to do this every month! With Howard getting bigger each day, everyone wants a chance to see and snuggle him!
- Plan and Execute Howard's 1st Birthday Party -- This is an easy one. My niece is so excited to help with this! We're thinking cook out, but we'll see.
- Have 2 Freezer/Pantry Challenges (January and July), post updates on the blog, and defrost the chest freezer - These went great last year. January's is well underway, and has been going really well! I just defrosted the chest freezer in December, so we'll see if we need to do in July or not. But I'm leaving the goal as is, just in case.
- Post my Menu Plan, and Weekly Spending Report every week, along with at least 1 other post per week. This may be an update, a reveal, a recipe, a shopping trip, some Aldi Deals, or a frugal find. -- I changed this a little bit from last year, because it is getting increasingly hard to find time to blog with a little one around. I do think that a minimum of 2 posts a week is doable. Hopefully I'm right!
- Plan and execute a 31 days post for October. -- This went well last year, so I kept it on for this year. I just have to figure out what theme I want to do this year, any ideas?
- Lose at least 20 lbs -- Since I wasn't able to accomplish this last year, I've kept it on the list for 2015. I've done this before, so I know that I can do it again. I've had a good start so far. It won't be easy, but it needs to get done!
- Drink plenty of water, eat healthy, and do exercise of some kind everyday. -- This kind of goes hand in hand with #1.
- Do at least 5 Flea Markets throughout the year, and list at least bi-monthly on Amazon/Facebook Yard Sale. -- This is how many we did last year, so I know that we can at least accomplish that part of the goal. There are a LOT of things that I've been decluttering that need to be sold, since they are actually worth something. I know that posting stuff every month just isn't going to happen, so I think that every other month is much more doable for me right now. I am going to try out the Facebook Yard Sale group for things like new shoes, and fancy purses. We'll see how it goes - I'll keep you posted.
- Earn Swagbucks everyday by completing the daily poll, toolbar log-in, and NOSO offers daily. (Try to earn $10 a month) -- I did well with this last year, especially while I was pregnant. Once Howard was born, things kind of dropped off. I am hoping that I can earn 2 - $5 Amazon gift cards each month, for a total of $120 for the year.
- Set a monthly budget, and coupon and deal shop as needed to stay within our budget. - I did a great job with this last year. It continues to be something that I NEED to do, especially with the added cost of baby food and diapers.
- Put at least an extra $100 a month on Joe's Credit Card starting in May -- I am hoping to put more than this on each month, but this is a minimum. I want this thing paid off asap, so we can start chipping away at the loan payment!
- Scan the huge-a** box of photos we have had since my mom died two and a half years ago, and get them sorted to give to people, as well as put the ones I decide to keep in albums. -- I decided to wait on the scrap-booking and instead get my photos in order.
- Continue to work on Howard's baby book -- This ends at the 1 year point, so I'll have to figure out what to do after that, but this needs to be caught up and finished.
- Try something new at least once a month and blog about it. I have a LOT of new recipes and crafts I want to try -- I did a lot of this before Howard was born and little bit right after, but then things like breastfeeding and work got in the way of having fun. Hopefully I can get back to doing fun things this year!
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