Since 2007 I have been working on a Mother's Journal for my girls. It is a book that has 12 chapters in it, labeled as the months of the year, and each chapter has several questions. The mom writes her answers and it's meant to be something that her children could someday read. Some are poignant, like "Tell me (meaning the child to whom you are writing) about the day I was born" and some are random, like "What is your favorite holiday tradition?" I have answered questions here and there...like if the kids were playing in the ChickFilA play area, I would do a few so I didn't pass out from boredom. But it has taken me over 4 years to complete it -- a few days ago I answered the last question. I am so happy to have done it, as I would have loved something like that from my own mom or grandma. A few of the questions were really hard to answer, I saved them for last :) I also had the girls answer a questionnaire I wrote (future blog post about that) and I enclosed that in there, along with a few of their drawings to me, too.
Not only am I pleased it is done, I am pleased I actually fulfilled a goal through to completion. So often I flit from this to that, leaving things 1/2 done. As I write this, the laundry is 1/2 done, the bed is 1/2 made, 1/2 the plants watered. I just get distracted - or bored - so easily, that I leave what I am doing for later. I do the same with my bigger goals...and I really want to work on that. It feels awesome to finish something!!
So for the summer I have decided that I need to block off weeks at a time to work towards specific goals. In July I want to spend 2 weeks organizing, labeling and albuming my thousands of pictures I am behind on. Yes I am totally old school and I get all my pics developed and then I put them in those slip-in memo albums. Someday we will have to buy a shed to live in out back, because the kids art creations and these picture albums will overtake my house. Anyway, also for July I need to organize my paperwork. Receipts, bills, insurance statements, etc etc etc...ugh I dread it. I am planning on paying the children to shred a million pieces of paper. I will give them each $5, and they will think they won the lottery. I never pay that much.
August will be MOPS planning and back to school stuff like organizing closets, shopping. September will be checking myself into the loony bin once Tate starts full time school. Ok kidding but not really. September will also be CF walk fundraising work.
It feels more manageable breaking my goals up into blocks of time, we'll see if my ADD can take it.
Showing posts with label to-do lists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label to-do lists. Show all posts
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Flash Forward Friday - to do list
Okay so April is more than mid-way done, where did these last 4 months of 2011 go?! I am discouraged about the lack of progress I've made with my January resolutions/to-do list. I think part of the problem is I think way too big. I still have busy days with parenting, cleaning, couponing, MOPS planning, and a million little things...so to do a lot more each day on top of that is unrealistic. But I want to get stuff done, so here's another to-do list.
By the end of the year, I want to...
*MONEY GOALS*
*pay off Kevin's car (6% interest) and our new mattress (0% interest). Both of the loans would be paid off early by 2 yrs, leaving only our mortgage as debt.
*have a zero balance to CHOP. This is less likely of a goal, as we visit quarterly and her fall visit is her "annual" where we rack up the biggest bill and usually don't pay it off until tax return time. But we have new insurance this year so I hope to be pleasantly surprised by how much less we'll owe.
*continue saving hundreds of dollars off of our grocery budget. Want to focus more on our eating-out budget and pare that down. Last night's Houlihans bill of $58 doesn't count. :)
*pay for our vacations. We are going to Lancaster for a long weekend, Wildwood for a week, Williamsburg for a week, Vegas for 5 days, and WV for a long weekend. Kevin won't be going to Wildwood or VA...bless his heart he'll be working for the girls and I to enjoy those things. His parents gifted us the Wildwood week, their friends have a house - but we pay for the groceries (cheap w my couponing!) and boardwalk evenings. We save for that with loose change, we have about $100 so far. They also gifted us the Williamsburg trip, but we pay for gas, food, etc. (I know, we are so fortunate to have generous parents). WV the girls and I will be staying with my cousin so that just means gas and spending money. Vegas we already paid for the room, plane and show tix - we need gambling, food, spending, gas and rental care money. Lancaster we still need to pay for all of it, but we got a good deal. I plan to pay for vacations out of our tax return money, which I put in our savings acct.
*do one thing to the house. I think that may be some much-needed yard work...like getting a yard. We have dirt, sand, trees and tree stumps. We want grass and some aesthetic trees/bushes added, a few more trees out and stumps removed. If we are fortunate enough to pay off the mattress and car, that will free up room in our budget each month in 2012 to get....NEW FLOORING!!! I'd add an 'amen' here but it seems irreverent. But you get my gist.
*sell items at a garage sale and finally learn how to do Craigslist/Ebay.
*If Taylor does in fact get approved for full-day school (Marlton is 1/2 day kindergarten but her teacher is recommending she attend 1/2 day "normal" kindergarten and then second 1/2 of the day attend special ed kindergarten.) I want to find a part-time job. Nothing crazy, just get my feet wet back in the career-world.
*SELF GOALS*
*Lose weight!! Come on, you knew this was #1. I have lost about 6 lbs from my weight at New Years but ugh, I feel like such a failure. Waiting for divine motivation to kick in. Along these lines, and even more importantly really, I want to be fit. Thankfully, I am "healthy" by way of my bloodwork, but if a murderer was chasing me, I'd have maybe 1 minute left of my life.
*Continue to be more patient with the girls. This is something I've been working on and thankful to say I have done better with.
*Be a nicer wife. More loving, have more of a servant's heart.
*Read the Bible more, pray more, and do so with my girls.
All this to-do-ing is making me tired. That's it for now.
By the end of the year, I want to...
*MONEY GOALS*
*pay off Kevin's car (6% interest) and our new mattress (0% interest). Both of the loans would be paid off early by 2 yrs, leaving only our mortgage as debt.
*have a zero balance to CHOP. This is less likely of a goal, as we visit quarterly and her fall visit is her "annual" where we rack up the biggest bill and usually don't pay it off until tax return time. But we have new insurance this year so I hope to be pleasantly surprised by how much less we'll owe.
*continue saving hundreds of dollars off of our grocery budget. Want to focus more on our eating-out budget and pare that down. Last night's Houlihans bill of $58 doesn't count. :)
*pay for our vacations. We are going to Lancaster for a long weekend, Wildwood for a week, Williamsburg for a week, Vegas for 5 days, and WV for a long weekend. Kevin won't be going to Wildwood or VA...bless his heart he'll be working for the girls and I to enjoy those things. His parents gifted us the Wildwood week, their friends have a house - but we pay for the groceries (cheap w my couponing!) and boardwalk evenings. We save for that with loose change, we have about $100 so far. They also gifted us the Williamsburg trip, but we pay for gas, food, etc. (I know, we are so fortunate to have generous parents). WV the girls and I will be staying with my cousin so that just means gas and spending money. Vegas we already paid for the room, plane and show tix - we need gambling, food, spending, gas and rental care money. Lancaster we still need to pay for all of it, but we got a good deal. I plan to pay for vacations out of our tax return money, which I put in our savings acct.
*do one thing to the house. I think that may be some much-needed yard work...like getting a yard. We have dirt, sand, trees and tree stumps. We want grass and some aesthetic trees/bushes added, a few more trees out and stumps removed. If we are fortunate enough to pay off the mattress and car, that will free up room in our budget each month in 2012 to get....NEW FLOORING!!! I'd add an 'amen' here but it seems irreverent. But you get my gist.
*sell items at a garage sale and finally learn how to do Craigslist/Ebay.
*If Taylor does in fact get approved for full-day school (Marlton is 1/2 day kindergarten but her teacher is recommending she attend 1/2 day "normal" kindergarten and then second 1/2 of the day attend special ed kindergarten.) I want to find a part-time job. Nothing crazy, just get my feet wet back in the career-world.
*SELF GOALS*
*Lose weight!! Come on, you knew this was #1. I have lost about 6 lbs from my weight at New Years but ugh, I feel like such a failure. Waiting for divine motivation to kick in. Along these lines, and even more importantly really, I want to be fit. Thankfully, I am "healthy" by way of my bloodwork, but if a murderer was chasing me, I'd have maybe 1 minute left of my life.
*Continue to be more patient with the girls. This is something I've been working on and thankful to say I have done better with.
*Be a nicer wife. More loving, have more of a servant's heart.
*Read the Bible more, pray more, and do so with my girls.
All this to-do-ing is making me tired. That's it for now.
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