Charts

I DESPISE organizing, but I LOVE to be organized. I know that doesn't make much sense, but it's true! The act of organizing and getting everything in its place is so difficult and overwhelming to me, but once I've got it done, I love it! Even better if I can manage to keep it that way, which is rare.

I decided that since I'm not feeling well today (more on that another day), it would be a good day to accomplish a couple of my short-term goals and make some charts, bringing me that much closer to being an organized housewife. First will be a cleaning and chore chart. When I have used one in the past, it worked really well (when I stuck to it) and I loved the idea of only cleaning the house one room at a time per day. Now that I have a house twice as big as the last one, I am in desperate need of a new schedule. I'd also like to make a chart for a weekly menu. I have used menus before and really enjoyed it, but I usually forget to make one and end up thinking about what to make for supper around 3:00. Lately I've been inspired by Lynn's Kitchen Adventures to make up a weekly menu. So now it's time to turn on the Christmas music and make me some charts!

What do you do to stay organized?

Goals

I have been thinking a lot about this lately and have decided that I need to have a list of short-term and long-term goals. I have them floating around in my head, but I really need to write them down. Goals seem so fluid in my head but I think they can be much more concrete in written form.

Short-term Goals (now through the end of the year):

• Start a new family devotion.
• Read the Bible EVERY DAY. I don't know why this one is so tough for me, but it is.
• Lose 20 lbs. This one may seem unattainable but over the summer I managed to lose 15 lbs in just under a month. With my thyroid issues, I seem to be able to lose weight easily but it comes right back on very quickly. We'll see how this goes with Thanksgiving right around the corner.
• Walk at least 5 times a week. My goals in the past have been to walk EVERY day, but it never seems to work no matter how hard I try. Something always comes up at least once a week and there are always days where going for a walk just isn't feasible due to scheduling or illness. It's so disappointing when those days arise but if I give myself a little wiggle room, it might be less disappointing. I'll always aim for 7 days but know that if I can't make it every day, I'm still accomplishing my goal.
• Make up a weekly cleaning schedule and stick to it.
• Try a new meal at least twice a week.
• Make at least 3 new card designs a week to sell on my Etsy shop.

Long-term Goals:

• Continue our family devotion routine. We have never been very good at keeping this in our routine due to my husband's crazy work schedule, however, now that he is only working one job and is usually home at a decent time, there is no reason why we can't get this one done.
• Be more encouraging and uplifting to my husband.
• Be more attentive to learning opportunities for my son and expanding on those opportunities.
• Read at least one book a month that will encourage me to be a better child of God, wife, and mother. Any suggestions?
• Also read at least one book a month for pleasure. I'm also open to suggestions here.
• Finish every book I start unless it turns out to be a complete and total dud and failure of a book. I always start reading 3 or 4 books at once and only end up finishing one or two of them. I need to only read one at a time and get all the way through it.
• Start changing our family lifestyle to one that is more active and less sedentary.
• Keep up with my household chores so it is always clean and presentable. I don't mean spotless at all times, but I just don't want to be embarrassed if someone comes over and the house is a wreck. There were many times at our previous house where the house was awful and I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else stepping foot in it. I'm certainly not a perfectionist and my house will never be beautifully clean at all times, but as long as I don't slack off on my daily chores, I'll be happy. If I can stay on top of my duties but have a mess from daily living, I'm fine with that. I've done a pretty good job since we moved into the new house, but I know I can do better.

That is all I have for now, although I may expand on my lists in the next few days. Thanks for reading! Be sure to check on me every now and then and ask how I'm doing on my goals. I would be happy to answer. And if I'm not happy, that means I'm not doing a good job and I need to do better. :-)

Goals and Mashed Potato Casserole

I'm not really a new years resolution kind of gal, but I am in desperate need of some lifestyle changes. I've gotten too lazy in the past months and this simply won't do. So here are some of my long- and short-term goals for 2011.

• Finish Reading "The House that Cleans Itself" and be inspired to turn my house into one that cleans itself! Don't worry, I haven't gone crazy and I don't actually think I can have a house that cleans itself, but check out the above link and see what Mindy Starns Clark is talking about.
• Eat smaller portions and walk EVERY day (except maybe Sunday, the day of rest). I've never felt the need to lose weight just to lose weight, but I do want to be healthy. I want to have lots of babies and I want to live well into old age and meet my grandchildren and maybe even my great-grandchildren.
• Have dinner earlier in the evening. Now this will be a tough one, since my husband gets off work at 10:00. I used to eat dinner by myself and just leave the leftovers for the hubby when he got home, but lately I've gotten into the routine of just having a light snack at dinnertime and eating with Sonny when he gets home. It's so pleasant to have dinner with him every night but I don't like to do it because I've heard that it's unhealthy to eat right before bed. I need time to work off my food!
• Be more encouraging and uplifting to my husband
• Be more attentive to learning opportunities for my son and expanding those opportunities
• Prepare more wholesome meals
• Read at least one book a month that will encourage me to be a better child of God, wife, and mother
• Also read at least one book a month for pleasure. I always mean to do this one but end up starting so many different books at once that it's difficult to finish even one!
• Watch less TV. We don't have a TV but over the last couple of years I have started to watch more and more shows online. What a waste of time! *blush blush*
• Combat laziness in general (I'll expand on this one in the near future). That's a BIG one.

I will add more to this list at another time, but for right now, I need to tell you about my latest attempt at a new meal. I know how good sweet potatoes are for you. Yes, I even know they are a superfood, but I just don't like them! Maybe if I eat them in small, disguised doses, I will eventually acquire a taste for them. So, tonight I made a Mashed Potato Casserole with a mixture of sweet and white potatoes. It was good, as long as I had bites that were primarily white potatoes. Sonny quite enjoyed it though. At least someone was happy with it! The only substitution I made was adding my new favorite casserole ingredient: cream of chicken soup, in place of the chive and onion cream cheese. I think it would be a yummy Thanksgiving dish.