You should see my brain storming goal sheet. Its a mess. But that's kind of what brainstorming looks like, isn't it? All the thoughts, pieces, and notes, trying to find where they belong.
Even though I didn't get into the hype of New Years Resolutions like I normally do, I did still set some goals. When setting my goals I start off looking at my priorities. They fall under these six categories:
1. God
2. Family
3. Health
4. Overseas move
5. Writing
6. Homeschooling
Then I set different goals for each of the six categories.
God
1.My most important goal, if I accomplish nothing else, is to read my Bible every morning. Usually I read it at night, but the temptations there is to put it off because I'm so mentally tired from the day. I really feel that reading it first thing will really help me become more consistent all together and help me focus on things above for my day.
2.I would also like to read more non-fiction books that encourage me in my walk with Christ. (I don't have a specific number of books for this. I probably should considering goals that aren't S.M.A.R.T. are harder to complete.
Family
Under family my goals revolve around spending more meaningful time together. So, I've resolved to do the following:
1. Have two family nights a week (two nights where we read, play games, or go outside together)
2. Have four non-dinner dates with my husband. (We roughly have about one date a month but we always go to dinner. I'm trying to break that)
3. Have three one-on-one "dates" with each boy.
Health
1. Workout consistently three times a week. I'm currently using the T-Tapp method.
2. Eat less sugar. I'm working towards this by making one healthy, (low or no sugar) treat a week.
3. Go to bed by 10:40. My goodness this is so HARD!
4. Wake up by 6:40. My real reason for goal number three.
5. Be consistent taking my supplements.
Overseas Move
Ugh. This is a hard one because there are a lot, I mean a lot, of things that are not in my control with this one. But here's what I got:
1. Declutter
2. Learn the Language
3. Complete some specific paperwork.
Writting
My writing goals are:
1. Write for at least 10 mins everyday.
2. Work on outline for book
3. Read good writing.
Homeschool
1. Start by 9am every morning
2. Continue reading good books aloud. Seriously the best part about homeschooling!
3. Include more writing into their lesson plans.
After setting my goals, I asked myself what needs to happen for each of these things to become a reality. For example, in order to have a family night, we need to set aside two nights for this.
I also am working on making plans for each of these goals. For example, I'm looking at different decluttering challenges to decide which one would work best for me. I've also saved different writing prompts on pinterest in case I draw a blank.
Another thing I'm doing is not trying to accomplish all of these things right away. I'm shooting for writing twice a week right now and I will increase as the year goes along. If I try and master this whole list, which are mostly habits I want to create, I will burn out quickly. These are my end goals. I want to be doing these things consistently by the time 2017 rolls around. It will have to be built up.
What is your favorite goal for this year? Which one of your goals do you view as most important?
Monday, February 8, 2016
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Top Five Movies
When scrolling through facebook the other day I ran across a comment from a friend who mentioned a movie that was on his top five list. The movie was Groundhog day, which he was appropriately watching on Groundhog day. It was then that I realized that I didn't have a list of my own. So just for fun, I decided to make a one.
My top five favorite movies
I can definitely say that Pride and Predjudice (the one with Keria Knightly) is one. Maybe its even THE favorite. I could watch it most anytime. In fact, I could watch it now. ;) I know that the Keria Knightly version is suppose to be subpar to the Colin Firth version. I've seen both and I disagree. First of all Keria makes a much more excellent Lizzie. Secondly, the mother on the BBC version....I can't recall what it was exactly but I didn't like the way she was portrayed. Thirdly, and perhaps of great importance, is the score. I adore the music to the 2005 version. Was there even music in the other?
Tom Hanks is hands down my favorite actor and it seams appropriate that one of his movies make it to my list. Yet, I'm hard pressed to find a movie staring him to make it into the list. Big? No. Sleepless in Seattle? No. Cast Away? I don't think I'll ever watch it again. Tom Hanks is great, but I can't say his movies are my absolute favorites. Bummer.
If I can't narrow down the list by actors than I can try genres. I enjoy action/superhero movies. Batman Begins, Avengers, Captain America. Loved them all, but it doesn't seam like they should fit on such a narrow list of "Top 5". Five isn't very many and you need to be selective when making such a list.
Ah, and now it comes to me. Holiday Inn. An unmistakable favorite. I love that movie and its music. Although its an obvious holiday movie, I used to watch it anytime of the year. Which if you've seen the movie you would know that this is perfectly acceptable because they cover ALL the holidays. Which would make it an ALL YEAR holiday movie. Win-win.
When I first thought of choosing favorites, the movie My Best Friends Wedding came to mind. Its funny and romantic and the ending is unique. I also love the music to this one. Best line? Perhaps its, "You are never going to be pudding." Best scene? The chase scene when Julianne steal the bread truck. Yes, My Best Friends Wedding makes the list.
Two left. Ah choices, choices. I'm tempted to quickly name these two. Titles coming to mind are Sabrina, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Princess (1995), and Sense and Sensibility. But these feel too close to movies that I've already named.
I mentioned that I had two open spots left on my list to my husband and he immediately reminded me of a movie that I love. The Lord of the Rings! I honestly can't believe that I didn't remember it! I know that they are technically three movies but I think I should be able to count it as one because they are really one long story. I love these movies so much. Jonathan and I try to watch them once a year.
Lastly, I decided to revisit my love for action movies and chose the Bourne film Series. I love the story line to these and could watch them pretty much anytime. If I could only choose one out of the series it would be the second; Bourne Supremacy.
So now I have my list of five. I'm pretty happy with my list and feel that these movies will be on it for a few years to come.
What are your favorite movies? Would you find it challenging or easy to keep the list at five?
My top five favorite movies
I can definitely say that Pride and Predjudice (the one with Keria Knightly) is one. Maybe its even THE favorite. I could watch it most anytime. In fact, I could watch it now. ;) I know that the Keria Knightly version is suppose to be subpar to the Colin Firth version. I've seen both and I disagree. First of all Keria makes a much more excellent Lizzie. Secondly, the mother on the BBC version....I can't recall what it was exactly but I didn't like the way she was portrayed. Thirdly, and perhaps of great importance, is the score. I adore the music to the 2005 version. Was there even music in the other?
Tom Hanks is hands down my favorite actor and it seams appropriate that one of his movies make it to my list. Yet, I'm hard pressed to find a movie staring him to make it into the list. Big? No. Sleepless in Seattle? No. Cast Away? I don't think I'll ever watch it again. Tom Hanks is great, but I can't say his movies are my absolute favorites. Bummer.
If I can't narrow down the list by actors than I can try genres. I enjoy action/superhero movies. Batman Begins, Avengers, Captain America. Loved them all, but it doesn't seam like they should fit on such a narrow list of "Top 5". Five isn't very many and you need to be selective when making such a list.
Ah, and now it comes to me. Holiday Inn. An unmistakable favorite. I love that movie and its music. Although its an obvious holiday movie, I used to watch it anytime of the year. Which if you've seen the movie you would know that this is perfectly acceptable because they cover ALL the holidays. Which would make it an ALL YEAR holiday movie. Win-win.
When I first thought of choosing favorites, the movie My Best Friends Wedding came to mind. Its funny and romantic and the ending is unique. I also love the music to this one. Best line? Perhaps its, "You are never going to be pudding." Best scene? The chase scene when Julianne steal the bread truck. Yes, My Best Friends Wedding makes the list.
Two left. Ah choices, choices. I'm tempted to quickly name these two. Titles coming to mind are Sabrina, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Princess (1995), and Sense and Sensibility. But these feel too close to movies that I've already named.
I mentioned that I had two open spots left on my list to my husband and he immediately reminded me of a movie that I love. The Lord of the Rings! I honestly can't believe that I didn't remember it! I know that they are technically three movies but I think I should be able to count it as one because they are really one long story. I love these movies so much. Jonathan and I try to watch them once a year.
Lastly, I decided to revisit my love for action movies and chose the Bourne film Series. I love the story line to these and could watch them pretty much anytime. If I could only choose one out of the series it would be the second; Bourne Supremacy.
So now I have my list of five. I'm pretty happy with my list and feel that these movies will be on it for a few years to come.
What are your favorite movies? Would you find it challenging or easy to keep the list at five?
Monday, January 18, 2016
Letting Go of Having it "All Together"
I threw away cucumbers tonight. They had rotted. All. Of. Them. Why? Because even though I swore I would use them in time, I didn't. And now they are in the trash.
And even though I'm a stay at home (homeschooling) mom, we are having frozen pizza tonight. Its organic, does that matter?
And regardless of how many times my son has had to blow his noes on toilet paper today, I still forgot to get tissues at the grocery store.
And tonight, as I put away the laundry that had been folded for quite a while but has been waiting to be put in the drawer; I shut the cats paws in the drawer. Now, my son thinks I'm a kitten abuser.
And if I'm not careful, I can start to think that life just stinks.
It not really the cucumbers or pizza or laundry...its me. I just can't get it all together.
I used to think there was a perfect method. I just needed to find it. So I would read books. You know, ones with catchy titles like, 10 steps to a perfect home. Organized your life in 10 simple steps. It doesn't work, because do you know what step 11 is? START ALL OVER. While you were finishing up the perfect living room, your kids were mastering their cutting skills in the office. Now there is tiny pieces of "art" all over. Lovely.
Today, I managed homeschooling. Yet we didn't finish until late afternoon, and actually if I were really honest, we still have about 10 minuets left that we will be doing quickly before bed. When my husband asked why we were still doing it so late, I was hard pressed for an answer. I did the dishes this morning and swept the floor so I started later then usual. I decided to play some board games with the boys this morning. Was this really why? Don't "normal" moms do all these things and still wrap up homeschooling at 1:00? What the heck is wrong with me?
Nothing. Nothing, really. No one has it all together. Every mom is doing the best they can. And so am I.
I'm never going to have it ALL together. All together is fiction. Maybe even, can I dare to say-its a lie that Satan uses to make us feel like failures. No one can do it "all" perfectly. Why? Because it would include ALL THE THINGS. And you just can't do all the things, all the time.
Some days I'm going to do better at in one area and something else is going get pushed to the next day. Some days I'm going to fail miserably (I don't like those days). Some days will be GREAT. And so the cycle continues.
I'm not saying give up. I will try to do better. There are things I need to improve in. As long as my motivation isn't guilt or people pleasing and my goal isn't perfection. Because its never going to be all perfect. Because I'm not perfect. So, I will let God carry me on in my weakness and he can take care of the rest.
I can buy more cucumbers. I can cook tomorrow. Toilet paper will have to make do until a trip to the store can happen again. And yes the cat is fine.
Do you ever feel pressured to have it "all together"?
And even though I'm a stay at home (homeschooling) mom, we are having frozen pizza tonight. Its organic, does that matter?
And regardless of how many times my son has had to blow his noes on toilet paper today, I still forgot to get tissues at the grocery store.
And tonight, as I put away the laundry that had been folded for quite a while but has been waiting to be put in the drawer; I shut the cats paws in the drawer. Now, my son thinks I'm a kitten abuser.
And if I'm not careful, I can start to think that life just stinks.
It not really the cucumbers or pizza or laundry...its me. I just can't get it all together.
I used to think there was a perfect method. I just needed to find it. So I would read books. You know, ones with catchy titles like, 10 steps to a perfect home. Organized your life in 10 simple steps. It doesn't work, because do you know what step 11 is? START ALL OVER. While you were finishing up the perfect living room, your kids were mastering their cutting skills in the office. Now there is tiny pieces of "art" all over. Lovely.
Today, I managed homeschooling. Yet we didn't finish until late afternoon, and actually if I were really honest, we still have about 10 minuets left that we will be doing quickly before bed. When my husband asked why we were still doing it so late, I was hard pressed for an answer. I did the dishes this morning and swept the floor so I started later then usual. I decided to play some board games with the boys this morning. Was this really why? Don't "normal" moms do all these things and still wrap up homeschooling at 1:00? What the heck is wrong with me?
Nothing. Nothing, really. No one has it all together. Every mom is doing the best they can. And so am I.
I'm never going to have it ALL together. All together is fiction. Maybe even, can I dare to say-its a lie that Satan uses to make us feel like failures. No one can do it "all" perfectly. Why? Because it would include ALL THE THINGS. And you just can't do all the things, all the time.
Some days I'm going to do better at in one area and something else is going get pushed to the next day. Some days I'm going to fail miserably (I don't like those days). Some days will be GREAT. And so the cycle continues.
I'm not saying give up. I will try to do better. There are things I need to improve in. As long as my motivation isn't guilt or people pleasing and my goal isn't perfection. Because its never going to be all perfect. Because I'm not perfect. So, I will let God carry me on in my weakness and he can take care of the rest.
I can buy more cucumbers. I can cook tomorrow. Toilet paper will have to make do until a trip to the store can happen again. And yes the cat is fine.
Do you ever feel pressured to have it "all together"?
Monday, January 4, 2016
Let Go- The List
I mentioned that I'm making a list of things that I need to "Let Go". It will be an ever growing list I'm sure. It is an interesting activity for me to actually have on hand because I've noticed that a lot of my "letting go" issues are tied up into a main root issues.
The first that I noticed was my fear of man, or "people pleasing" if you will. My how this has haunted me since I was a child. More on this later.
For now, may I present the list:
Let Go!
...of false expectations (of others and myself)
...of bitterness
...of pleasing everybody
...of perfection
...of grief
...of late nights
...of selfishness
...of "getting it right"
...of picture perfect days
...of guilt and shame
...of control
...of regret
...of the burden I'm not meant to carry
...of performance base religion
...of doubt
...of anxiety
...of worry
...of fear
...of getting everyone to like me
...of believing lies
...of owning too much stuff
...of condemnation
...of judgment
...of achieving perfect health
...of being the "best" at something
...of the past
...of discontentment
...of comparison
...of stress
This list will be updated as the year goes along (at least in my notebook). Some of these things may relate to you and some may not. Somethings may mean something slightly different to you than they do for me, for example; I want to get up early, so I'm "letting go" of late nights (ie: staying up past 10:40.). While others are pretty straightforward. Stress, anyone?
I don't know how this will look past January. And perhaps I'll forget about it in March. (I hope not! Just being honest here, folks!) Either way, I'm delighting in it now. ;) Its honestly quite freeing.
The first that I noticed was my fear of man, or "people pleasing" if you will. My how this has haunted me since I was a child. More on this later.
For now, may I present the list:
Let Go!
...of false expectations (of others and myself)
...of bitterness
...of pleasing everybody
...of perfection
...of grief
...of late nights
...of selfishness
...of "getting it right"
...of picture perfect days
...of guilt and shame
...of control
...of regret
...of the burden I'm not meant to carry
...of performance base religion
...of doubt
...of anxiety
...of worry
...of fear
...of getting everyone to like me
...of believing lies
...of owning too much stuff
...of condemnation
...of judgment
...of achieving perfect health
...of being the "best" at something
...of the past
...of discontentment
...of comparison
...of stress
This list will be updated as the year goes along (at least in my notebook). Some of these things may relate to you and some may not. Somethings may mean something slightly different to you than they do for me, for example; I want to get up early, so I'm "letting go" of late nights (ie: staying up past 10:40.). While others are pretty straightforward. Stress, anyone?
I don't know how this will look past January. And perhaps I'll forget about it in March. (I hope not! Just being honest here, folks!) Either way, I'm delighting in it now. ;) Its honestly quite freeing.
Friday, January 1, 2016
Words for 2016 (my take on One Little Word)
I normally love all the hype of making New Years Resolutions. I love to read the blog posts about them, the tips people share, and the challenges to join others. Usually all of this excites me and I pour over lists and worksheets to create the perfect New Years Goals.
But this year, it all felt different.
Perhaps it is because I know that life's goals can be flipped upside down so quickly. Or perhaps, its because I have two goals that keep showing up on my list over and over again.
While looking online, I stumbled across the idea of having a word for the year. I concluded that was a silly for me to do. After all, how can one narrow down a year into a word? How can you possible know enough about your future year to have that much of a focus? Still, I couldn't let the idea go. I threw up a prayer and asked God, what would my word be? Immediately the phrase "let go" came to my mind. Ah, now this touches my heart.
Let go.
Oh, what would life look like if that could reach deep down into my life and settle. How I am in need of some letting go in so many areas of my life.
I'm not sure how exactly this plays out in real life. I've seen people create pinterest boards to inspire them. I'm currently making a list of all the things that I am in need of letting go. I'll post that up soon. For now I'm pondering and reminding myself. And honestly it feels good. I enjoyed telling myself to let go of the mess of all the new presents spread over my livingroom floor yesterday. It was a nice reminder to allow the boys to enjoy playing while being near us, even if it looked like chaos. I've also enjoyed telling myself to let go of a comment on Facebook that came up. I hope I will find myself quoting "Just let it go" a lot more this year.
But this year, it all felt different.
Perhaps it is because I know that life's goals can be flipped upside down so quickly. Or perhaps, its because I have two goals that keep showing up on my list over and over again.
While looking online, I stumbled across the idea of having a word for the year. I concluded that was a silly for me to do. After all, how can one narrow down a year into a word? How can you possible know enough about your future year to have that much of a focus? Still, I couldn't let the idea go. I threw up a prayer and asked God, what would my word be? Immediately the phrase "let go" came to my mind. Ah, now this touches my heart.
Let go.
Oh, what would life look like if that could reach deep down into my life and settle. How I am in need of some letting go in so many areas of my life.
I'm not sure how exactly this plays out in real life. I've seen people create pinterest boards to inspire them. I'm currently making a list of all the things that I am in need of letting go. I'll post that up soon. For now I'm pondering and reminding myself. And honestly it feels good. I enjoyed telling myself to let go of the mess of all the new presents spread over my livingroom floor yesterday. It was a nice reminder to allow the boys to enjoy playing while being near us, even if it looked like chaos. I've also enjoyed telling myself to let go of a comment on Facebook that came up. I hope I will find myself quoting "Just let it go" a lot more this year.
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