thursday's ten or so: the january goals edition

so i've been a little lax on the blog this year, but that's ok. i've been formulating a new plan for what i'm going to be doing this year in terms of goals, and i've come up with a fun way to combine one of my favorite things (making lists) with another favorite (pinterest).  this year instead of having random goals that i can't really "track" i'm trying to do ten things a month that fall into the categories of:

1- try new recipes (because we all know i love the cooking)
2- improve overall health
3- do something creative
4- invest in relationships (God, husband, friends, co-workers, etc)
5- have FUN
6- organizations/improvements in general

so, i'm creating a board for each month (not all of them exist yet) of things that somehow fit one or more categories.  here is january's list

1 - start a "blessings" jar for 2013. more on that as it comes {creative, fun, relationships)
2 - create a vegetable soup recipe that both anthony and i will enjoy. i hope. {recipes, health}
3 - try the meat/egg in muffin tin recipe {recipes}
4 - recipe for tortellini spinach bake {recipes}
5 - recipe for hashbrown quiches {recipes}*
6 - get in a routine of exercising in the mornings {health}
7 - recipe for balsamic carrots {recipes, health, relationships (because it's mainly for A)}
8 - recipe for blt pasta salad {recipes}
9 - reorganizing the kitchen utensils/counters/drawers {organization}
10 - trying the mint tin storage solution {organization}
this month it's a bit recipe-heavy. hopefully the months will even out a bit...this was just my first attempt at a monthly goals board.  we're a little over halfway through the month, and i have done a few of these already! i'll post pictures/give an update at the end of january or beginning of february along with feb's goals! i think this is going to be fun :-)

*swapped this one for another salad type recipe that i realized i'd rather have in warmer weather! perhaps the low 20s this week made me reconsider!

join me?
or at least share some of this year's hopes/dreams/goals with me!

3 in 30: the november ones

visit home of 3 in 30 here

one of these days i'll be good about checking in weekly.
but i'm not making that a goal just yet ;-)


so.  first, here's the october progress




1.  get the house i used to live in (anthony's grandpa's) completely cleared of all my junk.
(there's a fantastic hammock, a few random boxes, some trash...we're working on it an hour at a time, basically)
well, we aren't completely done...but our deadline is now november 15.  


2.  (gulp) file my taxes since they're due right at the end of the honeymoon...
filed!


3.  find a home for every wedding present in a cabinet, display, etc...and give away all items they "replace"
in progress, but more done than not.  we have a couple of special pieces that i still need to find the perfect spot for, and there are a few duplicates still to return.  but everything that we're donating is in a box in the garage ready for a's sister to look through for first dibs and then we'll find other homes for the rest!




and now for my november goals!


1. rolling over: have grandpa's house cleared of my stuff, except the freezer stuff that we'll keep there.
2. have at least one meal weekly (preferably the evening meal) that is vegetarian or even vegan
3. MOVE.  500 minutes or more of exercise.


and the unofficial one is to blog at least 30 times this month.  that's one a day, yes, but days like today hold two posts, so...

3 in 30: the october edition

that's right, i'm starting back up again :-)  on this first day of october with not *that* much goin gon in my life...ha!

http://3in30.ashleypichea.com/

so here are my 3 goals for the next 30 days

1.  get the house i used to live in (anthony's grandpa's) completely cleared of all my junk.
(there's a fantastic hammock, a few random boxes, some trash...we're working on it an hour at a time, basically)
2.  (gulp) file my taxes since they're due right at the end of the honeymoon...
3.  find a home for every wedding present in a cabinet, display, etc...and give away all items they "replace"

that should definitely keep me busy for the next 30 days, considering there's a wedding and honeymoon in there too!

3 in 30: march

so i started this in february, and am continuing on because it was kinda fun...and pretty effective :)

so here are this month's goals

• drink at least 3 glasses of water per day (i know that's pathetic, but my water intake of the moment is pretty pathetic too...)
• try at least 4 new recipes
• carve out at least 30 minutes of time per day for me.  this cannot include wedding planning or doing laundry... ;)

by the way, here's how i did last month:

* exercise at least 4 times each week...and stop using that "busy" excuse!
(i managed this at least 3 out of the 4 weeks, so that's not bad :D)
* eat at least 1 fruit and 1 veggie each day
(well, that was a small goal, but i'm not convinced the fruits always happened.  i'm just not a fruit girl.  however, i'm pretty sure i got in at least 3-4 servings of vegetables every day.)
* sleep. 6 - 7 hours at LEAST per night. this means when i have to get up at 5:15
(this didn't always happen, but steps toward the right direction.  i think i got between 5.5 and 7 hours most nights, which is MUCH better that what i was doing before.  so this is an ongoing goal for sure)

what are your month's goals?

february's 3 in 30

i love the idea of this.
3 goals
30 days

it takes 30 days to establish (or break) habits. so this fits completely into that important formula. 3 small bites out of what i want to do...30 days to complete.

so here are my goals for this month. i'll be checking in on fridays...this week is called roll call, so i'm just putting my 3 down and signing in on the link.

•  exercise at least 4 times each week...and stop using that "busy" excuse!
•  eat at least 1 fruit and 1 veggie each day
•  sleep. 6 - 7 hours at LEAST per night. this means when i have to get up at 5:15 (yuuuucccck) i need to be in bed by 11:15 at the LATEST. 

(are you reading this sweetie? that means we have to be OFF the phone by then ;) but for REAL.)

i'm looking forward to this month -- should be interesting and FUN!

3 in 30

i love the idea of this!  little goals, 3 at a time, for 30 days at a time!
i found the challenge on this amazing blog, undeserving grace and since it's technically too late to join the actual challenge, i'll just post them here and then join for real next month!  hopefully i'll get my 3 in 30 completed so i'll have a brand new set next month!

here are my 3

1.  play the piano daily.  it's on my "30 before 30" list, and honestly it's something i should be doing as a piano teacher ANYWAY!
2.  exercise 5 out of 7 days each week.  i'm shedding pounds at this point, and grateful for it, but it's mainly because i'm MOVING.  so i need to keep that up!
3.  have a more reasonable bedtime.  i have found that 7 hours of sleep seems perfect for me, so that means i may need to be in bed by 10/10:30 on the nights before my early work days.  and you know what?  that shouldn't be a problem.  so my goal is 7 hours of sleep per night every day...with a few days of allowing 6 hours if there's a late night event or something.

join in!  it'll be fun and rewarding :)

i am determined

- to figure out a way to make sweet tea using my fresh stevia leaves instead of sugar

(anyone have any hints on that? i've not found much online...)

- to become a real coupon lady ;-)

(i had my first every "saved more than i spent" moment this week. ok, so it was a dollar more saved than spent but STILL. can't wait to do more!)

- to make a killer mojito...strawberry or otherwise!

- to eventually have a savings account again...

- to find some adorable pajama pants soon. i heart pajama pants.

- to run/walk the neighborhood soon. but it's so HOT...so

- to wiifit more often :) i'm averaging 3x a week or so (and actually seeing results!) but i'd rather do daily if possible.

weight goes down and it's rewards

i'm adding to my little sidebar "weight goes down" button

you see, i have this big goal of approximately 50 pounds lost in total

but even though that's not THAT much

it's easy to get discouraged along the way when i see a pound lost at a time

i've also tried to reward myself in the past with different things...but they more often than not include food. uh, that's not helping.

so. here's my official weight loss reward system:

10 pounds lost = the "eat this, not that" book to go along with my "cook this, not that" cookbook

15 pounds lost = trip to storage to get clothing from my next size down :)

20 pounds lost = new book of piano music (possibly the Les Mis book)

25 pounds lost = one new piece of clothing from a favorite store

30 pounds lost = a pair of killer shoes

35 pounds lost = a new pic of a and i, in a frame

40 pounds lost = wii sports resort

45 pounds lost = private yoga session with my favorite teacher

50 pounds lost = new bathing suit, even if it's not swimsuit season anymore ;)

this could obviously change a bit, but i'm committed to a "reward" every 5 pounds. some are obviously more exciting than others, but i'll look forward to each one.

oh, and the only reason i didn't do a 5 pound one is because i've lost 5 pounds and gained 2 and lost 5 and gained 3 for the past month and a half. soooo, i'm starting rewards at 10 pounds down from my starting weight--which i'm approximately 5 pounds away from right now.