2017 Goals {6}

How fitting, that on December 31, I bring you the last 2017 Goals update! 2017 has been a very wild ride but I am overall pleased with the year. Sure, I didn't accomplish nearly as much as I wanted to and slid even far backwards on a few things. That said, I made progress on some surprising things so lets' jump right in!

You can read up on my past 2017 Goals updates here: #1, #2, #3, #4, and #5.

GOAL #1 - Read
Since my last update, I really haven't done much reading at all but I do have one book I will add to my reading list for 2018. This particular book feels to me like it's going to be a fun/inspiring read. I saw an ad for Lovesac on Instagram that had me cracking up, and actually still cracks me up. So, naturally, I did some research to find out more about this person and he has an incredible story. I ended up staying up super late after that just to watch a documentary about him on Netflix. SSG Travis Mills was severely injured after dropping his bag on an IED. He is now one of only five soldiers from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to survive a quadruple amputation. If you are looking for an encouraging story from a pretty awesome human being, I suggest checking it out!

I didn't read many of the books that I set out to at the beginning of 2017. However, looking back on the year, I am really happy with my progress. I did more light reading than anything else but reading more than just one book is a win for me. I really should continue this! Will it ever surpass my love for TV?  Let's be honest, probably not.


GOAL #2 - Control Finances Better
I really, really wanted to end the year strong on this one but with holidays, birthdays, birthday parties, family gatherings, extended family photos and actually playing Santa for our kids this year did us in. I do need to pay ourselves back because we WERE smart by setting up a sinking fund. If you don't know what that is, it's really just a way for you to save up for expected bills each month versus trying to pay for large expenses all at once. We use ours to save for our car insurance premium, life insurance premium, travel/vacation fund, birthdays, dates, and Christmas. But even with the sinking fund, we overspent like crazy!

Looking ahead, Gspice and I sat down and talked about what we want 2018 to look like using The Family Playbook from Words of Wisdom. I am definitely that person who strives when goals and expectations are laid out ahead of time. This playbook allowed the both of us to talk about our goals, both personal and for our family that we want to focus on next year, which definitely includes how we handle our money. As such, we will have a weekly budget meeting to talk about our spending and to see what's coming up. One thing I will be interested in looking at more is to track our own personal spending. This is something we both struggle with hardcore so I'm hopeful that tracking will help hone us in. Of course, this will help us pay off all the debts we accumulated this year that much faster.

GOAL #3 - Cook More, Cook SmarterI haven't done too well with this one either, unfortunately. Old habits die hard, man! While I did complete the Whole30 and found a few things I could easily add to my menu rotation, I'm finding a serious lack of motivation these days. I think that with the reinvestment of managing our budget, this will help my meal planning situation because I will HAVE to be frugal to ensure I don't overspend but still get delicious food on the table. I really want to introduce more seafood and vegetables into our diet and less processed food, less carbs and less dairy. I don't want to necessarily cut anything of this out completely because that's not sustainable. I just want us to have a more well-rounded diet that provides better nourishment for minds and bodies. Below are some recipes that I look forward to trying out in 2018!

Pasta - okay, I know I said that I want to eat less carbs but like I said, I'm certainly not going to cut it out. That said, I will be looking to add more vegetables to my pasta dishes. I enjoy eating pasta for my breakfasts and if I can get lots of veggies in there, I've really set myself up for success for the day.

Asparagus-Spinach Pesto Pasta with Blackened Shrimp from  Gimme Some Oven

This pesto looks so bright and delicious! I've never thought about using asparagus but I will definitely do that to change up my pesto routine.

Roasted Tomato Pasta with Garlic and Basil from Cilantro & Citronella

It's no secret that I adore tomatoes, garlic and basil but surprisingly, I have never roasted my tomatoes before. Again, just a different preparation but that's fun to do in the kitchen to keep from getting bored! Also, a good way to use up the CSA ingredients I get that the Farmers Market next summer. Yep, already dreaming of summer!

Roasted Garlic and Red Pepper Fettucine Alfredo from Yellow Bliss Road

I absolutely love alfredo sauce but we all know it's not all that healthy for us. I don't use bell peppers really at all in my diet but I have had a really tasty tomato bisque that had them in it. So, it seems to me that I could definitely try this out too. Also, not a bad way to get some healthy vegetables in an otherwise pretty unhealthy dish.

Seafood - I don't eat much seafood despite the fact that I like many different types of seafood. Because we do eat a lot of red meat and chicken, it's about time to bring in some other types of protein to mix it up.

Firecracker Baked Salmon from  Jo Cooks

I love spice so this seems like a perfectly fitting way to have salmon!

Pesto Salmon and Italian Veggies in Foil from Cooking Classy

I really like to cook foil pack meals because it is so easy. This would be a different way to use up my pesto if I don't feel like eating it with pasta!

Sheet Pan Chili Lime Salmon from Cafe Delites

Yep, another spicy seafood recipe! I cannot get enough spice in my life!

Spicy Shrimp & Sausage Skewers from Iowa Girl Eats

I love a good party bite but have never ventured to use shrimp, let alone andouille sausage. I can't wait to try this because it will remind me of New Orleans with the cajun flavors!

Tilapia Fish Tacos from Eazy Peazy Mealz

We eat our fair share of tacos - chicken, shrimp, beef. Do we ever eat fish tacos? NO! I definitely need to change that because I L.O.V.E. a good fish taco!

Soup - I have been craving certain types of soups lately which is strange because I'm really not a soup person. I've maybe made 2-3 soups during our entire marriage. Call me crazy though because Gspice and I both said randomly that we were craving a soup that had potatoes in it. Since then, I've been looking at a variety of soup recipes and this one seems to fit the bill.

Creamy Potato Kielbasa and White Cheddar Soup from Cooking Classy

GOAL #4 - Form Healthy Habits
As I mentioned above, I progress better and succeed more when I have a plan and measurable goals in place. While I did have goals this year, I think I stretched them way to far out. I had hoped to lose 30 pounds but instead, gained weight. I wanted to integrate exercising into my daily routine but often petered out after a week or two. I clearly needed some micro goals to motivate myself to keep going. For 2018, that is going to be my focus.

That being said, I do think I came out of 2017 with a few things that I DID do well. First, I drink way more water than I ever have before. While I do go days without drinking very much, I see a consistent shift to drinking at least 50-80 oz of water every day. Before, I could go many days drinking as little as 10 oz!

On a surprising note, I decided to make some changes to my hair routine. I was that person who HAD to shower every day, also washing my hair every day. If I didn't, my hair would be insanely greasy the next day and I felt super uncomfortable even with it in a pony tail. Now, I can go up to four days without washing my hair! I do use a dry shampoo but am now only using that on day three and four if needed, which at this point it definitely is. So now, I take a shower on day one and let it air dry. Day two, I don't shower and don't use dry shampoo because I don't need to (YAAAAASSSS!) and with likely straighten it or just put it in a pony tail. On day three, I do shower but 95% of the time not wash my hair. I use dry shampoo and will throw it in a pony tail. I don't often stretch it over to four days but if I do, I don't shower but use dry shampoo. So not only am I making my hair healthier, I'm also using way less water and keeping my skin from drying out as much as it normally does. WIN, WIN, WIN!

GOAL #5 - Travel
I know that I still need to do a post on our New Orleans trip. I have so many fond memories of that trip with Gspice and I cannot wait to incorporate more travel for the whole family. There is talk of doing an extended family trip. This would be really fun if we can all come to an agreement that everyone feels comfortable with. Gary and I also plan to take the boys on a trip or two next year in the opposite season of the extended family trip. Right now, we're thinking Great Wolf Lodge in Minneapolis or Wisconsin Dells because we know the boys love the water and let's be real, we do too! I'd also be interested in taking the boys to the National Balloon Classic in Indianonla, Iowa. Regardless of where we decide to go, I can't wait to make memories in 2018!

Holiday Cheer 2017 {4} - Best Toys for High Energy Kids!

It's no secret to anyone that knows us that our boys are loud, high energy and very active. They eat like grown men on most days but are skinny little green beans. I know that our boys need a ton of activity in their days so with the cold and snow approaching, I wanted to make sure we got Christmas presents that would benefit everyone. The boys could use up all of their energy and we could keep our sanity!

Here are the best toys we could have gotten this year and if you have any high energy/active kids or adults in your life, I highly suggest you get these asap!

Hopper Balls
I didn't expect to laugh as hard as I did when the boys were bouncing along on their Hopper Balls. These are those typical bouncing balls but are kid-friendly at only 18 inches. Owen was a natural and bounced  around all over the place. At first, Jack couldn't get on the ball by himself let alone figure out how to bounce. However, after I deflated the ball a little, he figured it out. And as I think about watching Jack bounce around, I can't stop laughing. He's just this little tiny tot bouncing along. Too cute!

While our house is pretty small, I see some bouncing challenges in our future. However, hopefully Jack figures out how not to fall flat on his face...

Stomp Rockets 
This was by far the boys' favorite gift. There's simply nothing better than stomping and seeing  the rocket soar through the air. The boys each got two rockets and got to take two turns before switching out. Surprisingly, they both handled this really well and waited patiently for their next turn. Owen's main goal was to stomp as hard as possible and make the rocket go super high or into the tree. Jack struggled a bit with the stopping because he isn't nearly as forceful as his brother but he still had a lot of fun.

Puzzles!
Obviously, this isn't a high energy activity. However, this is what the boys wanted to do when not playing with the stomp rocket or bouncing around. I am really, honestly overjoyed because this is such a great activity. It keeps their attention and teaches them to problem solve and to keep trying. All things that are good to teach our kids, right? 

Scooters
Owen got a scooter for his birthday and I didn't plan on getting one for Jack yet. However, when I saw that it was $30 off, I jumped on that deal. We haven't yet taken these out of their boxes but I definitely anticipate some high energy fun with these! I also bought them helmets but we need to make sure they fit properly first.

Whole30 {Week One - Recap}

I heard of Whole30 through a friend and a few bloggers I follow. I looked in to it a bit and thought initially that it would be really difficult to complete. During the 30-day elimination program, you are to cut out all grains, alcohol, legumes, dairy and sugar. Then, during the reintroduction phase, you slowly add these items back in to your diet to see how your body is affected. My vices are pasta, chocolate and alcohol so I wasn't convinced I could last 30 days. However, I was pretty intrigued.

I've attempted to give up pasta before and lasted a measly three days. I gave up because I was replacing pasta with other types of carbs - bread and tortillas. It wasn't worth it to me to switch carb for carb and so I simply gave up. I told myself then that it was all about portion sizes. Well, I often fail at that too so it was becoming more and more obvious that I needed to consider a serious change in order to rewire my brain. 

With that, I decided that I would begin my own Whole30 journey on October 2!

My expectations going in were that it was going to be a struggle for a couple of weeks while I cooled my gets on my addictions and my body removed all the toxins and crap. In reality, it hasn't been nearly that bad and I'm actually doing just fine. I've felt good for the entire first week and stuck to our meal plan  with no cravings for my vices whatsoever. Crazy isn't it? I'm truly surprised and encouraged. I've toyed with the idea of making this a Whole60 or even longer because I thought I needed more time to rewire my brain. It may not be as difficult as I thought!

Gspice is doing this with me and he is doing okay but still working on figuring out all the requirements. He's legit asked me if he could have croutons or cheese. No, Gsipce, we cannot. Really though, I'm very proud of him for doing this with me. He doesn't struggle with food the same way I do but Gary does drink a lot of pop (SUGAR) so that's a habit I'd love to see him break.

Action Items

Here are the items on my action plan to make the most of this Whole30. I hope that by the end of the 30 days, I will have developed a whole slew of good habits. We are well on our way!

*Meal plan, Grocery shop, Meal prep

This is probably the most vital part of the program, at least for me. If I don't do all of these steps, it leads to an inevitable failure.  This also helps me make sure we aren't consuming anything we aren't able to have on Whole30. The only struggle is that Gary and I like different things for breakfast and lunch so it does mean for extra planning/prepping. I try to prep his breakfast and he needs to prep his lunch. As for how we plan, I don't mind repetition at all as long as I like what I'm eating. The first week looked like this for me:

Breakfast

-Two scrambled eggs with spicy sausage and lazy salsa

Lunch
Romaine salad with carrots, green olives and shredded chicken with a homemade spicy latin vinaigrette

Dinner
-Burger (no bun of course) with roasted broccoli
 -Hidden veggie meatballs with a compliant marinara sauce and homemade fries (I did NOT like the meatballs I made but the fries were delicious! Gspice thought they were fantastic and thankfully the boys liked them too)
 -Beef tenderloin with herbed clarified butter, compliant shrimp scampi (hello, no white wine!) and sauteed asparagus

*Drink more water

I've made it a goal to drink at least 75-80oz of water every day. I have a number of water bottles but I never seem to drink enough water. However, I started using the bottle I got for Gspice and it was a game changer, at least at home. This particular bottle has a straw. So, I decided that I needed a new water bottle at work that had a straw. And with that change, I've been successfully drinking more than 80oz of water every day since October 2! Of course, it means I also need to go to the bathroom a lot but hey, more steps.

*Have better sleeping habits

I haven't been prioritizing sleep the way I should lately and I was reaping the benefits of that. I wasn't able to think clearly or process things the best because my sleep was seriously lacking. Sleep is crucial for so many functions, including losing weight so hello! Let's get on this one, Vanessa! Luckily, it seems that I get tired a little earlier now so I naturally want to fall asleep between 9:30-10:30. I've been getting a solid 7-7.5 hours every night which is up from my usual 5-6 hours. 

*Work out more regularly
I've started doing a few of the 21 Day Fix workouts again and I'm trying to do at least 3 days a week. I would like to start working out during my break periods at work so I plan to buy some weights to have in my office so I can do my 12-minute arm workout and my 12-minute leg workout at my desk! That, along with my walk to work every day is a great way to get my workouts in!

Weight Loss

Ideally, all of these other goals will help me achieve some weight loss. So far so good in this department! I'll report at the end of 30 days how much I lose. 

Temptations

There have been a few temptations over the last week that I have successfully avoided. I'm pretty happy about that because some of these sounded so good!

*a free cookie from Marty's for getting my flu shot at Luther (I will save my coupon until November!)

*a free walking taco during the Progressive Walking Supper (we let the boys have one of course and skipped the dessert course)

*a free meal at the Touch a Truck event including a hot dog and chips (again, the boys got to have it)

2017 Goals {5}

It's time for another 2017 Goals update! This year has gone by soooooooo quickly. It's hard to believe that we'll see the end of 2017 in less than three months. Let's all try to make the most of it!

You can read up on my past 2017 Goals updates here: #1, #2, #3, and #4.


GOAL #1 - Read
In my last update, I mentioned that I was going to reread all of the John Grisham books that I found when cleaning out the basement. I was headed into a busy time so I knew that I needed some light reading. I can't tell you how much this helped me stay a teeny bit more sane while life was crazy around me. Between my last update in July and probably the first week or two of September, I got through four books: The Firm, A Painted House, The Summons, and The King of Torts.

I took a couple weeks off and then decided to read this book, which I will talk about more down below and in posts of its own!


GOAL #2 - Control Finances Better
Wow, reading what I wrote about in July is fascinating. It's fascinating in the way of all of the money we've spent progress we've made! Let's look at the list, shall we?

Since July
*We've had our basement floors professionally cleaned
*Our duct work was cleaned out (GROSS!)
*Had Driftless Gardens redo our landscaping and hardscape!! This will get it's own before & after post to show the full affect of this change. It's insane.
*Got our HVAC system serviced
*Ordered a new furnace!

Yep, we had our HVAC serviced in September right after our New Orleans trip and I was not in the least bit surprised that it was strongly suggested that we replace our 22-year-old furnace. Thankfully, everything else is working just fine even though they too are 20+ years old. We'll just wait for those things to die before replacing them. Back to the furnace, we got estimates from a couple of different companies and did decide on who to go with. We're now just waiting for the new furnace to arrive so we can set up an installation date. Though this wasn't an expense we were planning on, I'm pretty excited for the new furnace. We'll be getting a new thermostat  too and I'm pretty darn excited about it. It will have wi-fi capabilities, tell us the indoor/outdoor temp, humidity levels, when to change the filter, etc. If nothing else, it'll be so much better than what we have now.

As you can tell, we've been shelling money out left and right this year. Everything that we're doing is really helping out this ol' house of ours so it's all money that is well spent in my book. We just need to keep prioritizing all of our other spending to make sure we're paying down some of the debt we've accumulated.

GOAL #3 - Cook more, Cook Smarter
I had high hopes for the last few months and didn't quite measure up to my goals. I'm going to give myself some grace here because what I did do is learn how to make my own alfredo sauce. Holy cow, it's amazing but it, along with my constant pasta-eating and beer-drinking habits, meant I gained a bit of weight in the process. Was this totally worth it? Not 100% but it was pretty damn delicious!

Lately, I've been trying to be more intentional with meal planning again and making sure to cook dinner at night. This helps us tremendously in terms of eating better. We just need to make sure it's a dish we both like because that's the game changer!

I definitely want to add this recipe in to our rotation after we tried it a few months ago. Holy cow! The whole family absolutely loved it so we'll definitely have this more often when we can have pasta again! Just look at this simmering beauty!

Fall also indicates to me that TOMATO SEASON is upon us! I decided that I needed to can more tomatoes this year than I did last year because I ran out of my stock in February. This was the main reason why I bought more of a CSA share this year. I'm so glad I did but man it was a ton of work. I bought 130lbs and canned it ALL over two days. Despite the amount of time and work it took, I'm definitely glad I did it and that I shouldn't have to worry about running out for at least a year. I'm hoping to make it extend past a year, though, so I don't have to do as many next year! In total, I have 24-8oz jars and 51-32oz jars.

GOAL #4 - Form Healthy Habits
This is where Whole30 comes in to play.

I bought the book back in August and decided that it was definitely something I needed to consider. I knew I had some pretty bad eating/drinking habits that I needed to fix and some weight to lose. This program would help me do both, in addition to a number of other things, like sleeping better, be less stressed, have more mental clarity, etc.

I am happy to report that today is Day 9 of the program and I'm doing very well so far. I'll be writing a separate post on this too so you can read that for more details on my first week!

GOAL #5 - Travel
NEW ORLEANS! Guys, this vacation was soooooooooo necessary and sooooooooooo nice. It was a leisurely few days in a pretty cool city. We got to try a lot of good food, walked around a ton and just enjoyed our calm days without any responsibilities whatsoever. I'll post about this too to give you all the fun details of our trip.

2017 Goals {4}

So where did the last two months go? Seriously!?!?! Unfortuately, as my work life got super busy, so did my personal life. Guess what I did? REVERT BACK TO BAD HABITS! Ugh. I don't have the best perseverance so it was too easy for me to fall back on all of the things I did to gain weight. Drinking too much, eating too much pasta, not getting great sleep, not drinking enough water, not working out. These are my daily challenges that I haven't been meeting very well lately. With that said, I'm ready to jump back in!

You can read up on my past 2017 Goals updates here: #1, #2, and #3. I'm really excited to get started again!


GOAL #1 - Read
The last time I posted, I had started The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying. Though I have managed to declutter quite a bit............(IE: Garage Sale: I got rid of a lot of baby clothes at our sale April and completely cleared out my dining room which still stands empty to this day... AND Sewer problems: We cleaned out our basement so there's literally nothing sitting on the floor!!!)...........I haven't gotten past the 1st chapter. It certainly is an interesting read so far and though I've heard mixed reviews, I'm interested to finish the book. Our home still seems to be in a constant state of disarray. I would love to feel like we have a place for everything and for it to all feel purposeful. Let's face it, we've got a lot of junk! I've thought a lot about the different problem areas in our home so now it's just about getting down to business! I'm hoping this book helps but I'll be finishing it later.

With trying to bring back some other goals, I thought some light reading would be appropriate for now. I went through all of the books I own (only because we needed to clean out the basement of course) and decided to re-read all of my John Grisham books before deciding what to do with them. I only have 6-7 of them so it shouldn't take me too long. I decided to start with the oldest John Grisham book I own, which is also the book I read the summer I met Gary in 2005. Crazy how time flies. I know that a photo exists of me holding that book in Miller Hall, but I for the life of me could not find it. When I do, I'll post it :)


GOAL #2 - Control Finances Better
The saga that is our basement is almost complete. We had a water line leak that did eventually get fixed, we got the exterior faucet replaced and we need to do minor repair to the sprayfoam or whatever it's called in the basement where our pipe connects to the wall. It's still leaking a little bit of water (not sewer) but not a terrible amount. Next up is to get the basement professionally cleaned (which was completed this week!!!), hence why we needed to declutter and get everything off the floor. The amount of boxes I held on to is absolutely ridiculous so that feels really good to be done with even though it had developed a bit of mold growth. #notfuntohandle! Once the space is clean, we also plan to get all of our equipment serviced - water softener, water heater, furnace, air conditioner, and the basement washer/dryer. I don't know how the sewer damage or mold growth may have affected all of this so it'll feel good to make sure they are all in tip-top shape.

Of course, I don't want to be done with home repairs yet! I also want to get our duct work cleaned because we've never done that since moving in five years ago. It's just nasty in those! Definitely time to get them cleaned and wouldn't it be nice if we found Gspice's wedding ring in the process.....

Also on the docket, landscaping! I'm so stickin' excited about this. We've got so many weeds and trees sprouting everywhere and our hardscape area is pitiful. I can't wait for it to be fresh and updated so we can use it better. The big weed garden by our carport will also be removed and that space with be leveled and reseeded so I think we'll plan to put the kids' toys over there. I suspect this will be completed within the next few months.

As you can tell, it'll be important for us to manage our money well. I've developed our plan for July so it'll take dedication to stick to the budget. Let's plan on weekly check-ins, okay, dear?


GOAL #3 - Cook more, Cook Smarter
My last post was all about how well I have been doing with this. Man, how different things look today! I've completely fallen off the wagon but reading through my last post is very encouraging. I bought a larger CSA share this summer and I plan to put that to good use - not only for me but for the boys too. They aren't huge fans of vegetables these days but they sure do love fresh green beans and sugar snap peas. I would also love to get other produce and add them to their favorite dishes to bring more veggies to the plate. I need that for me too because I'm pretty basic with my vegetable tastes. I'm eyeballing this particular recipe despite the summer season so we'll be giving that a try here soon.

I've also become highly addicted to fresh basil and green onions. I got my hands on them at the Farmers Market a couple of weeks ago and I now put them on everything I eat. SOOOOOO GOOOOOD! I got a new recipe from a meal I had in the Luther cafeteria just a few days ago that I plan to try out and you better believe it'll have some green onions on top :) I'll share the recipe soon!

GOAL #4 - Form Healthy Habits
Habits take time to form of course but breaking them is oh so annoying! I was doing so well the last time I posted so I need to get back to that. What's changed since then is that we are being a bit more intentional about getting all of the boys' energy out before their bedtime. We were battling the "I'm not tired because it's still so bright outside" for weeeeeeeeks and that meant they weren't sleeping until at least 8-8:30 but then waking up between 5:30 and 6 every morning. Talk about grumpy toddlers! It's rough when they don't get the amount of sleep they need! Well now, we just stopped fighting it.

After the boys eat dinner, we now go for a walk, go to the pool, go to the park or anything else active. It tires them out and they have been sleeping until last least 6:45 every morning. It's been great. I even got a workout completed one morning when our alarms went off early enough. If I can squeeze a workout in then, that would be great but that might not be an every day occurrence.

I also found a new workout geared for my arms and more precisely, my arm flab. I would love to make that go away so this is something I plan to implement on a regular basis. You can't beat a 12-minute workout!

As far as our 30 pound weight loss goal, let's see how far we can get before our September deadline!


GOAL #5 - Travel
After thinking about it for a month, we have confirmed with each other that we DEFINITELY still want to go to New Orleans. I just recently booked our hotel and am waiting to book our flights so if you have any suggestions on that, LET ME KNOW! I don't buy plane tickets very often. We haven't planned much else out but we do hope to do one of the haunted tours and try out a lot of different restaurants. I'll do more planning in the weeks to come!

2017 Goals {3}

Anyone else find it hard to believe it's the last day of March? It's exciting that we are that much closer to nice, spring weather but it feels so crazy! Time doesn't stop!

You can read up on my past 2017 Goals updates here and here. It's really fun to see the progress I've made and cannot wait to continue! I suppose I don't want time to stop :)


GOAL #1 - Read
It has become more clear that I read faster when I am really interested in a topic. The second book I read was Zero Down Your Debt: Reclaim Your Income and Build a Life You'll Love by Holly Porter Johnson and Greg Johnson. It was a very quick, simple read and a lot of the information wasn't new to me. That being said, I really enjoyed it! The chapters were short, mostly to the point and had action items for you to do to overhaul your budget or debt repayment plans. The reason I read it was to gain more knowledge of a zero sum budget which is something we'll work towards when our debt is paid off. The premise is to put away enough money to cover the next month's expenses with last month's paychecks. It's pretty simple but you should wait until your debts are paid off so that you can devote your money to that versus saving it for a zero sum budget. You could certainly do it at the same time but we're doing fine with our current system so why rock the boat?

I've just started the next book and it's pretty interesting so far. April will be all about decluttering as I prepare for the garage sale so it's perfect timing!

And I of course have an update on my favorite author, Michael Connelly! His Amazon Prime show, Bosch, is releasing season 3 on April 21. I'll be binge watching that soon enough!


GOAL #2 - Control Finances Better
We didn't make much headway in the finances department, but we did finally get all of our exterior and interior plumbing updated. HALLELUJAH! Oh my goodness, that is probably the highlight of this month. It's been a long time coming and our basement is finally looking like less of a underground sewer. Yes it was disgusting. Now that it's been fixed, we'll be taking a hard look at our remaining debts to figure out a game plan. You know I love an aggressive reduction but it might not be as aggressive as I'd like. We'll do what we can.


GOAL #3 - Cook More, Cook Smarter
This has continued to be my most successful goal. I've had a lot of issues with eating well (proper portions, variety, etc) so it's been especially encouraging to see my commitment to this last. I didn't fair too well at the beginning of the month and it definitely showed. Gaining weight is so darn easy! I did however, jump right back in and feel great! I might not follow my prepping plan or eating plan 100% of the time, but I feel mentally stronger which is such a big thing for me. I feel better equipped to think about portion control or deciding it is in fact okay to eat a slice of cake once in awhile. I did switch it up a bit this last week. I was reading how someone had pasta for breakfast and was able to still lose extra weight after pregnancy. I latched on to that so fast because, heck yes, pasta for breakfast! I can eat it anytime.

For this particular week, breakfast was kale parsley pesto with whole grain thin spaghetti and lemon pepper rotisserie chicken, lunch was honey mustard chicken with steamed broccoli  and dinner was two eggs, turkey bacon and canned spinach. I've still been able to lose a little weight this week so that's pretty cool and I do actually like eating pasta for breakfast! I look forward to eating it right away when I get to work (I eat a little unsweetened applesauce before work). It keeps me full until at least noon-1pm which is when I typically like to take lunch anyway so it's worked out perfectly! Because I'm following the 21 Day Fix meal plan, I am only allowed 2 servings of carbs in addition to fruits (so I'm getting plenty overall for enough energy). However, I do feel a little limited if I eat both servings right away in the morning. I might change that up a bit or I might not. I like eating pasta for my carbs.


GOAL #4 - Form Healthy Habits
I've changed my whole outlook on this. I originally preferred to workout first thing in the morning and be productive during my lunch. I wasn't achieving either one and it was driving my crazy. I felt like a failure and then I'd just keep being a failure. I'd eat too much because I had already given up. I didn't workout because I'd rather do something else. Often times, I'd end up wasting my whole entire day. I feel at my worst when I am unproductive so this system was clearly not working for me.

Here's my schedule now: 
AM: I wake up whenever Owen decides to wake up, I get them ready, feed them a snack, get myself ready and eat a pre-breakfast snack/prepare our meals/snacks for work (yes, I said "our"! Gpsice is working out and eating better right along with me now!)

LUNCH: I eat my lunch, read for 30 minutes or more and often take a 30 minute walk around campus. I keep it inside if it's cold.

PM: We workout! I may get something else productive done or I might not but there is zero guilt!

I really like this schedule now because I'm being productive and/or efficient all day long! Productivity makes me happy, helps me feel whole so it's a win-win-win! I am eating well, I'm reading  more, and I'm working out more!

As I mentioned before, I didn't do so well at the beginning of the month. I had high expectations for myself, but I was seriously slacking. I jumped back on board two weeks ago and have done really well. On top of that, I've lost a total of 6.5 pounds! I've got a ways to go to meet my goal but that is such positive reinforcement. Gary is doing this with me too which is pretty exciting. He's been a great accountability partner for days I feel like wavering a bit. I'm letting him be a little more relaxed with his eating plan but it's what feels good to him.

We did come up with a pretty intense goal in relation to our birthdays though. From September 13, my birthday, to September 22, the day before Gary's birthday, we'll both be 30. So, we pledged together to lose 30 pounds (each) by September 18, the midway point between our birthdays.That was 26 weeks from when we decided to do this so that'd be about 1 pound a week. So far, we're doing well!


GOAL #5 - Travel
Can you believe I've changed my mind yet again? We have FINALLY decided that we are in fact going to go on a trip just the two of us at some point this year. We'll be taking the boys on a short overnight visit this summer which is probably as much as we'd like to handle in a hotel with them anyway!

What really swayed my decision was an adorable idea that Gary had. He wanted us to sit down and watch a bunch of videos on our vacation ideas. We then had to write down our likes and dislikes, review them, and then independently name our top 3 choices. We reviewed Charleston, Boston, DC, San Francisco, San Diego and New Orleans.

Our #3 was San Diego. We would LOVE to take the kids here someday too!

Our #2 was Boston. We would also LOVE to take the kids here. I'd love to go here now but it'd be much cooler with them so it's got to wait.

Our #1...........................................

NEW ORLEANS! 

Knowing how often I tend to change my mind on this issue, Gary said we had one month to think about this decision, come up with hesitations, and to fully commit. At this point, we're still holding strong so I think it's fair to say this is where we'll go! Perhaps we can time it to the end of our weight loss challenge!

2017 Goals {2}

To better meet goals, accountability is my friend. It's one of the only ways I am able to keep up with things but I'm not always great about finding that accountability. One thing I can do is post some updates!

I feel good about some of the new habits I've formed but I still have a lot to work on. Like I said in my first post about 2017 Goals, this year will be about purpose and progress. I try to make purposeful decisions about how I spend my time. Although I'm not doing very good every single day, I do see progress and that is exciting.

GOAL #1 - Read
This is one goal that is slow going. I don't often pick up a book to read so this may be a more challenging habit to form. With that said, I did begin one book and am about 60% of the way through. I chose to begin with The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin because I wanted to read about how someone else chose to live purposefully. It's an interesting read but it's also a little conversational so I find myself getting bored easily which is why it's been slow going thus far. I do like the book but if I'm a little too tired, I don't even attempt to read. I want to be engaged when I'm reading so that I retain the information better. I hope to finish that book by the end of the month so I can move on to the next one!

Here are the next few I'd like to read (that I for some reason left off my original list!):

Zero Down Your Debt: Reclaim Your Income and Build a Life You'll Love by Holly Porter Johnson and Greg Johnson

The Life-changing Magic of Tidying: A Simple, Effective Way to Banish Clutter Forever by Marie Kondo

Hungry for Change: Ditch the Diets, Conquer the Cravings, and Eat Your Way to Lifelong Health by James Colquhoun

OH and I found out that Michael Connelly will be releasing TWO new books this year and I am sooooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (this is like Top Chef and Masterchef Junior excitement here!) One of them will be to introduce a new lead character so that'll be fun to read. c.a.n.n.o.t.w.a.i.t.

GOAL #2 - Control Finances Better
We haven't done much in this yet but I hope to change that in March. Finances always seem healthier when there is a plan so that'll be a focus soon. Hence the reason why I want to read Zero Down Debt! This is a budgeting method that we have not yet used so I am interested to read more about how to implement it. We still don't know the full amount of replacing our main sewer line yet but to pay down the rest of our debt would be a good thing! The ground was too frozen to replace it all so they've completed the half under the street but have the area underneath the sidewalk and grass yet to do. We also want to update the rest of our existing cast iron plumbing because it's in bad shape. It will take a little bit longer to pay off our debts but I do look forward to the day it's all gone!


GOAL #3 - Cook More, Cook Smarter
Now, this is a goal that I feel I am doing very well at! This has been one of my biggest struggles as an adult so it's pretty exciting for me to see this new habit in place. While I still see some struggles to work through, I am motivated to keep making better choices in the kitchen. One big struggle I have is the weekend - I don't currently prepare anything for the weekend ahead of time so I often make poor choices during this time. I'd love to set aside time during the week to prep those meals but that'll mean utilizing my weeknights better (which I totally need to do but that's a really hard habit to break!)

One thing I am really excited about is the Farmer's Market. I bought the $225 Market Share from Patchwork Farms versus our typical $150 investment. I look forward to buying MORE fresh vegetables over the summer! The boys especially loved the fresh green beans - even the yellow and purple ones! I just got lucky because those seem to be Owen's favorite colors :)

And of course, I love to document what I prep each week. In case you missed them, here you go! We hope to incorporate our crockpot more too! Perhaps that's what I could do for the weekend.....hmmm.

GOAL #4 - Form Healthy Habits
I've been doing a tiny bit better here. I have the desire to work out but that doesn't always translate to me actually getting the workout in every day. The best time for me to workout would be right away in the morning so that I don't let any other excuses get the best of me throughout the day. If I get the workout in before the day begins, my other goals are achieved at a higher rate as well. Despite wanting to form the best habits and get rid of old bad habits, this doesn't seem to resonate deeply within me just yet. I don't get the best sleep every night so I'm "too tired" to get up early. In reality, my body and sleeping habits would adjust but I need to develop the desire to wake up early in order for it to occur.

Though I haven't gotten up early to workout, I have utilized my lunch hour a little bit better. It's not my favorite time of day to workout but it still feels really empowering to get it done in the middle of the day. There's a group class that I did once and really enjoyed. I can see myself doing that on a more regular basis if I don't start working out in the morning. Or perhaps I could squeeze it in on the random day I don't get up early if I wasn't able to. I would also love to start jogging. I prefer to run on a treadmill so that would require me to devote a little extra time to workout which may not be my top priority.

Another thing I would like to work on is my resting heart rate. I have a Fitbit Charge 2 and while I know it may not be 100% accurate, I do feel it's a good gauge of what my heart rate is. And I've found it could be better. When I started wearing it, my cardio fitness level was in fair condition. In the few weeks since I've worn it, I'm now in the average section. I'd love to be in the good or very good category so that's something I can work towards. Below are some of the heart rate readings from my workouts last week. Pretty interesting stuff!

GOAL #5 - Travel
I keep changing my mind between going on a trip with the boys or without the boys. I think we've now landed on going with the boys to Chicago since that is a place we are very familiar. It would be a little more stressful to go to a new place and we just want to share our love for a city that we adore. We're thinking June right now but that could change.

2017 Goals {1}

Come January, a lot of people make resolutions. I've tried to do that in the past with very specific goals, but I always have trouble keeping up with them. Regardless of that, I'm going to keep trying! This time, however, I just have some overarching goals that I will try to work on. Specific goals may come as I develop new habits and that's okay. Actually, that's what I'm hoping for. I want 2017 to be full of purpose and progress. To achieve those two things, I've come up with some areas of my life that I would like to focus on. Some might need more developing but that will come with time. It'll be a year-long working list!

GOAL #1 - Read

I would say read more but I'll be honest, I read one book a year. Michael Connelly has been my favorite author for a very long time and he publishes one book a year. It's time for me to branch out! I hope to add this to my evening routine. For awhile I was doing a sudoku puzzle, which I really liked doing. I'll probably do that and then read for 15+ minutes. That's a better way to end my day (I typically spend time on my phone anywhere from 15-75 unproductive minutes!) Here's my current list:

Hands Free Life: Nine Habits for Overcoming Distraction, Living Better, and Loving More by Rachel Macy Stafford

The 5 Love Languages of Children: The Secret to Loving Children Effectively by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell

How to Really Love your Child by Ross Campbell

The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time by Arianna Huffington

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry

So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

Hungry for Change: Ditch the Diets, Conquer the Cravings, and Eat Your Way to Lifelong Health by James Colquhoun

And of course, whatever Michael Connelly's 2017 release will be. He's celebrating 25 years this year so maybe I should get a signed copy at one of his book tour stops!

GOAL #2 - Control Finances Better

We were great about paying off debt when I had a second job. Since I stopped, we haven't been as great because we just don't pay close enough attention. We aren't good at meticulously managing our every day spending. We.are.lazy. It'll take a bit of work but once that's done, I hope to have a very clear debt payoff goal (this will depend on the cost of repairing our main sewer line - yikes, but manageable!) and a better way for us to manage our spending.

GOAL #3 - Cook More, Cook Smarter

This is two-fold. I haven't tried out a lot of new recipes lately or even made previous favorites all that much. I would love to get back to that and cook nice, healthy meals for the boys. Owen has gotten an interest in helping me in the kitchen so I would love to capitalize on that too. By planning ahead, we can spend more wisely, spend less, and eat healthier too! Gotta break those bad habits!

GOAL #4 - Form Healthy Habits

Not only do I need to eat better but I need to get moving! I hope to integrate physical activity into 5-6 days a week. I really enjoy group classes so I will find some of those to join and then all I need to do for the rest of the week is decide the time and location. I also want to drink more water. Gary gives me so much crap about how many water bottles I have so I'll just put those to good use! Lastly, I'll start taking daily vitamins too.

GOAL #5 - Travel

This is something we've never really prioritized. We're such homebodies and that has to change! Since last fall, we've put aside money every month for this so we've got some planning to do! Right now, we're thinking of taking a trip without the boys (as a sort of belated honeymoon) and I'd like to take the boys on a couple of smaller trips. One idea for them is the National Balloon Classic in Indianola, IA. It starts on the same weekend as Nordic Fest so it'll be a busy time if we do plan to go!

Fitbit Here I Come!

I still have what looks like a developing baby bump but unfortunately, it's just all the extra weight I still have yet to lose. Yes, I am ridiculously sick of wearing nothing but maternity clothes because all my normal clothes still.do.not.fit. I started taking an hour for lunch everyday so I could go over to Legends and work out but quickly determined that I absolutely HATED sweating and then jumping right back in to my work clothes. Ew. I sweat a lot so I’m sure I'm unbearable smelly. Ew Ew.

Next idea? Fitbit!

isn't she pretty?!?

Sooooo I got it in my head that I really wanted a Fitbit because I think that would be my motivator to at least be a little active. Another reason why I wanted the fitbit devise is because it records sleep patterns and man, I’m totally interested in knowing mine. I struggle to wake up and am sooo tired these days. Annoying. Of course, I told Gspice of my desire to have one of these, but they are a whopping $99! And bless his heart, he said that I could only get one if I proved I would actually use it.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

In order for me to get a Fitbit, I devoted to walk an average of 45 minutes a day until Mother’s Day (that equaled about 1800 minutes). So far, I’ve blown that number out of the water. How? Well it’s SUPER easy actually. I have so many opportunities to go out and walk: two 15 minute breaks; my lunch, which varies from 30 minutes or 60 minutes; and walking home after work.  I try to walk with Owen too because he just LOVES it. 45 minutes a day? Easy peasy. One of these days, I may even venture to walk in BEFORE work. We’ll see :)

Fitbit, here I come!

Bucket List {5} - Epic Fail!

To say I slacked off this month is an understatement. I really didn't follow any sort of schedule and had zero motivation except for one day where I made up 9 missed days in one night. I'm not quite sure what happened but I'll try to ease my way back in this month. Something I am SO VERY excited about it the free use of the WMC gym that I get with my employment. I want to utilize that to the highest degree!

Here's how my month ended up:


CRUNCHES *
12,000 GOAL
    3,864 COMPLETED as of 1/31
8,136 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12

Jan Average/Day = 29.0 Ouch. At least it wasn't my lowest average!
Dec Average/Day = 41.7
Nov Average/Day = 27.8
Oct Average/Day = 39.5


PUSH-UPS
10,000 GOAL
     2,961 COMPLETED as of 1/31
   7,039 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12

Jan Average/Day = 17.4 Epic Fail
Dec Average/Day = 30.2 SO CLOSE! I'll beat it next time.
Nov Average/Day = 22.1 Boo.
Oct Average/Day = 30.4


SQUATS
  10,000 GOAL
       1,935 COMPLETED as of 1/31
   8,065 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12



Jan Average/Day = 23.2 Not bad considering...
Dec Average/Day = 25.5 KILLED IT!
Nov Average/Day = 12.3
Oct Average/Day = 20.4


WALKING
  5,200 GOAL (in minutes)
     1,427 COMPLETED as of 1/31
   3,773 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12

I had to get a pre-work screen/physical for my new job at the Hospital. I weighed in at 128. I'm happy that I've maintained a weight below 130 but disappointed that it wasn't closer to 125. I did slack off quite a bit this month so that's what I have to show for it I suppose. February is now my month to get back on track and to rev it up. Like I said before, I want to utilize the free gym at work and will devise a weekly workout plan to do just that. I'm excited!

My goal for February is to maintain the attitude of trying to beat my best average. To do that I will need to do at least the following each day:

Crunches - 25 reps twice a day (50 total)
Push ups - 20 reps twice a day (40 total)
Squats - 15 reps twice a day (30 total)

6 Month Challenge

I have got a whole new mentality on weight loss. I've gotten to my original weight before becoming pregnant. I've got to say, this feels GREAT. I've always had an issue with weight loss only in the sense of losing weight when I wasn't trying and not losing weight when I was trying. Seems weird, but it has always been like that. It was never an issue though because I was comfortable with my weight and the fact that I could fit in to all my clothes :) Now that I have gone through a considerable (for me) weight gain and considerable weight loss, I've got so much more motivation to keep going. I could easily lose a few more pounds. I've still got a tummy, flabby arms and those beloved thunder thighs that I wouldn't mind never seeing again. SO, I have given myself a little challenge. To lose 15 more pounds. Yep. I want to get down to 110. Can I do it? Not sure, but I'm certainly going to try.

What prompted this new motivation?

Las Vegas. or Chicago.

Kendra's wedding is coming up in September (which I was already more than excited about) and we got an email from her MoH regarding ideas for her bachelorette party. OMG I cannot wait. She's thinking either Chicago or Las Vegas at the end of July or August. My vote is definitely Las Vegas because I've been to Chicago many times. I would rather go to a place I haven't really experienced before. (Yes, I know we've been there before but I was like 13 or 14 then. That is not what I'd consider experiencing Las Vegas Bachelorette Style).

That gives me approximately 6+ months. I.think.I.can.do.that.

Okay, now on to something a little more extreme. I've been thinking about the surprising 2+ poundage loss after not eating pasta for a couple of days. Seriously, that's a bit crazy. Regardless, I'm intrigued. What if I went awhile without pasta? Would I lose unnecessary weight I've been carrying since my early pasta-eating days? Thus, what do you all think of me going pasta-free for say, the whole month of February? or maybe going to eating pasta only once a week or 2-3 times a week instead of a staggering 6-7 times a week. Yep. I do that. Let me know what you think.

Let's Play Catch-up!

I hate that I even have to say this but I've been a very bad girl. At the start of the day I knew that I had missed 8 whole days of daily exercises. So much for my goals, right? To that I said, "Why can't I make them all up?" Well that is just what I did. 1080. This is the number of reps I needed to perform of crunches, pushups, and squats. How many reps did I perform? 1080. And yes, I'm still alive. I did 270 reps of squats in one shot. Pretty sure they'll hurt tomorrow. The 450 crnches weren't too difficult either but I did take 2-3 minute breaks after every hundred. Then there were the push ups. Truth be told, I wasn't convinced I'd be able to do 360 of them. I literally took 6 hours to do them but I did it! Every twenty minutes I did 20 pushups. The last 120 were difficult but my goal of wanting to fully catch up kept me going. My biceps WILL hurt tomorrow.

The second reason for the blog post - weightloss update. Last week I inadvertently went without pasta for two to three days. Guess what happened...I dropped from 127 to 124.4. Yeah that definitely happened. I have eaten pasta every single day since but stiiiiillll remain below 125. Saweeeeeet. I finally feel normal again. I would still like to be between 115-120 but this was huge. HUGE. And now that little Arya Joyce is finally here, Amanda and I can run the Couch-to-5k program. So excited.

Thirdly, My internet no longer works which is just a drag but I've still got my phone which is where this post is being written. How awesome is that?

Bucket List {4}

I kicked butt in December. I set a pretty high goal for myself and for the most part kept up with it. I find that I lose steam half way through so I'll need to think of something creative to keep me going the rest of the month. I'm not sure what that would be...

Anyhoo, here's how my month ended up:


CRUNCHES *
12,000 GOAL
    2,964 COMPLETED as of 12/31
9,036 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12

Dec Average/Day = 41.7
Nov Average/Day = 27.8
Oct Average/Day = 39.5

*I definitely came back in full force. I ended up missing 11 days and made up 6 of them.

PUSH-UPS
10,000 GOAL
     2,241 COMPLETED as of 12/31
   7,759 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12

Dec Average/Day = 30.2 SO CLOSE! I'll beat it next time.
Nov Average/Day = 22.1 Boo.
Oct Average/Day = 30.4


SQUATS
  10,000 GOAL
       1,395 COMPLETED as of 12/31
   8,605 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12



Dec Average/Day = 25.5 KILLED IT!
Nov Average/Day = 12.3
Oct Average/Day = 20.4


WALKING
  5,200 GOAL (in minutes)
     1,257 COMPLETED as of 12/31
   3,943 LEFT TO COMPLETE by 10/31/12

One of the things I've come to realize in my daily exercises is that it is so much more helpful and motivating to have an end goal in mind. For these exercises, it's simply to perform the number that I set out to do at the beginning of the month. The other side of this goal is that I want to lose some weight and be toned all over my body. These exercises are helping the toning. I will need to incorporate jogging and more wii fit to lose the pounds. I'm certainly getting there but have been at 127-129 lbs for quite some time now. I would like to see myself between 115-120 in 8-12 weeks. All it takes is a goal and dedication.

My goal for January is to maintain the attitude of trying to beat my best average. To do that I will need to do at least the following each day:

Crunches - 25 reps twice a day (50 total)
Push ups - 20 reps twice a day (40 total)
Squats - 15 reps twice a day (30 total)