Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Ya'll!


I have some goals for this year- to help me achieve more balance and health in my life.  I bet many of you have similar goals, or "resolutions."


My overall goal is: Try and be more organized!  That needs to apply to all areas of my life.  But, I need a balance.  I tend to go in phases:  my exercise phase, my cleaning phase, my couponing phase, my craftin phase.  When I do this, other things fall to the backburner.  So I need to achieve more balance.  And I think trying to stick with an organized schedule will help.


Here's a few of my plans:
1.  Sticking to a meal schedule.  This will help me develop a better grocery shopping plan.  I wrote out a basic month of meal plans.  I only planned for 4-5 meals/week.  Baby steps people.  Also, as a nurse, I don't get home til 8pm, so those nights are Daddy's Choice : )  By having a specific shopping plan, I can use coupons better, and not turn into crazy coupon lady and buy lots of things we don't use.  Along these lines, I am typing out a list of general grocery and household items we use.  Then I am laminating it.  I will circle items as we get low to add to the next week's shopping.  This will help in couponing.  Also, no more, oops, we're out of ketchup!


2.  Losing weight.  Yup, I have gained back some weight.  I did really well the beginning of last year- running 20 miles a week.  But other things, like laundry started pilling up.  Then I got a bit stressed, and healthy eating and exercise fell away.  I'm not a SAHM- I really just have 4 days a week at home, I'm gone from 6am to 8pm the days I work.  Then I come home and go to bed.  So I am going to start by exercising on my days off, just 30 min walking a day at first, and building back up.  I'd like to run another half marathon this year, maybe two, the first in June.  And I know I need to track what I eat.  Spark People, ya'll, it's awesome.  Great comprehensive food databse, and it's free.  Lots of message boards too.  I'd love to lose 5 pounds a month.


3.  I am getting organized.  I found this great blog, a Bowl Full of Lemons.  It is a great motivation for organizing and cleaning.  Like Clean Mama, she also sells Shaklee products.  I would love to try this, but I have a huge stockpile of cleaning products from my couponing kick last year.  But I did throw away my swifter mop, and am just using microfiber and water, or wood cleaner on my floors.  But I am going to be following this:



So follow along on my blog as I attempt to do this. I won't be able to do everything on the day she posts them, due to my work schedule. But I'll try to squeeze them in when I can.

Anyone want to join in with me on my goals.  I'll try to post some more of my plans, and progress as I go along.  Maybe I'll get brave and add  my menu plan or weight tracker.  But no before pics!  And no foodie pics because I have a sucky camera.

But here are some gratuitous pics to show what Santa brought me this year!

My MIL got me this sewing table- I already had the machine (actually hers that she never used.)  My Mom go tme the Cricut- yay!  And my friend who scrapbooks has many cartriges I can borrow.  I moved the toybox from this wall and put the kids coloring table next to the sewing table.  A whole wall of family crafting..  Se the blank canvas of wall above?  Any ideas for decor or organization?  I'm a copycat, so I'd appreciate any ideas!

Santa was reall nice and got me an iPad.  I was not expecting that, but my husband said that Santa wanted him to have his work laptop back : )  So I've spent the last week downloading apps, organizing the calendar and contacts, and messing around on that.  Anyone have any cool apps they reccommend?

Long enough, so here's to 2011!!!