Progress this week:
Blog more.
While I am blogging more, it is not as often as I would like. Perhaps if I try to schedule it in during the week plus an update on the weekends, I will find more opportunities.
Keep the food budget to $400 per month.
I still haven't reached this goal. I have made considerable progress on the pantry, and I even found a better way (or at least different) to store all my cans. I had a cart with art supplies in it, one of those 10 drawer ones. I emptied it (I was going to use a cabinet for my art supplies) and put cans in it. It's not perfect but it's free. I am still trying to use what is in our pantry, but some weeks I get stymied as I just don't know what to do with what we have. There are meals that are okay, but aren't anyone's favorite and I don't want to repeat them too often.
Start a garden.
I still need to till the garden area, but I can't find the key to the gate lock. Tillers aren't usually light enough to lift over a fence either. I have started propagating some rosemary and basil.
We have a large rosemary bush in the yard, but it has become woody and some of it got frostbit this winter. I read that you can start new plants for basil and rosemary this way, so I will find out if that's true or not. In the meantime, we're still looking for the key.
Pay more attention to my health.
I still think I am fighting my sinuses, but I am determined to make decent advancement on this one this week. I want to drink more water and possibly start exercising a little here and there. The girls and I are going to a camp in July, and I want to be down a few pounds and be able to walk more. We will all need new shoes, but we had that planned. Sometimes a short term goal helps make more improvement.
Read 50 new books this year.
I finished another book, bringing my total to 10. Here's the list so far:
How to Use a Planner Without Wasting Time, Mystie Winckler
Poor Richard, James Daugherty
The Empowered Wife, Laura Doyle
Fortress of the Lost Amulet, Michael Webb
Different, Sally Clarkson
Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe
The Convivial Homeschool, Mystie Winckler
The Out-of-Sync Child, Carol Stock Kranowitz
How to Manage Your Home without Losing Your Mind, Dana K. White
The Nemechek Protocol, Patrick Nemechek
I have been reading during my lunch break, and I have finished 3 books in the past 2 weeks. That's not too bad. I started a new book this week: Trejo. I am also about 70% done with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I hope to finish both this week.
Declutter our home and make it hospitable.
When you have a lot of spaces that need work, it's hard to focus on just one, it seems. I did spend some time in the pantry, but also in my bathroom and the alcove (this odd space in front of our closet). I have plans to make it my crafting space, but it's a mess at the moment. The cabinet I wanted to use for my art supplies didn't fit well in the space I wanted to use it in, even though I measured. So it got moved to our bathroom. I also got hampers to help keep laundry out of our tub. The bathroom still has a ways to go, but it's much more functional now. I was slightly disappointed that the cabinet wouldn't work in the alcove, and I was also slightly disappointed that it isn't working like I thought it would in the bathroom. However, sometimes you have to be flexible and let go of your preconceived notions.
There is a birthday at the end of this month and I have to focus on the main living areas so we can have friends over. Hopefully things will advance in a couple of them quickly.
Complete 12 craft projects in progress.
I am knitting away on my Saoirse (the green sweater). It's a lovely silk yarn and it's just the body I am finishing. It should hopefully be done soon-ish. I need to complete an embroidery piece for my 12 year old, and maybe I can soon. It's hard because I need a bit of time and focus to undo a little bit and then fix it. I am a bit behind on this goal, I think. There are some sewing projects that could be done quickly, and I may see to those later this month.
