Week #4 Check In

Last week, I had a sinus infection and it got worse, so Tuesday I had to get round 2 of antibiotics. Ugh. Sinus troubles - still better than COVID!

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I think I am doing fairly well on this goal. That was easy. I just need to be consistent.

Keep the food budget to $400 per month.

The only thing we bought this week was eggs. I have some ideas floating around about working on this goal more, and once they gel I will share. 

Start a garden.

The garden area is about halfway covered with cardboard. I have to get more cardboard to finish this. I think I will head to the local box store and see what I can find lurking. Seeds have not been tested yet, but I think I can con my oldest into helping me with this, as he is taking biology and we're finishing the unit on plants.

Pay more attention to my health.

I have been doing this, especially since I have been sick. I have been following the No S Diet, and so far, I am down another couple of pounds. 

Read 50 new books this year.

I did not read like I should have this week, because when I am sick I just don't feel mentally capable of reading. Is that odd?

Declutter our home and make it hospitable.

Not much progress here, but I did manage to finally get the Christmas tree down. Yes, it was up through the whole month. I know, I know. 

Complete 12 craft projects in progress.

I worked faithfully on two projects this week, one cross stitch and one knitting. This is an easy thing to do with simple patterns and TV time in the evenings. It's a small thing I do for enjoyment. 

How was your week? Did you make progress on your goals for the year?

Begin...again

We are all still under the weather. Three of us went to the doctor and are on antibiotics. We finally succumbed. It's still better than last year, when we were sick with COVID for a month. 

I restarted my Saoirse.

I couldn't remember where I was, because I didn't keep track. So I ripped back and started again. This time, I am keeping track. Fit is generally an issue for me; shirts tend to ride up. It's hard to tell of it's because I need short rows at the back of the neck, or if I need a bust dart. I am thinking about adding both to this one. What do you think? 

Weekly Check-in

Goals for this year:

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Already making good progress on this one - it's the third time I have posted this year! Woohoo!

Keep the food budget to $400 per month.

This goal is harder than I thought. I made a menu plan for 6 weeks actually, and ran the numbers on the items. Food is expensive! However, if I can trim a little, I think I can make it. I am shopping sales and comparing prices. I made a spreadsheet (yes, I am that nerdy - let me use my accounting degree!) to keep track of prices. That, plus keeping my menu plans (meal ideas at the ready for on sale items) should help going forward 

Start a garden.

The garden area needs to be covered with cardboard to kill weeds, and I am pretty sure I have found enough cardboard to cover it. I haven't yet, because we've been a little under the weather this week. I hope to do this tomorrow or Tuesday and then I can start testing seeds.

Pay more attention to my health.

Your health is hard to manage when you get sick. I'm not SICK sick - just an allergy flare-up that will hopefully be gone soon. It sure beats COVID from last year, but I still feel blah.

Read 50 new books this year.

I completed one book this week, so I feel confident in this goal.  

I am proofing a book by a friend, because he's a great writer and I got hooked on his first trilogy. I have a couple of others that I am hoping to make more progress in, and maybe I will finish one or two this week. I feel better mentally when I take time to read.

Declutter our home and make it hospitable.

Because of me feeling under the weather, and my children feeling bad too, Mom was in high demand this week for comfort and food making. I tried to just keep basics going, so I didn't make much progress here. Next week if I feel better, I should do better.

Complete 12 craft projects in progress.

I do complete one project this week. I wove in ends for these mitts. They're convertible - the thumbs and fingers fold back so then they are fingerless mitts. 

I have been working on another project this week too. 

Have you made progress this week? 

Food budget

I started my food budget. I planned all the meals for January and half of February. We make a monthly run to Aldi (about 45 minutes away) mid-month, so I plan that way. 

I divided up the days of the week into categories. I listed 5 meals for each category: Soups, Crockpot, Asian, Italian, Fast Meals, Comfort Foods, and leftovers. Then, I just plugged them in. 

I just put it into a downloaded spreadsheet template and then I am making a grocery list from this. I am also in the process of making a price book. This is something I used to do, sort of, but with inflation, it's more critical. 

Do you menu plan? How do you do it? What about a price book?

New Year Goals

After reading One Hundred Dollars a Month for several years, I have decided to take a page out of her book, and start listing my goals for this year here, to stay accountable. Is it major? Not really, but it will help me blog more and maybe it will keep me accountable.

Goals for this year:

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This is step one for that. I can post here my steps towards my goals, and see what happens. 

Keep the food budget to $400 per month.

This goal is optimistic, but I think doable. The first step is to plan meals on a monthly basis. I already do this weekly, but I need to expand it. I used to keep a spreadsheet of prices for regularly bought grocery items, but haven't in a while. 

Start a garden.

This goes with the one above, and the house we moved to two years ago has/had a garden area. It was covered with fabric and mulch, and I have since removed that. It needs to be covered with cardboard to kill weeds, then tilled. I have seeds to test and then I also need to plan out the garden. The tricky part of this is 1) we have a dog and 2) I have a tendency to get sick when I spend a lot of time outdoors. 

Pay more attention to my health.

In connection with the above goals, I want to be healthier. This would include staying on my eating plan (The No S Diet), eating more veggies (hopefully from the garden), and exercising more (gardening). I also know if I am healthier, being outdoors won't make me as sick. It's great when goals all link together, don't you think?

Read 50 new books this year.

I love learning and I love reading. I have a LONG list of TBR books, most of which are on my shelves. Of those that aren't, many of them can be checked out from the local library.

Declutter our home and make it hospitable.

I started making progress on this last year, and the year before. I need to up my game in this area. We still have lots of boxes that aren't unpacked. We also have 2 storage units currently and I want to get it down to one. We have small home improvement projects that need doing. Little steps, my friends.

Complete 12 craft projects in progress.

I have SO many WIPs. I want to get 12 done. That's not a lot, really, but I want to get them finished so that I clear out my stash and more importantly, the crafts are usable. This includes sewing, embroidery/cross stitch, knitting, crocheting, and any other crafty thing I have dabbled in. 

Some of these may seem ambiguous. Maybe they are, and maybe they will get clarified more along the way. Sometimes keeping things loose helps keep your focus.

What are your goals for this year? Share them with me and help keep me accountable!