June came up so quickly! I probably say that every year but I think it really did this year. We’ve just been SO busy! Back in January, I declared some yearly goals and I thought now seemed like a good time to revisit them and see how it’s going! Consider your own resolutions and if you didn’t keep up with them, now is a good marker to spur you on to get going with them!
FAITH
We’re actually on the hunt to possibly find a new church.. Transition periods like this always seem to make it tough to buckle down with my faith. Church isn’t the only time I worship or open my Bible, of course, but it is the weekly reminder for me or a way in which I get the ideas about different things I might pray about or focus on in my life. I like hearing the different perspectives on something I may not have caught in the Word and how I may be able to apply that to my daily life. I did go to Bible study weekly and that should pick up again in the next season. I sign the kids up for some incredible VBS programs in the summer so for them and their faith, I look forward to that!
I can honestly say that I’m feeling as thought I am not doing as much as I want to be with my faith. I want prayer to be my first thought every morning and before bed (instead of stressing about things I should have done until I fall asleep!). I want prayer to be my go-to more than it has been lately. I want to be picking up my Bible more than I am right now. I think this is one of those ongoing goals that could always use improvement on a personal level!
MARRIAGE
I have to say that we’ve been doing crazy well with date night lately! In the last few months, we’ve gone to dinners, movies, faires, and we’re set to do another murder mystery later this month. I will always, ALWAYS be an advocate for dating your spouse. I would like to spend more time bonding at home, renting movies to watch together or playing games. I broke out my old Super NES to play with him occasionally and I’d like to keep doing things like that.
FAMILY
My family has grown exponentially in this new year as I’ve actually reconnected with my dad whom I’d been estranged from for over five years. My dad has four kids who are around the same ages as my kids so we’ve been having a blast bonding our families together. His wife has become like a best friend to me and we’ve got lots of plans in store for our families, like our summer bucket lists!
As far as activities go, my husband and I have a lot of plans for our little ones! We have a Poconos vacation planned for August and I’ve been planning for Disney early next year. That planning process itself is so fun to do as a family! We also have tickets to the Franklin Institute and are aiming for a lot of semi-local attractions and amusement parks. Let’s not forget the leisurely days at home or over the homes of friends and family!
We’ve done better with spending individual times with the kids but I still want to work on doing more of that. There are always so many things going on that sometimes you lose sight! Also, it’s not all fun and games in this goal list, we’re trying to get more organized with responsibilities for the kids like mowing the lawn from our oldest!
FITNESS
In my personal goal list, I talked about attempting meal planning. When I get busy, I won’t eat with the kids and then I’ll snack. I tried to sign up for one of those meal delivery services for a little fun/planned meal and I’ve got to say that I loved being handed a brand new recipe to make but the portions were pretty dreadful! I’ve decided to keep the idea of forcing myself to make something new often but I definitely cancelled the subscription. My husband laughed at how little they expected him to eat for $10!
Still on the subject of food, I’ve changed up my diet some. My stepmom is vegan and has me trying out a lot of new foods that are surprisingly decent. I mentioned in my previous fitness post that I have cut dairy and I’m really happy with the decision. I [shockingly] don’t miss cheese and I’ve found plenty of great dairy-free treats. I watch my calories on My Fitness Pal which has also been good for seeing which foods my stomach doesn’t agree with.
I adore my new FitBit because it keeps me thinking about how I need to move, which is especially good when my job often requires me to sit down and type! Although, I do try to change that up a bit sometimes too by going outside to write or writing about something that kept me on my feet!
ORGANIZATION
Ugh. I started off so well by committing to being done with things and I even got rid of FOUR trash bags full of craft supplies but I still haven’t learned how to budget my time well. If I’ve been working, the house gets neglected and all of my previous cleaning gets undone. If I’m cleaning, the blog dies. This is my biggest goal for the rest of the year, trying to learn how to budget my time. If anyone has any tips for me, feel free to share!
I want to learn how to de-clutter my kitchen, which doesn’t have a lot of storage space for big appliances. I also want to decorate my home for real, not just a few pictures thrown haphazardly on the wall. I’ve only recently gotten the kids to maintain their bedrooms after I set up easy organizers (dollar store!) with labels for them. That’s been a real load off of my shoulders! Time to really commit to fixing the rest!
BUSINESS
I still haven’t learned how to use my camera. I’m mad at myself for it! When it comes to budgeting my time, I need to budget for the photography lessons! I’d also like lessons in networking and branching myself out more. Research, research, research!
Overall, I’ve done well in what are probably two of three most important areas, my marriage and my family! I’m so happy about that! I hope the second half of my year is me being more put together in a business aspect! Also, I’d like to include more creativity in my goals! I am such a crafty person and I’ve really not exercised that nearly enough lately!