January 2013 Goals

January is one of our hard months.  The weather is usually wet and cold and windy - so we don't get out much .... even less than the rest of the year.  February is sometimes worse, and since December was so bad, I'm not looking forward to January's weather.  Everyone gets so cranky with bad attitudes, coughs, tired days, not enough sun or exercise, and the ref is usually away a lot doing games.

In the past, I've always looked forward to the next year ... can't possibly be as bad as last year ... can it?   But for the first time ever, I really feel I have nothing to look forward too - my kids will all get one year older, the economy doesn't look like it's going to get any better, and every indication that it will get much worse, things haven't changed much in the last 12 years ... and I'm too tired to even have false hope anymore.   No, my plans for this year involve focusing on one day at a time and just surviving the year, while meeting the needs of any who cross our path, if we are able to do so.  I know it can't last forever - at some point in the future, I'll die ... and then heaven.  No ... I don't consider that a depressing or morbid thought.   Isn't that what we are suppose to look forward to anyway - ignoring the pain and suffering of this world, while focusing on the love and sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ and the home he is building for us in heaven ... it will be worth it all, when we see Jesus.

Specific Events for this month -

Christmas with Best friends family - ???

Possible Birthday Party of a niece  

Most of this below isn't changing much - but it does help me stay focused to have it written down like this.   I'll be overjoyed if anyone can help me with any of these goals!!!

Blogging -

1.  Kiddos With Kindles - Blog posts finished before Noon daily, and not let it steal my whole day.
2.  Eagle Nest - Write at least 25 Other Posts on Homeschooling, Crafts, and such.   ---  Anyone have a topic that they would like covered?   Plan to finish up many that I had set up to do in the Drafts folder.
3.  O 'Scarlett - Write at least 4 book reviews  
4.  Wings - my personal scrapbooking blog - Write at least 8 posts - catch up with pictures again
5.  Try to skim Google Reader daily.  Weed out a dozen or more blogs that I rarely actually read.


Project Household Settled

1.  Work some more on Sunshine's room - Declutter
2.  Work more on Scholar's room - Declutter

3.  Work on Craft supplies

4.  Work on Kitchen / Living room / Videos

5.  Work on Master Bathroom organization

6.  FIGHT roaches!

7.  Paint the master bathroom.

Food
1.  Keep using up the food in the freezers.

2.  Go through freezers again later this month and refill the ones next door - trying to empty the big chest freezer for my Dad.   

3.  Make meal plans to use up as much odds and ends of stored food as possible - to keep the budget down. 

Personal
1.  Be in bed before Midnight - WITH the lights off. 
2.  Have all of the kids in bed by 10pm - and asleep.
3.  More consistent devotional times.
4.  Loose 10 lbs. 
5.  No eating after 8pm.
6.  Walk  two miles every day that the weather co-operates.  

7.  Get a schedule in place for chores and routines for the household (minus the Ref).  And get it posted somewhere.   (I saw an idea that we plan to work on!  Hope to blog about it!)

Christmas:

1.  Finish mailing Christmas cards - collect and write down all of the addresses.

2.  Make a plan for next year .... and attempt to make a few things each month to put into a presents box for Christmas and birthdays.

3.  Copy lots and lots of cassettes from our OLD tape collection to give to nieces and nephews on MP3's

School

1.  New assignment pages printed and filled out for the kids.

2.  Find somebody to cut the chalk board in half - get half up in Story's room for her, and the other half up in the school room.

3.  Find someplace to put up the posters and charts in the room - or find the charts a new home.

4.  Get MIL label machine returned, since she bought me one for Christmas!!!!

5.  Declutter the School room - bring some of the craft supplies over to use for school.

Birthdays:

Find and enter birthday information into the Reminder program that I found to use.

Bonus:
Remove the useless built in sets of drawers in my bedroom, and turn into a functional living/storage space for the crafts and household extra items that we need and use regularly.  ....  I could REALLY USE SOME ADVICE .... we have NO money, and we aren't handy with remaking things.