2013 New Year's Resolution thread - keeping each other on track!

[Smokering]

OK, so this is where we nag each other and document our progress. :)

Here's my list so far:

-Buy or make one Christmas present every month

January - ordered a glass apothecary jar for my little sister

February - made batch of vanilla extract

March - made another batch of vanilla extract

April - ordered geeky T-shirt online for a friend; bought little craft gift for my mother; bought owl-shaped baking tins for MIL

-Sew/craft one non-Christmas gift every month - for birthdays, weddings, baby showers etc

January - made a baby pinafore for a friend's baby shower; also a fancy apron for a friend's wedding

February - nope

March - DD's Cinderella dress with headband and choker

April - nope

May -

-Pitch one article every month

January - sent three ideas to my regular editor for future issues.

February - sent one idea to my regular editor for future issues. Pitched another article to a lifestyle/issues magazine.

March - nope

April - sent two ideas to my regular editor

May -

-Do one thing every month to make our house or garden substantially nicer

January - bought marigolds for veggie beds, some perennials etc.

February - lined veggie beds with bricks.

March - nope

April - nope

May -

-Start eating dinner by 7:30 every night

Getting there...

-Aim for a food budget of $150/week, with cash

Week 1: $152

Week 2: $150.30

Week 3: $149.63

Week 4: $159.96

Week 5: $153.03

Week 6: $201.51 (ulp - DH was sick)

Week 7: $170.00

Week 8: $155.98

Week 9 $163.75

Week 10: $161.85

Week 11: Utter carnage

Week 12: $168.27

Week 13: $223.93 (including bulk items)

Week 14: $236.89

Week 15: Holidays

Week 16: Holidays

Week 17 (so far): $139.69

Week 18: $259.16

Week 19: $263.97

Week 20: $212.38

Week 21: $34.19

-Sew myself at least 6 garments

1: Polka-dotted vaguely-50s-style sailor dress with a circle skirt and button-up bodice

-Prepare for pregnancy

-Dedicate one day a week (Wednesday, by default) to doing nice things for DH

Week 1: N/A, hadn't made the resolution yet

Week 2: Yep

Week 3: Yep

Week 4: Yep

Week 5: Um, forgot. :p

Week 6: Yep

Week 7: Yep

Week 8: Yep

Week 9: Yep

Week 10: Yep

Week 11: Yep

Week 12: Yep

Week 13: Forgot

Week 14: Yep

Week 15: Yep

Week 16: Forgot

Week 17:

Edited by Smokering - 5/19/13 at 5:54pm

[Nazsmum]

Well I have three things-

Eat better- Put more VEG in my diet/ meal plan

Grow my hair for (lock of love/ or the other place you told me about)

Kinder to my son- (need help with getting him to act better)

Smokering- Thanks. I think that it will help me to restate my goals.

[Kaydove]

Subbing because after we move, I'm going to post my goals for the year.

[katelove]

I had to go back and check what my goals were before posting to this thread - not sure that that bodes well for success.

Anyway, here is my progress:

1. Weight loss - I weighed myself yesterday and am down 600g to 70.8kg. Yay!

2. Eating at the table - we've eaten all our dinners there and some lunches. Some lunches we've had at the kitchen bench which I'm ok with. Not as much success with breakfast. DH is concerned about waking me as the dining room is just outside our bedroom.

3. Friday shopping - didn't get my veggies for the week at the markets but did get some fruit and did do a grocery shop. Had to go to the supermarket today for some perishables. So, this one is a work in progress. I'm hoping my trolley will arrive this week.

4. Veggie garden - haven't started. Too hot and baby to small.

[mumkimum]

Wonderful to be here! (or oh no, what am I thinking).

I'm trying to keep it small and reasonable this year, since I have a tendency to think big and get disappointed (like last year when I had also wanted to do all this painting and getting different furniture, etc. and there was, really, no way it would have been happening to the extent I was hoping).

::2013 goals:: and where they're at right now

Make the various curtains I've wanted to get around to and hang/rehang/frame more things for the walls in the house.

In total, this is curtains for 3 rooms at least (7 windows) and at least 3 rooms that need 2-3 things up on the wall (mostly stuff I've lazily set aside and need to get in the frames, or cut mats for, or something . . . so it's mostly in progress).

Paint the bathroom, then replace stuff that's gross in there.

I have a GC for the paint, already have a new shower curtain that will work, would need just a few other things (not pricey - probably $50 total for new shelves/misc. that needs replacing).

Exercise on some kind of weekly basis (ideally 2-3x -- aiming to lose the 5-10 lb that keep my clothes from fitting better at least).

Haven't done anything this week yet.  I did do a good (but short) thing over the weekend.  Won't happen today, though, Tuesdays are going to be too busy.  Might stretch or something.

I'll stick with those goals, and might add something about making stuff or cooking later, but meh - this should be enough for now.

[Nazsmum]

Be kinder to my son- I know this sound weird but my son is a HARD kid....Well I standing my ground and he is acting OK. He is getting better.

Eating Vegs (I will go VEG by the end of the year) I had 1/2 cup of mixed Vegs with breakfast  1 cup with lunch just now. Planning on dinner pasta and vegs.

Growing my hair... Well I may need to get it trimmed

[IsaFrench]

- eating no meat every other day => it's working so far (am meat-less on "odd " days)

- pick any 3 exercise from my gym book (i've got the mat, the ankle weights, the hand weights ...etc ....) per day => hasn't happened yet !!!

- not eating my kids leftovers => mixed succes here

- spend less time at the computer .... => not quite ...have replaced some of that time with sitting at my way too big jigsaw puzzle, very good for shutting my mind from nagging worries .... but desastrous on sleep and "to do" list !

[mumkimum]

::2013 goals:: and where they're at right now 

Make the various curtains I've wanted to get around to and hang/rehang/frame more things for the walls in the house.

Have gotten things cleaned up in general around the house, and put holiday things away.  Slow/low progress here.  

Paint the bathroom, then replace stuff that's gross in there.

Nothing yet.

Exercise on some kind of weekly basis (ideally 2-3x -- aiming to lose the 5-10 lb that keep my clothes from fitting better at least).

Have been okay doing stretching most days, and a few walks to school (need to get more intense yoga in a few more times or other workout videos, haven't done comprehensive 20-30 minutes of stuff all at once like I'd prefer - have been terribly stiff lately so I could use more, I can tell).  I did (on a related note) started food journaling again a bit, which helps not get way out of control with the other part of the problem.  Of course I also made chocolate cake which didn't help either.    

[Smokering]

Just realised it looks like I've abandoned this thread. I haven't, I'm just editing my original post. :p

I'm doing OK. Dinner by 7:30 is a work in progress at best... and we haven't exactly come in under budget for groceries yet, though I hope we'll make it this week. I completely forgot today that this is my be-nice-to-DH day, so I'm postponing that until Friday, when my article's done and I have energy to spare for niceness. :p I did buy him some chocolate today, though...

I'm not sure what my "make the house significantly nicer" thing will be this month. Maybe the curtain for our bedroom, although how nice that's going to look remains to be seen... I'd like to make a duvet cover for our manky coverless duvet, which would instantly make our bedroom look a thousand per cent classier... but I can't afford to buy any fabric right now and I don't have anything suitable in my stash.

[katelove]

I forgot to update on Monday like I'd planned to.

Weight loss - I actually *gained* 100g which isn't terribly promising. However, as I also ate chocolate and/or ice cream everyday it's rather a miracle I didn't gain more. Hooray for tandem feeding. Have tried to be slightly more circumspect this week.

Eating at the table - I'm happy with this. We're doing well.

Friday shopping - didn't manage it last week but my new trolley arrived today so we are all set for this week.

Garden - on hold til April-ish I should think.

[Nazsmum]

I have been doing well. I am adding VEGs to all my meals. I even lost some weight

Hard road with my son. We went to the dentist yesterday and he is just so hard to deal with at times. But I'm standing my ground. Letting him cry and not letting him get away with "being bad" Anyway I'm standing my ground!

Smokering- Can ask you what books you are reading? I remember saying you read christian books. I need a new book.

[Smokering]

Naszmum: Well, at the moment I'm reading The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, which is smashing, but not particularly Christian. After that I'm going to read Unbroken, a non-fiction book by Laura Hillenbrand about a US soldier in WW2 who drifted on a life raft for thousands of miles, was tortured by the Japanese and eventually became a Christian. I don't know much more about the book than that, except it won some kind of award; I bought it for Dad for Christmas, and he said it was very good and lent it back to me. :p

Hmm, what else? Timothy Keller's book on marriage is brilliant. Really brilliant. I thought it'd be the same-old same-old, but it was really eye-opening. The Meaning of Marriage, it's called. 

Other than that I'm not sure I have much to recommend! I read John Piper's Bloodlines: Race, Cross and the Christian recently, but it struck me as kind of obvious. Have you read CS Lewis? He's a perennial favourite. The space trilogy is brilliant, and lesser-known than his other stuff - Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. They're much more fantasy/allegory than hard sci-fi. I also love The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, A Grief Observed (if you don't mind crying for a week!), Till We Have Faces... basically, anything he wrote. 

Or the Father Brown mysteries by GK Chesterton are pretty awesome. Detective stories solved by a priest. I disagree with his theology at times (Lewis' too), but like Lewis he's very savvy about the human condition, and very good at poking fun of absurdities and hypocrisies. And the stories are fun, and not too scary/gory - Sherlock Holmes level, more or less.

[Nazsmum]

Smokering- Thanks

[Nazsmum]

Doing well and almost finished with JAN...need to going shopping for more vegs. Other then that doing well.

Smokering- If you are looking for interesting christian reading www.lovinggrace.org Wayne Monbleau have books about our priesthood. I don't see anyone else writting or talking about that.

[katelove]

Keep forgetting to update.

I have lost a kilogram. Not brilliant for a whole month ( ideally I'd like to be losing a kilo a week) but at least it's a loss.

Have been doing Friday shopping. It's going pretty well although I forgot my list yesterday and had to do it from memory
I need to meal plan and shop accordingly though. I did just find a blog which has printable charts showing what fruit and veggies are in season each month though which I'm a bit excited about.

I'd also like to start experimenting a bit more and buying one fruit or veggie each week which we haven't tried before or don't normally buy. I'm including don't normally buy as we've probably tried most things which are sold at the markets at least once.

How is everyone else going?

[Nazsmum]

Originally Posted by katelove 

Keep forgetting to update.

I have lost a kilogram. Not brilliant for a whole month ( ideally I'd like to be losing a kilo a week) but at least it's a loss.

Have been doing Friday shopping. It's going pretty well although I forgot my list yesterday and had to do it from memory
I need to meal plan and shop accordingly though. I did just find a blog which has printable charts showing what fruit and veggies are in season each month though which I'm a bit excited about.

I'd also like to start experimenting a bit more and buying one fruit or veggie each week which we haven't tried before or don't normally buy. I'm including don't normally buy as we've probably tried most things which are sold at the markets at least once.

How is everyone else going?

 for a kilogram. Keep it up!!!

 I'm. ..Do well. I'm Eating much much better and lost 4 pounds 

Things are going OK with my son.

And FEB is my B-day month. I'm celebrating all month. LOL

[Smokering]

How's everyone doing?

Sticking to our food budget is HARD. We've only come under the $150 limit once so far - usually we're $5-$10 over, which isn't too dire, but we had a few bad weeks recently. The trouble is, things keep coming up. I had to make a birthday cake last week, and I'm doing a big baby shower cake this Saturday, which will mean buying an extra block of butter, some yoghurt, cocoa and icing sugar. Possibly vanilla too. Not the end of the world, but it adds up. Also, I tend to spend the whole $150 at the start of the week, and then DH will come home with a bottle of soft drink or something to "cheer me up", which is sweet, but has kinda the opposite effect. :p

Eating dinner by 7:30 each night is likewise a bit of a bust.

I have a new... not resolution, but project to improve myself, I guess. I've taken up violin. My little sister and I are taking cheap Saturday morning music lessons at Uni. I wouldn't have done it if she hadn't bullied me into it, but I'm glad she did.

To stay on track, I need to sew myself one garment by the end of the month. Should be doable. I have a sailor dress mostly done, hanging in the closet - I just need to do the hem, buttons and buttonholes (and pretty up the invisible zip, which was not my cleanest insertion ever). I've been in a sewing rut lately, but DS has grown out of all his clothes so I'm making a couple of shirts right now, which will hopefully get me back into the swing of things.

[Nazsmum]

Doing OK...

[IsaFrench]

- eating meat only every other day = ok

my 3 other goals, not so much (not eating kid's leftovers, less time at the computer, pick any 3 exercises from a keep fit illustrated book)

on the other hand i've started decluttering a bit (on my "to do list" for the last 4 years ...)

and am starting to loose a little bit of weight (another one of my goals, that one, more than 10 years old)

[Kaydove]

Originally Posted by Smokering 

How's everyone doing?

Sticking to our food budget is HARD. We've only come under the $150 limit once so far - usually we're $5-$10 over, which isn't too dire, but we had a few bad weeks recently. The trouble is, things keep coming up. I had to make a birthday cake last week, and I'm doing a big baby shower cake this Saturday, which will mean buying an extra block of butter, some yoghurt, cocoa and icing sugar. Possibly vanilla too. Not the end of the world, but it adds up. Also, I tend to spend the whole $150 at the start of the week, and then DH will come home with a bottle of soft drink or something to "cheer me up", which is sweet, but has kinda the opposite effect.

Eating dinner by 7:30 each night is likewise a bit of a bust.

I have a new... not resolution, but project to improve myself, I guess. I've taken up violin. My little sister and I are taking cheap Saturday morning music lessons at Uni. I wouldn't have done it if she hadn't bullied me into it, but I'm glad she did.

To stay on track, I need to sew myself one garment by the end of the month. Should be doable. I have a sailor dress mostly done, hanging in the closet - I just need to do the hem, buttons and buttonholes (and pretty up the invisible zip, which was not my cleanest insertion ever). I've been in a sewing rut lately, but DS has grown out of all his clothes so I'm making a couple of shirts right now, which will hopefully get me back into the swing of things.

Post pics of the garment you sewed!!! Once I get settled, I want to start use my sewing machine to make clothes but need examples to booster my courage.