December 2015 Goals: Christmas Activities & New Routines

It’s December!!!  My house is fully decorated, gift buying has started, and I’m already planning for a great 2016. But first, my favorite day of the month…setting goals!  A little review of last month’s goals first…   1. Plan and have Beckham’s birthday party – Complete.  We had a great “Plan B” 4th birthday party.
2. Plan a Girl’s Christmas party/Recipe Exchange – Yes!  Having it on the 10th and I can’t wait for some girl time. 
3. Add more Christmas signs to the shop, as well as a “Back in…” sign – I only added 1 Christmas sign, but have a couple more in the making right now.  I didn’t get to the “Back in” signs, but will start those after Christmas.  This is the one I added to my shop.  It’s hanging up in my house right now!  *Several people have asked how I printed this and how much…I printed this as a 24×36 at Office Max on matte card stock for less than $20.  Then I framed it by putting the glass cover (in this case, plastic) behind the print so it was an open frame to give it a more authentic chalkboard look.  I found the frame at Michaels for $20.  The printable is $7.00 in my shop.

4. Make the jump to WordPress – Okay, so for tax purposes, I’m waiting until 2016.  I close my shop for 2 weeks following Christmas each year, so this is the time I will focus on my blog!
5. Continue to workout and eat healthy – Not so much.  I lost my gym membership this month (long story…we’re switching gyms after terrible customer service at ours), so I have been without a gym for almost a month…I’ve pretty much thrown exercise to the wind this month.
6. Wake up earlier – Actually the opposite.  This last week, I was able to sleep in on some days because Ryan was here (he goes to bed on time) 🙂
7. Schedule dentist appointment – Doing this week!  Doing this week! 8. Go through boys’ clothes – Yes, feels good to organize.  I still have them to put up though as I need another storage bag. 
9. Paint under sink and caulk around sink – Still no.
10. Find someone to refinish door and possibly re-do fence – We finished the door.  I hired my neighbor to do it.  He did a great job and we ended up painting it black.  It looks awesome!   
11. Take family pictures and make Christmas cards – Got this done too.  They turned out great and I can’t wait to share them with you.  Here’s a sneak peek (one we didn’t use on our card).  Photo Credit: Logan O’Rear
12. Start Christmas organizer and shopping – Made my spreadsheet and ideas are jotted down!  Even made some online purchases.  I’m not a “shop ahead” person, but really trying to knock out a lot of buying early this year.  I’ll be sharing some good “Gifts for MEN” this week.  They’re the hardest to buy for, but I found some good ones.
13. Don’t waste food/groceries – I did spend less this month than last, but still over budget.  I really gotta get a grip back on groceries.  I think the key is going to the store once a week.   Overall, a good month!  December is always a busy month, so I’m keeping it simple this month and focusing on 3 things aside from Christmas activities (which I’ll mention below).     1. Sleep – I’m pretty sure this is the definition of the idiom “to beat a dead horse.”  I mean, hasn’t this been a goal of mine since January?  I should just embrace it, but sadly, I can feel the effects of sleep deprivation.  I used to not…I could get 5 or 6 hours (even less) and be totally fine the next day.  Since kids, this is much harder…the energy required to care for them all day, then work at night (or nap times), requires adequate sleep!  My goal is to get 7-8 hours 6 out of 7 nights a week.  My kids sleep great at night, so I don’t have them as an excuse.  I was able to sleep in a little this week and my body naturally slept 8 hours, so I know that’s what it needs.  How will I reach this goal?  ROUTINE!  I’ve learned the key for me to getting the things done that I need to get done in a day’s time, is routine.  I’ve done a lot of planning the last couple of weeks, so now it’s implementing that routine.  Which leads me to my next goal.   2. Routines – There are 3 parts to this goal: A). Implement a new cleaning routine.  Y’all, it’s just a fact that I can’t let my house go.  If my house is messy or hasn’t been cleaned (like the wiped down/dusted kind), I cannot thrive.  I tried the “let it go” method everyone tells you to do when you have kids and I think it works for some, but NOT me.  It’s definitely not going to be like it used to be pre-kids, but it will be clean.  I wrote out a new cleaning routine based on “zone cleaning” and will start messing with it this month.  I’ll explain this method soon after I’ve had a run through with it (it’s a 7 week rotation to fully complete).  I’ll explain the plan sooner than that though in another post.  In order to do this though I need to… B). Get rid of stuff – You can’t keep a house clean when it has too much stuff in it.  We have more than we use/need in our house and it will be a lot easier to clean if everything has a home.  So I’ll be visiting Goodwill a lot this month and selling items on Facebook.  🙂 C). Time Block – Making a to-do list is about where it stops.  I make a list the night before and rarely look at it the next day.  I pencil in WAY more than I can accomplish because I simply list it out.  So, I’m trying to time block, which is where you write out your to-do list in actual time slots.  I know it sounds rigid, but I’m hoping it helps a bit so I know what I should be doing at a certain time.  I created this template for the time being (terrible picture, sorry).  I’m not sure if I’ll keep with this, but want to try it out this month.   3. Add 5 signs to shop – My goal is to add these 5 signs by next Monday.  I have 2 Christmas ones and the others are already made, just need to be added.   Those are the goals I’m focusing on, but there are plenty of activities that will keep us busy this month.  Elf (yes, that’s his name) comes to visit today and is bringing a breakfast from the North Pole.  We’re also starting our Advent calendar I picked up at Target.  This year, I’m filling each day with 2 chocolates and a paper with an activity!  Below are the activities I’ve planned.  Feel free to print and use if you want.  I’ve also created a blank template if you want to add your own.  You should be able to right click to save the image and print. I will add these as we go as some require prep.   I’ve also got my Girls Christmas party next week, birthday parties, a parade downtown, visiting Santa, and tons of gifts to buy before Christmas!  This is seriously the best time of the year and I’m going to enjoy it and spend time with so many friends and family!  And of course, remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas!