REVIEW of August 2015 Goals

I usually review the previous month’s goals when I update my new monthly goals, but I thought I would separate the two into two different posts since I feel like it’s always a lot of information.  Those of you reading may not care how I did on my August goals, but it’s good for me to analyze them and see my progress, or lack there of.

August was an extremely difficult month for me.  Ryan’s surgery really put a kink in our plans.  His surgery (removing bone spurs in his foot) really took a toll on him and was a much harder recovery and required more from me than I thought.  We had to take him to and from school this last week, which was crazy!  We’re hoping he’s at least ready for basketball season in a couple of months.  I’m glad I am able to help take care of him though.  His mom has helped us a great deal as well these last few weeks! 

Needless to say, I should have made ZERO goals this month.  Also, August is one of my top sales months with Joyful Art Designs, so I was extremely busy every night.  Let’s see what I managed to do.  Goals are in italics, review is in bold.

1. RUNNING – Last month, I decided to run a race.  My friend and I are planning to run a 10 K this fall.  Initially, we decided on a half marathon, but after both of us running in preparation, we decided to scale down and do a 10K (6.2 miles).  I have several mini goals (these may very well change as I progress, but this is what I’m starting with):
-By August 8, run 3 miles without walking (I just hit this goal this morning)
-By August 15, run 3.5 miles without walking
-By August 22, run 3.5 miles in 35 minutes
-By August 32, run 4 miles (no walking)
*I plan to run 5 days a week and the morning times seem to be the best time with the heat.  This is huge for me considering I’m the worst morning person ever.  But it feels good to get a workout over with before 8:00am.  It started off ROUGH, but I’m slowly seeing progress.  I feel like these are baby steps, but running hasn’t come as naturally as I thought it would.

I think I can count on one hand how many times I ran this month.  I just couldn’t get into bed before 1 or 2am most nights and my body cannot run on less than 6 hours of sleep (have to wake at 6:30 to get back before Ryan leaves). 



2. SLEEP 7.5 HOURS – I really need to focus on perfecting my nights and setting up my mornings the night before.  My goal will be to get in bed 8 hours before I need to wake and reading to fall asleep.

As said above, survival and going to bed were my two goals this month 🙂



3. READ SMART MONEY SMART KIDS by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruz (his daughter) – We want to start a money system with Beckham and include chores/responsibilities for him.  This book talks about how to teach your kids about money.  I think 3 or 4 years old is a perfect time to start teaching them about money.  I already talk to him at the store about money and how things cost money in order to buy them (a simple concept some adults don’t even understand).  Right now we’re focusing on “working to make money” and “things cost money” and “money runs out.” 
*I’d also like to read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, but we’ll see if I have time.

I got hooked into the Tidying book instead and it was really good.  I’ve already de-cluttered my clothes and my master bedroom.  I’m just waiting on Ryan to do his part, but the room looks so much better.  The author inspires you to get rid of items that don’t spark joy anymore, keeping purposeful items only, and provides an outline to decluttering your house at once.  Simplifying life is so much more than just getting rid of some things.  It helps you appreciate what you do have and give more value to those items.  Too much clutter messes with my head…it’s like it clutters my brain by just looking at it.   

I also started a book called Stand and Deliver: How to Become a Masterful Communicator and Public Speaker.  I don’t plan on speaking in public anytime soon, but this book is good regardless (for any person, especially a business owner).  I’m still reading Smart Money Smart Kids, but plan to finish that this month.

4. ADD 20 SIGNS TO MY SHOP – I know this sounds ambitious and it is, but it just needs to get done.  I hate sitting on ideas and designs knowing I could be making money on them.  Adding 20 signs to the shop averages out to about 5 signs a week.  I can do this all in one day, all at the end of the week, or all towards the end of the month.  As long as I get more signs in the shop.

The fact that I added 5 new signs and kept up with orders is a success.  I also did some heavy research on marketing my shop via Pinterest, which was really helpful.  So even though I didn’t add 20 signs, it was a successful month.



6. SCHEDULE ACTIVITIES WITH THE BOYS – I do best on a schedule.  If I don’t have an activity planned (or at least a schedule) for the next day, I throw my hands up and stay home.  With Maddox still taking two naps, we have to schedule activities pretty well if they’re out of the house.  I plan on doing Book Club days with Beckham once a week.  I’ll share how these days go, but my blogger friend Andrea has some great ideas for Book Club days.

Maybe next month?  Schedule shmedule this month.



7. SCHEDULE OUT EVERY MEAL – This sounds ridiculous, but if it’s not on the calendar (breakfast, lunch, dinner), I declare “I have no food in the house,” especially for lunch. We’ll see if this helps any with our grocery and dining out budget as well.  

I did schedule out dinners really well, but it looks like I operate best on “ideas” for breakfast and lunch vs. having each meal planned out.  I like to eat based on cravings a lot so if oatmeal is scheduled for breakfast and I feel like an English muffin with peanut butter, mama’s gonna eat that 🙂



My To-Do List:
1. Purge extra items around house and in garage – Purged most of master bedroom and clothes.  Garage is next month.
2. Schedule a dentist appointment. No.  We thought about changing dental plans, but we’re not, so I just need to call the number.  I know I’m going to need so much work so I’m dreading it.
3. Paint underneath kitchen sink.  Nope.   
4. Clean vacuum cleaner – this is a beating!  I was hoping Ryan would do this, but obviously he couldn’t and I just never got around to doing it.  We need a new vacuum anyway because ours doesn’t stand up anymore, and if it hits me in the leg one more time, I’m going to kick it back!  I use the vacuum almost daily (thanks to white carpets) so a semi-broken one drives me nuts.
5. Clean grout in kitchen and baseboards around house – another beating!  I cleaned the baseboards in the kitchen (where they’re messiest) and it looks like we just need to repaint them.  I’m going to inquire about someone painting them because, NO!
6. Order a nap mat for Maddox (and buy a small back pack). We got a new back pack for Beckham (a bigger one) and Maddox will use Beckham’s old one (it’s smaller so it will fit him better).  We also ordered M a nap mat off Amazon.  I doubt he’ll sleep in it at pre-school, but they still require one.
7. Set everything up for pre-school (registration forms, payment, etc).  Did all this, dropped them off, and paid for registration.  We meet their teachers this week!
8. Buy new running shoes, shorts, and socks.  I bought new shoes…twice, and I didn’t like them.  First one was a half size too small, so I shipped them back and the ones that came in felt really funky on the soles.  LIke they stuck a random insert in them.  So, I’ll be shipping those back too and just finding some in the store so I can try them on.  I’ve now wasted $14 on shipping it back (was free to come to us).  I got these new socks for runners and can’t wait to try them out.  I feel like they’ll be really hot, but should help with blistering between toes.  And  love my new shorts from Walmart. 

Tomorrow, I’ll share my September goals!  And I have some questions for you guys as well, so come back tomorrow and help a sista out 🙂

Just for fun, look what I did.  Look how much our boys look like me.  I think Beckham has more of a mix of Ryan and I, but Maddox is my mini me.  I was really crossing my fingers for a Ryan look alike because he was the cutest kid growing up.

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