3in30 Weekly Linkup {02.24.12}

Time to link up again!  This month is flying by!  So here are my goals and updates.

1.  I will change my lunch and snack routines this month so that I am eating healthier.  As I have examined my eating habits, I have discovered that my problem is that I am relying on too many carbs again and not enough protein, veggies, and fruit. 


I have begun doing something a little different with this goal, and I am so pleased with the results.  While I do not celebrate Lent, there are principles I have applied from that season.  I believe in light of what I have been studying in the Scriptures that disciplining myself to give up something that is not bad but may not be beneficial is a way of deepening my relationship with God.  So each day this past week, I have given up something--usually my afternoon coffee--and I believe that God has blessed that.  I plan to continue this way of thinking long past this month.


2.  I will actually do a new project this month--try something new.  That was a goal I set for a New Year's resolution, and all I did last month was learn how to survive a power outage in the country.  I am not certain what I will do, but it will be something new.


I doubt this one will happen this month.  I just have not had the time to get anything done on this.  Maybe I will have time in ensuing months.


3.  I will clean up my blog buttons--at least somewhat.  I would like to have my blog looking about 1/4 the way I would like it.  I will probably start with the buttons and work up.  So we'll see how much I accomplish.


What I have been doing is getting caught up on the various prizes that people have won on my blog.  That is much more important, as far as I am concerned!  Still blog business.

3 in 30 Challenge February Goals

Well, I didn't do too horribly last month on my goals, and I know I technically already set my goals, but I think that I am going to set three completely new goals.  I need something new, so I am setting 3 new goals for this month's 3 in 30 challenge.  I will make my goals attainable and specific.

1.  I will change my lunch and snack routines this month so that I am eating healthier.  As I have examined my eating habits, I have discovered that my problem is that I am relying on too many carbs again and not enough protein, veggies, and fruit.

2.  I will actually do a new project this month--try something new.  That was a goal I set for a New Year's resolution, and all I did last month was learn how to survive a power outage in the country.  I am not certain what I will do, but it will be something new.

3.  I will clean up my blog buttons--at least somewhat.  I would like to have my blog looking about 1/4 the way I would like it.  I will probably start with the buttons and work up.  So we'll see how much I accomplish.

So there are my goals.  Let's hope I do accomplish them!

Solution Sunday--An Update on All of Challenges including my 3 in 30 challenges!

This is a little later than I intended, but it still is Sunday where I am!  So I figured this would work just fine for me.  I will first of all update you on my 3 in 30 challenge.  I will be the first to admit that I didn't do as well I would have liked to have done.  But here goes.

1.   Get down to 145 pounds by the end of this month. 

No weight loss to report, I have to admit.  I did plan healthy meals to use up pantry items, so that is a good thing.  I also discovered that Vitalicious Vita Tops are the key to my evening snacks--I plan to keep those on hand in spite of the cost!  As for mission abs, I only did 2 days of concentrated ab exercises--only 4 days of exercise this week.  Three days cardio.  I thought I would share which sites I used:

Source: womenshealthmag.com via Ruth on Pinterest

This one will kill you!  These yoga exercises are tough but effective!

Source: fitnessmagazine.com via Ruth on Pinterest

You will be sore after you do these exercises!

So as for this one this week, here are my specific goals:

•   Plan healthy meals from our pantry yet again--I am behind due to tomorrow's holiday, so I will plan it tomorrow and post it here.
•  Eat at least 2 fruit and 2 veggies each day.  I know it should be 2 and 3, but this is better than nothing.
•   Mission Abs at least 4 days this week.  

2.  Clean out my closet. 

You would be surprised.  I almost finished this one.  I cleaned out my clothes and got rid of things that were old and faded and that I didn't like.  I got junk out of my closet, and indeed it was great!  I have one box of stuff to go through still, but I feel like I can actually use my closet now!

So for this week, here are my goals.

• Finish cleaning up the closet
• Go through my CD's.
• If time, go through my magazines.

3.  Clean out my e-mail inbox. 

All I have done is keep my inbox itself manageable.  I have not begun to clean out the other folders.  So for this week, I plan to clean out one folder--I don't care which one!

I will do a monthly wrap-up post for my other challenges.  I start some great Bible studies this week as well, and hopefully I will get a chance to do blog about them!

Here's hoping next week will be even better!

My New Year's Resolutions for 2012

I am very grateful to Diana over at Hormonal Imbalances for creating a linky over at her blog and posting about her New Year's Resolutions.  I kind of did this when I posted for the 3 in 30  challenge I am beginning this year. I will incorporate those into this post, but in a grander sense.  I know many people are against resolutions, and I really overdid my challenges last year.  There are only two I completed, and they were spring and fall reading challenges.  And I guess I did a couple month-long ones for the month of January.

I am going to keep my resolutions simple and specific.  That is often the problem with resolutions,  Everyone puts it into just a few words rather than treating it like a goal.  And I will not make more than 10 for the year.

1.  I will lose the rest of my weight that has just not wanted to come off for the past few years.  For those who know me, they know that I lost a lot of weight, and I have kept it off for years now.  But it bothers me that I cannot get my last 10-15 pounds off.  I stay right around 150, but my goal weight is 135--and all the charts and my doctor agree that is a good goal for me.  I know that a lot of the trouble is my exercise level.  I often only have the energy or desire to work out 3 times a week.  I absolutely must work out 4 times a week or more for 25-30 minutes.  I also need to cut out the extra sugar from my diet.  I get tired, and I give in.  This will be the year when I can finally say as we end 2012 that I weigh 135 pounds.

2.  I will organize my room and basically keep it as a sanctuary.  This is a hard one for me.  About two and a half years ago, I moved from a whole house down to about two rooms.  I live with parents, and I now have to hide stuff from my dad--food that I am eating that he will eat if I don't hide it.  (My dad is diabetic but doesn't take care of himself and inhales carbs and candy.  I have expensive diet foods that he feels he is entitled to eat if I don't keep it hidden.)  I have supplies for my blog, my crafts, my office, and so much more.  I am always behind.  I will at least keep my room picked up so that I don't feel like it is right now.

3.  I will have a blog that I can be proud of that has at least 3000 followers, and it will be visually appealing and organized. This is kind of the hard one.  I love my blog, and I really do put a lot into it.  But there are things that need to be organized.  I know that.  I  am looking forward to being able to make it more organized.  I am bad about putting my reviews together, my recipes together, etc  I have the pages ready, but I just forget to organize it.  This will be the year.  I may not be able to get to this until summer, but it will get done.  And 3000 followers is probably a low goal to strive for because I already have at least 1800.

4.  I will continue to grow in my spiritual walk, and that will be reflected in all my relationships.  I struggle with my dad--I won't go into details.  I sometimes lose it with my daughter, my mom, and Martin.  I struggle with my daily quiet time, but it is better than it used to be.  My main concern is when I get angry at my Dad, and my daughter is nearby.  I have a really hard time because Martin is not a Christian, and he tells me to do one thing, but God would have me do another.  I get so tired of it!  But I will improve but only with the help of God.

5.  I will complete one craft each month that I can give as a gift.  Crafting is something I loved long ago.  Since the birth of my daughter and my divorce, I have barely had time.  This is something I really would like to do again.  I have saved a lot of stuff on pinterest, but I have not done one blame thing!  I will do it this year.

6.  I will read at least 50 books this year.  I will do reviews, and post them in all the places I should.

7.  I will clean my e-mail inbox out.  Enough said.

8.  I will try something new each month.  I can't be too specific on this one.  I just don't know what I will do, but I want to step out of my comfort zone.

I think this is truly good enough.  There are a lot of goals/resolutions, but they are attainable.  And while I may not do everything, I am not going to give up!

And I am also linking up at 5 Minutes for Moms.

3 in 30 Challenge 2012--I Am Trying Again!

Well, I tried this challenge for a short time in the final few months of 2011, and I gave up after the first month.  So I decided I will try it again this year.  I am going to make 3 simple goals to accomplish for the month of January.  I do not plan to do anything too challenging, but I am trying to make it a challenge I can actually accomplish.

So for January 2012:

1.  Organize my closet.  This is going to be a challenging one for sure.  I know it will be a struggle, but I plan to do it.  I am tired of a closet where I throw everything.  It would be nice for it to look good.

2.  Get down to 145 on the scale.  For those who know me, I lost about 60 ponds, and I have kept it off.  I have stagnated for several years now trying to lose my last 10 pounds.  It is so hard!  To my credit, I have not put my old weight back on.  But I would like to be down to 145.  This should mean a loss of 1-3 pounds (depending on the day!)

3.  Delete all e-mails from August 2011 and before that are not necessary to keep.  This is one that I am really bad about.  I am good at putting e-mails in folders, but I tend to keep them in those folders and forget about them.  I am sure I have e-mails from 2 or so years ago that I do not need to keep.

If I can accomplish all three things in the month of January, I will be happy!  And I will be on my way to getting my life where it needs to be.

3in30 Challenge Weekly Linkup (9/9/11)

Well, I'm sorry to report this has not been a good week for getting any of my goals done.  I have gone back to work.  I went to a Taylor Swift concert (review coming Monday!).  And I have not accomplished a single goal.  The time has not been on my side.  And on top of everything, I have been involved in serious relational issues.  My best friend is very angry at my family, and to punish us, he has cut us off.  You may have noticed I don't mention Martin much any more.  God needs to get a hold of his life in a real way.  We keep praying, but he has decided to cut himself out of our lives after almost 10 years.  But that's another story.

1.  I have not updated a single book reading challenge!  Not a one!!

2.  I have not connected this week with bloggers.  Actually, I take that back.  I did yesterday.  I clicked on some blogger profiles on the Pioneer Woman website, and I commented on about three.  I have not heard anything back as far as I know.

3.  I have not updated the calendar.

So, right now, it seems that the goals are dead.  But they shall be resurrected tonight.  I am going to be on pinterest tonight having my private Friday night party.  So I should do some connecting tonight.

3in30 Challenge Weekly Linkup (9/2/11)

Well, I just signed up to this challenge yesterday, so I will do a little bit of a recap, and then I will tell you how I have been doing.

Goal #1:  I have not started doing anything about updating my challenges as of yet.  So nothing to report there.

Goal #2:  I have much to report on this.  It is actually the second week that I have been working hard to promote my blog.  I have been chronicling it, and I now do my own pinterest party every Friday, check my Feedly on Saturday, and my yahoo on Sunday.  I have written alexa reviews, hopped around on facebook, and participated in blog hops.  I have really made it a point to thank people for help they have given me and to try to help those who are just starting out.  So this goal is the strongest of the three right now.

Goal #3:  I have not updated my calendar.  I have thought about it, but it has not happened yet.

Seeing how I am only on my second day of the challenge, I would say I'm doing all right.  Hopefully I will have more to report next week!

3in30 Challenge

Okay, I know that some people could say that I'm a challenge junkie.  I am one of those weird people who is always looking for the next challenge on the horizon.  I am rarely satisfied with the status quo, and unless I am pushing myself on to the next big thing, I am really rather restless.

When I happened to see the 3in30 challenge, I knew this was just what I needed.  I have to admit that I tend to tackle too many things at once, and sometimes I need something like this to concentrate on what really needs to get done.  So here are the three goals I will make this month (good that I am starting on the 1st of a month!):

1.  Get all book-reading challenges updated by the end of the month.  In relation to this, I will update links and find out where I stand with these challenges.

2.  Do at least 5 things per week to connect with other bloggers.  I have already started this, but I am still in the very beginning stages.  Things I do include blog hops, facebook networking, twitter networking, pinterest parties, RSS feeds, Alexa rating writing, and blog button commenting.  These terms may not make any sense to anyone else but me, but I fully understand.

3. Update my monthly calendar on my blog.  Get into the habit of actually using this map.  I created it to keep me on schedule, so I need to get into the habit of using it.

Interesting.  All my goals concern my blog.  But that is my focus.  I honestly have personal goals, but this is my focus for this month.  I look forward to seeing my goals accomplished!