I have failed MISERABLY in February so far with my 3 in 30 goals, my blogging aspirations and any attempt i've ever made at budgeting. Good thing Feb is a short month, lol!
This month for my goals I wanted to focus on better oral care. I have horrible teeth, part of that is genetics and the other part of that is laziness and poor oral care on my part. Its not too much to ask to remember to brush & use a rinse once or twice a day as well as flossing on a more regular basis (at this point remembering to do it once a month could be considered a more regular basis, gasp!) I also have a goal of increasing my water consumption. There are days that I succeed with this, and days that I don't. I have found with this one I need a more specific goal, instead of just knowing I need to drink "more" water, I need to start charting to make sure I'm drinking at least 3 bottles of water. It probably still needs to be more than that, but thats going to be my goal for the rest of the month. The last new February goal has been to be on top of vitamins, for myself and the family. This has probably been the most successful of the three... but still pretty hit and miss. I purchased some pre-natal gummies at Target and they seem to agree with me a little better than most, and I also got Dannon some gummy vitamins as well. He and Ashlyn are both great about taking them... its just my responsibility to remember and do them daily.
My plan for this 3 in 30 program for the year was to add three new behaviors each month, and continue to do each one from every month previous. I haven't been as good about reading to Ashlyn every night, but I've found that its just something I need to be aware of and plan for.
I need to continue to find inspiration and motivation for these better behaviors so they soon become second nature and after this adventure and set of goals this year I will feel a much better, complete person.
The budget has also gone out the window... WAAAAY out the window. Part of the problem has been having too much money. LOL. Too much money? Is there such a thing? I have found it is so much easier to stick to a budget when money is tight, than when there is money available.
I decided to trust Cliff that he would split the tax return as agreed, and for the most part it went easily and to plan. I ended up receiving about $200 less than he told me would be deposited, but I'm thankful for what I received. He has yet to provide me with a copy of the information for my financial aid purposes, thats one thing that I really do need and hope that I can get without too much pestering.
I am waiting for the balance on my bank account to settle and my visa card to cool down. I am happy with the big purchases I have made, but its just CRAZY how fast money can be spent!
I did quite a few things for the house, and I'm happy with the changes and what I paid. I picked out a new bedding set for our room, two square Euro pillows to fit some of the shams and the things I needed to do a fun project to complete our room. The bedding set came with two sets of pillow shams, the euro ones that I used on the bed and a standard set of shams that were pretty, but I couldn't see us actually using. I went to Wal Mart and got two canvases, spray adhesive and a staple gun and "wha-la!" customized wall art that matches our bedspread! Can you tell I'm pretty proud of myself for not only having the idea, but completing it as well!? :)
Next purchase was a speaker/sound bar for our TV. More of the man's want, but I like the outcome and the fact that I found a 10% off code to use when I made the purchase at Best Buy!
Then came my birthday. I had originally wanted to take the kids and go play a round of miniature golf and then to Baskin Robins for some ice cream... but it was a last minute decision to drive to Sacramento and go to Ikea for some shopping and a meatball lunch. I had a few pieces in mind and the trip went pretty smoothly. Ashlyn played in the smallville play place while Bob, Dannon and I browsed the Ikea showroom. We got a new TV stand that looks very nice and replaces the cabinet/shelf that I was using before that wasn't made for that purpose. We also picked out a matching sofa table that I love, but need to figure out a way to use the cubbies and table top in a more decorative and dual purpose way. Right now its completely bare because Dannon plays with anything we put there. I need to train this boy. Soon.
I had also been wanting a tall shelf of some sort for in our bedroom to put a few pictures and other nicknacks. It was actually Bob who saw a tall skinny shelf and suggested trying to get two of them and double their use as nightstands. He had a great vision and it worked! I'll have to post some pictures of our bedroom. I'm very happy with the finished product!
There have been lots of random purchases. Well, maybe not random... but those small things that sure end up adding up!
I'm trying to cross things off my list, make the bigger purchases I've been wanting, set up savings accounts and pay off debt. I've done some of those things, just probably not in the priority I should have. I'm waiting on two verification deposits to set up a kids saving's account for Dannon with $100 and a $25 automatic monthly deposit. As soon as Dannon's is complete I will do the same for Ashlyn (except for waiting for her child support to become regular in order to set up the auto deposit).
Last night I ordered a new sewing machine from Amazon. I'm happy with the price, and now crossing my fingers that I will be happy with the machine. I think if I put my mind to it, the machine will pay for itself if I can start working on some rag quilts and either start selling on my etsy account or one of the local craft fairs/farmer's markets this summer.
I have big aspirations for every part of my life. Its always just a matter of cracking down and putting my mind to it! Today is a new day (and tomorrow will be too!) Thats the beauty of making changes!
