Change

A year ago we moved to our current apartment. I loved the apartment but hated the fact that I had to relearn where everything was and learn a whole new area. I couldn't find anything, I didn't know the "quick way" or the "back way" anywhere I wanted to go. I barely knew the major roads!

It was change and while it was a very good change (we needed to move from our old place) it was still hard. Change is hard at first. It's one of those things we all struggle with.

Unfortunately, life always changes. It never stops, so change is inevitable (except from vending machines.) But I realized the hardest part of change is in the doing, it's in our heads. We each have our own view of the world and it is very hard to change that part of us. It really wasn't very hard for me to learn the roads (a few weeks of driving around and Google Maps helped out immensely) but it seemed hard because I was used to my old town and my brain simply hadn't adjusted yet.



Changing your life requires changing your mind. If you don't change one, you can't change the other. So how to you change your mind? See where it is. How do you do this? Track stuff. Want to see where your mind is, you write down what's going on!

Right now I'm in the middle of tracking what I do with my day. I'll share my full results next week, but so far it is interesting to see what I spend my days doing. I find that I am grossly underestimating some things and overestimate some others. But it also shows me exactly why I'm not getting my goals met. It's a lot of easier for me to see places where I am wasting time or where what I think isn't taking a lot of time is actually taking a ton! It also shows me places where I can use my time more effectively.

If you want to lose weight, spend a week tracking what you eat (no matter how embarassing). Want to meet other goals? Track your days and see where you can find time to meet those goals.

Track and you will change or at least the beginning of change.

Goals 7/7/2011

You know, when you type out your goals every day and see that you aren't meeting them, it makes a lot more sense why things aren't changing. I didn't meet any of my goals yesterday (not even the mini challenge). I did get a few partially done, but none were actually completed. So yeah, maybe today's mini challenge should be to complete at least 2 of my other goals?

So Today's Goals:

1. Financial: $40
2. Water: 100 oz
3. Exercise: 30 minutes
4. Write 2000 words of my novel

Mini Challenge: Complete at least 2 of the above goals.

Goals 7/6/2011

So how'd I do yesterday? Well, the only thing I fully completed was the Mini Challenge of 2 loads of laundry. I did over half of money and not quite half of the number of words I was supposed to write. Everything else, not close. Oh well. Another Day, another chance!

Today I'll be doing coupon match ups, so I'm going to try to keep it light:

Financial: $30
Words-2,000
Drink 100 oz of water
Exercise 30 minutes

Mini Challenge: Do Strength Training

Goals 7/5/2011

We survived the 4th and had a wonderful reminder that there is nothing quite like watching fireworks through the eyes of a child.

As for yesterday's goals, I didn't meet even one. Oops.

So today's goals:
Earn $50
Eat no more than 1500 calories
Write 3,000 words
100 oz of water
30 minutes of exercise
Donate old clothes

Mini Challenge: Get 2 loads of laundry done.

How was your 4th?

Goals-Independence Day 2011

First and foremost, Happy Independence Day. Thank you to every single person who has fought for our freedom, starting with the Pilgrims who dared to climb on a boat and sail across a vast ocean to an unknown land just so they could worship God their way all the way to the men and women serving our country today.

Ok, now onto yesterday and today's goals.

Yesterday's Goals:
Financial (None, so met)
Weight Loss: I walked 8,000 steps but I also ate massive quantities of food with some friends, so I'm guessing it balances out.
Writing: I didn't get one word written.
Mini Challenge: I DID IT!

Today's Goals:
Financial: None, it's the holiday
Weight Loss: Drink at least 100 oz of water and try not to go too crazy food wise.
Writing: 3,000 words.
Mini Challenge: Get up to 10,000 steps today even with the holiday!

To finish, here is my favorite version of the National Anthem (yes, I know I'm weird)

There is Nothing Quite Like Motivation...

...to help you reach your goals. This blog was started to help motivate me (and in some ways it's done a fantastic job) but I've found a new motivation: my high school reunion. On Thursday it was announced that we were having a reunion in October (exact date to be named). I'll be honest and tell you that this is my 10 year. It's my first reunion since graduation and since I graduated, I had the express joy of moving 2,300 miles away so I haven't seen most of them since we walked across the stage.

While I'm proud of my life (I have an awesome life) there are a few things that I want to get done before I face them, most notably lose the weight I've gained and get my novel written.

To that end, I'm adding a new daily segment, called Meet My Goals. Every day I'll post my goal plans for the day and a mini challenge for myself. It will also include a round of yesterday's goals and if I accomplished them. Hopefully, this can help me stay on track to get it all done. I'll try to include a financial, writing and weight goal along with the mini challenge based on what is going on today.

Oh, if you are interested, I'm also participating in a thing called Camp NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writers Month. It's a group that holds a challenge to write 50,000 words in a month and gives you a place to stay on track. Normally it happens November, which is National Novel Writer's Month, but NaNoWriMo is offering a few over the summer for those who November is considered the worse month to plan anything. I'm participating in the July version.

On Sunday's I'll have a weekly round up including a list of how much weight I've lost. October, HERE I COME!

So what are today's goals:

Financial: $0 (it's Sunday, we have friends coming over)
Writing: 3,000 words
Weight Loss: Get at least 7,000 steps on the Pedometer

Mini Challenge: I know I'm going to the grocery store this afternoon, so my goal is to walk entire store twice, not just the aisles I need.

My Own Personal Changes

One thing I don't talk about much on here is that I'm a Christian. While I don't try to hide it specifically, I don't want the blog to be all about my faith either. But this post is going to at least partially about my faith. If that is a problem for you, then feel free to skip this post. I totally understand.

The biggest reason I started this blog was to change my life. I have goals and I had decided that 2011 was the year to meet them. I have to admit, I haven't gotten as far as I'd hoped for most of them. The one with the most progress is actually my blog.

I've been praying a lot lately about change and meeting my goals. I'm honest with myself enough to know that I want change but I haven't been do much to actually do it. Hence the prayer.

And God answered my prayer, but certainly not the way I expected! I have a very clean house. Not quite spotless, but easily a 95% improvement over what it was even a week ago. I'm still not sure why except suddenly I have the motivation to keep it clean. I don't even like seeing stuff around out of place. My friends and family would look at me like I was crazy, because I literally (and I do mean quite literally) had a pile of stuff that was at least a foot deep covering my bedroom floor all through high school. The first two cars I owned were 2 seaters not because it only had 2 seats but because the back seat was completely full of junk.

Honestly, it seems weird to me to not have at least 1 load of laundry needing done (I'm serious, I don't have enough clothes dirty right now to make a full load). All the clothes are put away too, unlike the normal stack hidden in the dryer or in a laundry basket. My kitchen is clean. Ok, there are a few things I could do (don't look too close at the stove, OK? I'm going to get to it today). This just doesn't happen for me, but it is. It's nice.

I'm hoping and praying that this will help me keep meeting my goals. Not having to worry if the house is clean means I can focus on the other things that need done. Maybe I'll still meet my goals by the end of 2011!

Feeling overwhelmed

Ever look around and feel overwhelmed? That's me today. The house isn't in the most terrible shape but I certainly don't want company today either. I know what needs done but the sheer volume and my lack of time is putting me in this paralysis.

It's easy for me to hide and that would have been my first reaction before. Instead I'm off to clean a part of my apartment even if I can't get it all done. It's a huge step for me and a small step at the same time. What big yet small step will you take today?

The 5 Minute Plan

I've mentioned here a couple times lately that I'm part of a MomWriters group for goals. It's honestly helping me keep on track and I'm loving the inspiration it gives me to get stuff done.

Today, the leader posted a challenge for us that involved finding where our spare time is and using it effectively. She said to fill it in with "quickie goals". It really got me to thinking. I have a ton of stuff around my apartment that seems to never get done, but to be honest, it would only take me about 5 to 10 minutes to do (if that). The biggest reason they never get done is because either:

A. I can't think of something to do when I find myself with spare minutes; or
B. I remember at a time when I simply can't do it (like vacuuming at 10:30 at night).

To counteract this, I'm making a list of goals I can get done in 10 minutes or less. This includes wiping down the front of cabinets, vacuuming the living room, cleaning the windows and cleaning out the "corner o'stuff" I have building up in my room. It's amazing the number of things I can think of that truly take less than 10 minutes, especially around the house. I always feel domestically challenged (thus my name) because it all seems to need done right then. If I break it into manageable chunks of "I have 5 minutes, let's do one thing" instead of "This will take me hours to do" then I think I can handle it.

I get that this isn't rocket science (Thank goodness, I could never handle the math!) but for me, this is a different way of thinking. Dave will tell you that I'm very book smart (true) but I lack common sense (also true) so for me to put it in this context, I might actually get things done instead of floundering hopelessly in the sea of "everything needs done right now and I don't have time!" Instead, I can pick one thing on the list, do it and check it off. At the end of the day or week (depending on the task) I can look back and see how much I've done and restart again the next day/week. Maybe its simple to you, but for me this seems like a godsend, as long as I put it into practice.

My question to you: What is on your daily/weekly "10 minutes or less" type list?

Exercise, What a Rush!

I officially have a love/hate relationship with exercise. I hate exercise while I'm in the middle of it. It hurts, I'm pouring sweat into my eyes and overall I just feel like exercise is one of the stupidest things I've done in a long time.

Then I finish and relax. And I love exercise. I feel amazing! I swear I still feel awesome hours later. I sleep better too. Plus I love knowing that I burned that many calories, taking me that much closer to my goal.

I jumped on my Wii Fit on Monday and yesterday and I already can't wait to do it again this afternoon. It seems weird, cause I've never been a huge exercise fan before, but right now I feel better than ever and cannot wait to get up and do it again!

I do have the aching calves again, but I figured out why this time. I have been doing a basic run on the Wii Fit and when I actually run (not walk at a fast pace) I feel my calves start to ache/pull. I'm not sure why or how to fix it. Anybody have any ideas? Also, what do you like to do for exercise? I'm open to all suggestions!

Adventures in Potty Training, More Bookshelves and New Weekly Goals

That title basically sums up my entire weekend. Right there, you've seen what's been going on.

First and foremost, we're potty training Sunshine. I didn't potty train Beautiful G until she was 3 either. With Beautiful G, it was me trying regain my balance and figure out the whole "I have two kids under 3" thing. With Sunshine, as much as I wanted her out of diapers I remember all too well the battle I had with her sister.

On Friday, I decided I had enough. We were potty training and we were going to stick with it. No Pull Ups except for bedtime. Lots and lots of potty breaks and lots and lots of stickers. In the past 3 days, we've had 2 (maybe 3) accidents. All of those involved poop (yes, I typed it and I'm blushing!). She still isn't really telling me she has to go, but if I ask her about going, she'll tell me yes (most of the time) and 9 times out of 10, she'll go. Usually the 10th time, she says no but I take her anyway because its been awhile and I'm afraid for an accident. I've made more progress with her in the last 3 days than I did with Beautiful G in the first 3 months of potty training. One of my goals this week is to have her fully potty trained by Saturday and start getting her out of even bedtime Pull Ups in about a month. I'm dreaming of the money I'll be saving!!

Onto the next topic. Bookshelves. Dave and I did a Craigslist search and found 2 bookshelves for $40. They are the cheap put it together yourself kind, but they are sturdy enough and since Target wants $30 for one still in a box, I knew we were getting at least a halfway decent deal. So finally, after living in this apartment for 6 months, my books have been unearthed. I have found quite a collection, many things I hadn't remembered having and others that are dear friends that I had been missing. It's exciting to get my hands on them again! I started reading The Devil Wears Prada, which I had picked up shortly before we moved and hadn't started since we were packing up. I had planned on getting bookshelves within a month or two of moving, so I hadn't been worried about it. Now I get to enjoy it.

Final topic for the night. My new weekly goals. Well, first and foremost, I joined a weight loss group through my MomWriters and it required me to weigh myself and take my measurements. Let's just say that was one more wake up call I didn't need! Officially, we kick off the group tomorrow, so I am planning to start my journey then.

My weekly goals are:

1. Write for Demand Every Day
2. Write at least 2 articles for Suite 101
3. Write 2,000 words for my novel
4. Write here every day and at A Year of Baking twice this week
5. Exercise for an hour every day Monday through Friday
6. Eat Right/In my Calorie Range
7. Get Sunshine completely potty trained
8. Do my hair and makeup every day

That's it. I think I can do this. Anybody want to share their big plans this week? Potty training horror stories (or stories of bliss if you have any)? Their never ending love for books? All of the above?

Yesterday

I do love that song. Of course, I'm a Beatlemaniac, just born 19 years too late. Anyway, this isn't about the song "Yesterday" it's about my actual yesterday!

First, I want to say OWWW! Which is to say that I did my exercise and I used my new workout DVD. I picked up Jillian Michaels "Blast Fat and Boost Your Metabolism" and OH MY GOSH THAT WAS HARD!! I didn't finish. I did the warm up and 2.5 of the 7 circuits she has. Today, my thighs, especially the back of my thighs, hurt! Unlike when my calves hurt, at least I can walk without pain. It's just squatting or doing anything that includes bending my knees deep that hurts.

So I did my exercise. One marker toward my goal.

I also filled up my bookshelf. I am renowned for procrastinating, even on things I want to do, so doing this right away is a big thing for me. I also found a bunch of books I had either forgotten I had or thought I got rid of. One of those is a book on SEO that I got for free at the L.A. Times Festival of Books last year. The guy gave it to me, telling me it was about online writing. I just started working for Demand and thought this could help me do more. Then I saw it and thought "this doesn't matter for what I do". Well that was only sort of true! I was still of the mind that it was fairly useless when we moved last June, but something caused me to keep the book and now I'm glad I did! I have a new book to read, one that hopefully will help me here.

Another thing I found was my control journal from the FlyLady. It's mostly filled out, but I need to update it to fit our new schedule. Still, it was exciting to find it so that I don't have to redo it all.

I did my work for Demand that I should have gotten done yesterday, but not my work for Suite 101 or my own writing. Since Demand pays quickly, they have priority and yesterday priority won.

Beautiful G signed up for basketball in early November and we still hadn't heard anything. I've called a couple times to be told "you'll hear soon". Well I remembered and called again yesterday. I finally talked to the person in charge (the first time in all my calls) and found out that it was supposed to start yesterday at 5! Nobody had called me prior to this, so I started planning my day around that, including not making french bread (AGAIN!). Then I got a call at 3:30, since the coach couldn't reach most of the parents, she moved it to next Monday.

So I got one goal completely done, I am on track for one and behind on everything else. And today is questionable on what I'll get done, since Sunshine and I have to drive about 45 minutes (one way, so 1.5 hours round trip) while Beautiful G is in school just to get a piece of paper copied since my scanner won't work without a USB cable and we seem to only own mini-USBs now. How did we get rid of all of our USB cables when we got rid of our desktop??? Am I nuts??? Well, here's to getting as much done as possible!

Another CVS Trip and A Big HELLO To the MomWriters!

It was Sunday and of course I made my trip to CVS. I'm actually going to go again later this week, but I had a coupon that was expiring today and I had to go. While I didn't quite hit my $0.13 mark of last week, I did do pretty well. My original total was $39 and some change and I had a $5 off $30 or more coupon (which expired today), 3 $5 off coupons, 1 $4 off coupon, a $0.55 off coupon and a $1.00/2 coupon. I also used $10 in Extra Care Bucks, taking my total down to $4.02. With that I managed to buy 3 bottles of Maalox (which I needed since I've been getting major heartburn lately and am nearly out of Tums), 1 bottle of GasX, 3 boxes of Cheerios (the breakfast cereal of choice for my girls) and a Snickers bar. I also walked out with $14.89 in ECBs, meaning that I made $10.87 this week at the store, plus I still have $4 from last week's trip (I didn't use it today because a lot of my $4.02 was tax and won't come off, effectively losing most of that ECB). So I actually have $18.89 in ECBs for my next trip (or two). I'm pretty sure I'm going to use it later this week for my next trip to CVS for dishwasher tabs and toilet paper (both on sale with ECBs and I will have coupons).

The other big thing today is my very loud HELLO and ROAR to my fellow MomWriters. MomWriters is a Yahoo! Group designed to encourage, motivate and connect with fellow mom writers. We come from all walks of life, with kids of different ages (I've seen some with kids my age to those with kids younger than mine and all in-between). What we have in common is that we all are writing in some form and we're doing it while we balance the delicate nature of kids and family.

For the new year, MomWriters started one sub-group and started a new session of another. The one that's been around but starts a new session (next week) is the Weight Loss Group. I did the fall session, although not very well since I didn't lose anything! I did join back up for that one and I'll keep you up with my stats, etc for that.

The new group is the MomWriters Goals Group. It was created to help so many of us stay on track in 2011. According to our leader, there are nearly 30 of us participating. While our goals are not strictly writing related, all of us have at least one or two goals that are specifically writing related. If you've been following me here, you know I created this blog as another way to follow my goals (I started this before they started talking about the new group). One of my goals for that group relates to how this place is doing and I shared my blog address so they could see. Which means the first of the MomWriter waves should be coming in on Monday morning (since it's 11:59pm as I type this...). So Hi ladies! Welcome to my blog! Comment! Follow (the RSS feed is up to the right, Google Friend Connect slightly lower, also on the right)! Let me know what you think and any suggestions you have.

Oh, before I go, my weekly goals:


1. Write 3,500 to 4,000 words of my novel this week and edit them (my plan is to write Monday through Thursday and edit on Friday)
2. Make my $150 a week from Demand and write 5 new articles for Suite 101. (I write for both)
3. Write here and at A Year of Baking every day (which will include baking for A Year of Baking...)
4. Purposely avoid my trigger foods to help stick with my diet. My biggest trigger food is chocolate, especially small chocolates like Hershey Kisses or M&Ms, both of which we have in the house right now.
5. Exercise every day, including using my new exercise DVD twice this week and my Wii Fit twice this week.
6. (not on my original list to the ladies, but consider it added) Keep the living room and dining room clean, including swept and vacuumed three times this week.
7. (also not on my original list but consider it added) Put my books on the bookshelf I got today from my Grandmother. It's only got two shelves, but it's more than I've had for the last six months and now I can get the stack of books off of the end of the counter and start to unpack the last of the boxes.

So, now you know my goals. Anybody want to give me advice? Tell me I'm crazy? A little encouragement that I'm not as nuts as I'd like to think?

The Baby Shower

Today, I spent most of my day at a baby shower. One of my friends, whom I met 8 years ago when I moved to California and I have been told (and would agree with) is very much like me, is due to have a baby next month. She's a sweetheart and lives down the street from us. Her DH works with Dave too, so we interact a bit with that too. It's her first baby and she's trying to figure it all out.

Going to the party was great, because it meant I got to see her and several other friends I haven't seen in awhile. It was also kinda awkward, though. I met my friend (and actually, all of my friends here in California) at a church I used to attend. We were very involved at the church and both of my girls were dedicated there. We left a year and a half ago and while I kept up with some people, others (many others) fell by the wayside. It wasn't intentional, but I guess its stuff like that which shows you who are your friends and who are just people you see regularly.

Many of the people at the shower fit in the second category. I spent much of my time playing "catch up" where people ask what's going on in my life. It's small talk, I know. But I hate small talk. I suck at small talk. I'm not a people person and being social makes me very uncomfortable. Fortunately, I managed to get at a table of people who are my real friends and not a group of  those I hung out with. The new mother is one of the women I consider like a sister and two other of my "almost sisters" were there too, along with one of my extra mothers. I sat with them and the sisters and I caused our own small amount of trouble (especially for my extra mom, who was running the games!).

I did do something for my goals, though. I'm part of a writer's group for moms and I joined the goals group they have going. It started today and I put out there my goals. Now to help keep myself accountable. Partially that's what this is, a place to keep myself accountable.

Oh, speaking of accountable, I lost 1 lb this week. The real question is that simply a weight fluctuation or weight loss? I also found another very good reason to lose weight. My 10 year high school reunion is happening later this year. I don't have any details beyond the fact that several people from high school are making loud noises on Facebook about having one. High school was probably the most miserable 4 years of my life, with middle school's 3 years being a very close second. In the intervening 10 years, my life has changed for the better, including the fact that I got out of there! I really want to go to the reunion, though. I want to see my friends from that time, but I also want to show off the fact that I'm certainly not the same person I was 10 years ago. But I cannot walk in there being 60 lbs overweight. Because that will overshadow any "wow" factor I have for anything else. So now I want to lose 60 lbs by June 11 (figure that's the earliest they would have the reunion, hopefully later in the year). Well, when I stuck it in a calculator, it says I can lose probably about 30 lbs by that point. I can see what I can do, but my goal is 60 lbs by June 11. Let's see how it goes!

Flour Tortillas

Yesterday, one of the blogs I follow issued a challenge. We were to take 3 assumptions we have in our life and challenge them in the next 48 hours. They were supposed to be goal related.

One of the goals/assumptions going in my life relates to flour tortillas. Please don't laugh. I know it sounds funny. Dave is half-Mexican. His grandmother is very, very Mexican. She makes homemade tortillas that are amazing. They are one of Dave's favorite foods. And I am a blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl from Ohio. Until I moved to Southern California 8 years ago, I thought real Mexican was Taco Bell (Please, please don't laugh at me!). I had no idea on how to make flour tortillas. I assumed I'd never learn how to make them but I Really wanted to.

A couple years ago, Dave's grandmother me the basic recipe for her flour tortillas and it's been saved in my phone all this time. Today, thanks to this challenge, I took the first step. I pulled out the recipe and tried to make flour tortillas. The key word here is tried. I failed miserably. I mean miserably. My flour tortillas were nothing like you expect. Thick and weird shaped. It was nothing like flour tortillas. It was sad.

I made them during nap and tossed them pretty quickly. When Dave came home we talked about it. He thinks I didn't roll them out enough. I honestly don't know what went wrong. But at least I made a step forward. I tried, I challenged my assumption that I'd never be able to make them. My next step, find someone to teach me.

Now for you, what goal have you attempted to meet this week?

Updates!

First, I want to say I'm sorry this didn't go up yesterday. I tried to post it last night, but Blogger was obviously undergoing some form of maintenance in posting and wouldn't let me. That said, check out the new features I was able to add!

First, I've finally set up the feed for this blog, so you can now subscribe via RSS or email (see the link in the upper right). I also added a search feature if you want to find something quickly. Finally, I joined a few more blog hops for today (although I did it last night. It was after midnight on the East Coast, so that counts, right?). If you want to see which ones, or are more interested in joining one yourself, see my page at the top, with the links to the blog hops I participate in.

Oh, and yesterday I jumped on my Wii Fit for the first time in...well...awhile. I did a 40 minute workout, which felt good at the time, but harder than I remembered. Then I woke up this morning and I can barely walk! It's just my calves that hurt, but I learned once again the importance of stretching every single time and why you should both warm up and cool down! I did my warm up, but skipped my cool down. Not a good plan!

I did fairly well eating yesterday too. I finished off a box of Special K for breakfast (which I had bought 3 days earlier...) and had a smoothie for lunch. It wasn't until our afternoon snack that I derailed. I finished off the Oreo's. There were only 5, but they were followed up by some Hershey Kisses....oops....

What great things happened to you yesterday?

The Weight Thing

My weight problems reared their ugly little head today. I know, without a doubt, that I need to lose weight. I'm not stupid. But today I found myself twisting to reach for something in my room and I ended up staring at myself in the long mirrors on our closet door. I nearly cried. I couldn't believe how I looked. While I know I probably wasn't at the best angle, it was so hard to see myself in the mirror. My stomach has been the worst for years, but I looked at myself and saw just how much fat there was everywhere. It was honestly heart-breaking, knowing that I had all that hanging on me. It was just one more reminder that I need to do something about this and I need to do it fast.

Another big thing I did today was start "reading" The 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss. I'm actually listening to an audio copy of it, but I count it as reading. Ferriss has a very interesting view of how to do things. His goal is to simplify things and purposely cut out the extras in our lives that we don't really want to do but believe we have to do. For example, he shows you how to work more effectively by changing certain habits in your life.

Ferriss's book is mainly for people who feel they have an abundance of work and very little time in their lives for personal gain. While I feel this in some way, I realize that as a SAHM, I have more time than the average person. Today, not counting blogging, I spent exactly 2 hours making money as a freelancer. That's it. I also have less than $50 to show for it. Instead of challenging me on how to give myself more time to do what I want to do (since I already have that), this book is challenging me to find ways to take the little time I already use and make it more profitable for myself. This doesn't make me feel pressured, but it does give me a sense that I want to do more. The book has really got me focused on my goals for the year and meeting them by utilizing the time I already have instead of wasting it on things that are not as important.

Ferriss brought up an interesting point, one I bring to you. If you only had 2 hours a day to work, what would you do with that time? Also, in what other areas of your life can you apply the same principle to?

New Year's Day

Today was good personally but goal-wise, very bad.

I spent most of the day with my mom, Jandy. We went to lunch and a movie, followed by a quick trip for errands since the plaza with the movie theater had a Petco (for her and her cats) and Michaels (for me. Trying to organize my coupons). Lunch was at Souplantation and was only kinda healthy. The salad was great until I dumped the blue cheese dressing. I also stuck with a muffin and cornbread for sides. Yet went with brownie and ice cream for dessert. Probably not so healthy.

Along with that, I stepped on the scale today. 214. OUCH! I've been exactly this weight once before. The day I weighed this much, I went to the hospital and came out 4 days later. I lost 20 lbs that weekend and gained a newborn. Since that's not going to happen this time, I'm going to have to lose weight the old fashioned way, diet and exercise.

I'm still trying to decide which "diet" to follow. There is the old fashioned "count calories" method, but I am bad with numbers. I've followed The Superfoods Diet and have heard good things about Cinch, both which don't require counting calories, but they are both considered restricted. Of course there is Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem, which provide you food, but that's very expensive. So I still need to decide.

As for exercise, I'm going to walk. I've got a pedometer (that needs a new battery I found out today) and my goal is to get up to 10,000 steps a day. I'm starting with getting up to 6,000 a day once I get the battery replaced. I'm also going to pull out my Wii Fit for strength training and yoga. I'll let you know how it works.

Anybody have any good suggestions on the diet/exercise front? I could really use some grand ideas since I've got to lose a lot of weight. It does have to include the fact that I bake all the time and will want to eat it!

New Year, New Blog

I am a Stay At Home Mom. Yes, I said it. The thing is, though, that I'm not very good at it. In fact, I'm very bad at it. I'm a good mom. I'm not so good at taking care of the rest of it. If you walked into my house right now, you'd find that my kitchen is cluttered with stuff (again). My dining room is clean, but only cause I swept it this morning in frustration. The girls have laundry that's been in the basket for almost a week but still hasn't been put away. And don't even glance in my bedroom!

To be honest, I'm not very domestic. I'm just not. But I want to change that. So I'm going to. And while I'm at it, I'm going to blog about it. One thing we've done as a family is set some goals and I want to focus on meeting them. So we're going to. And I'm going to blog about them.

So what are our goals? Well I'm glad you asked!

My personal goals:

1. Blog here (Mrs. Undomestic) and HERE (my baking blog) daily. This one is simple. Get on here and blog! This will also include promoting the blog.

2. Make enough money every month from various work projects to cover both car payments and the car insurance. Right now I work for a couple of content mills along with monetizing the blog. I have calculated how much I need to make daily to cover the expenses, not counting weekends. The new goal is to actually get it done!

3. Keep my house clean, not just halfway, almost clean like it is now. I'm a fan of the FlyLady system (which I don't follow well). I even own her book! I'm going to follow this to keep my house clean.

4. Complete a novel. I love to write and I have always wanted to write a novel. My goal is to actually get it done this year and find an agent to sell it.

5. Lose 60 lbs. I need to get down to about 155 to be a happy camper with myself and with what is considered healthy. This includes eating well and exercising daily!

6. Read my Bible daily.

Family Goals:

1. Become healthier. Dave, my husband, needs to lose weight too. He won't "Go on a Diet" (yeah for being male!) but he will do a lifestyle change with me, so we're doing this as a family.

2. Read a story to our girls every day. We often read, but I really want to get a book read to them every day.

3. Work on preschool stuff with Sunshine (my 3-year-old) and homework/school stuff with Beautiful G (my 5-year-old). Beautiful G is in half-day kindergarten right now but by the end of the year she'll be in first grade. I really need to get Sunshine more prepared for kindergarten than Beautiful G was (although she was fine, I felt like she could have been more prepared).

4. Save up for the down payment of a house and buy it! Dave and I am finally to a point where our credit will allow us to buy a house and we are sick of living in apartments where we can't do things like send our kids to play in the yard. We're Americans. We have the American dream of a home. And we're going to do it!

Yup, that's it. 10 things I really need to do this year (well, 9. Two are more cross-overs of each other). This blog will keep me accountable and give you a chance to see how I'm doing. I'll be posting how we do and other stuff that relates to home (like coupons, great deals, and other fun stuff that you could use in your home and family life).