February has been interesting to say the least, we had several weather days which meant either working from home or my favorite delay starts.  Things have certainly started to get much busier this last week and I am anticipating the pace to continue to pick up and continue through the end of the school year.

Emergency Fund- Goal is $1000- We currently have $300 in this fund which is $200 less than December. I also have a $3800 tax bill to cover so this may not progress at all for the next couple of months.

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.   My goal for February is $400 or less. Well, that did not happen either. $662.25 total for the month. I have decided to modify the pantry challenge for the next couple of months.  I am unsure if I will save money, but I need to focus on using the items in the pantry.

Gas- Goal is $500. February’s total is $265.10.  I am very glad to see the price of gas return to a more normal level!

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 post per month.  Woo HOO This is post number 14 for the month!  One more than last month!  I am making an intentional effort to keep up with this goal.

Debit- Goal is 200000 for the end of the year! See tax bill from above.

Health/Exercise- Progress this month is that I had a doctor’s appointment and will be changing meds which will hopefully bring this to easier place.  Goal is 175 and exercise regularly.

Reading through the Bible this year- Our church and myself are following “The Bible Recap” program and I have currently managed to stay on track for 59  days!

This has been an extremely long stressful and expensive month. I am so thankful to be finished with it!  Weather has been a major factor!   This last week is the first week that kids have gone to school the entire week!  The beginning of the month started with lots of illness and injuries. We ended with Matt having multiple surgeries to remove skin cancer spots. I am glad we survived!

Emergency Fund- Goal is $1000- We currently have $300 in this fund which is $200 less than December.

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.  I was supposed to be way under this amount this month but instead I am 877.71.  This does include the majority of our junk food Sunday purchases.  My goal for February is $400 or less.

Gas- Goal is $500. January $401.15 This does not include the end of our Florida trip.  I am also giving Kendall one tank of gas a month to help me with picking up and dropping off.

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 post per month.  Woo HOO This is post number 12 for the month!

Debit- Goal is 200000 for the end of the year! This actually increased for the month of January but hey the only place it can go from here is up!

Health/Exercise-  I ended up losing 26 pounds in 2024 which was in part due to controlling my health more. I would like to set a goal for 175 for 2025 but staying on track with my health is more important than the numbers. I need to develop a better system to get in some exercise.

Reading through the Bible this year- Our church and myself are following “The Bible Recap” program and I have currently managed to stay on track for 31 days!

Isaiah 43:26a Review the past for me

November was busy and full of fun!  Our Thanksgiving trip was much needed and a breath of fresh air.  I felt like I was getting a grip on my work situation but then things changed.   I will pray more and speak less!

Groceries- Budget $975   $ 814.41 Goal Met I am hoping to keep this low for the remainder of the year. I am only purchasing items we are out of so that makes for less trips.  This is working well, especially with how busy I am!

Gas-I wonder how I forgot this last month. $450 This month includes our trip to Florida.  I will add we had $20 charge for tolls.

Blogging- 15 posts per month. This is post number 14. I am getting into a better routine and I hope to continue.  This is part of my self discipline. I need to make time for things that are important to me.

Exercise-I walked over 10 miles on Friday and another 7 plus on Saturday during our Disney trip. I am feeling good. Again an area I need to make a priority but simply is not.  On the bright side since June I have lost 20 pounds!

We were able to change our internet provider which reduced our bill by around $30 for at least 3 months and then by $10 for the next two years.

Philippians 3:14  “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

The month of October has really just flown by. We were able to get most of our summer projects done.  Matt still needs to finish the gazebo but is waiting on the metal that was missed in the initial shipment.  And he plans to add permanent lights to the outside of the house as well. He has worked hard at getting new electrical ran to several spots outside already.

Groceries- Budget $975   $ 652.78 Goal  Met I am hoping to keep this low for the remainder of the year. I am only purchasing items we are out of so that makes for less trips.

Blogging- 15 posts per month. This is post number 7. I am hopeful that with the end of football season, I will have a couple of more evenings at home to do things like blog.

Exercise- I was able to get over 10 thousand steps a day on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday during our short Disney trip.   My knee has now decided it does not like that much walking.

Summer Goals _ all other goals were completed in September!
4. Back Deck-The back deck is complete!  Matt is currently working on installing a gazebo to finish this project!
We also put in a new front door, added electrical outlets to both the back deck and to the outside of the house.

November and December are my favorite months so I am hoping to enjoy!

Philippians 3:14  “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

The end of September and I am finally feeling like we have finished most of the goals of the summer!  It is still rather warm here, highs regularly above 80 and our air is still running. Last week brought a tropical storm through the area so lets hope for some cooler temperatures soon!

Groceries- Budget $975   $ 1050 Goal Not Met I will say that my grocery list is empty and it probably is around $200 less if I would remove the Christmas items and windshield wipers from my Costco trip this weekend. But I am over.

Blogging- 15 posts per month. This is post number 9.  I do plan to get up a post tomorrow with our menu plan.  This is a significant improvement from last month.

Exercise- Nope none….Pain is a limiting factor.

Summer Goals
1. Kitchen Floor- Complete with a nightmare story. I can’t share due to my agreement. But I was not happy.
2. Bathroom Floor (Matt responsible) – Complete!  We have also managed to build shelving and move most of the items out of our bedroom!
3. New to me car- Purchased and it is the nicest car I have ever owned.
4. Back Deck- The old deck is gone and we are very hopeful to have a new one by the end of October.
5.  Purchase and process a whole cow including canning broth and ground hamburger. DONE!
6. Restock freezer with 100 meals and at least 50 breakfast burritos and 52 packs of bagels. I am going to make this as a success!!!! I am actually surprised and pleased with how much food we currently have on hand!  Added a couple of meals this week so I am counted this as complete!

This will be the last time I report on our summer goals as we did manage to get most completed after all.

I am very hopeful to find my life groove again soon!  It does help to have the house back in order for the first time since May!

The fastest summer on record has come and gone. At least for me.! I am working on completing a couple more items that I did not finish this summer. Sounds strange to say but I am hopefully that sense, I am back at work, things will become smoother and less hectic!

Groceries- Budget $975   $ 922.23 Goal Met! I am planning for this number to continue to go down for the rest of the year. My current plan is to shop as close to once a month as possible and to only buy items that are a really good deal or that we are currently completely out of.

Auto/ Gas. Goal -= $600.  Goal Not Met!  We have spent $715.15 This includes all the gas we spent traveling to and from Florida.

Blogging- 15 posts per month. This is post number 5 I just can’t find my groove for blogging. I end up busy and then I just want to veggie. I need to find a balance.

Exercise- I managed to work approximately 30 miles at Disney without pain. But with medication changes and stress, I am now down to walking once a week with lots of pain.

Summer Goals
1. Kitchen Floor- Complete with a nightmare story. I can’t share due to my agreement. But I was not happy.
2. Bathroom Floor (Matt responsible) – This has started and will likely be finished mid September.
3. New to me car- Purchased and it is the nicest car I have ever owned. I am curently looking at refinancing for a lower interest rate and easier payment method.
4. Back Deck- We have an estimate and it will be after the Bathroom is completed.
5.  Purchase and process a whole cow including canning broth and ground hamburger. DONE!
6. Restock freezer with 100 meals and at least 50 breakfast burritos and 52 packs of bagels. I am going to make this as a success!!!! I am actually surprised and pleased with how much food we currently have on hand!

I am afraid to say this out loud but I feel that July was the slowest month of the year for us. This has included multiple doctor appointments, both Lily and Kendall working pretty much every day and Zach having both driver’s education and football. I do remember this busy season when we have teenagers in the house before, so I knew in the back of my head it was coming.  The good news is that I was able to sneak in a trip to the outlet mall to purchase back to school clothing as well.  Another plus is that we actually have accomplished most of my goals for the summer. I currently have 21 days until returning to work fulltime ready or not.

Groceries- Budget $975   $ 1051.13 Goal Not Met! I did purchase 4 boxes of tomatoes. Otherwise it has been purchasing things to restock the pantry. I have decided that I would like to use the pantry August through May and only buy what is needed/ we are out of and use the summer to get things back in order.

Auto/ Gas. Goal -= $600.  Goal Met!  We have spent $374.50 It does help with our gas cost that I am not driving to work currently.

Blogging- 15 posts per month. This is post number 11. I just can’t find my groove for blogging. I end up busy and then I just want to veggie. I need to find a balance.

Exercise- I got a shot in my knee in the middle of July. So far since then I have logged 4 days of exercise.

Summer Goals
1. Kitchen Floor- Complete with a nightmare story. I can’t share due to my agreement. But I was not happy.
2. Bathroom Floor (Matt responsible) – We have an estimate and waiting on the installation. We met with the contractor and this should start in a couple of weeks.
3. New to me car- Purchased and it is the nicest car I have ever owned.
4. Back Deck- We have an estimate and it will be after the Bathroom is completed.
5.  Purchase and process a whole cow including canning broth and ground hamburger. DONE!
6. Restock freezer with 100 meals and at least 50 breakfast burritos and 52 packs of bagels.  I have made huge progress in this area. In fact, the kids are complaining that the freezer is getting too full. I have the breakfast burritos. I have 42 jars of spaghetti sauce along with 3 cheeseburger pies, a chicken lasagna, 4 cheeseburger pizzas, a baked ziti and 3 baked spaghettis. I also have another 20 jars of cooked hamburger meat in the canning pantry along with multiple jars of soups.  I need to add chicken and pork chops, but I am getting very close on this one.

August is a extremely busy but exciting month. My birthday trip is to Disney, Lily moves to Disney for the college program, Kendall starts community college and Zach is playing football!

This June was one of the busiest months, I can remember. I honestly don’t even feel like I have started my summer break yet. I am also very aware of how little actual time I will have this summer to enjoy the break. But I am reminding myself that each season has positive and negative and God’s plan is much better than my plan.  July is busy but i am hoping to get everything together by the end of July.

Groceries- Budget $975   $ 1437.76 Goal Not Met! This included supplies for Kendall’s birthday party as well as my trying to restock some needed things. I also have seen reports of 50% increase in groceries in the last year.

Auto/ Gas. Goal -= $600.  Goal Met!  We have spent $575.37

Blogging- 15 posts per month. This is post number 9. Busy and I can say I tried!

Exercise- I am having lots of Knee pain…. not sure what to do…

Summer Goals
1. Kitchen Floor- Complete with a nightmare story that I will be sharing including pictures once I have settled with Home Depot.
2. Bathroom Floor (Matt responsible) – We have an estimate and waiting on the installation.
3. New to me car- Purchased and it is the nicest car I have ever owned.
4. Back Deck- We have an estimate and it will be after the Bathroom is completed.
5.  Purchase and process a whole cow including canning broth and ground hamburger. DONE!
6. Restock freezer with 100 meals and at least 50 breakfast burritos and 52 packs of bagels.  This has been the biggest struggle so far. I have about 25 breakfast burritos and one baked ziti in the freezer as of now.

Groceries- Budget $975   $ 952.56 Goal Met! Unless you count of course the cost of the whole cow we purchased.

Auto/ Gas. Goal -= $600.  Goal Met!  We have spent $441.14

Blogging- 15 posts per month. This is post number 13.  I am going to call this one a win as it is much better than April!

Exercise- Walked in the pool on 2 days. Still did not get to the YMCA.

Summer Goals
1. Kitchen Floor- Scheduled for June 18th
2. Bathroom Floor (Matt responsible) – We have an estimate and it should happen in June as well!
3. New to me car-  Planning for this soon
4. Back Deck- We have an estimate and it will be after the Bathroom is completed.
5.  Purchase and process a whole cow including canning broth and ground hamburger. DONE!
6. Restock freezer with 100 meals and at least 50 breakfast burritos and 52 packs of bagels.

I have 2 weeks of work left. Things are going to be crazy for the next couple of week. Hopefully I can share along the way!

April was a really fun month. We started it off at Disney so how can I complain? I did come home with a nasty cold which put me out for the first two weeks of the month.  This month I have also been dealing with increased pain due to my psoriatic arthritis.  My insurance stopped paying for Humera and it took almost a full month to get the new prescription.   I am hoping it will help and I can get back to life. 

Groceries- Budget $975/ $450   $ 945.76 Goal Met! By the skin of my teeth! 

Auto/ Gas. Goal -= $600.  Goal Met!  We have spent $257.17 without gas to and from Disney. Including Disney gas we ended up at $750. 

Blogging- 15 posts per month. 4 posts this month. Yeap a struggle.  I knew this was low but wow this may be the least ever. 

Exercise-We walked a total of 25 miles at Disney. I have not been able to walk since.  Better things are coming once I get all my medications fixed. 

Earn extra money: a $50 gift card from Fetch.  They moved the goal but I was able to cash in for a $50 gift card to Amazon!   I will only go for $10 in the future as it took me a year to earn this card.

TIME for Summer Goals
1. Kitchen Floor
2. Bathroom Floor (Matt responsible)
3. New to me car
4. Back Deck?  Redo  if possible
5.  Purchase and process a whole cow including canning broth and ground hamburger
6. Restock freezer with 100 meals and at least 50 breakfast burritos and 52 packs of bagels.

Sounds like I am going to be super busy!