Category Archives: Goals

5 things Friday

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  1. I am changing the way that I am storing left-overs. I am planning to start storing individual meals instead of putting all into one big container. I have several reasons for this. First, it will make heating up lunch either at work or home much easier for me. Second, it should also make heating up a meal much easier for the kids as well. I am hoping that it will also encourage everyone to grab and use up the items in the fridge.
  2. My plan for today is to spend a significant amount of time outside. The temperature is suppose to be close to 80 today. I need to get some massive weeding done in both the flower beds and also in the square foot garden. My next goal is to determine what seeds I can go ahead and start inside so that I can have a jump start on my gardening for the year. I am not sure how this will all work with school schedule changes due to the cornovirsus but I at least have a plan.
  3. I have 3 new recipes that I am planning to try this weekend. If I am able to get all three done, I will at least be caught up on my new recipe challenge.
  4. This weekend we need to finish the trim work in the hall, install thresholds and adjust one custom cabinet to fit the new floor. I have order new curtains for the pantry and will need to make alternation for them fit.
  5. I am very hopeful that I will have less stress over the next month once it is decide how schools will proceed from here. I don’t mind working and I don’t mind being at home but I strongly dislike the uncertainty.

Disney Plans

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I have not had the opportunity to blog about our very big adventure as a family of five this year.  As you can probably tell, we as a family love Disney. We were fortunate enough in the past to make a trip every 18 months to 2 years. However we have not been to Disney World since 2017, almost three full years.  Matt andI had some conversations and then present an idea to Lily, Kendall and Zach. They were immediately on board. Today, I am going to share with you the plan and the process. 


The plan!!! Instead of birthday parties, large Easter baskets and a huge Christmas celebration, we are planning 3 separate and unique trips to Disney World over the next year. The kids also suggested that we not do our annual beach trip in order to use that money toward Disney as well.

In August, we will fly in on a Saturday, spend Saturday evening in a park, probably Hollywood Studios, Spend all day Sunday at Magic Kingdom and enjoy breakfast at Ohana’s with Stitch on Monday morning before flying home.  We are planning to use a gift card to purchase food on this trip with only one character meal. Originally, we had wanted to attend a Halloween party during this trip but I was able to book flights at a very low rate prior to the Halloween party dates so we thought just make the best of it. It is always fun at Disney!

In December, we will again fly out on a Saturday. This trip should include the Christmas party, Christmas around the World via Epcot and the Christmas tree trail at Disney springs and at least one additional fun day at a park.  We are planning to return on Wednesday but I have not booked flights yet in order to make sure we get to attend a Christmas party.   We have purchased the Dinning plan that includes two meals per day. So I am sure we will have at least 4 character meal if not more!

Our final and biggest trip will be in April 2021. We are going to drive to Disney on Thursday and spend 10 days enjoying all that Disney has to offer. We are considering a split stay which would mean 2 seperate hotels. We are also looking at which dinning plan will be the most beneficial to us.  

The process- 

Currently, we have purchased and paid for airline tickets, hotel and tickets for the kids in August. Matt and I are considering annual passes so this will be purchased separately.   A gift card with $780 will be purchased with Matt’s third paycheck in July. This is the amount that the  Disney Dinning Plan would cost. I am anxious to see if we have any money left. This will include $210 for our meal at Ohana’s. If we have any left from this gift card it will be used to help pay for the December trip or will be used in April for the food or sounievers. 

We have paid the deposit for our December trip. Birthday money and Christmas money will be used to pay for this trip along with extra work for me in Guam. The goal is to use airline miles to cover our flights as well. 

April Trip-  We are currently working on selling items that are no longer being used in our house.  The goal is to also have a yard sale in May that will cover the deposit and also apply any remaining amount to this balance. We will be using our Tax return for this trip as well. Matt’s third check in December will also be directed to this trip. 

We are all so excited. We currently have two separate count downs going on. One for the August trip and a second for the April trip.  Stay tuned and help use on the journey!  

February In Review

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I feel like I have been sick the entire month of February. The first week was cold/cough, the second week was a sinus infection, third week was the stomach bug that I fortunately only had a mild version when compared to the kids. This week I am starting with a cold/cough again and Matt has pink eye.  I did make the decision earlier in the month to begin on Elderberry gummies. This week I have added in Vitamin C and D. I am so tired of being sick and to get this stuff kicked to the curb.   

Goal #1 Grocery Budget of $550- This was a close one at $584 for the month. This is way over budget but I really tired to buy things we needed. I am hopefully to significantly reduce the amount for March and work on a pantry/ freezer clean out in order to prepare for the purchase of a cow. 

Goal #2 – Record and keep up with gas/ auto purchase- We spent $293 Which included the unexpected trip to West Virginia. I am excited because the extra in the budget went straight to reducing our credit card debit!  I don’t anticipate spending more in March! These are huge gains for use! 

Goal #3-Use a cash envelope system for everything possible. Success! It has been nice having money set aside for all the little expenses like hair and nails. I was even able to get a manicure and pedicure during February.  

Goal #4- Blogging- 15 post per month. 0nly 9 post  for the month. This is mainly due to how sick and horrible I have been feeling in the month of February. 

Goal # 5- Fitness- Goal is to walk 3 times a week. This was a horrible fail but my watch did tell me that I walked over 50 miles in February which is an average of 1.67 miles a day. 

Goal #6 – Bible study- Goal- 3x a week – A fail. Definitely need to up my game in this area. 

Goal #7-Attempt at least 52 new recipes this year.-  I tried three new recipes in the month of February but none were a roaring success or even good enough for a repeat.

Earnings_ $60 in gift cards and $15ECB from a survey.

In March, Lily has her play and practice for the play every day until then. All three kids have a piano recital and Zach’s baseball schedule should begin.  I am also going to increase my hours at my second job in Guam until I can get caught up with all the paperwork. My goal is to spend an additional two hours a night on paperwork and other activities until I get things caught up and under control.  Wish us luck!

Menu Planning Monday

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Things are starting to get a little bit hectic around here, cheerleading started last week, Zach has both sign language club and student council meeting, Lily will start rehearsal for her spring play next week. We also are trying to fit in some doctor appointments. Matt is no longer working a second job but I have working at least Sunday and Wednesday night.

Breakfast- Pimento Cheese and Bacon biscuits. Sunday,-Lucky Charms cereal. Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday– Choice of breakfast burrito, omelet, pop tarts, cereal, bagels or toast.  I may make a baked oatmeal for one morning just not sure yet. (Did not happen last week so it may this week.)

Lunch–Saturday- out to eat at The Classic in Denton, , Sunday-Panda Panda Chinese. Friday both Matt and I will eat out, Kids have a mix of salads, soups and sandwiches. Matt and I both has two days of salads, He will have homemade chill the other days and I have a snack tray planned and a left-over soup.

Dinner – Saturday- Salads and crackers.  Sunday–Left-overs Monday-Tator Tot Taco(new recipe) Tuesday– Find your own Wednesday–Chicken Diva Thursday– Pork Chops, scallop potatoes and green beans, Friday- probably a meal out as the girls are going skiing with the youth group.

2020 Goals

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  1. Grocery Budget of $550- This includes all household supplies and will include any and all meat that we need. This goal is probably more difficult than in the past due to need to purchase a cow this year and the increase in the price of all groceries. I am beginning with a pretty well stocked pantry and some meat so that should keep us on track for at least January.
  2. Record and keep up with gas/ auto purchase- I am not setting a goal but need to determine the amount to budget. Currently we budget $500 but this may not be enough.
  3. Use a cash envelope system for everything possible. I have set up separate accounts for gifts and clothing that I can easily on the spot transfer money to and from a debit card. Gas will be placed on our Sheetz credit card to help with tracking.
  4. Blogging- 15 post per month.
  5. Fitness- Goal is to walk 3 times a week. I also want to increase the distance to 3 miles at a time.
  6. Bible study- Goal- I am thinking 3x a week to start with but increasing to 5 times before the year ends.
  7. Attempt at least 52 new recipes this year. In order to stay accountable, I will have to report on each with a blog post.

Year in Review

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I am actually really impressed with myself for writing this on New Year’s Eve. This is almost a week sooner than 2018. 2019 was a much less stressful year in all the areas of my life. As I was looking back on the goals I established it does not look like I made progress but overall I feel really positive as we head into the next year.

Financial- Our debit is not below 20,000 however both Matt and I have significantly increased our income this year. In fact, Matt received a raise today that we were not expecting until mid January. I plan to share our budget tomorrow along with the goals of the year. I feel comfortable financially which is the first time I have said this in our entire marriage. In fact it may be the first time in my entire lifetime.
We spent an average of $506.76 a month in groceries this year. This is over an $100 a month deduction from last year but $75 more a month than what I wanted to budget. The kids are all growing and eating real portions now. The budget for 2020 is $550 a month which includes the purchase of more meat as we don’t have any hamburger meat or steaks.
Gas is a huge expense for us. We currently are averaging $ 465 a month but this is only over the 7 months that I managed to keep track. The good news is that we only spent $284.49 in December.

Blogging- I have been averaging 10 post a month. I was able to hit the goal of 15 in the month of March and came close in June with 14. This month, this is post number 12.

Weight/ health- This is huge dud. I injured my knee in August. I stopped everything except working. This week I have managed to walk outside 2 days so I am going to establish the goal of 3 days a week for this year.

Bible study- As a family, we were successful in reading Luke during the month of December. I need to find an individual devotional book and start a good habit for the next year.

Five Things Friday

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  1. We have enjoyed two entirely free meal out this week. On Thursday, we used the gift card that was earned and planned for Halloween combined with IHOP customer appreciation to feed our entire family for the cost of the tip! Friday night is always a hetic night with piano. Matt used another gift card earned via Swagbucks to pick up three large pizzas! We have already enjoyed one pizza and left-overs will be for lunch on Saturday and Sunday!
  2. Kendall is growing. I realized this week that she had only 2 pair of pants that were actually long enough for her. We decided to go to Old Navy to try and find her some pants. We actually found what they call “Ballerina” style pants that fit both length and her waist. We grabbed 4 pair along with 2 pair of boots for her. Lily ended up with a sweater, Zach and Braxton have matching Christmas shirts, I got a dress and Braxton has several new church outfits to wear. Total spent $225!
  3. I knew that I was going to be way over budget this month for Groceries. In fact I am at $882 for the month with a goal of staying under $950. I was a bit concerned until I read this :
    “According to the USDA monthly report for October 2019, the average couple spends $617 per month on groceries alone.
    A family of four with young kids on the Moderate-Cost plan spends $894.40 a month on groceries. Families with older kids spend $1067.50. ”
    Matt and I both are working and make it work with an additional 20 or more hours of paid work each week. Our budget is really enjoying the boast and I am very comfortable with setting and achieving budget related goals for the next year. I am planning to share our new updated budget toward the end of December after a second month (December) to tweak it. I also am anticipating that I will have to only purchase one Christmas present in the month of December along with a birthday present for my mother!
  4. The car that we are driving has significantly reduced our gas spending. Currently, we have spend $268.23 in gas. Because we will be at home more next week, I would guess that we will stay under $300 in gas this month. I can not honestly tell you the last time this happened!
  5. I am anticipating a three day work week next week. Sunday night in Guam. Monday and Tuesday at Davie County. Followed by a four day total vacation! I am excited not only for the break but to finish out our budget for November really strong.

October in Review

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One of the reason that I continue to block is the ability to go back and see what previous years and months have looked like. It appears that October tends to be a busy month for us! This October was no different. The good news is that I have been able to pick up some extra income. It will be a small amount but I am hoping just the right amount to help us tackle our debit and stop it from growing. I am going to continue to work on the budget and plan to share the new budget starting in January. Our biggest challenge right now is a leaky in the shower. We have replaced and repaired several items but have not had any luck with actually stopping the leak.

Grocery budget Total spent $207.54 . I am super excited for this amount. We have been making small trips to the grocery store and attempting to use what we have in the freezer this month. I do anticipate that November will be much more expense with $600 being realistic at this point.
Gas– We have taken over the payments and driving of Amanda’s Honda CVR. This change has occurred for the last week. The hope is that by me driving it to work, we can reduce the overall gas budget. I have the current gas budget set at $500 but hope to see a reduction in our gas spending which will allow us to pay off more debit. My goal for November is to keep a record of the money spent
Kid/Summer expenses: We have attended at least 3 different ball games a week during the month of October. I am very proud to say that we have not spent more than $10 a week. We have finished the baseball season and the last football game is schedule for Saturday. Lily’s play is next weekend so we should not have any kid related expenses in November.
Earned $75- This is a significant decrease from last year but has been about the same for this year.
Personal-
Blogging-8 for the month. I will admit that this has been a struggle but my goal is to make this goal at least for November and December as we have no travelling planned.
Exercise- My knee is finally at the point that I feel comfortable starting to walk on the treadmill again!

Tuesday Thoughts

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We are starting to see an end to our busy fall season, ok so not an end but a slowing down of after school activities. In three weekends, Lily will perform in the show Elf. Zach’s last scheduled baseball game is next Tuesday night. I do anticipate one or two night of a tournament the first few weeks of November. Kendall has her homecoming and last football game, she will cheer at this Saturday. I think that basketball season starts the first of December.

We dug up over 20 pounds of sweet potatoes on Saturday from our square foot garden. We also pulled several pimentos, jalapenos and green peppers. This is a sad time of year because I do not like the cold weather.

On a bright note with the cooler weather, our electric bill for the month was down by $60!

Grocery shopping this month has consisted of two categories, items we are out of and need for a specific reason and items of clearance. Our total spending for the month is $176. This amount includes 10 cases of drinks! I don’t anticipate a lot more spending during the next week and half. I do have a stock up trip planned for Costco the first week of November.

I have begun anticipating and counting the days until my first day off of work in three months!! However, this may occur sooner because today, Kendall stayed home from school. If she is unable to return to school tomorrow then I will be staying at home as well to take her to the doctor.

Everyone in the house is anticipating this Friday. Matt should receive his first paycheck from his new job and a paycheck from the Humane Society. I have spent several hours working out details but we should be set on a good course starting this Friday! I do anticipate a budget redo starting in January. I wanted to give us a couple of months to adjust and make plans before making any major changes. I am planning to going back to a more cash based system with use of envelopes and our Capital one account in order to keep a better track of our spending

Thursday Thoughts

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I have been very slack on my posting this month. In fact, this is the 5th post and today is the 15th of the month. I do have a legit reason or a couple of legit reasons for this slackness. I am going to share these with you. Of course, the first reason was vacation. We spent a lovely week at the beach. We really enjoyed time as a family. And to be quiet honest, I just did not feel like posting. I do have a couple more post to share about our beach trip and will hope to get at least one of these up this week. We arrived home on Sunday and actually got ahead of the game by unpacking completely Sunday night.

The second reason that I have not posted a lot this month is that I have been focused on stocking the freezer with breakfast and dinners to use as I start back to work next week. I am so excited to say that I am finished with this task. I currently have 75 dinners and 50 breakfasts pre-made and in the freezer. I wanted to share a little bit about this process with you. But first the reason this has been such a focus for me this week is simple LIFE. All three of the little kids will be involved in an extra curricular activity this fall. This means that not only do we have at least one activity every evening we have two activities most evening and an occasional evening where all three kids need to be somewhere different. Kendall will have a football game to cheer at every Saturday during the months of September and October. My goal is to keep Sundays as a day of rest and day to get things organized for the week.

When we arrived home on Sunday, we found peppers, pimentos, cucumbers and tomatoes ripe in the garden. Matt was able to roast 2 batches of pimentos to use to make pimento cheese during the fall and winter. I started a batch of pasta sauce in the crockpot and with the help of Zach made 10 omelet bags. We use omelet bags for breakfast, simply add the bag contents in a cup with 2 eggs and microwave for 2 minutes. Each omelet bag contains sausage, onions and pepper. Prior to leaving on vacation, I made 20 breakfast burritos to use the eggs, milk and sausage in the refrigerator.

Monday after spending several hours/days researching and book marking recipes during our vacation, I checked in the freezers and pantry and made a list of items that needed to be purchased in order to complete different meals. I added to this list pop tarts, instant oatmeal and cereal to use as well. I made 3 batch of pizza dough and froze along with the toppings (cheeseburger and chicken) for these. The pasta sauce was used to make dinner and two additional containers were placed in the freezer.

Tuesday was a shopping day. Mom and I headed to the local Food Lion and to Walmart with my long list. I am very proud to say that by using coupons, gift cards and sticking to my list, I spending $70 total. I did add two packs of chicken thighs to the crockpot to cook while shopping. For dinner, I unthawed a package of chicken livers and added sliced cucumbers and tomatoes.

Wednesday morning, I made a double batch of French toast using bread we found on sale. I added another batch of omelet bags to the freezer as well. I used the chicken thighs to place a chicken divan in the freezer. I decided to go ahead and make chicken broth with the skin and bones as several of my recipes called for it. After our dinner of chicken and dumplings, I made two bags of slow cooker lasagna. My mom and the kids helped with bagging up the dried basil that has been hanging in my building for several weeks.

Today has been another hectic day of cooking. First I cut and hung 15 stalks of basil in the building to begin the drying process. My goal is to not only preserve the basil but allow new plant growth on the existing plants. I also assembled the chicken casserole that we ate for dinner. All the kids were recruited to help with cooking and carrying things to the freezers today. Zach is awesome at browning/ cooking sausage and meats. I assembled 2 baked ziti, 5 bags of Salisbury steak and 2 packs of hamburger patties. I also bagged and froze an additional 10 cups of chicken stock. My plan is to eat one set of the hamburgers for dinner tomorrow and the other will be a meal later in the school year.

Now that all the cooking is finished, I plan to enjoy the last few days of summer with trips to the pool and Wet and wild. I may even finish my 4 book of the summer.