Happy Sunday! I can’t believe that January is already almost over, but I’m happy with the progress made on my goals thus far.
Organize Basement
We’ve made considerable progress down there this weekend. Kalen and I loaded up the back of my Mom’s Traverse, with the middle and third rows folded down, and dropped it all off at Goodwill. I was going to post it all, but honestly we’re on a time crunch. I also got rid of 6 bags of my old clothing, a giant box of Alex’s old clothing, and 2 boxes of Kalen’s old clothing. The person who got Kalen’s was only able to fit two of the three boxes, so there’s still one left behind, but that will just get donated I think. Kalen’s taking another load of stuff tomorrow after work, and we have a growing pile of more stuff. We completely emptied underneath the stairs, and now we have the extra dining chairs, an extra bed frame (we’ll use it when we get Alex a bigger bed), a window air conditioner (in case we need it ever), and some camp chairs, all neatly organized. I started working on the new pantry area, trying to clear those shelves off, while also working on the other side (where we’ll be storing the holiday decorations). It’s coming together nicely.
Read 12 New Books
This week was slower in terms of reading, mainly because I slept a lot of the time haha. I only added one this week, The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle, and I can’t wait to read her other books! I have some other library holds to get through first, then I’ll go to her others.
So far this year, the new books I’ve read/listened to are:
- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
- The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman
- The Hazel Wood (The Hazel Wood #1) by Melissa Albert
- The Boy Who Didn’t Come Home (The Hazel Wood #1.5) by Melissa Albert
- The Night Country (The Hazel Wood #2) by Melissa Albert
- Tales from the Hinterland (The Hazelwood #2.5) by Melissa Albert
- The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan
Finish Crocheting the Blanket
I finally finished the scarf I was looming for Alex, and went back to work on the blanket. Definitely slower going than the scarf, and I still want to make myself a scarf like this (it’s so warm and cozy), so there will likely be a blanket break sooner rather than later.
Spend 1000 Hours Outside
Look, this was a terrible goal lol. I haven’t been outside at all, but it’s been snowing and blowing and COLD. Not gonna happen.
Eat Out Less
Alex had ISSMA on Saturday, and he earned another gold medal for his trombone solo, so we went to a local burger place for breakfast with both of our moms (although he chose a burger), and my mom treated us. For dinner we let him pick a place to get pizza from, as a congratulatory celebration. We otherwise have not purchased food, but I’d still say we’re good on the YNAB challenge – we had planned to celebrate him in this way, so we viewed it as a special occasion.
Pay Down Debts/Save Money
Still nothing to report on this end. In retrospect, I should have said what debts we had to start and what our savings amounts were, so I could track it more easily. But, I didn’t. Instead have some pictures of the animals. The cats decided the basket of napkins was a great place to sit – needless to say, that bit will be washed with the next load of towels. Jerks.
Spend Less on Groceries
Prices have certainly gone up. This month we spent $719.43 on groceries for the month, and that includes stocking up on some items (breakfast cereals, trip to Costco, chicken that was on sale, and some canned goods). I had hoped to make it to another grocery store to get more canned goods and some other items that we need, but so far it hasn’t happened. Since we’re eating at home for every meal (with the exception of Saturday), we’re going to inevitably spend more on groceries – I’m okay with that.
Study German Consistently
I didn’t do a single lesson this past week. I kept saying “Oh, I’ll do it tonight!” and then I’d get distracted by a shiny object.
Learn to Sew
This will come with the basement being cleaned up and organized. I don’t even know where my machine is at this point.
Do Something with the 17,081 Pictures on My Phone
Last week’s count: 17, 218
This week’s count: 17, 267
Spend More Time with God
Kalen and I started the Bible Recap plan, and while we didn’t read together for that plan on Friday or Saturday, I did read Proverbs every day. He reads on the iPad. I read in my Bible. We are not the same haha.
Do More Baking
This week I made two FANTASTIC loaves of sourdough bread. The round loaf is already almost gone it was that good. Nothing beats fresh bread. I also made some tortillas for a meal this week (although we bought them for a meal this coming week, because while mine are delicious, I needed burrito sized tortillas and I’m not there, yet), and I used some older sourdough to turn into breadcrumbs this week.
Fumbling Towards Fi 