January Twenty Fifteen Recap

So... I'm one month into Twenty Fifteen. What has been accomplished thus far? What's been going on? Let's see....

I started the year with big plans to try new recipes. I'd say things are going good with this. I prepared 7 freezer meals - all new recipes. So far we've tried two. We had orange chicken the other night and it wasn't very good. Tonight we tried Cilantro Lime Chicken. It was pretty good. I was a little unsure on how to eat this --- the recipe ended up making quite a bit of the corn, black bean, onion mix --- so, we weren't sure if we were supposed to eat this over rice or wrapped in a tortilla or what. What'd we do? We shredded it a bit and wrapped it up in a tortilla...with rice. It was good. We'll have it again. And, for the most part, I think it's a meal that's good for you. All fresh ingredients....veggies, and chicken.... Other than the freezer meals, we've tried a few other recipes -- kale chips, which are DE-LISH right out of the oven.... but the following day, they've lost their crisp and are a bit soggy. So -- that's a recipe we'll have again.... but with plans to have no leftovers - because they don't keep well.  We also tried ranch pork chops and a few other chicken dishes. Those were all successes. We did have another FAIL - cheeseburger soup. It just wasn't as good as it appeared to be. So... trying new recipes is going well. I got my Pinterest board organized and that helped TREMENDOUSLY!! Em seems somewhat excited - and interested - that we're trying new recipes. I'm glad she's enjoying this new adventure.

My other big plan was to participate in a Reading Challenge that I came across. It's a total of 52 books - to read throughout the year. I chatted with my sis and with a friend of ours, Jen.... and we decided on New Years Eve to do this!! Jen created a facebook page for the challenge. .... and we've actually got a few other folks joining us on this challenge. How am I doing on it so far? I've completed 6 books. And I'm currently in the middle of 4 other ones. I'm impressed that I've been able to stick with this one. I enjoy reading but hardly ever have time, it seems. But - sticking to this challenge, I've had to get creative (audio books) and pay attention to my "free" time and utilize it the best I can.... reading when I'm waiting for class to start, etc... and I've made it a point to go to bed at a decent time so I'll have a few minutes to read before I drift off to sleep. I've found though, that audiobooks at bedtime doesn't work well. I fall asleep and the audiobook continues --- so I have to find my place again the next day.

I chose a "word" for the year --- REDUCE. How's that going? Well.... the ONE thing I wanted to really focus on reducing ...was my commute to work. Of course, when I chose my word -- I didn't make a huge deal about that focus .... because I didn't want folks I work with to know I was looking for something in Conway. BUT --- a great thing happened. A position became available in the Conway office -- and so I jumped on it. I started in the Conway office this week. I'm now driving 3 miles to work....instead of 30. REDUCE, I did!!  This will in turn reduce my spending ... on gas...and on food. I'm close enough now to come home for lunch - which will eliminate the many days I ate out for lunch...which is expensive.   What else have I reduced? I've reduced my soda intake....drinking water during the day at work and I figured out how to make tea, so Em and I have tea in the evenings with dinner. I've reduced my weight ... somehow....  maybe by watching what I eat?? I've reduced my food intake ... not going back for seconds as I used to, not fixing a big plate of food, etc.  I've also reduced my "idle" time. I disconnected my cable tv... which also reduced my spending by $45 a month... but, I'm limited to 4-5 channels, so I don't spend my idle time watching hours of Food Network anymore. If nothing is on tv.... news, BigBang, SharkTank.... then Pandora music is on and I'm busy doing something else or all is quiet and I'm reading (textbooks and books for the reading challenge).

Oh...and one more "thing" I started for this year... was the 52 weeks savings plan. I've been able to stick with this so far. The only problem I have .... is that I don't carry cash on me. So, "saving" the money each week... tucking it away in my piggy bank... has been a bit of a chore, to go to the bank and get the cash... but... they don't call it a challenge for nothing, right?

Spring semester started....we're 3 weeks in. This semester I'm taking online Gender Studies, hybrid (part online and part lab in class) Biology, and also one evening a week of Criminal Justice. So far things are shaping up well. The Gender Studies class is super simple.... reading articles and participating in online discussions. The Criminal Justice class...is....well... so far... a JOKE. I'm not impressed. That's another story for another post. But, let's just say ...it's not stressful or taxing. And then we come to Biology... Ehhh Gads!  I'm covered up with this class. The textbook reading is over my head, the online work (quizzes, powerpoints, lecture notes) are over my head....but I'm muddling through it. The labs in class on Saturday mornings aren't too bad. I'm not overly impressed with my teacher. But... we're only 3 weeks in --- maybe things will smooth out soon!

So... I'm feeling like this year is off to a good start. I'm organized... I'm paying attention to my spending...and my eating... and ready for a good productive year. I came across a quote the other day.... and it sums up my thoughts for this year. Happy Twenty Fifteen!!

OneWord 365 - new word

 

 

I don't think it's part of the game.... to change your word after a couple of weeks --- BUT --- rules are meant to be broken, right?....wait... is it a rule?

 

Anyways.... after the first few days of the year and being so productive around the house .... cleaning and organizing and all that.... I found myself saying a different word than "verve" ---- so I decided I needed to shift my focus to another word, before the year got good and started.

 

I am changing my word to "reduce".

 

Sounds a little .... off.... BUT.... so far this week, it's been oddly amazing. I've continually had this word in my brain....incorporating it into my every day.... and almost my every thought. Here's a few of my thoughts on this.....REDUCE....

 

 ~ clutter and stuff lingering around the house. If not used, then recycle or rid.

 ~ spending on frivolous things. If no real purpose, then don’t spend/purchase.

 ~ waistline by eating healthier foods.

 ~ dr. pepper/soda intake….by drinking more water.

 ~ junk food intake.

 ~ health risk by taking better care of myself – eating better, being more active/proactive.

 ~ stress.

 ~ idle time....tv time....

 

The list seems to go on and on and on..... so, I think this will be a better word for me to actively focus on and who knows --- I may even accomplish something with it. 

Pinterest Project - Menu Board

While browsing on Pinterest, I came across this idea. Since I've been browsing recipes and one of my challenges this year is to try new recipes, then I've been trying to figure out how to do a "menu" for the week. I've tried doing a menu several times before --- but, it seems our schedule doesn't always allow for that... Maybe with the new year and the few things I'm doing with getting organized (with my recipes and freezer meals and such), then we can try the "menu" thing again. I think this way will be a little more...relaxed.... just jot down a general plan for the week.

This project was quick and easy --- mainly because I had all the materials on-hand.

1 8x10 frame, with glass
1 8x10 colored/designed paper - trimmed to fit the frame if it's larger
Stickers for the title and the days of the week --- or you can handwrite these.
Ribbon to hang... or some sort of way to hang. I chose ribbon tied to the frame hook and a Command Strip hanger -- jussst in case I want to move it from where I initially started.

You'll also need a dry erase marker. The one I have pictured is a wet erase...and will get a dry-erase when it dies.

I did my stickers for the titled and the days of the week on my paper. I drew lines with a black pen to give me the sections for each day. Once I got my page done, I just popped it in the frame. TaDa!

I tied the ribbon to the frame hook, allowing some to dangle behind for the marker and a loop up over the top to hang it.

Simple. And, well, I'm gonna tag this project to my "oneword365"
 challenge --- because VERVE, again, is "creative enthusiasm".  You can ask Em how silly  I was when this project was completed. I saw it on Pinterest, gathered the stuff and within 40 minutes the project was done! It was such a quick and easy project....and so far I'm pleased with the results.

Now.... the challenge will be to actually USE it on a regular basis!!

One Word 365

One Word 365

This is an interesting little ...challenge. Sounds simple enough...

Chose ONE WORD.

One word to focus on every day, all year long.
One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live.

Make a commitment ... and focus. BUT - if you stick to it, then it will shape your year...
...and potentially your life.

How big of an impact can ONE WORD make in your life?

I'm interested to see how this will work in mine. After some thought and a little research, I've decided to accept this challenge and chose ONE WORD.

The word I have chosen is:

VERVE

Definition: creative enthusiasm; the spirit and enthusiasm animating artistic composition or performance. Energy, vitality.

I want a year full of energy, full spirit and enthusiasm into everything I chose to do....and with this new focused energy, I feel this will open doors for me to do even more...
learn more things, explore new things, etc.

So, with this word in focus now, I'm interested to see what will become of it and how I will incorporate this word into my world. I do plan to incorporate this word into my "twentyfifteen". Below is the link to the website and more information.
Forget New Year’s
http://oneword365.com/