I am a wee bit late; I admit it. I simply did not feel good towards the end of last week, having given in and gotten a cold. I'm feeling much better this weekend thankfully and now that I've had my usual Sunday afternoon nap, I am ready to think about this month we've gotten started and figure out what my goals for the month might be.
To be honest, I've not even really stopped to consider February, nor what I want to accomplish. I was so busy in January with an up/down, on/off sort of month that I kind of lost track of myself. This is not at all unusual for me in February. I think I start out on such a gung ho, let's go! sort of mood in January and then I start to lose steam, especially if I find my plans are changed too frequently, which happened last month for sure. This month should be more or less stable. We'll see...I know too much now to trust that time is truly my own!
My goals this month might sound a little vague, but it's because I don't really know what the end result of most of these will look like, I don't know what I want the outcome to be. I just know that these are things I want to work towards changing, while I try and develop the ideas now that I've got time to pursue different things.
Spiritual:
Continue reading my daily scriptures and two other books that I am slowly making my way through. Michelle Cushatt A Faith That Will Not Fail and Grace Hamman's Jesus Through Medieval Eyes. Cushatt's book is set up in such a way that you can take it as a daily devotional. I've gotten a wee bit off track in reading but I'm pushing onward. I am actually enjoying it.
Hamman's book is a very intellectual sort of take on seeing Jesus through Medieval writings, artwork and such and I'm mostly enjoying it, though I take it quite slowly. I can only think she must be a good deal younger than I'd supposed because some of her politically correct views have little to do with the viewpoint of seeing things through Medieval thought processes and letting them naturally impact our minds today. I find her study to be fascinating regardless.
Marriage:
John and I are adjusting again to being alone together for most of the time. Neither of us minds it but we have tended to order our lives around the schedules of others and the habits/needs of a four year old boy. While we will be occasionally spending time with any number of the grand children those days will not be quite as intense as they've been these past two years. And that means that we struggling to relearn what it's like to be alone in our home for the bulk of our time.
My instinct is to demand we date more. But the whole reason for the dates was to escape and be John and Terri for a bit, and that's not necessary. We've both got projects we want to work upon and things we want to do but we're still trying to figure out our time and our lives.
So I'm going to work to curb my 'need' to go out as frequently as we have done and just enjoy our time together in our home.
I also want to re-establish our own routines and daily lives, so that we don't feel we are rattling around inside a half empty pod because others are missing. For years we had a routine all our own that we lived by. I know we did...but I've forgotten how to live it!
That said we do enjoy our dates. We are not limited to Saturday or Sunday after church any more. We can make quick day trips to various places we like to visit. I'd like very much to go over to the mountain for my birthday.
Personal:
I did contact the local church that is residing in the church building where I grew up about their research into who is buried in the graveyard there. I started doing some minor research this weekend when I discovered not the 'lost' church records I'd hoped to find but a genealogy publication of marriages, births, and death announcement abstracts from the county paper. And lo, I discovered a handful of known burials in the cemetery that have no headstone as well as two or three that might be buried there based on information given. I have those names typed up with death dates and will submit that to the person in charge. I hope it proves to be a help.
And if asked I will do what I can to further help.
I often lament the lack of community I feel here in our town/county. I hope that this will be a first step toward being more a part of community.
I had the opportunity this past month to remember that I once loved working on jigsaw puzzles, doing genealogy/county history research, going for walks on this property, gardening/puttering with plants. I want to limit my time spent mindlessly scrolling and playing games on the telephone and computer and instead DO things I enjoy and be more creative once more. Sometimes that might look like sitting down to mindlessly scroll but I'd scroll with purpose looking for helps in getting my creative wings stretched out and strong once more.
Get eye exam and order glasses.
Get a new glucometer and strips and test weekly.
Play in my closet with my wardrobe. I put together one or two outfits that made me feel I was especially nicely dressed this week and I'd like to keep that up. It does my self-confidence good to feel I look quite all right when I walk out of the door.
Take better care of my diet. I'm playing with the idea of intermittent fasting, a recommendation my doctor made. I just need to figure out what works for me.
Home:
Play in the kitchen: learn to use that pressure canner. I'd meant to do this in January and between being on a mission to recover my home spaces once more, and an on/off/on schedule with keeping Caleb it didn't happen. But this is the month! I want to be more ambitious in my kitchen and really learn to use my appliances and items to their fullest capacity. I don't like to have one use items on hand, so I really do want to learn how to make the most of what I have.
There are little things to be added to the bathroom (like a laundry basket), things I want to do to the kitchen (paint, decorate), things we need (I have NO bowls to eat soup or cereal from) ... I need a list to work from so I can concentrate on what needs to be attended to. So, this month as I work about my home, I'm going to begin a list that will be two parts: Needs to be done, Things to be Purchased.
I want to get back onto my usual zone work routine. Now that the January blitz is over, as I work my way through my house the rest of this year, I am going to declutter and organize and refine the work I've already done, as well as get the full cleaning routine back in order once more.
I won't post other household chore goals here because I generally share those weekly anyway.
Rebuild our supply of cold/flu medications.
Outdoors:
I planted garlic bulbs, a celery root and two onions that sprouted. I cannot for the life of me remember where I put my seed packets, but if I can't find them, I am going to get more seeds and some onion sets and put out in my pots and planters. I'd like to plant radish, carrots, spinach, and beets. I'm very disorganized and haphazard when it comes to gardening, and I want to try and make it more of a thing in my life. We really enjoyed our little harvests this past year.
I want to work in the yard or on the porches for a portion of every single day. It does my heart/soul/mind a great deal of good and it pays off well in the looks of things outdoors. It doesn't have to be big heavy-duty projects but just to get outdoors for a portion of time every day that the weather allows.
Finances:
I have been carefully assessing every Amazon Sub and Save order each month, determining if we are using things as we did, if we've built up an ample supply at present, trying to get into a routine ordering pattern for those we use consistently and checking prices through other sources to see if we're truly getting the best buys. I think this will be an ongoing thing, not a one and done sort of thing. My ultimate goal is to know exactly what we're going to spend on those items (over the counter medical and a few food/household necessities) and have a regular Amazon amount set aside, just as I do for other categories in the budget.
I would like to see if, now that we are a smaller household once more (from four and then three and now two), if I can trim the grocery budget. My instincts tell me to cut back $150 off what we were spending and then see if I can decrease further. That would mean my new grocery budget would go from $600 to $450.
Officially this month, I become a Medicare recipient and that means I shall have Medicare coverage that I must pay for. I have refigured our current budget to reflect that additional cost. Figuring the budget is one thing. Learning to live off it...that's another!
Blogging:
I really lost blogging time these past two months. It is my plan to add in one or two extra posts a week. We'll see how that plan goes!
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3 comments:
There is a lot of conflicting information out there on YouTube about the canner so just ask if you need verification. After broth an easy thing to move onto is dried beans. Measure out a half cup for each pint and sort and wash them. Put them in the jar with 1/2 tsp salt and fill with hot tap water. Process for 75 minutes a ten pounds pressure.
I'm certain you can do the new grocery budget and possibly lower. We are at $250 for two and doing very well. We don't buy as much at the salvage stores as you might think so our budget is based on shopping the loss leaders at multiple stores.
Lana, I have plenty of dried beans on hand, so I'll definitely go to that next. I much prefer to have canned dried beans because of convenience, but keep some pound packets because of longer term storage.
Your new goals sounds like a great plan for both you and John as far as relearning life alone together in the house. You mentioned intermittent fasting. I tried it for awhile at the suggestion of my doctor too. I found it was very easy for me on work days (Monday through Friday) but very difficult on the weekends. I stuck with it faithfully for weeks and didn't lose a single pound. I know I was not eating as healthy as I could have been when I was eating but I wasn't being negligent either. I did not have any problems with hunger during my fasting times either. I may try it again at some point but have some other body issues to address first that are a higher priority.
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