May 2024 Goals

 

Now we enter the fifth month of the year. I heard someone say that time is passing quickly.  I've not been as aware of time passing lately as I am at other times.  Is it because I've been busy and can look back over the accomplishments in the weeks behind?  Or did I just stop paying attention?  I don't know.

New months mean new goals for me.  I did quite well last month in getting the things done I had on my goals list.  I would say I'd get a solid 90 out of 100.  That's good enough.  It means I focused on the areas I'd said I would and that the things that didn't get done were due to other events like unplanned visits, days out, or inclement weather.  Though I know one or two days were solid fails simply because I couldn't find the energy after several busy days.  I'm okay with that.  My goal is not  100% but to DO SOMETHING.  And I did exactly that.  I DID things.  Back to Rhonda's motto, "If you do stuff, stuff gets done."  Amen!

I'm not sharing every single goal I've made for the month.  Some are personal and not meant for the public. I separate my sheet into several categories: Spiritual/Mental Health, Finances, Home, Garden, Family, and Personal/Leisure.  This month I'm adding in 'Kitchen' goals as well.

I combine Spiritual and Mental Health because I've discovered those two go hand in hand.  If I'm spiritually centered, feeding my soul and heart, it positively affects my mental health.  If I'm paying attention to my mental/emotional health and I'm actively sorting out things rather than burrowing into my shell, I'm more open spiritually.

Spiritual/Mental Health:

Continue with Michelle Cushatt's book, A Faith That Will Not Fail.   I've been reading it as a daily devotional and I like the pace and the time to think between each section.  I'll likely finish it before mid-May.  At that point, I'll choose another of my many devotional books.

Spend time outdoors every single day that I can.  Either working outdoors or just sitting with a glass of something cool.  I would like to start having my first coffee outdoors each morning,  preferably without my phone.

Try to putter with my plants outdoors a bit every day.  Having my hands in the dirt, and walking barefoot where able on the grass (once those pesky stickers all disappear again) is very grounding and balances the body.  No, it's not new-age thinking.  It's scientifically proven to improve mental and physical health to physically touch the earth.  God knew what he was doing to create a man without shoes and told him to work the soil. And yes, I do know the concept of why Adam was told he'd toil in the soil so please do not hurry to inform me.

Journal, play music, listen to a sermon, go play the piano.  I used to play well enough for my own pleasure and I'm very rusty but I find it a very peaceful pursuit to sit down and play for my own pleasure.

Start a Bible Study, but limit my time at it.  I tend to spend either way too much time on reading and studying or I won't touch it because I spend too much time on it and don't have hours to spare daily.  If I set myself a study time limit I hope to find I am more consistent about reading and studying.

Finances:

Last month's grocery budget of $440 was a good goal to set.  Did I stick to it?  No.  I went over by about $40 because I came across a great deal on clearance-priced meats the last weekend of April.  However, until that point, I had cash to spare.   I set myself to spend $110 per week on whatever sales would restock the pantry and freezer and fill immediate needs. I'm going to continue with that same goal this month.

I've already done this: go over my May Amazon Subscribe and Save order and make sure I truly am getting the best price and actually need the products.  I'm always surprised at how this program saves me money but you have to pay attention!  Every now and then a product will become mighty pricey (Amazon brand cream of celery soup $2 per can?  NOPE!).  I will continue to review what's on that list at least once a week until I'm certain I've culled it down to essential needs.  

Continue to add vacation and Christmas savings.  

Go carefully this month and next...We're about to hit one of our heavy gifting seasons and I need gifts for 8.  I do have a budget and I need to start shopping now so that I can stay within that budget.

Home:

Time to reset the house for Spring/Summer.  Pack away winter bedding (mostly done) and heavy Afghans, and change things on the mantle, bookcases, and buffet...I like a fresh look.  I would also like to add some pretty green plants rather than store-bought flowers which don't hold up well in the warmer months here in the house.

Summer pillow covers...Do I reuse what I had last year, or buy new ones? They are inexpensive to purchase.  Last year, I wanted an orange and pink combination.  The pink covers were lovely but the orange turned out to be very red.  Perhaps I'll just try to find something to go with the pink?

Zone work is going well but the daily and weekly routines are not.  I'll focus more on those.  I've timed myself doing both and none of them take a full day, so why am I so resistant to getting the chores done?  I need to work on my attitude as much as the routines!

Get porches pretty and inviting.  I moved houseplants to the front porch this week because the nighttime temperatures are finally suited to plants being outdoors.  The back porch needs the most work.  Cleaning, moving things to the sheds, replacing worn and torn items.  I want to paint the back porch chairs and side table.  

John and I plan to buy either a glider or rockers for our anniversary. That will be for the front porch.  I want to do something with the gate, remove it and the ironing board or decorate it differently.  

I would love new doormats (WHY can't they stop fading and looking cruddy?).  I may go with just plain old black ones this time around.

Garden:

Buy soil and mulch.  

Refresh pots with compost and fresh soil.  

Fertilize once a month.

Plant something.  I have two tomato and two zucchini plants, would like to plant carrots and possibly beans and beets and Swiss Chard.  I need to re-pot the fig tree I just bought.  

I want to rearrange the patio and place pots on different levels so that there's more interest in my garden area.

I'm going to make it a point to add one perennial a month to my plantings around the house.  I'd like a butterfly bush, more daylilies, tea roses, etc.

Kitchen:

It's silly but my big moment this past month was to finally pull out the vacuum jar sealer I'd bought months ago and start using it.  Pure foolishness to let it sit so long.

This month, I plan to look for ways to USE what I have where appliances are concerned.  I've all these 'tools' sitting on cabinet shelves.  I should use them.  And if not, I should donate them!  I've a whole listing of things one can do with a pizza stone for instance.  Why just use it for pizza once or twice a month?  I want things in my kitchen to earn their right to be there.

Zero food waste.  That's my goal.  I want to find ways to use everything that comes into my home and not compost anything except the very last dregs after I've wrung every bit of usefulness from it.

Teach me a new skill in the kitchen.  

Family:

Mother's Day, birthdays, a gender reveal, and the end of school all hit us at once this month.   Buy gifts and try to spread the expenses over two months.

I'd like to have Taylor's birthday here.  I need to check with Katie to see if that's possible.

Visit with Mama at least twice (near Mother's Day and again near her birthday).

Get the summer reading program schedule laid out and determine how much of it I can do with the three kids.

Personal/Leisure:

I'm over my hair.  I fight cowlicks constantly, it's thin, fine, and dry,. The cuts I've gotten of late range from good to horrible.  I do go to one of those cut-rate places and you get what you get there, for sure.  I'm going to look for a new style to transition, too, still short, but not as short as now.  

Weight loss is necessary.  I've been arguing with myself for months over this and right now I really need to lose about 12 pounds.  I'm not budging any of it with my current 'methods' of trying.  I'll return to the Iowa Plate Method this month and start measuring portions of food.  I will increase my protein to at least 25 grams per day and try to limit carb loads to 60 grams or less per meal.

I thought about tending to my body last night. I used to think absolutely nothing of spending time doing my nails and hands, shaving, conditioning my hair, exfoliating, using face masks, etc...WHY did I stop?  It's not as though I have less time to do these things now.  I took better care of myself at one point in my life and I think I've let the creep of "I'm old..." discourage me.  So what?!  I'm not too old to want to feel attractive and pretty! Routine self-care will be reinstated.  I'm going to sort out my house clothes and toss those that are ugly or ill-fitting and somehow stretch allowance to get new things.  I'm going to 'build outfits' to have at the ready for those times when we're leaving home to go somewhere.

Last: I'm back to spending HOURS every evening on the computer playing games. I need to limit that time. Read, write in my journal, color, study, do anything but stay on the computer endlessly.

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