june goals: update...

At the start of June I posted about participating in the 3 in 30 challenge and set out my goals for the month.  Somehow, the month is coming to a close and, with it, a much needed update. 

1. Project Life: The photos are updated through Father's Day in my album and I've made a lot of progress on the journaling cards.  As I mentioned, this is an ongoing goal because it is important to me to stay on top of this and end up with a finished album at the end of the year that truly captures our day to day life. I'll consider this accomplished!

2. Clean our bedroom: Check!!!  No, it isn't perfect but, it is a much more restful place at the end of the day since I took some much needed time to organize, purge and clean up the space. 

3. Meal Planning: Well, there is always next month. This month seemed to throw one curve ball after another into our nightly routine.  Dinner got made and eaten but not in as planful a way as I hoped.  I'll get there! And, there are still a few days left in the month...hmmm...

Did you set any goals this month?  How did you fare?

3 in 30: update and what's next...

At the beginning of February I posted about this challenge and spelled out my three goals for the month. So, how did I fare?  So-so.  I did scrapbook some by working on Project Life and will be keeping this as one of my monthly goals until I find a real rhythm and routine for making it a priority. The shelves in the bathroom were purged of numerous half-empty and expired bottles of toiletries.  It's ready to be removed and the remaining contents added to the drawers of a much smaller piece.  Lastly, the dresser top.  February's nemesis.  It just didn't get done. I'm still planing to go there but getting to organize the bedroom (the one completely un-baby proofed room) is easier said than done.  Ah well.

March is a new month and, with it, comes three new goals. This month will be busy with going away one weekend to visit family and working another but, there are things that still need to be accomplished:

1. Scrapbook at least one page/layout each week:  Whether a week in Project Life or a traditional layout this is one I need to get done.  I have several page ideas sketched out in a notebook along with journaling and need to translate a few to paper.  A step ahead, most of the photos are already printed!
2. Bring lunch to work each day: For health and for being budget conscious as we move forward house hunting, this just has to become part of my daily routine.  I'm giving myself one exception - I eat out the one day a month that I work at Wall Street.  Trecking my lunch through the subways = gross.  And I just don't want to give up that one lunch at Pump.
3. Participate in Project Simplify: Look for my first post on this on 3/8/11...

it starts with a goal...

Always inspired by my cousin and her success at this project in January, I decided to give 3 in 30 a try for myself.  It's a simple concept.  Instead of setting lofty and complicated resolutions, choose three manageable goals at the beginning of each month and work toward finishing them in 30 days.  Or, a mere 28 days this month ;)

Three goals in a month?  I can do that.  Narrowing down the list of what I feel needs to be accomplished might be the toughest task.  So, I'm just mentally pointing to three.  Forget dwelling on prioritizing, just need to make it happen:

1. Scrapbook ONE layout/Get going on Project Life 2010 album:  I will not continue to allow my son's photos and memories to live on a hard drive.  They need to be printed, stuck on a page and the story written out.  One a month I can handle.  And, one paves the way for two...
2. Clean off the dresser top in our bedroom:  Our bedroom is not baby proofed and, as such, not much used and becomes a virtual dumping ground for mail piles and other things we don't have room for in our main living areas. I dread walking through the door at times because it isn't a restful place right now.  Really romantic.  Last week I purged my closet.  This month the dresser top need to be cleaned off.  And it needs to stay that way.
3. Purge the bathroom shelves: We have a tall, narrow shelving unit in our bath that is over-run with toiletries (samples, old stuff, half-full pots and bottles, new).  If it isn't being used, it needs to go. We will eventually be selling this condo and creating the illusion of more space is key.
   I'd like to get that piece out of the bath completely and send it to the cub for large trash pick-up but, the purging must happen first. 

Since I am posting this a full week into the month, here a few pics of my progress to this point.  Yesterday I took out my long neglected PL '10 album (all contained in one bag so it's easy to grab) and sat down for an hour putting the first few pages together.  There are placeholder spots for photos I need to find and I haven't done too much personalization yet but, it is started. And, away we go...

Call me crazy but, there is something nice about putting this together in retrospect.  Look how tiny my little boy was!  It's a perfect excuse to go back over all of those tired, sweet new moments :)