momssmallvictories 2014 personal goals
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January 2014 Personal Goals and Achievements #2014Goals

momssmallvictories 2014 personal goals

After reading some inspiring books last year, I decided it was time to set myself some realistic 2014 personal goals and follow through with them. I tend to have a problem finishing what I start, so I hope holding myself accountable on my blog and linking up with Creative K Kids will help me stay motivated.

For January, these were the goals I was focusing on and my achievements:

Health
1. Make exercise a priority, 4 times a week.

Progress: On track! I have been exercising 30 minutes 4-5 times a week on our stationery bike. It’s great because I can sit and pedal, sneak in reading time and my feet are not killing me afterwards like walking on the treadmill. I found my new favorite home-based exercise. I basically burn off enough calories so I can have a little sweet treat after dinner. I’ve also tried doing basic planks. It works for me because I cannot lie my hands flat on the ground but my weight is supported by my elbows, upper arms and shoulders.

2. Floss, everyday…because Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) impacts my gums, I can’t afford to slack anymore!

Progress: On track! I am flossing regularly and I have noticed that my gums do not bleed as much. My mouth does not feel clean unless I’ve flossed.

3. Achieve my goal for ideal weight, the one my joints feel the best at. As of today, about 7 to lose – avoid sugar!

Progress: On track! My weight fluctuates especially when I have a Remicade infusion to treat my Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have to take a prednisone with it and it gives me INCREDIBLE munchies! The weight I lost is quickly added back. But I have avoided sugar and try to make healthier choices when I crave a sweet snack. My favorites are blueberries, grapes, bananas, homemade trail mix with mostly raisins, pineapple greek yogurt or a cup of Multigrain Cheerios. I’ve netted 2 pounds lost. Small victory!

4. Track food, sleep, exercise and RA symptoms to better understand if there is a connection to foods I eat and RA. I know weather, hormones and stress impact my body already.

Progress: On track! I started using My Fitness Pal app to track calories I consume. It has helped me significantly with portion control. Every time I go for a snack I say to myself, “make a healthy choice, make a healthy choice” and think about the weight I want to lose and it helps me stay focused. I also started researching what preservatives are safe and which to avoid so that I can make healthier choices when grocery shopping.

It was not part of my original goal list but I am trying to drink more water also. Still have trouble with it but I try to keep a reusable water bottle with me and down a cup of water anytime I get the munchies before I reach for the snack.

Home Organization
5. I’m trying to follow the schedule set forth in Zen Organizer, Regina Leeds’ book, One Year to an Organized Life. She suggests tackling the kitchen first.

Progress: I did not get much done in the kitchen because I was too busy cooking. But I did get rid of some toddler plastic dinnerware to make more room in my cabinets. I’m going to have to start doing more slow-cooker meals if I want to make progress. I feel like I am in the kitchen half of the day feeding someone’s hungry belly.

Reading
6. Work on some goals from my 50 Bookish Things to Do Before I Die list.

Progress: I won an autographed copy of Someone Else’s Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson from Traveling with T which I think brings me to 4 of 10 autographed books.

7. Read books I already own.

Progress: On track! Of the 6 books I read in January, 5 I already owned! I’m trying to resist the urge of adding books to my Kindle or bookshelves till I have read ones I own.

Although not on my original goal list, I also started a spiral notebook for my Book Journal. It contains my thoughts and quotes on all those books I read that are not reviewed on my blog yet. That way I can always post a review later when time permits.

Blogging
8. Write more often and consistently – 30 minutes everyday.

Progress: On track! Whether it’s in my book journal or on the computer for my blog, I have been writing 30 minutes. What I found really useful was having the internet turned off on my computer when I wrote. I was forced to focus on writing without being distracted by social media/emails.

9. Work on blog design.

Progress: In process. I changed my design at the beginning of January. Do you like it? Any constructive feedback on anything I need to improve upon is welcome.

Financial

10. Save $1,000 in groceries.

Progress: I’ve saved $248.69 so far using coupons and sales.

11. Stay within our budget & 12. Stay debt-free (besides mortgage).

Progress: On track! Let’s hope we can keep it up. I use Quicken to track our budget vs. expenses. I was happy to find out that even though I left my job, we are still saving the same amount as when I worked. That just means we were spending my entire salary between daycare, eating out and other random things!

Well that’s a wrap for what I was working on in January. This month flew by!  Stay tuned for my February goals which will be up soon.

Tell me, tell me! What are your goals? How are you doing with them? What are your favorite healthy sweet snacks? Are you a couponer? What tools do you use for menu planning or tracking your finances? Good luck with your goals.  Join the linky and add your goals and accomplishments posts. Stop by and visit as many as you can. Let’s support one another to achieve our goals…one small victory at a time! Thanks for stopping by.

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11 Comments

  1. Way to go! You are doing great so far. I feel like such a slacker. I ALWAYS set measurable goals in January and track my progress faithfully…and here it is February and I still haven;t updated my goals for the new year! Lots and lots of medical issues here at our house have gotten in the way – I know you understand what that’s like! You are inspiring me to get cracking, now that my oldest is back at college (since yesterday)

    Sue

    Live with CFS

    Learning to Live with CFS is now on Facebook!

  2. That’s a great list of goals and way to go!! I love how you analyse your progress for each of them.

    I surely am going to be spending some time looking around your blog…and I love the minimalistic design..

    Here’s wishing you the best for Feb!!

  3. My favorite healthy sweet snack is chocolate. 85% dark. It has just the right balance between cocoa and sugar. Just a little piece gives me all the chocolate flavor I want plus a hint of sweetness. I also like smoothies. Almond milk, half a banana,and some berries or cocoa powder and a small spoonful of nut butter.
    6 books in Jan? That’s awesome! I also love your idea of keeping a notebook handy to jot notes in.

  4. You did a great job. I have a treadmill and that’s all. Whenever we have more room, I would like to get a bike,but the treadmill is nice because it will fold up. I just walk fast and can read too, so I love it.

  5. Congrats on your work so far. Girl, I know what you mean about riding the bike. I LOVED riding my bike where I live but it started bothering my knee so much when I had to pedal up a hill and only having a single speed, that didn’t help. I am planning on getting a device that will hold up the back wheel and I will be able to bike in the garage and go nowhere!! hehe

    Please come by my blog to look at my latest giveaway on an ebook about easy couponing. Here is the link. The giveaway ends in a couple of days.http://bit.ly/1b0RKD6

    Love the look of the blog. I really like the simpler look of blogs today.and yours is great!!

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