2012 goals–January checkup

So the calendar switched over to a new month last week sort of quietly in our house…  which means the first month of the year is over – wow!  So how about those goals (or New Year’s resolutions) that you made last month?    Have you forgot all about them or have you made some progress last month?

I went back and read though mine and realized I had made some progress, but I also need to step it up a little this month if I plan to accomplish them all!   And honestly this post is more for my benefit and accountability. although I hope it helps inspire and encourage you too. 

I summarized my original post putting my priorities and goals into a workable list so I can comment on which ones I still need to work on and which ones I have made progress on.  Goals are in bold, progress is in italics…

2012 GOALS

Grow in my relationship with the Lord

• spend daily time in His word and in prayer –working on this
• read through the Bible in a year – working on this
• read devotional books – hmmm..need to work on this

Nurture a loving relationship with my husband

• date nights every other Friday night – been doing this and even took a 4 day weekend trip together this past month so lots of dating and double-dating time. 
• find ways to encourage him (notes, spoken words)- wrote 1 note but need to do more this month – anyone have some fun Valentine ideas?
• find ways I can make his life easier (pack his lunches, clothes ready for work) – been working on making sure laundry is washed AND FOLDED/HUNG ready for him for work 🙂
• make meaningful conversations a priority – had some good talks on our trip but need to manage my “work” time better so I can spend more “un-working time” with him in the evenings – aka: put the laptop DOWN! 

Challenge myself to become a better woman, wife, homemaker.

• Read at least 12 books this year – read The Money Saving Mom’s Budget last month– read my thoughts on it here
• Take better care of myself (exercise, eat healthy, go to bed earlier) – I made a goal to go to bed earlier and what time is it right now??  gotta work on that! 
• Get my home organized and clean – made MUCH progress here!  Check out my before and after Simplify posts.  Just a few more rooms to go!
• Develop and maintain a weekly cleaning schedule in our home – I did develop a schedule, but maintained it ??– hmmm…guess that is this month’s project
• Keep the main living area of our home 30 min. to company clean – made a LITTLE progress on this but need to really conquer this goal THIS month
• Learn to LOVE where I live – working on developing thankfulness in all areas of life. 
• Make homemade laundry soap – bought laundry soap with coupons this month, does that count?  this will be a project for later this year…
• Learn how to make Artisan bread in 5 minutes – plan to do this in the next couple weeks
• Menu plan, menu plan, menu plan – STILL got to get better with this! 
• Challenge myself to grow in the kitchen with new recipes, making things from scratch, etc. – made several new things this month

Grow my blog and have FUN with it!

• find balance in home life, home priorities, and computer time is my # 1 goal under this priority – work in progress

Fun things I have planned to do and share on The Frugal Homemaker in 2012 (and I am sure this list will grow as the year goes on.)

• Do and blog about a monthly Pinterest project – whoops missed January so need to do 2 this month!  One is in progress…
• Make a DIY scarf – need to go buy some material
• Make pillows – bought some fun material on Saturday for this!
• Write several series  – working on the Simplify series right now
• Continue to work on room re-dos in my house – Kitchen, Half bath, Guest bedroom, Master bedroom, Master bathroom as budget and time allow – will begin these as soon as I am done organizing and simplifying
• Work on re-doing several pieces of furniture in my garage – will start this once it gets a little warmer outside
• Learn how to use my camera better – work through several series on how to take better pictures – having fun with the P52 project!  Still need to get my camera OFF auto!

Be a good steward of our finances. 

• Save even more this year by managing our money better – amazed this month how keeping better track of our finances and spending has allowed us to save more!
• One specific savings goal – save 75% towards the purchase of a new-to-us car (hoping to purchase in the fall/end of next year) – able to save January’s amount + a little extra!

Find ways to minister to those around me. 

• have guests in my home once a month – messy house + being out of town twice this month = failed at this for January.  Will try to catch up in February.
• minister to our others – found opportunities to reach out to our neighbors and a few others this month

I also made 12 specific HOME goals:

1.  Add a gallery wall in our entryway- found some more frames for it – hoping to work on it this month!

2. Work on our kitchen – working on some plans – will share next week for some advice

3. Re-do our 1/2 bath – priced some options at Home Depot

4. Continue to spruce up the outdoors  (in the spring) – think I might clean out the flower beds this week if we keep having 60 degree weather

5. Make our bedroom a sanctuary – been pinning some ideas, thinking about a color scheme, and discussing furniture options

6.  Transform some furniture – not yet

7.  Paint – repainted above the mantel

8. De-clutter and simplify – about 75% done with the BIG Simplify project and cleanout but plan to keep on doing this throughout the year

9.  Make our home more “us.” – been doing this a little by getting rid of things we no longer love, need, or want

10.  Focus on making our home a place we can minister in the area of hospitality – been working on getting it clean but didn’t have anyone over last month

11. Keep our living space (downstairs) 30 minutes to company clean. – made a tiny bit of progress but really need to buckle down and maintain this goal this month

12. But most of all, learn to LOVE where we live – work in progress but I did feel more content last month as I am working on being thankful for the things I have.

Encouraging to see some progress… Challenging to see how much I still need to do!

How about you?  Have you been working on your goals?  Made a lot of progress in January or have some catch-up to do in February? 

If you posted about your goals or a check-up post, share your link in the comments! 

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