resolved... 2013

Well, now that we know how 2012 turned out, it’s about that time to talk about goals for 2013.  I liked paring down the resolutions to four categories last year, so I’m going to stick with that again. 

1.       Faith –  for real this year, going to read the Bible, cover-to-cover.  Well, actually, I’m going to read everything between the front and back cover, but not exactly in order from beginning to end.   I’ll be reading along with our church using the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan.  I’m already 11 days in and you can use the YouVersion App for this reading plan, so I have the paper PDF calendar cut up in tiny pieces for my regular calendar, but I’m also checking off the readings using the app.   Double the accountability, right?

2.       Budget – we’re sticking to our budget this year (seriously, we must!).  We’re REALLY trying to save money on our biggest area of spending (food) so that we can pay off our student loan debt.  We would absolutely LOVE to kiss those payments GOODBYE!  You can see we switched over to a monthly menu plan, and so far I'm loving it.  It is hard work once a month, but then it simplifies things a TON for the rest of the month.  

3.       Health – run another half-marathon (going to accomplish that next week) and plan for my 4^th !  Also want to make better decisions regarding food and keep up a regular fitness routine, to include running at least 3x/week, and perhaps picking up speed.  Talking to my running buddies about starting this plan after next week's race!

4.       House – I’ve got MAJOR plans in the works for our house this year.  We got a new TV for Christmas and that is snowballing into a big re-arrangement of furniture in our house, new chairs for our den, and I hope the plans also will include new paint throughout, getting countertops re-done and a few more improvements along the way!  Stay tuned for posts on our progress!  **Since I originally wrote this post, we have already purchased some super cute recliners from Marshall's.... Let me just tell you, never hesitate to negotiate with the manager for a better deal... hurrah extra 20% off and getting two chairs for less than the original price of one!**

So those are just a few things I'm looking forward to in 2013... what are your goals this year??

resolved.... a look back at 2012 resolutions

Well, here it is January 2013, a brand new year!  Let’s look back at last year’s resolutions…

1.       Memorize more scripture… well, originally I started out verse by verse, and then got involved with memorizing the first book of James when I participated in the James Bible Study by Beth Moore. I memorized James 1:1-25.  I’m a little disappointed in myself that I memorized all but 2 verses of the first chapter.  However, memorizing 25 verses is quite a feat, and that’s nearly 1 verse for every 2 weeks out of the year, so that was pretty good.  I’m considering whether to continue the challenge to memorize the entire book of James this year, or to see about memorizing different parts of scripture.  What do you think?  I’m also pretty disappointed that I didn’t do a good job documenting the other verses I memorized this year.  I’ll try to do better J

2.       Cash only budget for food… yep, didn’t stick to this one.  We followed our spending much more closely this year, but by and large, still spent a VAST amount of money on food.  Going to continue this as a goal to help us save some more this year, except we won’t do the cash-only version since I can never keep up with cash.  We’ll just be tracking carefully on our budget in the giant excel file (yep, I'm a big spreadsheet nerd).   

3.       2^nd Half-Marathon – DONE!  And with a PR to boot!  And I’m in the midst of training for my 3^rd half, coming up in just a few weeks, so I’d say I kicked that resolution’s behind!    Overall, I could definitely stand to continue making strides in the healthy food choices department and need to figure out what my next fitness goal is after this half marathon!

Me, Jenny & Jennifer after the Georgetown, SC Half-Marathon

4.       Figuring out household chores… definitely NOT done.  Teamwork is key here, as clutter doesn’t bother me and dirt doesn’t bother my husband.  So, if he can help me keep the clutter in check, I can work on the dirt.  Still LOTS of room for improvement though! 

So 2 out of 4 isn't too bad, considering it's not often that resolutions are kept.  Did you keep any of your resolutions or goals from 2012??  Check back later this week to see my goals for 2013.

Monthly Menu - January 2013 - Happy New Year!

Part of the reason I considered no longer posting my menus is because I felt like I was in a rut and not getting too many new ideas.  The truth is, we've settled into certain "favorite" dishes, and I just make them over and over again, so my menu's tend to repeat certain things week after week.  However, I went back through the last two years' menus and made a list of our favorite recipes, and realized, there are about 60 different things we love, and we've just not been mixing it up too much.

Enter, the MONTHLY menu.  I know it seems daunting, but putting together a monthly menu wasn't all that hard, especially when I had the list of all our favorites right at my fingertips.  I tried to plan at least one crockpot meal a week, a night out for dates or other plans, and a few leftover/pantry clean-out meals each week.  I also tried set aside at least one weekend day to try new recipes.  Often, when I haven't made something before, we end up eating really late at night because I haven't given myself enough time for preparing a new recipe.  Monthly planning also assures that we don't eat the exact same meal (unless its leftovers) within the same month, hopefully cutting back on some of the boredom I was feeling about our menus.

And, since it's the new year, let's face it, I'm hoping this will also save us some money!  So here's to trying something new in 2013!

Week 1: January 1-5

·         Thai Chicken Bites with Rice and Edamame

·         Pork Chops and Baked Sweet Potatoes

·         OUT to eat once

·         Leftovers/Pantry Meal

·         Grilling Burgers, French Fries, Salads

Week 2: January 6-12

·         Chicken Pot Pie *New Recipe*

·         OUT to eat once

·         Leftovers/Pantry Meal

·         Grilling Steaks, Salads, Easy Onion-Roasted Potatoes

·         Breakfast for Dinner

·         Crockpot Lasagna with Salad and Garlic Bread *New Recipe*

·         Leftovers

Week 3: January 13-19

·         OUT to eat once

·         Leftovers/Pantry Meal

·         Dinner in Charleston before Half-Marathon!

·         Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Potato Salad and Cole Slaw

·         Buffalo Chicken Crescents (with Leftover Chicken) and Salad

·         California Turkey Burgers, Homemade Guacamole with Chips, Black beans

·         Beer, Cheese &; Corn Chowder (Freeze Half for Later)

Week 4: January 20-26

·         OUT to eat once

·         Chicken Chili with Cornbread

·         Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches *New Recipe*

·         Leftovers

·         Grilled Pork Chops, Potatoes and Salad

·         Baked Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, and Salad

·         Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Soup and Salad

Week 5: January 27-31

·         OUT to eat once

·         Chicken Burritos, Blackbeans, Rice  (Make double recipe and freeze for later)

·         Easy Crockpot Potato Soup

·         Leftovers

·         Meatball Gyros with Tomato, Cuc & Onion Salad

resolved....

It is hard to believe we're rolling right into another new year.  I didn't really put all my resolutions out there for the world to see last year, but I can tell you that I kept only two of them (budgeting and menu planning).   I aim to do much better this year, but mostly by setting realistic goals in a few specific areas that will help me meet some of those overall resolutions!

So here you have them...

Faith - Memorize more scripture.... Last year, I set a goal to memorize 52 scriptures, and I didn't make it very far into the 52!  In 2012, my goal is to constantly have a verse in practice, and once I have it committed to memory, add another one to the list.  If it takes me longer than a week to memorize a verse, I am not tied down to that specific "52" number.  If it only takes me 1 day to memorize, I can commit multiple verses to memory in one week.  I'll keep you posted here on how I'm doing!

Budget -  This year, we're going to stick to a weekly cash-only budget for food and hopefully that will help us to save money.  By and large, after our tithe, household bills and student loans, our largest expense monthly is FOOD!  So, here's to cutting back on wasteful spending in that area!

Health - train for and complete my 2nd half-marathon (and maybe my 3rd as well!)  Along with budgeting for food (which means cooking more, eating out less) and a routine exercise schedule, I hope to be much more healthy in 2012!

Household - figure out some sort of schedule for household chores.  Learn to get them done and out of the way, rather than procrastinate and have them pile up so that I have even MORE to do.  If anyone has any suggestions on this, let me know, cause I desperately need help in this area!

I'm resolved to tackle these four areas in 2012.... what have you resolved to do?!

Menu Planning - Week 20!

Wow, can't believe we've been at this menu planning thing for 20 weeks!!!  I'm fairly sure this is one of the only new-year's resolutions I've ever kept.  AND, one of the best.  In just 6 short weeks, we'll be half way through 2011.  I can hardly believe the year is passing us by so quickly, but I do believe menu planning is in our life to stay!

My half marathon training starts this week, so I'll be planning lots of things that can be popped in the oven or crockpot or cooked by hubby or thrown together at the last minute until I get the hang of the new schedule.

5.14.11 - Monthly Dinner Club @ Scott & Meredith's - we're in charge of bringing a veggie so we're taking Asparagus  for grilling!

5.15.11 - Supper Swap - Making Saucy Pork Chops for Crockpot, Rice & Okra

5.16.11 - Parmesan Crusted Chicken w/ Spinach, Tomatoes & Goat Cheese

5.17.11 - Spaghetti w/ Italian Sausage

5.18.11 - Leftovers/Sandwiches/Salads

5.19.11 -  Girl's Night Out for Dinner 

5.20.11 - Grilled Flank Steak w/ Tomatoes, Red Onions & Balsamic

Bible Reading & Memorizing in 2011

This year, I'm planning to read my Bible daily, in order to read it completely through in just one year. The plan I'm using splits the reading into 2 Old Testament and 2 New Testament passages daily. In the past, I have tried and failed to read "cover-to-cover", so I'm hoping this different plan will make it easier.

I also hope to increase the amount of scripture I have memorized because I find the more verses I commit to memory, the more I find their applications in my life. Last year with my Bible study, we memorized verses weekly, and Psalm 1 was one of my favorites. I know this verse will encourage me this year as I endeavor to read all of God's word and tuck away more and more of it in my mind and heart. My aim is to have 52 passages under my belt come 2012 and I'm starting by re-committing Psalm 1:1-3 to memory:

"Blessed is the one who does not walk in the steps of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on His law both day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."

2011 is here!

Well, the new year is finally here! We've had a crazy busy holiday season, and have enjoyed the first day of 2011 simply relaxing at home, enjoying the chance to simply do nothing. I've got lots of things I've got in mind for "resolutions," but want to really commit to them before I write more. Probably more to come on that as January moves in....

However, one thing we have already decided on for this year is to work on our budget and one major place we decided to focus was on food. In the last year, my checkbook register was filled with the MANY restaurants we frequent. We tend to do better cooking at home when we have a plan, so I've decided to get back to menu planning, especially inspired by Leigh, who posted 52 weeks of menus in 2010. (You'll probably be seeing a lot of links to her recipe blog, too, since she makes some fabulous food!)

My thought is that if I post my menu weekly, I'll be more likely to stick to it, and when I'm stumped as to what to fix, I can go back and look at past weeks for ideas. The girls from work are also starting back up with our supper-swap this month, so we'll have a good set of meals every few weeks to throw in the mix!

So, here we go for 2011.....

Week 1 Menu

Saturday 1.1.11 - Leftovers and sandwiches/soup

Sunday 1.2.11 - Venison cube steak, rice & gravy, salad

Monday 1.3.11 - California Turkey Burgers w/ Guacamole, Chips & Salsa

Tuesday 1.4.11 - Paula Dean's grilled pork tenderloin w/ Spicy Sweet Potatoes

Wednesday 1.5.11 - Taking dinner to friends... probably Lasagna Casserole

Thursday 1.6.11 - Cheesy Chicken & Corn Chowder with sandwiches

Friday 1.7.11 - Date Night Out and/or Date Night IN with Leftovers .... depending how we feel at the end of the week :)

Let me know what you're eating in 2011, so I can try some new stuff, too!