2023 was a year filled with a lot of unexpected challenges and both expected and unexpected changes. I shared more in-depth about the year in my yearly recap with pictures over on Instagram. It was a year that really stretched me to capacity and taught me my own limits and need to ask for help and input from others. And the end result was a lot of good changes that have helped me to have more space and breathing room in my life to be able to be more intentional in the areas God has called me to invest in.
As a result of the lessons learned in 2023, I chose the word HEALTH as my word for the year. This is not just physical health, but also emotional health and spiritual health.
I haven’t done as good job of prioritizing physical health or emotional health the past few years and now that I’m not pregnant or adjusting to another new baby, it’s time focus on making health a real priority. (As most of you know, we brought home 4 babies in less than 4 years — two I birthed and two we fostered and one we adopted and the other we continue to provide childcare for. It’s been a gift and a good thing, but also lots of emotional roller coaster and physical exhaustion involved.)
With this in mind, I chose 22 goals for 2024. That might feel a little ambitious, but I’ve been working on many of these for the past few months, so a lot of them are already starting to become more habitual. This list makes me feel inspired and excited — and that’s what you really want with goals.
How I’m Planning in Grace for the Unexpected and Unknown
Plus, Jesse helped me to cut some of them down and to better quantify them so I’d be able to track them and know how I was doing. If you’ll notice, we built in wiggle room for traveling or sickness or other unexpected things that will come up that might keep me from being able to stick with each goal every single day. So that’s why we chose to set the goal of doing something consistently at least 300 days of the year. That feels a lot more doable, and if you miss a day here or there, you aren’t falling off the bandwagon!
I broke the goals into categories to make sure I was investing intentional time in my areas of priority. One thing you may notice is that I don’t have any goals that are specifically about my older three kids. While they are a big priority and I have various ways I work on intentionally investing time into their lives each week, I decided not to create goals for time with them as their schedules vary and I want to give them a lot of flexibility to live their life and not be tied to some number goal for something I set.
So, here are my 22 goals for 2024…
Physical Health Goals/Habits
1. Sunlight Before Screens at Least 300 Days — I have been highly inspired by Sarah sharing her health journey and how she’s feeling so much better by making sunlight and rest more of a priority. The past week, I’ve been waking up and going out to watch the sun rise before getting on any screens and it’s been so good. Just this simple act has had a trickle down effect in a lot of other areas in my life! So I’m aiming to go out every morning and read my Bible and spend some time soaking up some sun before I turn on any screen.
2. At Least 300 Walks Outside — Walking is so therapeutic for me! For the past two years, I’ve mostly walked on the treadmill in the mornings while praying over the details of my day. In 2024, my goal is to take those walks outside to breathe in the fresh air and get some extra natural light!
3. 1000 Hours Outside — I started working towards making this a 2024 goal back at the beginning of summer! Yes, it’s been a long time in coming. But I knew I needed to prep myself for it as I am not naturally someone who spends much time outdoors. But inspired by Ginny from 1000 Hours Outside and all the research she’d shared on the benefits, I’m going for it! I don’t know that I’ll hit 1000 hours, but I am absolutely positive I’m going to be spending a lot more time outdoors this year by making this a goal! If you want to hear more how this has already impacted me (or need some encouragement to consider making time outdoors a priority), listen to the podcast episode I did with Ginny Yurich.
4. Only Eat Refined Sugar Twice a Week — This is a big one for me, as I have a major sweet tooth and love homemade desserts and sweet breads. I started experimenting with this idea of making this a goal in 2024 in December, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be! It helps that I’ve found some yummy replacements for sweets that don’t have refined sugar — thanks to things like Zevia and Lily’s Chocolate! I’m also okay with having honey or maple syrup. Plus, instead of setting myself up for failure by saying no refined sugar at all, I’m setting the goal to only have two items with it every week. So I can carefully choose what I want to splurge on instead of just mindlessly eating lots of carbs and sugars like I tend to!
5. Consume 90 Grams of Protein at Least 300 Days — I have been sticking with this goal pretty consistently since the beginning of December and want to continue on with it. I notice a marked difference in my energy and stamina when I eat enough protein, so I’m hopeful that I make this a habit that comes naturally by the end of 2024!
Emotional Health Goals/Habits
6. No Screens After 8:30 p.m. at Least 300 Days — Our schedule is changing pretty significantly starting next week (Jesse and I will be sharing more about this in the podcast that drops this week), and one of the changes is that we’ll need to be getting all three kids up and out the door for the day by 7:25 a.m. In order to do this, we are working hard on having a much more established bedtime routine that starts earlier for all of this. So I’m implementing no screens after 8:30 p.m. to help with this. The only exception will be for a movie or show with Jesse or the older kids, but the goal is to have that finished/turned off by 8:45 p.m. at the latest.
7. Learn a New Skill: How to Make Sourdough Bread — I have long wanted to learn the art of sourdough. It really intimidates me, but I love sourdough bread so much that I decided this was the year I was going to keep practicing and learning until I master it. I was inspired to set this goal by Acts of Sourdough and purchased her starter and will be following her January plan to learn and practice! I’ll be posting my progress on Instagram if you want to follow along!
8. Complete 3 Embroidery Projects — I love embroidery but it’s something I’ve not done in years! I decided I really wanted to pick back up a handwork project this year so I asked for embroidery kits for Christmas. My sister gave me three and I set a goal to finish them all this year. I plan to work on them just 15-30 minutes at least a few nights a week while Jesse and I watch a show. I’ll be posting my progress on Instagram if you want to follow along!
9. Be Completely Offline 40 Sundays — Okay, full disclosure, while I don’t usually post on social media on Sundays, I’ve gotten into a really bad habit of doing different work projects on Sundays or just falling into rabbit holes online. Since I work online six days a week, it’s really important for me to have one day off each week. So in 2024, I’m committing to take at least 40 Sundays completely off. It’s not perfect, but it will be huge progress!
Spiritual Health Goals/Habits
10. Go through 4 She Reads Truth Bible Reading Studies — I love the She Reads Truth studies and I have a few sitting on my shelf that I haven’t gone through yet, so my Bible time this year will be working those readig plans/studies.
11. Finish 4 Devotionals — I have loved going through a devotional along with my Bible reading every morning this past year, so I’m going to continue doing that in 2024 and am excited to start and finish some new ones!
Reading Goals
12. Read 1000 Picture Books to the Kids — Our little kids LOVE picture books and we read a lot of them almost daily. I decided that it would be fun to track how many we read this year with the goal of reading 1000. Disclaimer: this is not 1000 different picture books. We often read their favorites over and over again and some we read almost every single day. So I’m counting each read as one picture book. If you’d like a free printable tracker for picture books, Homeschool Vintage has some really cute ones!
13. Read the first 4 Little House on the Prairie books aloud to the three younger kids. I’m planning to read a little bit from a chapter book every day at lunch to the little kids. This year, my goal is to finish the first 4 books in the Little House series. I think Kierstyn is at the perfect age to really enjoy them!
14. Read Through The Biggest Story Bible Storybook. We just finished up a devotional and an Advent devotional with the younger three, so we are starting this Bible Storybook and I plan to read one story from it every morning at breakfast. It has 104 stories, so we should easily be able to get through it this year!
15. Finish 75 Books — I only finished 41 books in 2023, which is a fairly low number for me. I have high hopes that 2024 is going to be a better reading year for me! I’m planning to read a few pages from some spiritually encouraging books in the morning, listen to some audiobooks throughout the day, and read 20-30 pages of a story-driven book at night before bed. If I mostly hit those goals, I should easily be able to finish 75 books in 2024. I post the books I’m reading on GoodReads and also will be sharing my honest reviews of books I read in my personal email newsletter every Saturday morning.
Homeschool Goals
16. Finish Junior Kindergarten + Preschool — I’ve been doing Memoria Press preschool with Micah and Junior Kindergarten with Kierstyn. We’ve been loving it and my plan is to finish it by summer.
17. Start Sonlight Preschool/PreK — In the fall, I’m planning to start Sonlight Preschool with Micah and Sonlight Pre-K with Kierstyn. These seem a little more advanced than Memoria Press and focus on different things, so they will fill in some holes before Micah moves up to starting a Pre-K program when he’s 3 and Kierstyn starts Kindergarten.
Marriage Goals
18. ABC Date Nights — I got this idea from Phylicia Masonheimer and Jesse and I are so excited about it! We are planning to pick one letter each week (starting with A and going through the alphabet) to have a date centered around. So for instance, A could be going to Applebees or getting Apple Cider or making Apple Pie, etc. And so on. We are going to trade off picking letters and planning a date around that letter. Since there are 26 letters of the alphabet, our goal is to have a date at least every other week so that we finish all 26 letters by the end of the year. I’ll be posting updates on Instagram and in my personal email newsletter if you want to follow along!
19. 2 Overnight Getaways — I will be weaning Micah in the next few months, so we want to get away for an overnight stay somewhere (probably local) twice this year. Due to having babies and then David’s medical needs, we haven’t had any overnight getaways in a few years and it’s high time we pick this back up again! We hope to be able to do more than one night away next year, but this year we’re starting with just one night and we’ll see how that goes!
Business Goal
20. 6 Product Launches/Sales — I’m so excited about some of the new things we are working on and cooking up! We will be launching a few new products this year and running a few really great sales. Our first product launch is in three days and it’s a product I think you are going to LOVE and it’s going to be on a really, really great sale January 4-6! Stay tuned!
Financial Goal
21. Pay Cash for Another Rental House — We bought a rental home last year with cash and Kathrynne is living in it while going to college. Kaitlynn will likely be living there with her next year and going to the same school. This is saving thousands of dollars + it will be a house we can rent out for a good monthly rate once they are finished living there. We have been saving to buy another rental and are hoping to have enough saved around midway 2024 to pay cash for another rental. We are still looking at where we want to purchase it, but are excited about this additional stream of income and new business venture!
Home Goal
22. Get the Main Floor Re-painted — This has been on our list for quite a long time and we decided it needed to be a goal this year so that it will hopefully actually happen!
How I’m Tracking My Goals
For all of the goals that have a number attached to them, I’m using the Strides app (iPhone only, unfortunately) to track them. You can put in the amount you want to hit by the end of a timeframe (in this case, by the end of the year) and then mark off every time you hit that goal. You can then see in real-time how you are doing and whether you are behind, ahead, or right on track with hitting your goal. I’ve been using it this past year and have found it to be so helpful!
Where You Can Follow Along With My Goals (changes to the blog!)
One big change that has already taken place (without you maybe even realizing!) is that I’m moving around where I’m sharing content.
This past year, I’ve really stepped back to rethink about the best way to show up online with the time and capacity I have. I tried a number of different things that didn’t work and felt like I was stretched too thin and always behind in trying to share what I wanted to share and never getting all of the posts up that I wanted to post.
As I contemplated things more, I realized that I could choose where and how to show up and it was okay to change the way I’ve done and approached things. I know, that seems so obvious, but I think I had gotten stuck in ruts and it took me awhile to realize this!
So as of a few weeks ago, I’ve moved most of my personal content that I had been sharing on the blog (albeit somewhat sporadically this past year) to my weekly personal email newsletter. If you want to read my book reviews, see peeks into our week, hear about what I’m thinking about/learning/trying, hear my goal updates, find out what I’m reading and watching, and know about what products I’m loving, etc. my personal newsletter will be the place to read about it!
I’ll also be sharing some of those things on the podcast and on Instagram, but the newsletter will be a more in-depth space for me to share + I’ll include links so you can go check out whatever products or posts or podcasts or books I’m talking about!
If You Want to Read My Personal Posts, Be Sure to Sign Up for My Personal Enewsletter
My personal email newsletter comes out every Saturday morning and you can sign up for it for free here. Here’s what you can expect from it every Saturday:
- Bits and pieces from our life — especially behind-the-scenes things that I might not share elsewhere
- Books I’m reading and really honest reviews — I’m moving my book reviews on the blog to this weekly email newsletter because I felt like that would give me a bit more freedom to share more in-depth and honestly than I feel like I can share in a public space that’s on the internet
- Things I’m loving — products, hacks, websites, music, etc.
- TV shows and movies we’re watching — and honest reviews!
- Lessons I’m learning, things I’m thinking about, etc.
- Any fantastic deals that I think you might want a heads up on
- New products we’re working on/launching — we have some exciting new things we’re rolling out in 2024!!
- Podcasts/interview links and details — If I released a podcast or if I was interviewed on a podcast, I’ll share the links and info in the weekly newsletter
Sign up for my personal enewsletter here.
Don’t worry! There will still be plenty of content here on the blog! I’ll still be sharing my grocery shopping trips and menu plans (I plan to share those on Mondays) and I’ll share a little weekly recap on Fridays with a few pictures and links, etc. but this will free up time and space for my to share more money-focused content here — which is something so many have been begging for. I have so many ideas for articles on different topics to help you save more money and be more intentional with your finances this coming year and this will make time and space for that here!
I see this change as the best of both worlds! It will allow me to still have a place to share personal content that so many of you love without you needing to listen to a podcast or follow on Instagram if those aren’t your things (but in a bit more of a less public way so I can share more openly like I’d like to be able to!) and it will free up space here on the blog for us to share more money-saving content to serve those who are looking specifically for ways to cut costs, pay down debt, and creatively increase their income or decrease their spending.
Thank You SO Much!
If you are still reading after this massively long post (I think this is the longest post I’ve written in a really long time!!), I just want to say thank you so much for being here. I’m so grateful to each and every one of you. 2024 marks 20 years that I’ve been blogging online… can you believe it? I started on LiveJournal sharing with my friends never dreaming it would someday be our family’s full-time income and that we’d have a small team helping us out. Getting to share online is a huge gift and one I don’t take lightly — and it’s only because of each of you that I’m able to do what I do. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you!
Any Questions??
Now, before I close: What questions do you have about my goals or word of the year or the blog changes? Ask away in the comments and I’ll be reading each comment and responding!
Dana says
I know that you would do your Bible/reading time on the treadmill, and how are you planning to do that now that you’re walking outside?
Crystal Paine says
I’m doing that on the screen-in porch after I walk. I used to just do my prayer time while walking on the treadmill so now I’m still doing my prayer time — just while walking outside!
Crystal Glisson says
Loved reading your goals and how you are accomplishing them. I was wondering with books you have read to you read all physical books or some kindle/audiobooks?
Also, with your protein intake, is it difficult to find protein for an affordable price? Do you incorporate this into your meals for the family or do you eat separate foods to accomplish the goal. Sorry I am very curious and have difficulty finding meals that are cost effective that reach protein goals that aren’t making different meals for myself and the family.
I love reading but don’t want to buy so many books so I find more online through different platforms but not sure if my kindle is considered screen time😋
Thank you!
Crystal Paine says
I don’t use a Kindle, but I do listen to audiobooks some in addition to reading physical books. I usually have one audiobook I’m listening to and 3-5 physical books I’m working on reading at any given time. As far as meals go, I usually have eggs/chicken/cheese for breakfast and then a decaf latte with protein powder. That’s 50ish grams of protein. So if I then have 40 grams of protein divvied up the rest of the day, I easily hit my goal. For me, it’s been starting the day with protein and getting in 50 grams by lunchtime!
Deanna says
Since you are reading 1000 books to the kiddos this year, you should see if one of your libraries does the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program! Ours did it and had little (very little lol) prizes every 100 books and a t-shirt at the end! My daughter really enjoyed it.
Crystal Paine says
That’s so cool!!
Theresa says
If you like the Little House books, you should visit some of the actual sites where the Ingalls family lived. The homestead in De Smet, SD is really cool and you can spend the night in a cabin or a covered wagon. (Bring warm jammies and extra blankets. It gets chilly.) The museum and dug out site in Walnut Grove, MN are also fun. Our children’s 3rd grade teacher reads the Little House books to her class every year. My daughter loved them and talked about Laura as if she were her friend. Our son is enjoying hearing them this year too. We’ve made it a priority to visit many of the sites and are looking forward to visiting another in Missouri this summer.
Crystal Paine says
We’ve visited the site in MO before and that was fun!! We’ll see if our kids get into the books or not! That would be fun to visit the SD and MN locations!
Deanna says
We did the walnut grove dug out and museum as well! And stayed in a cabin and wagon in DeSmet. So much fun!
Julie says
I love the idea of a certain amount by end of year but I’m afraid I’d get so off track I could never catch up. Any thoughts on that? Love reading about your goals.
Crystal Paine says
Tracking daily on the Strides app has been hugely helpful to me this past year!
Jenn Embury says
Looks and sounds like an amazing goals list! We have similar goals this year 🙂 wishing for and pray, praying for a healthy and happy year for you and your family💙 your blog continues to inspire me and to give me wisdom, and to bless me, so thank you
Crystal Paine says
YAY! Here’s to a great year!
María says
My 3 fun goals in 2023 were…
1. Learn to make sourdough bread
2. Learn brush pen embroidery
3. Learn calligraphy
All 3 done!
My 3 fun goals in 2024 are…
1. One fun exciting adventure every month
2. Learn pointed pen calligraphy
3. Learn to make plant based meals
Crystal Paine says
I love this! Thanks for sharing!
Kelly says
I know reading is a good thing but this past year as you’ve shared you’ve been stretched so thin in many directions, I’ve wondered how/why you make time to read SO MANY books… can you share why it’s such a priority? I’m blown away at how many books you read (especially when you say it was a low amount- it was high to me!) Genuine question, asked with curiosity!
Crystal Paine says
I LOVE reading! It’s something I learn so much from, grow so much from, and also it’s so relaxing to me. So it’s a really life-giving thing for me, not something that stretches me thin. The fact that I didn’t read at all as much as I’d hoped shows that I was feeling stretched thin and didn’t have as much time for relaxing and enjoying good books. It’s a sort of hobby for me, so I’m so happy that I have more margin in my life now so I can incorporate a lot more reading in — and I’m hoping this continues as I’ve missed it so much!
Kim Lego says
Do you have a new link to the Personal Daily Habits sheet that says 2024 at the top?
Crystal Paine says
Can you link to what you are referring to? I wasn’t sure.
Jen says
For your “no refined sugar” goal, check out Paleo desserts. I’ve eaten Paleo for 11 years and have a huge sweet tooth, and I can definitely still indulge it!
Regarding the “Little House” books, I cannot recommend highly enough the podcast “Wilder”. It takes a close look at the book series in light of the time we now live in, presents talking points with your children, and examines the dynamic between Laura and her daughter, Rose. It’s a must-listen podcast for fans of the books and/or TV show as well as history buffs.
Crystal Paine says
Thanks so much for these suggestions!
Lisa says
Recommended read for your journey. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality – Peter Scazzero. You can also get a workbook and devotional with it. It’s great to do with someone else or a group. Our church offers this as a class and I’ve seen so many people grow because of it.
Crystal Paine says
Oh! That was one of my top reads a few years back and I’m constantly recommending it to people!
Linnea Rein says
I am very encouraged by your goals. I am in a much different season of life at age 71. But I still love your ideas and can even adapt some of your goals to write my own. Thank you! I love your goal of completing 3 hand stitched projects this year. Many years ago, I made a goal to do 1 cross stitched Nativity each year. Some years it just didn’t happen, but now I have over 20 completed and framed Nativities that I display in our home or occasionally display at our church at Christmas. Some are simple; some are very complex .I hope to pass on my collection to my daughter. So I encourage you to work on your projects….they just might become heirlooms. Perhaps you will share your stitching journey in your newsletter? If you need inspiration, I can send you photos of the pieces I have completed.
Crystal Paine says
That’s amazing and so encouraging! And yes, I will try to share some pictures in the newsletter! Thank you for being here!
Jami says
Im looking to read devotionals in the mornings, too- do you have some good ones you’d recommend? Im nit sure i remember if you’ve included them in your books read. (I prefer more Biblical based ones vs. topical.) Thanks- I always find inspiring things in your goals!
Crystal Paine says
I’m reading one by Lysa Terkeurst to start the year and will be sharing about them in my book updates in my personal email newsletter throughout the year!
Rachel says
I find early bedtimes hard to maintain with teens who are in sports. How do you make that work?
Crystal Paine says
Silas is still in middle school, so he has earlier games and usually is done by 8:30 p.m. at the latest. Our plan is to have the little kids home by 7:30 p.m. on week nights, so that means that we’ll split up and I’ll go home with them if need be. But that shouldn’t happen too often.
Michele says
Hi Crystal,
I’ve been following your blog since 2009 and I’m thrilled to read about your plans for the blog/personal email this year. I’m not on Instagram so I look forward to getting a “peek into your week” as you have time to share. I’m also happy to hear you’ll be focusing the blog back to “saving families money.”
Thank you for all you do: For being an inspiration and encouragement to me and others!
Blessings on your 2024 💛
Crystal Paine says
Thank you so much for your encouragement and for being here!
sarah says
I took am looking forward to a lot of this as a 2010s follower, getting back to the basics and new ideas! We’re struggling a lot financially, and never really had these intense $$ hardships before to this level. We had a huge move a year ago to save money (to a rural area so everything is far) and we didn’t know the cost of living in this new area is sky high on a good day, then inflation kicked in to boot. All the things I know to do, and read here, we have done. And I can’t really work as I’m due in 7 weeks and I homeschool our older kids. Lol we need help!
Charlotte says
You are not alone Sarah!! We are in the same boat except not expecting a new little one.
Praying for you!!
sarah says
Thank you Charlotte. I read your comment about listening, and that is so refreshing and I can already see you’re working on it. 🙂 True listening is a rare thing, and thank you for praying.
Crystal Paine says
I’m so sorry that things have been so challenging!! I think a lot of people are in a similar space as you which is one reason why I wanted to have space and time to share more money-saving posts here again!
sarah says
Thank you again. We need wisdom and guidance.
I also wanted to say putting your goals at 300 days vs 365 is smart! Grace and wiggle room are so important.
Charlotte says
My personal word this year is listening. I did not know how valuable that is to folks.
Just listening to someone voice their concerns and opinions. It shows them how valuable they are.
Listening makes you present. Folks want to be celebrated and listened to.
I loved your post!! Praying for your word of the year. I can see why you chose health.
I pray that you maintain your health physically and mentally and spiritually!! Will continue to lift you up in prayer. Thanks for sharing!!
Crystal Paine says
Yes to listening!! And also, you could add listening to the Lord, listening to your body, etc.
TeacherMama says
Happy New Year! I never did a word of the year until last year. My cousin so sweetly asked me if I were to have one what would it be and what Bible verse would help me to keep the focus. She sent me a wooden plaque with the word on one side and my Bible verse reference on the back. It’s super cute; I keep it in my kitchen, where I see it several times a day. I never knew how much the Lord would use that one word! And you know it was effective when my kids say, “We need to be [flexible] like Mom’s word. So this year I’ve encouraged each of my kids to pray about a word. My word for this year is [walk]. Our pastor continually asks us how we live out the Gospel. So I want to [walk] in the truth by living out the Gospel as well as physically walk more.
I would love for you to share how you’re getting protein in(like specific meals). I struggle, because I do not enjoy eating meats as much, and I’m on a Paleo diet to help with my inflammation and PCOS(so little to no beans for me). My coach has me using the free app, Cronometer, which is a great visual for me to see if I’m getting enough in. I never realized how much of my proteins were actually categorized as fats. So I’m struggling. 😆 One thing that helps is cooking a bone-in turkey breast once a week. But I need more ideas. What protein powders do you use?
I absolutely love your posts and am always inspired. I have been following since you were freezer cooking for the arrival of Silas. You inspired me to be a heavy reader to my kids. Check if your library does the program: 1,000 Books before Kindergarten. Our library did that, and they got a reward bag at the end. My youngest was 2 when he completed that, and he ended being a full-fledge reader by 4!
Crystal Paine says
I do a lot of chicken, eggs, cheese, peanut butter, and some other meats + protein powder and collagen. For instance, yesterday I had chicken, eggs, and cheese for breakfast, a turkey and avocado sandwich on Dave’s Killer Bread for lunch, homemade healthy cookie dough for a snack and a decaf latte with protein for a second snack, and then turkey chili and cornbread for dinner.
Melissa Holliday says
I love folllwing your goals. You’re so inspiringg! Thank you for sharing.
Crystal Paine says
You are so welcome!
Patti Smith says
Very impressive list… thanks for sharing! Happy 2024!!!!!
Crystal Paine says
Happy 2024 to you, too!
Gina says
How do you eat 90 grams of protein daily?
Aiming for 30 grams each meal? Or 20 plus 2 15 grams snacks? Supplemental protein powder drinks with meal?
Crystal Paine says
I’ve been trying to get 70 grams in by dinner and then it’s usually pretty easy to get 20 grams at dinner. I’m eating lots of meat, peanut butter, eggs, cheese, etc. plus supplementing with collagen and protein powder.
Sophie says
This one of of my favorite blog posts to read each year. You’ve given me so many great ideas though the years. I’m struggling with energy these days. Did you read a book about counting protein that’s you’d suggest? Or just discover that is the right amount for you? I’m with you on refined sugar! I really just don’t need it or feel good when I do. At home we cook with honey, agave or coconut sugar. I genuinely enjoy these treats more because I don’t feel bad. Happy Nee Year Crystal! Thank you for spurring us on to be intentional.
Crystal Paine says
I didn’t read anything, just experimented over this past year and found what worked for me. Different people will tell you different things, but I’m going based upon my body weight x .75 grams of protein to come up with 90 grams.
Kris Conner says
Thank you! As a long time reader/follower I enjoy and look forward to your goal posts and updates each year as a source of inspiration, so I am happy to read about your aspirations for the upcoming year. I look forward to the updates.
Crystal Paine says
Aw! thank you so much for your encouragement and for being here!
Jeanine says
I absolutely love these changes. It feels like the “old” Money Saving Mom that I followed back in the 2010s. (Can you believe it was that long ago that I started following? I can’t!) Looking forward to what 2024 brings for MSM!
Crystal Paine says
Aw! Thank you so much! I took the last few months to really think and pray and be introspective about the future and am so excited about these changes!
Laura Hamm says
Look reasonable to me – leaving wiggle room. Have you tried Pyure or Truvia I try to use them whenever I can and swerve for baking. I love my coffee but sweeten with liquid stevia
Crystal Paine says
I’m not a huge fan of the processing for those so that’s why I’m mostly sticking with maple syrup and honey with a little stevia.
Debi Z says
You mentioned all 3 little kids needing to be out the door early in the morning. I think I remember Kierstyn and David are both in preschool. What’s up with Micah? Also, your goals are so inspiring! How do you deal with getting sunlight before screens when the sun comes up so late? I do great with it in the summer, but our day is started in the winter before it’s light outside 😳
Crystal Paine says
He can’t stay home by himself so he’s going with us to drop offs and then Jesse will drop me off to work at the co-working space and he and Micah will have some one-on-one time together. 🙂
I would just wait to get on screens until after the sun rises enough that I can go outside and view it a bit. That’s what I did last week in KS where it doesn’t rise until around 7:45.
Robin says
I am curious how you manage to maintain a rental property that is not where you live. Do you hire someone or a property management company? How do you find that person? I realize that your daughter is living there now, but when it is a renter who is not related how will you manage it? (I am thinking repairs and other issues that arise.)
Crystal Paine says
When we had three rentals in KS, we worked with a rental management company and they took care of most everything for us. It was so helpful and worth the percentage we paid to them!
Kathleen Dillie says
Feeling dense here. I’ve never thought of categorizing my goals before. Brilliant! Love your word of the year. Mine is Kindness. I chose it mainly because I want to do all I can to be others focused this year. When you’re going through a rough time, moving your focus from self to others is an amazingly effective therapy.
Crystal Paine says
I find that it’s so helpful for me to categorize things to see how/what I’m prioritizing! And I love your word of the year!