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Shared Jun 10, 2014 comment

ALDI: Make 25 Meals for a Family of 4 Under $150!

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 10, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

So yes, I sorta, kinda, really like Aldi. You may have noticed that. 🙂

At any rate, I was pretty excited to see that I Am That Lady had put together a complete menu with 25 meals for less than $150! This menu plan includes main dishes, side dishes, and vegetables for a family of four.

Get the complete menu and shopping list here. (You can purchase the printable pack for $1.97 if you’d like to have all the details on the menu plan and shopping list. However, all the basics you’ll need to know are in the blog post free of charge.)

Shared Jun 9, 2014 comment

My Morning Routine: Day 3

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 9, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

How’s your new morning routine going? I’m encouraged at the slow and steady progress I’m making each day in following my New Morning Routine.

Here’s how this morning went this morning:

5:45 a.m. — My alarm clock goes off. It’s raining outside and I’m still tired, so I lie back down to sleep “for a few more minutes” (ahem).

6:13 a.m. — I roll over and look at the time and realize that “a few more minutes” was actually almost 30 minutes… oops! I get up and go downstairs to the kitchen to make some coffee. While the coffee is brewing, I unload the clean dishes out of the dishwasher and re-load a few dirty dishes that were left in the sink last night.

6:30 a.m. — While I’m thinking of it, I gather the dirty laundry from the various hampers (everyone has a hamper in their room) and start a load of laundry.

6:43 a.m. — How did 30 minutes already go by?? I read my Bible, write in my Blessings journal, and read 4 chapters from Pursue the Intentional Life (the chapters are short, so that’s not as ambitious as it sounds!)

7:21 a.m. — Jesse arrives home from the gym. I head upstairs and wake the kids up. While they get up and around, I make our bed, clean up our room, and do a quick clean of our bathroom.

7:35 a.m. — The kids and I sit down at the kitchen table and I read a few pages from Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing to them, as well as a chapter from Brother Andrew: Behind Enemy Lines. Jesse makes bacon and eggs while we’re reading.

8:00 a.m. — I head out to the garage to run on the treadmill. I read a chapter from Love Idol while doing my walking warm-up and then listen to Romans 1 on the YouVersion Bible app while running.

8:23 a.m. — I come back in and get some water to drink and notice Jesse has a plate of bacon and eggs set out for me (yes, he’s such a great guy!). He’s already sent the kids upstairs to take baths, get dressed, and do their morning chores. We chat about the day while I eat breakfast and then I head upstairs to take my shower and start my morning computer work.

It feels good to get so much done by 8:30 a.m. and I’m excited because I manage to keep the laptop off until after 8:30 a.m. today. Yay!

How did you do on your morning routine today? Let us know in the comments!

Shared Jun 9, 2014 comment

This Week’s Menu + One-Hour Freezer Cooking Plan

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 9, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Breakfasts

Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Granola, Cereal, Flaky Biscuits, and/or Fruit

Lunches

Pizza Pockets
Brown Sugar Meatloaf, blueberries, cucumbers
Snack-y lunch {veggies, cheese, fruit, crackers, etc.}
Sack Lunch at the Park with Friends: PB&J, carrot sticks, apples
Leftovers x 3

Snacks

Fruit/veggies
Popcorn
Boiled eggs
Homemade Energy Bites

One-Hour Freezer Cooking

Million Dollar Spaghetti
Slow Cooker Cowboy Beans
Homemade Energy Bites

Dinners

Meaty Monday (A local family coordinates this every week & they were so gracious to invite us to be apart — it’s a weekly informal gathering of friends — each family brings some kind of meat for the grill and some kind of side.)
Slow Cooker Cowboy Beans, brown rice, steamed veggies
Pasta Salad Bar, fruit
Homemade Pepperoni Pizza
Steamed Cabbage With Beef
Million Dollar Spaghetti
Dinner Out

What’s on your menu this week? Tell us in the comments or leave a link to your menu plan post.

Shared Jun 9, 2014 comment

12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge: Week 23 Check-in

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 9, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Are you joining us for the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge? If so, it’s time for our weekly check-in to post our progress.

June’s Challenge:

We’re focusing on developing the habit of a better morning routine. I encourage you to create a simple and doable morning routine and to stick with it.

New to this challenge? Read more details on the plan for this year here.

My Morning Routine Challenge for June

I created a new morning routine (see it here) and am blogging daily about how it’s going for me. See Friday’s update on my morning routine here.

I’m also hoping to keep up with January’s habit of exercising at least 4-5 times every week, February’s goal of eating a big salad at least six times a week, March’s goal of drinking 8 glasses of water a day, April’s goal of cutting back on sugar, and May’s goal of getting at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night.

This Week’s Progress:

I’m making some good headway on my morning routine. And it’s making SUCH a difference!

Also: I slept at least 7.5 hours five nights. I hit my water goals five days, exercised four days, ate a salad five of the days, and had dessert just once. Progress!

How Are YOU Doing?

Leave a comment telling us how you did on your exercise goals this past week. If you’re blogging about this challenge, leave the direct link to your blog post about the challenge below. Are you on social media? You can also share your progress on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter by using hashtag #12MonthstoaHealthierYou.

Shared Jun 9, 2014 comment

Our First Trip to a TN Library = Success!!

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 9, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Yesterday, we took our first trip to the Williamson County library and it was a HUGE success! We’d heard great things about the library here and we were so happy that the library lived up to everything we’d been told and more!

We were incredibly impressed with all the great books they have. My kids were especially stoked to find so many Adventures in Odyssey books/DVDs!

I’ve been so happy to see my kids in various parts of the house with their noses stuck in books today. As a lifetime lover of books myself, it just makes me so happy to see my kids becoming such bookworms. 🙂

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Shared Jun 9, 2014 comment

My 10 Goals For This Week

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 9, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

It was so good to be home all last week! I even ended up having a few days where I stayed home all day long — which was a nice change of pace after almost two months of lots of activities and travel.

We’re excited to have another week at home this week! I think we’re starting to really feel settled in here in TN and we’re starting to get on a good schedule, too. That’s helped me not only feel a little more organized but also helped me be able to get back to accomplishing more of my goals!

This Week’s Goals:

Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals

~~1. Read 4 chapters of Brother Andrew: Behind Enemy Lines aloud to the kids.~~

~~2. Take the kids to the library.~~

~~3. Write a love note to Jesse.~~

4. Finish embroidering quilt square for my sister’s baby quilt. {I made some progress on this, but didn’t get it all done — hopefully this week!}

Personal Goals

~~5. Work on memorizing & reviewing Romans 1:1-29.~~

~~6. Make a hair appointment~~ (I’ve been putting this off ever since we moved — finally got one scheduled for this Tuesday!)

7. Finish reading The Traitor’s Wife, Breathe, I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t), and The Measure of Success. {I did a lot of reading this past week, but didn’t even up finishing any books — hopefully this coming week I’ll have more progress to report here!}

Business Goals

8. Work on writing a new ebook. {I decided to shelve this for a week since I wasn’t feeling inspired for it!}

~~9. Write one guest post for another blog.~~

10. Shoot one video for my YouTube channel.

This Week’s Goals:

Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals

1. Finish reading Brother Andrew: Behind Enemy Lines aloud to the kids. Read 4 chapters of The Saturdays to the kids.

2. Go to the Farmer’s Market.

3. Write a love note to Jesse.

4. Finish embroidering quilt square for my sister’s baby quilt.

Personal Goals

5. Work on memorizing & reviewing Romans 1:1-30.

6. Exercise 5 times.

7. Finish reading Breathe, Mom’s Night Out, Love Idol, Pursue the Intentional Life, and The Measure of Success.

Business Goals

8. Work on writing a new ebook.

9. Work on launch plan for a new product we’re releasing in a few weeks.

10. Shoot one video for my YouTube channel. {I’m determined that this goal is actually going to happen this week — since I’ve put it off for the past few weeks!}

How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.

Shared Jun 7, 2014 comment

A Peek Into Our Week: Cousins, Krispy Kreme, Home Depot Kid’s Workshop, and a new morning routine!

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 7, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We had a much more laid back week this week — which was so nice! We started the week off by having my brother, sister-in-law, and their two girls here. Our kids were so excited to get to see their cousins!

We visited some historic sites in Franklin, including the site of the Civil War Battle of Franklin.

We also visited the McGavock Confederate Cemetery.

Learning more of the history surrounding the Battle of Franklin was fascinating — and made us want to read and learn all we can about it and other historical events in this area now that we live here in TN.

Later that evening, we went to Sweet CeCe’s for an ice cream treat!

The summer activities began this week for our kids! To keep it simple, each child got to choose one sport/lessons to participate in.

Silas chose soccer, Kaitlynn chose ice skating, and Kathrynne chose swimming. It’s so fun to watch them throwing themselves wholeheartedly into something they love and to see their determination, endurance, and perseverance being built in the process.

{By the way, for those of you who asked to see a picture of my new bag from Charming Charlie, you can see it in the picture above.}

This week, I worked on making a new morning routine a habit (see the new routine here, if you missed my post on it). I’m going to keep blogging about my morning routine every day this coming week to help me (hopefully!) make it more of a habit… because I need all the accountability I can get!

Wednesday, I practically floated home after my grocery shopping trip… because I stayed under budget and found some pretty good deals (see everything I bought and the prices I paid in this post here)! Not anything downright and utterly amazing, but SOOO much better than my first TN shopping trip.

I’m making headway — huzzah!!! Next week, I might just be brave enough to try using coupons at Publix!

On Thursday, Jesse and I did a little cooking in the kitchen together. You can find the recipe links for what we made and lots more pictures here.

It was National Doughnut Day on Friday and we celebrated by getting FREE Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Because who can resist free Krispy Kreme??!

Today, our kids enjoyed another Free Kid’s Workshop at The Home Depot! These Kid’s Workshops are the first Saturday of every month and my kids LOVE them. They get to create some sort of fun project, all the supplies and tools are provided, and it’s completely free!

So that was our week in a nutshell. How was YOUR week? Anything interesting or exciting happen at your house? Tell us about it in the comments!

Shared Jun 7, 2014 comment

12 Books I Plan to Read in June

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 7, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

As I shared in January, I’m changing the way I’m approaching my reading goals in 2014. Instead of picking books for the whole year, I’m just choosing books a month at a time.

I’m probably being overly ambitious with my book list for June, but since we’re heading into summer and life has settled down for us a lot more now that the move and my busy travel season are behind us, I’m really hopeful I’ll have time to get back to more reading. We’ll see!

At any rate, I’m going to attempt to read 12 books in June (some of these are carried over from my April and May lists since I didn’t get much reading done those months). Here’s my list of what I’m hoping to read:

12 Books I Plan to Read in June

I also am reading through the Bible using the plan in my Blessing Journal and reading one devotional from Jesus Today every day.

3 Books I Plan to Read Aloud to My Kids

Devotional: Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing
Brother Andrew: Behind Enemy Lines
The Saturdays

What books are you planning to read in June? Leave a comment and let us know — and then you can come back at the beginning of July to tell us what you ended up reading and what you thought of the books you read!

Shared Jun 6, 2014 comment

My Morning Routine: Day 2 Update

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 6, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

How did your morning routine go this morning? I had a much better morning this morning than yesterday.

It’s still not right in line with my Planned Morning Routine, but little bit by little bit I’m making headway. And I’m hoping to continue slowly moving in the right direction.

Here’s how my morning went:

6:15 a.m. — Wake up, read Bible, read Pursue the Intentional Life, write in my Blessings journal.

6:35 a.m. — Silas wakes up. I snuggle with him and invite him to be apart of my morning prayer time (I’ve really been working on not viewing my children as “interruptions” to my quiet time, but instead, encouraging them to participate in it with me if they get up early!)

6:42 a.m. — I bring Silas out to the garage with me and have him play with the basketball while I run on the treadmill. I listened to my Scripture memory work on my Bible app on my phone while running.

7:00 a.m. — Start a load of laundry. Open the box of toilet paper from Amazon and organize it in the hall closet.

7:10 a.m. — Hop on and check something online really quickly (I know, I know… I’m still working on not doing this until after 8:30 a.m.!)

7:25 a.m. — Jesse gets home from the gym and helps Silas get his breakfast while I hop in the shower.

7:45 a.m. — I get Silas ready for soccer camp and pack a snack for him.

7:52 a.m. — Jesse takes Silas to soccer camp, the girls get up and around, while I finish getting my hair fixed and makeup on.

8:00 a.m. — I make our bed, clean up our room, and do a quick clean of our bathroom.

8:15 a.m. — Then, I head downstairs and make some breakfast (fried eggs — leftover from yesterday’s breakfast, blueberries, and Flaky Biscuits — made last night — with Apple Butter that my sister-in-law made and canned for us).

8:30 a.m. — While the girls are finishing getting their morning chores done, I clean up the kitchen, load the dishwasher, do a few dishes that don’t fit into the dishwasher, and switch the load of laundry to the dryer.

And then it’s time to start my Morning Computer Time. It feels so good to have gotten so much done before I turned on the computer!

How did you do on your morning routine today? Let us know in the comments!

Shared Jun 6, 2014 comment

Frugal Fun: Free Krispy Kreme doughnuts!!

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 6, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

It was National Doughnut Day today and we celebrated by getting FREE Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Because who can resist free Krispy Kreme??!

It did my heart good to see so many other local folks crowded into Krispy Kreme getting their free doughnuts, too. And the staff at Krispy Kreme was doing such a fantastic job of warmly serving all the customers who were waiting in line to get free doughnuts. Based upon how many people who were there when we were, it had been a very busy day for them.

Did you stop by Krispy Kreme or Lamar’s for free doughnuts today??

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Shared Jun 6, 2014 comment

Brigette’s $77 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6

Published: by Brigette on June 6, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Note from Crystal: My oldest sister, Brigette, lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children. I asked her recently if she’d start sharing her shopping trips here since she’s an amazing bargain-shopper and has some different stores in her area than Gretchen and I do. Enjoy!

(Note from Brigette: I generally try to stay around $50/week for groceries, but this week my brother and his family of 4 will be staying with us for 3 days, so I gave myself a little extra in the budget!)

Aldi

1 bag frozen boneless Chicken Breasts – $5.99

2 packages Butter ($2.49 each) – $4.98

3 dozen Eggs ($1.35 each) – $4.05

1 jar Salsa – $1.69

1 5-lb bag Flour – $1.55

2 42-oz containers Old Fashioned Oats ($2.29 each) – $4.58

2 24-oz cartons Cottage Cheese ($2.29 each) – $4.58

1 jar Olive Oil – $2.99

2 Avocados ($0.79 each) – $1.58

1 Cucumber – $0.39

1 package Baby Carrots – $0.99

2 3-pk Colored Peppers ($1.99 each) – $3.98

1 3-ct package Romaine Hearts -$1.99

1 8-oz package Baby Mushrooms – $0.99

2 packages Grape Tomatoes $0.99 each) – $1.98

1 bunch Bananas (2.84lb @ $0.44/lb) – $1.25

1 10-lb bag Potatoes – $3.49

1 12-oz package Chocolate Chips – $1.59

1 box Honey Wheat Puffs – $1.79

1 box Corn Flakes – $1.49

1 box Frosted Flakes – $1.49

1 can Black Olives – $0.99

Total: $54.40

BI-LO

5 8-oz packages Oscar Meyer Oven Roasted Turkey (B1G1 free) – $7.45, plus receive a $4 catalina wyb 5 – $0.69 each (I realize these aren’t the healthiest choice ever, but with out-of-town company here, I thought these would be great for quick, easy lunches! :))

2 64-oz cartons So Delicious Coconut Milk ($2 each) – used $0.55/1 So Delicious Dairy Free Product (doubled) – $0.90 each (I am dairy-free right now since dairy doesn’t agree with my nursing baby!)

1 box (30-ct) gallon Freezer Bags – $1.59 (not a good deal – we just needed these!)

1 package Foam Plates – $1.21, used $1 off any paper plate purchase (BI-LO catalina coupon) – $0.21 after coupon :

Total after Sales and Coupons: $11.05, plus receive $4 catalina back

Harris Teeter

3 boxes Annie’s Mac and Cheese (B1G1 ) – $3.28, used 3 $0.35/1 Annie’s printable – $0.39 each after coupon

1 8-oz Daisy Sour Cream – $1.00

2 bags Utz Multigrain Tortilla Chips (B1G1) – used 2 $0.75/1 Utz Chips (doubled) – $0.24 each after coupons

1 Eggplant – reduced to $.60

1 family size bag Pictsweet Green Beans – $1.84, used $0.50/1 Pictsweet Product from Red Plum insert 03/02/14 (doubled) – $0.84 after coupon

Used $4 catalina received from previous BI-LO purchase (Yes, Harris Teeter is AWESOME about taking OYNO catalina coupons from other stores – even Walgreens register rewards!)

Total after Sales and Coupons $0.09 (!)

Sunbeam Bakery

(I love stopping at this factory outlet store – it’s right on the way to other grocery stores, and they almost always have reduced-price bread! Several of these loaves will go straight to the freezer.)

3 loaves Sara Lee 100% Whole Wheat Bread ($0.50 each) – $1.50

1 loaf Sara Lee Honey Wheat Bread – $0.50

1 package Sara Lee 16-ct Hot Dog Buns – $1.00

Total: $3.00

Local Farmer’s Market

(I’m SO happy it’s fresh peach season here in SC! Yum!!)

1 box Green Beans (11 lbs) – $5.00

Tomatoes ($0.99/lb) – $1.50

Peaches ($0.99/lb) – $2.42

Total: $8.92

Total for all Groceries for the Week: $77.46

Menu Plan for This Week

Breakfasts

Scrambled Eggs, Toast, Fruit, Homemade Granola, Cereal, Banana Muffins, Freezer-Friendly Baked Oatmeal, Smoothies

Lunches

Turkey Sandwiches, PB and J Sandwiches, Macaroni and Cheese, Baked Potato Bar, Fresh Raw Veggies, Fruit

Dinners

Homemade Pizza, Tossed Salad, Pineapple

Grilled Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, Homemade Freezer Biscuits, Fruit Salad

Haystacks, Green Beans

Venison Roast in the Crockpot, Baked Potatoes (I always use olive oil and sprinkle with additional spices such as rosemary), Steamed Carrots, Pull Apart Oat Rolls

Three Cheese Baked Spaghetti, Homemade French Bread, Green Beans, Tossed Salad

Cheesy Hamburger Potato Soup, Banana Muffins, Fresh Veggie Plate

Leftovers

Snacks

Chewy No Bake Granola Bars, Fruit and Veggies, Smoothies

Shared Jun 5, 2014 comment

One-Hour Freezer Cooking: Pizza Pockets, Pepperoni Pizza, and Flaky Biscuits

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 5, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I did a One-Hour Freezer Cooking session today while Jesse was making dinner. It was so fun for the two of us to be working in the kitchen together!

I ground some whole-wheat flour first since I was running low on flour.

And had a little spill with the flour mill… whoops!

After grinding up some flour, I made a batch of Freezer-Friendly Pizza Dough.

I used half of the Freezer-Friendly Pizza Dough to make Pizza Pockets.

I basically just put a little pizza sauce (leftover from something I made last week) and some pepperoni and shredded cheese (also leftover from another recipe — I’d stuck the extras in the freezer last week) and then folded them up and baked them.

I used the rest of the dough, pepperoni, pizza sauce, and shredded cheese to make a pepperoni pizza.

Finally, I made a batch of Flaky Biscuits. I had found this recipe earlier and wanted to try it since it seemed so simple.

It was SO easy — and I was really happy with the end results. For all whole-wheat biscuits made with coconut oil, these were delicious. {I used regular milk instead of Silk since that’s what I had on hand.}

While I was cooking on one side of the kitchen, Jesse was working on the other side making a new recipe he found for Bell Pepper Nachos.

I was very impressed with how this recipe turned out. They were flavorful, easy to put together, and very nutritious.

Most of all, it was just fun to hang out in the kitchen with my husband — and to also have his help with clean-up (my least favorite part of cooking!) I feel so blessed that our new lifestyle here in TN is giving us opportunities to slow down and just live everyday life together like this!

Recipe Links:

Freezer-Friendly Pizza Dough — used this as the base for Pizza Pockets & Pepperoni Pizza
Flaky Biscuits
Bell Pepper Nachos (These weren’t for the freezer but for dinner tonight!)

Shared Jun 5, 2014 comment

7 Books I Read in May (and My Top 3 Favorites!)

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 5, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I feel like I’ve not been reading at all as much as I’d love to be reading, but I’m grateful that I’m slowly making headway through books… I just have so many more that I want to read!! 🙂 Can anyone relate?!

Here’s to hoping my renewed commitment to order and discipline now that we’re all moved and mostly settled in will give me time to fit in more reading!

7 Books I Read in May

My Top Three Favorites:

Secrets of Dynamic Communication — If you are an author or a speaker (or you hope to become one!), I can’t recommend this well-written book highly enough. Ken Davis is a dynamic speaker with years of experience and he’s a goldmine of wisdom. By following the things I’ve learned from him, I’ve become a much more effective and engaging communicator.

Chasing Francis — I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, but the title and description intrigued me and it was endorsed by Mark Batterson (an author I love!), so I read it. And I’m so very grateful I did because it messed with me in a very good way. It challenged me to step back and really examine my beliefs and how I’m living out those beliefs.

In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day — Since I’ve loved the other Mark Batterson books I’ve read, I picked up this title based upon his name alone. And it turned out to be the best book I’ve read in a long time. In fact, if you’ve spent any time with me in the past three months, you’ve probably heard me talk about it. If you are struggling with direction, wondering what your purpose in life is, and questioning what you were created for, do yourself a favor and read this book. You just might not be the same ever again!

What books did you read in May? Which were your favorites? Any recommendations for me?

Shared Jun 5, 2014 comment

My Morning Routine: Day 1 Update

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 5, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

How did your morning routine go this morning? If it didn’t go as planned, don’t feel badly because I didn’t do that well, either. 🙂

Here’s how my morning went:

Got up at 6:30 a.m. — yup, I had every intention of getting up at 5:30 a.m., but it just didn’t happen!

Read my Bible, wrote in my blessings journal, and started a load of laundry.

7:00 a.m. — I got a little distracted checking email for 15 minutes (bad girl, I know!).

7:20 a.m. — Silas got up and I helped him take a bath, get dressed, and ready for his soccer camp this morning.

After that, I set up the diffuser with Peace & Calming & Lavender… I love diffusing these two oils together! So soothing and refreshing!

7:35 a.m. — I headed down to the garage to get in a quick run on the treadmill while Jesse made breakfast (bacon & eggs this morning — yum!)

{I snapped this picture, because I thought it was a great example of what I’ve been learning in life over the past few years. Sometimes, it’s okay to be happy with just getting a job done, even if it’s not close to perfect. I can stress over having things perfect or I can give myself grace and just do the best I can do!}

7:45 a.m. — After running, I packed a quick lunch for Silas and got him out the door with Jesse. And then I ate breakfast, cleaned up our room, made our bed, switched the laundry, and cleaned up the kitchen while the girls got around and ate breakfast.

Then it was 8:30 a.m. and time to tackle my morning computer work.

So yes, my morning didn’t really follow my Planned Morning Routine, but I did get a good start on the morning. And I’m hopeful that tomorrow will be even better. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow. 🙂

I’m off to watch a movie and fold this pile of laundry with the kids. I hope you have a great afternoon!

Shared Jun 5, 2014 comment

12 Goals for 2014: May Update

Published: by Crystal Paine on June 5, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Jesse and I spent time really discussing what my focuses should be for 2014 and we nailed down four areas that are my priorities for this year:

Marriage: to continue to invest time and energy to strengthen and nurture our marriage and make it one of the greatest priorities
Mothering: to continue to invest in our children with the goal of teaching them character, life skills, and raising them to be responsible adults
Myself: to make my health a priority and to invest in my personal growth as a Christian, business owner, writer, speaker, and leader
MoneySavingMom.com: to invest time into blogging — not just overseeing the business and my team, but making writing content pieces one of my top blogging priorities

Having these specific areas determined at the beginning of the year is really helping me to prioritize and giving me much clearer direction on when, where, and what to say no to this year.

Here’s my progress for my 12 goals for 2014:

Marriage Goals

1. Read 6 marriage books. (I’ve finished three marriage books so far.)
2. Write 50 love notes to Jesse. (I’ve written 20 love notes so far.)

Mothering Goals

3. Read 40 books aloud to the kids. (We’ve finished six books so far — I’m really hoping to catch up on this goal over the summer since we’re quite behind!)
4. Finish memorizing Romans 1 together. (We’ve been working on this!)
5. Go through a cooking course with the kids.

Personal Goals

6. Read through the Bible. (I’m on track with this.)
7. Memorize Romans 2.
8. Run a 5K race and go through P90X again.
9. Read 150 books/ebooks. (I’ve read 41 books so far this year.)

Blogging Goals

10. Write 150 substantive content pieces for the blog. (I’ve written 69 substantive content pieces so far this year.)
11. Write 50 DIY/Recipe posts for the blog. (I’ve written 18 DIY/Recipe post so far.)
12. Blog about/participate in the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge (I finished May’s challenge.)

Did you set goals for 2014 yet?

If you’ve posted an update on how you’re doing on your goals for 2014, I’d love for you to share your link in the comments. Or, if you don’t have a blog, feel free to just leave a comment with an update on how you’re doing on your goals. Let’s encourage one another to live lives of intention and purpose!

If you’re brand-new to goal-setting, be sure to read my post on How to Change Your Life By Setting Goals.

Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List

FREE Summer Bucket List!!

Breakfasts

Lunches

Snacks

One-Hour Freezer Cooking

Dinners

June’s Challenge:

My Morning Routine Challenge for June

This Week’s Progress:

How Are YOU Doing?

WANT TO SAVE $100 FAST?!Join the FREE 14-Day Savings Challenge!

12 Books I Plan to Read in June

3 Books I Plan to Read Aloud to My Kids

OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!

Aldi

BI-LO

Harris Teeter

Sunbeam Bakery

Local Farmer’s Market

Menu Plan for This Week

Recipe Links:

7 Books I Read in May

My Top Three Favorites:

Marriage Goals

Mothering Goals

Personal Goals

Blogging Goals

Did you set goals for 2014 yet?

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