It's The End.... of February

Well, I'll flat out just say it. I'm discouraged. I have NOT been kicking butt on my weekly goals lately. But, honestly, it hasn't been because I am lazy. I have been doing lots of stuff! Just... not the items on my goals. And did you notice? Where where the goals last week?! And where was my Friday post? I plum FORGOT. For real. So disappointed in myself... Anyways.

Let's review. Here are the goals I set for myself for this week.

Week of February 14, 2011

-Launder Things

-Go through the 2 boxes full of papers

that I pretend don't exist.

-Organize Jewelry

-Steam the master bedroom curtains

-Hang the master bedroom curtains

And the things I accomplished? 

Week of February 14, 2011

-Launder Things

-Go through the 2 boxes full of papers

that I pretend don't exist.

-Organize Jewelry

-Steam the master bedroom curtains

-Hang the master bedroom curtains

SUPER FAIL. Before I give my excuses reasons... I want to give a quick recap of what I DID accomplish the past two weeks - the things that weren't on this list.

Things I DID Do the Week of Feb. 14 and Feb 21

While I was Not Doing The Things Above

-I had an amazing date night for Valentines with my lover.

- I DID laundry. (Duh.)

-I managed to go grocery shopping and cook dinner... A LOT.

-I got sick.

-I went to the gym more often than usual. Except I started getting blisters so I need new shoes.

-I was really, really sore for two days. It hurt to do everything. It also felt amazing.

-I finished reading the Hunger Games. (More on this later.)

-Bryan and I worked on the house. (This too.)

-I managed to wake up early and get myself to work... EARLY.

-We finally bought a filing cabinet so we can get organized!

SEE? Do you see that I wasn't just farting around not accomplishing anything? Because that was not the case. I was LIVING. And while this blog is important to me and I want/need to write, I also need to go easier on myself when I fail. I shouldn't get all anxiety ridden to write that I failed. I'm human. I will fail. 

The only time that I should beat myself up is when I stop trying to accomplish anything. Because you can't have even a modicum of success if you don't try first. I'm proud of the stuff I accomplished. 

Now, back to the things that I (maybe, sorta) should've done the week of February 14 for a quick recap. 

I can now go through all those papers in the two boxes that I pretend don't exist because I have a filing cabinet... woot! I need to launder the curtains before I steam them. Freaking Cali manages to get her drool on everything! Why can't she just keep her tongue in her MOUTH?! She's lucky that she is so, so, so darn cute that she is worth putting up with drool. Plus, if I want a St. Bernard I should get used to it. I need to get a can of spray paint and then the jewelry sorting will commence aaaaand I already asked Bryan to help me with the master bedroom curtains this week and I just know he won't let me down. (Right babe?!) How is that for a quick recap?

This week, I'm going to go light on myself. 

Week of February 28, 2011

-Do the (never-freaking-ending) Laundry.

-Fix that thing you haven't blogged about yet. :)

-Hit the gym four times this week.

-Clean the master bathroom.

I think all of those things speak for themselves... so I'll skip the play-by-play so we can get to  the month end wrap up of my yearly goals. Obviously, the second to-do is vague but you'll see why within the next few days. (Here is the link to last months wrap-up.)

For those of you that have been reading for a while, you know that I have been trying to implement major life changes this year. They are the following:

1. Get fit & get active

2. Challenge my marriage

3. Walk with God

4. Get unpacked and organized

1. Get fit & get active

I have been increasingly getting better and better and getting my butt to the gym. I've recently been looking into another huge lifestyle change, and once a decision has been made, I'll be sure to blog about it. We'll see how it goes! 

2. Challenge my marriage

I recently went through and six week depression and I'm stick working my way out of it. Every day is better. Bryan and I are better than we ever have been, and I think it's only going to get better. We haven't started the Love Dare yet, but that is on the horizon! 

3. Walk with God

Along with regularly attending church, we also have started up a weekly bible study. On top of that, my prayer life has definitely increased, and my amazing mother-in-law gave us a March daily devotional booklet that starts, well, tomorrow! The one thing I really want to work on is getting into my bible more often during the week. I'd like to hit four days a week for at least a half our of reading and God time. 

4. Get unpacked and get organized

I have been working a lot on the way I view my house. I have also been working on putting more love and effort into things, and you'll see an example of that later this week! We have only a few boxes left. I'm sure most of that stuff will be sold or donated. If I haven't needed it this long, I probably don't need it now...Right? 

It's About Time

Color me a slacker.

Or is it count me a slacker?

What the heck is the saying I'm going for...? My mind totally blanked.

I'm gonna start over.

I'm a slacker.

Sort of.

I took last week off of my weekly goals so that I could focus on my All Things Love week. Now I have to catch up... and see how I fared. Let's say that I honestly don't remember what my goals were. Yes, I know you are surprised. You thought that the blueberries I have not been eating have miraculously fixed my memory problems and I can recall things at the drop of a hat! Oh, how wrong you are.

Let's start this madness.

Week of February 8, 2011

-ALL THINGS LOVE WEEK

--

Week of January 31, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Unpack another 5 boxes

-Steam the master bedroom curtains

-Hang the master bedroom curtains

-Organize Jewelry

I just copied and pasted those from the sidebar on my blog. Let's see how I did going back to the week of January 31, 2011. 

Week of January 31, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Unpack another 5 boxes

-Steam the master bedroom curtains

-Hang the master bedroom curtains

-Organize Jewelry

LAME. Two out of five. Productive, I am. Obviously, I continued laundering the endless amounts of clothes that Bryan and I have. But also? I have realized that the reason that it never ends is because we keep wearing things! We should just go naked. Except that would be scary and I'm pretty sure that since I work at a school, it would be illegal. 

I do all this laundry and then I look and there is more laundry! Right now I have about 4 loads at home separated. It is a revolving chore. What is GOOD is that by having in on my list I have been making myself get it done. And also? The fact that I can at LEAST cross this one off every week is good. Cause my track record sucks, for real. 

I have however, blown myself away by the amounts of effort I have been putting into cleaning out Bryan's office/our storage for the moment. I'm rocking those boxes socks off. If they wore socks. What I am trying to convey is that if boxes had feet and were so inclined to wear socks? They would be knocked off. I'm killing it in there. There are about four or five boxes that are all Bryan's crap. Which can stay in there since it's his office and I'm not going through his crap. Who knows what seedy weird musician things are in those boxes. Eek! 

Then there is our BBQ that Bryan has yet to put together. Hmph. No. Comment.

There there are a few more boxes for me to go through and then there are the tubs that need to go up in the attic. Again? Bryan. and No comment. 

Week of Jan 31? FAIL.

Let's move on to the week of February 8. 

Week of February 8, 2011

-ALL THINGS LOVE WEEK

I WIN. 

'Nuff said. 

This week, we get back to our regularly scheduled programing. Without further ado! Let me make up some things I need to do! 

Week of February 14, 2011

-Launder Things

-Go through the 2 boxes full of papers 

that I pretend don't exist.

-Organize Jewelry

-Steam the master bedroom curtains

-Hang the master bedroom curtains

EW! Why did I give myself so much stuff? Because I figure, why not? It's a goal. Goals should be hard. 

I'm not going to go over the laundering of the money clothes. Ya'll know about that. 

-Go through the 2 boxes full of papers that I pretend don't exist

It's true. I have two boxes full of papers that I pretend don't exist. I see them and immediately block them out. It's going to massively suck to go through them. But I need to. I went and bought some file folders so I need to go to town and file. And shred everything else. It's time. 

-Organize Jewelry

This includes un-knotting it. Hate that part. Gonna suck so bad. But then I'll be able to wear it! I'm gonna get it done. 

-Steam the master bedroom curtains

They are still wrinkly. I had misplaced the steamer and I found it this weekend. I now have no excuse. Dang it.

-Hang the master bedroom curtains

What are the chances that I can get Bryan to help me? Good, I say. Considering he was supposed to do this back in September. 

There is my quick run down of the chores I need to get done this week. Let's hope I knock it out of the park!

Oh, and just to make things extra interesting. I'm going to challenge myself to go the the gym every single day this week!

A Little Bit of Everything - Updated

Updated: Sorry for the formatting issues today. That is the price I pay for having a lot of different interfaces working together to make this blog happen. It's a lot like me and Mexican food. Sometimes we just don't agree with each other. ;)


There are a few things I would like to say before starting my weekly goal wrap up.

-It makes me feel bad about myself when my cat kneads his paws on my stomach.
-Apparently, being skinny is not enough incentive for me to get my lard-butt to the gym. Hmph.
-Downloading new music gives me a rush of happiness that is hard to describe.
-Ditching FPU to go to Olive Garden with two of your favorite people in the world makes for a ridiculously entertaining night.
-There are few things more relaxing than cuddling with my cat when he's purring.
-The walls are much too thin when I am listening to music and type-type typing on my keyboard and I can still hear and make out the words from the TV that Bryan is watching. Must not forget this nugget of information should guests ever stay in our living room. Awkward!

On to the weekly wrap up! I have to say, I kicked major buttocks this week. You should be proud. Hell, I'm proud and that is all that truly matters. Last weeks goals were:

Week of January 24, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Unpack at least 5 boxes

-Tidy the beach room

-Finish decorating the master bedroom

-Organize Items for Yard Sale

And I ended with:

Week of January 24, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Unpack at least 5 boxes

-Tidy the beach room

-Finish decorating the master bedroom

-Organize Items for Yard Sale

Can you hear that?  It's the sound of me patting my own back. Four out of five? What WHAT! So proud. I definitely continued to launder last week. And as you saw in my previous post, I unloaded way more than 5 boxes. I managed to clean up the beach room as much as I could with my own muscles. Will need husband to help move heavy things. While unpacking, I also managed to set aside and sort a ton of clothes and other items to be sold. That will continue to be a goal as I unpack boxes. I want to purge!


For the this week, my goals are:

Week of January 31, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Unpack another 5 boxes

-Steam the master bedroom curtains

-Hang the master bedroom curtains

-Organize Jewelry

This week is a rather light week because my husband and I have big plans, so I'll have to spend most of the week preparing for that. Also, Denise moved into her new apartment so I'll be over there to help her get settled in to her new place.


And now, for the part of the post that you probably weren't expecting! The month-end wrap up of my yearly goals!

1. Get fit & get active

2. Challenge my marriage

3. Walk with God

4. Get unpacked and organized

The above four items were the main points in my life where I wanted to challenge myself as outlined for what I like to call 2011: My Year! Every month at the end of the month, I want to go over each one and how I did.


1. Get fit & get active
I'm going to be honest - I was more active in the fact that I didn't just sit on my patootie and watch TV. I was really busy this month. It helped that I challenged myself with weekly goals with things that were more active like laundry and unpacking boxes. When it comes to the gym though,  I get a big fat fail grade. I went once. I worked out on my own maybe twice. Unacceptable. Will need to do much better in February.


2. Challenge my marriage
Does having a grocery stand-off count? Because other than facing off about normal married problems and about my lack of desire to go to the gym, there hasn't been much challenging going on. I haven't even picked up the Love Dare book. Bryan and I haven't had a date night in God knows how long and we've been bickering more than we have been loving. However, because of how busy we have been busy, we've had more than a few stolen moments of long kisses and extra cuddling in the mornings on the weekends which has been nice. I hope that we can turn the tides so that we have much more love going on and much less bickering.


3.  Walk with God
This is area where I have failed the worst. I know that this is the most important item on my yearly goal list. I know that a relationship with God will give me the encouragement to get healthy and to have a happy marriage that can withstand anything. In my life, the times that I have stood with God have been the times that I have been the strongest. I am so weak and difficult, and His grace soothes and simplifies life. In an effort to fix this lacking area of my life, Bryan and I will be attending a weekly bible study at his mom's house with a few other couples. I'm really excited about it and I'm hoping that this can give me a big push in the right direction.


4. Get unpacked and get organized
I am feeling a whole lot better with this item. Things are certainly not where I want them to be when it comes to the house but I am definitely on the right track. I haven't done a whole lot of decorating but I have a decor closet that I have been organizing everything in, so when the time comes and more boxes are unpacked I can take a look at my inventory and know what I have to work with. This will help us to save money and it's a great incentive to keep unpacking!


I can say that when I started my yearly goals I hoped that I would be further along in some area and I am a tad disappointed that I didn't try harder. Looking back, I could have tried harder. But, instead of berating myself because I am human and endlessly flawed, I look at February as a new month. I can mold it to be what I need it to be and I can always do better. And I intend on doing just that.

While I Wasn't Blogging...

Yeah, all I have to say is: I rock. And I'm tired. And I actually did eight boxes, but two of them didn't make it. I may have ripped them apart in hulk-like fury. It happens. 

Don't Expect Much/Weekly Goals

*Hey ya'll. I forgot to publish this to post this morning, so I jumped on to publish it on my lunch. :) Sorry for the delay. Yes, I am fully aware that you probably don't schedule your mornings around my posts, but I still try to stay consistent. 

This weekend was pretty low-key at our house. I went to a movie, No Strings Attached, with Denise, her cousin and Anna. It was a pretty good movie. I started getting a really bad migraine during the movie and ended up having to take my strong headache medicine.

On Saturday I went to my mom's house in the morning to hang out and we ended up hanging out all day! Bryan's company moved into a new building and we ended up going to the grand opening, and I won a digital picture frame! I was the first number called and I couldn't believe it! I never win anything! I'll post about it once I set it up. :)

After, we hit up Michael's and I scored a bunch of loot - but that's a post for tomorrow. We met up with her husband, Larry for dinner and it was a blast. Towards the end of dinner I started having a really weird feeling. I had made plans to go to a local wine bar after dinner but I was really bumming, hard. I don't know if it was the onset of a headache I had later that night or what. But I ended up going home and slumming it on the couch. 

On Sunday, I opted to stay home from church because of my mood and later in the afternoon, Bryan and I went to Visalia to run some errands. Which turned out to be a long and not so fabulous time. I was so discouraged on the way home and I was talking whining to Bryan so when we got home, he helped me clean up our room, do more laundry AND he cleaned up the kitchen. 

I love that man. 

On another note, I'm deciding to do the weekly goals early even though I wrote the post so late last week. 

Here is what I was supposed to get done: 

Week of January 16, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Clean and decorate master bedroom

-Look at paint inspiration for the master bedroom

-Look at light fixtures for my entryway

-Unpack five boxes from the garage

And here is what I did:

Week of January 16, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Clean and decorate master bedroom

-Look at paint inspiration for the master bedroom

-Look at light fixtures for my entryway

-Unpack five boxes from the garage

-Continue Laundering

SO CLOSE! Bryan and I have maybe four loads of laundry until we are completely -done- with it all! YAY. The end is near!

-Clean and decorate master bedroom 

Like I said, last night we did manage to clean the heck out of our master bedroom, but there wasn't time to decorate. Wait, does putting one of these in the room count? 

Image: Partylite

I think it should. 

-Look at paint inspiration for master bedroom.

Post coming soon. But I did look around and I am clueless. 

-Look at light fixtures for my entryway.

I haven't found 'the one' yet, but I'm still hunting! Didn't catch the first post? Click here.

-Unpack 5 boxes. 

FAIL. That's really all I gotta say about that. 

As you can see, I am getting progressively better. I WILL toot my own horn by saying that last night, I also went into the Beach Room and tidied up a bit (finally). :) I will also say that I'm a cheater because that is one of things on this weeks list! 

Week of January 24, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Unpack 5 boxes

-Tidy the beach room

-Finish decorating the master bedroom

-Organize Items for Yard Sale

Here's hoping that I can do as well as I did last week!

Drum Shades, Pendant Lights and... Cat Fixtures?

It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to find good inspiration photos of entryways I actually liked. I thought I was being all sneaky by giving myself an easy task for my weekly goals. Apparently not.

Bryan and I, we are wee little people. Bryan is just 5'4 and I come in at 5'3. We're not ridiculously short, but we're not basketball players either. So us short people, when we extend our arms all the way up, are pretty close to touching the ceiling. My Mom's husband, Larry, can touch our ceiling. He's like 5'8 or 5'9. What I'm tryin' to say is, our ceilings are not what you would call 'vaulted'. 

Which proves to be a problem with a light fixture. We have about a foot and a half of space (thats me remembering it generously) from the ceiling in the entryway to the top of the door-jam. This spacial issue does not allow for a grand light fixture. As much as I wish I could have something like this:

I can't. I probably wouldn't have chose that for this space anyways, but whatev. Add the fact that the entryway is flanked by two walls and doesn't automatically open into a wall-less great room, I have to work with what I have got. Right now I have one of those bulbous builders basic white lights. It's downright ugly and it casts a vomit-inducing yellow light. It's very welcoming. Any-whoo, ya'll know that I want to do something like this in the entryway. 

Image: Centsational Girl

Thinking about what light fixture I might want makes me think a lot about what furniture I want to have in the entryway. If I were to go with a simple, light I would feel like a bench with a chunky pattern like the one above would help liven up and give our guests a big hug when they arrive. On the other hand, if I were to do a bolder light fixture, then I'm thinking I would put three little stools, like this:

Obviously, I had to keep how I wanted to decorate the space in mind while I looked for lighting fixtures. 

Now, on to the actual inspiration! 

Image:  Lumens

I love this light fixture because it's timeless. It's also neutral enough that it goes with the cool, open feeling I have in my house but it's also traditional and it gives a little upscale Victorian flare to the entryway.

Image: Knights

 I like the idea of this drum-shade light fixture because not only does it seem "homey" but it's a bold fixture for my space, but its also close the the ceiling. I love that the manufacturer brought the metal rim into an overstated arch - it's a simple but dramatic feature that pops out when the light is on. 

A light fixture of this type would definitely go with the simple wainscoting from the picture above and it does makes a statement. But would it provide enough light for an area of my home that sets the tone for the guests that come over?  What could I do to ensure that this area would be well lit but not blinding? 

Could I possibly put one or two hardwired unassuming sconces above the wainscoting? Something like these from Pottery Barn? 

These would certainly add to the warmth of the foyer but wouldn't necessarily make a bold statement. It wouldn't be the main event of the entryway. Hmm, something to think about. 

What about something like the light above? I love how the light wood tones keep this pendant from being a show stealer, but the beautiful filigree has a flair of understated elegance. I think that with the oaty tan that I want to paint the walls and the white wainscoting, this bad boy would look pretty darn good in our entry way. I love that it screams "cottage on the beach" but can still complement almost any color I choose in our home. I dig it. I wonder though, what kind of light this emits, and if it would look good with six small-to-medium sized recessed lighting fixtures to the left and right of it? 

All I can say is that I looked at hundreds and hundreds of pictures for inspiration for my entryway and I haven't fell madly in love with any of it. Which says to me that I just need to keep looking. This was a great tool to get my brain churning and I'm sure I'll come up with something that'll be perfect. 

And just because I really don't know when to properly end a blog entry, I thought I would leave you with this eye candy. 

Image: Sisal Net

Because who wouldn't want a cat light fixture? 

2.5 is Better Than 0

Lets recap. The first week I did my weekly goals, I only managed to accomplish one goal. Booo.

Last week, I wrote about how I was inundated with mounds of laundry and I thought I was going to get lost.

This week, I.... well. I haven't done this week. Obviously I am off to a fantastic start. So, here we go. Last weeks goals were:

Week of January 9, 2011

- Post-guest Purpley Room Clean-up

-Install master bedroom wall sconces

-Beach Room Clean Up

-Redecorate living room (including new furniture placement.)

-Wash all laundry

Let's see how I did!

 

Week of January 9, 2011

- Post-guest Purpley Room Clean-up

-Install master bedroom wall sconces

-Beach Room Clean Up

-Redecorate living room (including new furniture placement.)

-Wash all laundry

I was able to finish two and a half things from my list! Score! That is definitely better than last week, but still not great. I do have some excuses reasons why this didn't happen. 

-Install master bedroom wall sconces

Okay, here is the dealio. I dig my wall sconces and I think they will be a cozy addition to our master bedroom. And they are sitting in the corner of our bedroom right by my nightstand and it makes me sad to see them there. But, I don't feel like I deserve them yet. My room is not decorated, it is certainly not clean, and I haven't paid much attention to it because no one sees it. That just ain't right, yo. I want our bedroom to be a safe haven... somewhere that Bryan and I want to be. And until I can get the rest of the laundry off the floor, and unpack the few boxes I have in there, I'm waiting to put my pretty, brand new sconces up. I'd also really like to paint in there before I attach them to the wall. 

-Beach Room Clean-up

Yikes-a-bee. Most of the floor is covered in this room with the hardwood for our floors. Bryan has yet to start on that project and I can't move them. I walked into this room to start and I looked around, turned around, shut the door and left. Know what you can handle, I say. 

-Wash all laundry. 

Alright, look here. I did SO MUCH LAUNDRY and I'm still not done. But I deserve a half a point because I actually worked on it. And that is what matters. I will get back on it tonight and I hope to be finished before the world "ends" in 2012. 

Two point five items done. I'm kind of proud of myself. 

Are you ready for this weeks goals (never mind the fact that this week is halfway over.

Week of January 16, 2011

-Continue Laundering

-Clean and decorate master bedroom

-Look at paint inspiration for the master bedroom

-Look at light fixtures for my entryway

-Unpack five boxes from the garage

As you can see, the beach room and wall sconces were dropped from the list. It just makes more sense to me to get the basics done in the master bedroom before we add frilly things. And the beach room? I need to prepare myself mentally for that challenge. :)

Should It Be A Surprise...

That I failed three of my four goals for last week? I think not.

Last week, I wrote this post about implementing daily and weekly goals to keep myself from being lazy as heck. I noted that on my sidebar, I would list my weekly goals to keep myself accountable and that I did. Except I only managed to get one item done.

However, instead of beating myself up, I'm going to accept the fact that out of the past twelve days, I've spent eight of them with Bryan's family due to a death in the family. I'm going to pat myself on the back for having only one night the past twelve days where we weren't at a relatives house, had relatives at our house, hosted friends for movies and dinner, went out to dinner, on a day trip to the snow or to a musical event and keeping my sanity through it all. More importantly, though, I didn't have one. single. MIGRAINE. the entire time. That in-and-of itself is a feat worth CELEBRATING.

Let's not forget that while I was not doing my chores, I was having a great time meeting, hanging out, and listening to stories with Bryan's extended family. It's a sad way for the family to get together but we celebrated Bryan's uncle and managed to bond. It's just another way of reaffirming that God always puts a silver-lining in even the darkest of days.

So, that said, I refuse to be deterred by my own lack of accomplishment and I just added the three left over items to this week. I will focus on the only measly chore I was able to accomplish. Eradicating Christmas from my house!

Last week, I managed to pack up my Christmas tree, purchase a few more tubs (on the cheap from WalMart) and pack away every single Christmas decoration that I know. I have three tubs full o' Christmas. Those three tubs also include the few items I purchased at the end of Christmas at a major discount. YEA for buying clearance Christmas decor!

I was also able to put all those said tubs in our weirdo trap door so I now have Halloween and Christmas under the floor. I just have to put the rest of my fall/Thanksgiving stuff in the other tub I purchased and I will be good to go!

My old weekly goals were the following:

Week of: January 2, 2011

-Post-guest Purpley Room Clean-up

-Hasta-la-vista, Christmas!

-Install master bedroom wall sconces

-Beach Room Clean Up 

My new weekly goals are:

Week of January 9, 2011
- Post-guest Purpley Room Clean-up-Install master bedroom wall sconces-Beach Room Clean Up-Redecorate living room (including new furniture placement.)-Wash all laundry
Happy Monday to you all! 

Psst. Interested in seeing our floorplan? Check out "The Harbor" tab up top or click here.