Making progress :)

I went shopping again today. Partly because I had to and partly because I love it. I got some "new" and "improved" notebooks. Seriously if I could shop my way to a good body I would be H-O-T!

I came back home at three and went in our pool with the kids. Get this, I got out, showered and managed to still go for my walk. Baby steps people. Babysteps is what I am counting on to get me to my goals at the end of the year.

Penny is loving me right now, all these trips to the dog park she is in doggie heaven. At the park she tears around like crazy. Shes really fast as she is still so young, only 18 months old. Dog park people are really into chatting to pass the time and they are really friendly. If you want to meet new people, borrow a dog and start going to dog parks lol

I wasn't doing any exercise before this, and this is only my fourth walk. But its amazing how fast it grows on you. I feel like I have been walking for months!

Another super cool thing is that Jason has noticed the house getting tidier and is starting to clean up as well without any prompting. I am also quicker to jump on my kids bad habits because they become a lot more obvious when their shoes or wrapper is the only thing on the floor.

Life gets in the way

Today was going to be a scorcher so I thought it would be nice to do a bit of "me time" shopping. I haven't done that for a while so it would have been great. Life had other plans. Jules separation anxiety is through the roof right now so I wasn't able to leave him. I tried to leave him at Grandmas but he ended up running down the street to try to find me. I left for shopping about 2pm and after staying at grandmas for 45 mins it was 3:50pm by the time I got home. So I really didn't feel like going out for a walk on top of that. Also a friend called to say they were in the neighbourhood and an impending storm was coming. So all in all it wasn't the best timing.

What was wonderful though was that all the extra cleaning I have been doing has been paying off. We had a suprise visitor today, and it was great to not have to do any emergency cleaning!

Food was pretty good because I have been cooking healthy meals most days so its easy to grab smart food. I bought a little pink notebook to start a food and exercise diary.

It's not my dream notebook but you have to start where you're at. People who keep a food diary are twice as likely to lose weight so its an absolute must. I have started writing down what I have been eating and already its obvious that I have room for improvement.

It did surprise me how much a little trip to the shops disrupted my walk. If I had of stayed at home I would have been much more likely to have gone for a walk. I could have gone for a quick one earlier before my friend and the storm came. I love shopping, but it really does take up a lot of resources. Time, money and ENERGY!

Goals for 2014!

I have had a real advantage this year. You see I have an absolutely massive christmas gift list. And to survive it I created a google spreadsheet with everyone on it and everything I had to do on it. This allowed me to plan how much I was going to spend, what I had bought, whether the presents had been wrapped or delivered. Through out the year when I saw things that would suit people I put it aside and wrote it down on the spreadsheet. This stopped me from double buying because I had forgot that I had already got them something. I was also able to see my list in the shops when I needed it the most as the list was online and viewable in my phone.

This organisation strategy allowed me to have all the Christmas presents bought and wrapped by the start of December. This was wonderful for so many reasons. I didn't have to take my kids shopping with me, I avoided the crowds and last minute stress, I saved money and my mind was freed up to think about the next season. The 6 weeks of school holidays. That's a lot of precious time and I wanted to go in with a plan.

Having a bit of quiet time, meant that I could set some lovely school holiday goals. The kids and I are focusing on reading. We have joined the library summer reading club and they get little rewards for reading each week.  I also read with them 4 pages each day of a knowledge book. We still have heaps of fun stuff to do, but we are slowing down and taking care of what's important and we are starting to reap the rewards. We are also hosting a slumber party, going to Dreamworld several times, going skating, visiting new playgrounds, seeing family etc, but its done with a little less guilt and urgency and a lot more quality home time.

Having my school holidays mapped out has freed up my mind to think about my 2014 goals.

I want to have more energy, be slimmer and healthier. I want to have less parties, and more time to maintain our home. I want to have less time in shopping centres and more time educating our kids. I want to grow more of our food. And with all this ground work done, I think it would be a great time to fall pregnant.

I have actually established a little daily routine to help me achieve this. I have a checklist where I pay myself little amounts of money for getting things done. This money goes from my bank account into another one where I have a little fund to spoil me. It's good because I don't have to fiddle with coins and the money hasn't actually been spent so its still there should something come out of left field, and most of what I buy I would have bought anyway. But this way I am motivated to do work which saves me money anyway and I can enjoy those pleasures guilt free.

My checklist has me being paid a dollar for going a little beyond my basic housework duties, but its the little bit extra each day that quickly adds up to being something awesome. A dollar for going for a walk, a dollar for reading with the kids, 25c for each meal I eat well at: (breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner), and a dollar for playing the piano for 20 mins. So you can see how that can add up quickly enough to actually be a bit of fun and motivation.

I don't feel quite ready for IVF yet so I am going to "relax". And it's been pretty awesome actually. I have gotten more done towards getting pregnant than when it was my whole focus.

For me 2014 is about getting back to basics, a clean and tidy home with some slow time to educate the kids, grow some veggies in the garden, organise my things and get healthy. This year I am going to be relaxed and have enough time set aside for the important stuff.