So I have decided to face it head on.  I have declared April a “Month of Eating at Home.”  Every meal, from breakfast to dinner, will be eaten at home.  Or at least packed from home.  For all 30 days of April.  All of them.  Wow, this is starting to sound a little intimidating!  This month is also going to help me on the way to finishing goal #61 of my 101 goals in 1001 days challenge.  I love multitasking!

No!  I refuse to be intimidated!  My plan is to put together a meal plan for every week and stick to it.  Normally I will put the plan together, but then I get tired by the end of the day and don’t want to cook what I have planned, so we end up getting take out.  Not only am I putting horrible food in our mouths but I am also wasting money and putting on extra pounds.  Let’s not even talk about the lesson I am teaching the boys!  Actually, maybe we should go there.  Maybe that will give me a bit of added inspiration to get the job done.  No, that’s a topic for another post.

OK, so the plan is to have a plan.  Next is to actually take action on that plan.  I already know that I lose a lot of motivation at the end of the day.  Once 4 o’clock rolls around I have lost all momentum and I am having conversations with myself on how to talk The Mr. into going out.  That’s why the next idea I have is to get as much prepped as I can at lunch time.  I figure I’m already in the kitchen, why not start on dinner? 

Another part of my plan is to research cooking for my freezer.  I want to fill up my freezer with lots of frozen meals that I can take out on the weekends or on those days that are just going to be too busy to do much else.  I want to avoid too many bowls of cereal for dinner if at all possible!

I hope in the next few weeks to report back what I learned, what worked and what didn’t.  Hopefully I will post some recipes as well, so maybe you can get some ideas too!

Date Started: March 3, 2010

End: November 27, 2012

1. Finish this list!
2. Come up with action plans for all 101 goals
3. Buy greeting cards for the following month by the last day of the current month
4. Only get books from the library (DO NOT BUY ANY!)
5. Return all books to the library on time
6. Get Big I on a commission system
7. Get Little E on a commission system
8. Get family portraits taken
9. Update Little E’s baby book
10. Update Big I’s baby book
11. Make sure Big I’s homework is done by Sunday nights
12. Have 8 clients by 12/31/10
13. Have 10 clients by 12/31/11
14. Have 12 clients by 11/27/12
15. Make a schedule to back up client files regularly
16. File once per week
17. Get all client monthly work done by 5th business day
18. Get MOUS certified
19. Get Client tax returns done by August 15th
20. Get Quickbooks certified
21. Bill clients on the first of each month
22. Declutter boys toys before Christmas
23. Declutter boys toys before their birthday
24. Sell unused CD’s
25. Watch one movie per week
26. Read 33 non fiction books
27. Buy a DSLR camera with spending money
28. Save Emergency fund by 3/31/2011
29. Save house downpayment by 11/27/2012
30. Get taxes done by March 15th
31. Make a Legacy Drawer
32. Take Family to Disneyland
33. Take Family to a professional baseball game
34. Take Family to a professional football game
35. Take Family to the zoo
36. Go camping 3 times
37. Establish a set family game night
38. Keep to budget each month
39. Take boys to park once per week
40. Make a spring cleaning list
41. Clean bottom of refrigerator
42. Figure out how to use rechargable batteries
43. Clean oven
44. Come up with a theme for Little E’s room and decorate
45. Come up with a theme for Big I’s room and decorate
46. Fix The Mr’s sink in the master bathroom
47. Get all digital pictures printed
48. Organize pictures by date
49. Get all pictures in photo albums
50. Get something to hold all our DVD’s
51. Hang mirror in bedroom
52. Hang family pictures on the walls
53. Clean out and inventory wrapping paper supplies
54. Light candles 1x per week
55. Organize shelving by garage door to be a pantry
56. Organize white garage cabinets
57. Declutter garage
58. Come up with a weekly outline of what needs to be done each day
59. Make homemade bread once per month
60. Make menu plan for each week
61. Eat at home for an entire month 12 times
62. Have 10 frozen meals in the freezer by June 30, 2010
63. Make salsa to jar
64. Make a recipe from Cooking Light once per month
65. Pull weeds weekly
66. Spend 1/2 hour outside every day
67. Be able to do 50 pushups at once
68. Be able to do 100 situps at once
69. Run a mile without stopping
70. Run in a 5k
71. Lose 20lbs by 12/31/2010
72. Eat one piece of fruit or vegetable per day
73. Be properly measured for a bra
74. Exfoliate face 1x per week
75. Get 6 manicures
76. Get 6 pedicures
77. Get 6 massages
78. Keep toes nicely manicured all sandal season
79. Set up a blog to document my progress with goals
80. Keep a daily diary of our activities for the boys to read when they are older
81. Serve on the school PTA
82. Volunteer for more at school
83. Learn to identify all the States on a map
84. Read the Argus Courier every week
85. Create a wish collage
86. Learn to speak Spanish
87. Paint a nice color by numbers painting
88. Learn to create websites
89. Come up with cheap ideas for date night at home
90. Have a date night with The Mr. at least 2x’s per month
91. See a play in a theatre

Friday – Pizza night (I am going out to dinner with my sister, yippee!)

Saturday – The boys are having a sleep over at my Mom’s so The Mr. and I are having a date night out

Sunday – Roast Beef with roasted veggies

Monday – Sonora Cassarole (recipe coming soon)

Tuesday – Quesadillas and carrots

Wednesday – Pancakes, hashbrowns, and oranges

Thursday – Apricot Dijon Pork Chops with salad

Everyday after I get out of the shower and brush my teeth, I catch a glimpse of a spider web covered in dust attached to a light and going up to the ceiling.  (Can you see it there coming off of the light bulb on the left and going up?)  I promised myself this is the day that I will knock it down and clean the lights that are covered with dust too.  I finish getting ready for my day, go downstairs to get breakfast started, and completely forget about the spider web until the next day when it starts all over again.

Today I have decided that I am going to start my spring cleaning.  Being the list maker that I am my first job was to make a list of all that needed to be done.  Easily overwhelmed, this is the point every year that I look at the list and say forget it, I’ll do it next year!  Not this year though.  If it takes me until June, I will get it done!  Here’s what I came up with:

• Dust light fixtures
• Dust high ledges (In our bedroom and living room we have higher ceilings with some alcove-y ledge type things, that are really good for nothing except catching dust.)
• Clean the corners of ceilings and walls of cobwebs
• Clean fronts of bathroom cabinets
• Clean door handles
• Clean light switches and wall plates
• Clean windows, including casings and sills
• Spot clean walls
• Clean all vents in ceiling
• Move furniture to vacuum
• Vacuum/dust window blinds
• Wipe down kitchen cabinets
• Deep clean fridge and freezer as well as upright freezer
• Clean oven (which will first take learning to use self cleaning feature)
• Clean bottom of fridge (grill thingie)

Wow!  It’s definitely easy to get overwhelmed with this list.  I’m going to take it slow and work on it little bit by little bit.

Clearly I need time in the backyard!

Visit other pictures at 5 mintues for Mom’s Wordless Wednesday.

This week I am going after the counter top that is in the hall.  It has become a major dumping ground and is completely out of control!  Some of the stuff needs to find a new home in a cabinet, and some needs to just leave the house.  My goal is going to be to get it completely cleaned off and then keep it that way.  The plan is to check it everyday before I go to bed and make sure that it is clear.  I also think I am going to put a couple of framed pictures on it so it’s not just a stark counter top.

So here it is.  This is what it looks like today.  Come back next week to see what it looks like all cleared off!

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom’s Tackle it Tuesday to see what others are tackling this week.

I have discovered my weakness…it’s the weekends. We did really good last week and stuck to our plan. The weekend hit and the plan went out the window! I have resolved to make this weekend work!!

Today is the first day of t-ball games. They start a half hour later than the practice, so that puts our evening back a bit. Also, on Friday, my baby turns 3! I can’t believe it! He’s not quite a big eater, so I picked his meal out, but I know he will like it. Grandma and Great, great Aunt Sally will be coming over to join us for the birthday dinner.

So here is the plan:
~Monday – Oven Fried Mustard Chicken with mashed sweet potatoes
~Tuesday – Cinco De Mayo – Taco ring with refried beans
~Wednesday – Bacon and Broccoli Pasta with Salad
~Thursday – Apricot Pork Chops with steamed broccoli
~Friday – B-day! – Tortellini with salad and rolls
~Saturday – Homemade Pizza night
~Sunday – Tri-tip with salad and french bread

I hope everyone has a great week…and sticks to their plan, lol! For more weekly menus visit Org Junkies Menu Plan Monday.

What I do is set it for 15 minutes and then concentrate on one task. When the timer goes off, I move on to something different. Now if that first task is not completed sometimes I will go ahead and work on it again for another 15 minutes, or I will move on to something else and then come back to it later. Either way, I know it will get done because I will not get sidetracked with something else if I know that I only have to stay focused for 15 minutes.

It’s really amazing what you can get done in 15 minutes as well.  I can dust the entire upstairs and down in less than 15.  I can vacuum both upstairs and down and be rolling up the cord when the beeper goes off.  I can actually clean the sinks and toilets in the upstairs bathrooms in 14 minutes and 22 seconds.  (If you would have asked me before I timed myself I would have figured it would take me at least a half an hour!)

The other thing it is great for is timing your “relaxing” time.  I like to take a break when the boys have their rest time, but on more than one occasion I have ended up cruising on the internet or playing a computer game for the entire time that they are down.  That does not make for a productive day!  So what I do is pick something to work on and do 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off.  It’s great knowing that I only have to go for that 15 minutes an then get a break for some me time.  During a regular (what’s that?) nap time I will usually get at least a 1/2 hour to myself.  What a reward to have down time and feel like I’ve accomplished something!

So give it a try.  You don’t need a fancy one (my Pampered Chef one is also a clock and counts up as well).  Just use the one on your microwave or stove.  Most cellphones have one as well.  You are gonna love it!

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Leave me a comment and let me know you tried it and how you liked it.

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For more things people love visit The Diaper Diaries.

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom’s Wordless Wednesday for more Wordless posts.

It’s time for true confessions.  I am not a good housekeeper.  There, it’s out, lol.  There are so many things I would rather do than keep house, including eating rocks!  That being the case, things do get pushed onto the back burner, and then I get piles of junk and clutter springing up everywhere.  Also, I am a bit of a perfectionist, but to the point of paralysis.  I figure if I can’t do it right then I better not do it at all.  So while caring for two toddler boys and a husband, I often tell myself I don’t have the time to clean up the clutter.

Don’t let this happen to you.  When you do, this is what you get (scattered all around your house):

This is a pile of things that came out of Eddie’s room after changing him from a crib to a big boy bed.  I would hate to tell you how long he has been in the big boy bed, lol.  So for today’s Tackle It Tuesday I am going to tame this horrible pile of “stuff”.  (I can barely remember what is at the bottom!)

To get inspiration for your own Tackle, visit 5 Minutes for Mom’s Tackle it Tuesday to see what others have taken on.