1. Walk at least 500 miles this year (181 miles down and 319 to go)
I completed eleven miles this week by doing Bodyfit by Amy videos on YouTube and walking outside in this beautiful weather we have been having.
2. Eat at least five fruits/vegetables daily (+ drink 96 oz. of water)
I did this for five days last week
3. Read more nonfiction and classics
This week I read Kilmeny of the Orchard and started Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. **I always forget that you have to retrain your mind to read classics if you are used to only reading modern literature.
4. Take a family outing each month
We took a family walk and used an Applebee’s gift card to pick up dinner. It was nice to not have to cook! **I try and have an easy weekend on Mother’s Day every year. Some years go better than others….
5. Have more family game nights
- Ben and I played Battleship
- We played Apples to Apples (the adult version) I will say that we had way more fun with the adult version because it had more variety in cards. **Ben said one card was inappropriate because is mentioned nude beaches:)
*If you need ideas as to what games are fun for families here is a list of our current favorites.
6. Buy more used items and keep track of the savings
One of our local thrift stores opened up this past week. We picked up three books and a couple of beanie babies for Ben. It felt almost normal.
Cost: $4
Estimated running total saved by buying used for the year: $185**
**I am doing a rough estimate based on how much I could find the items on sale or on clearance at a store for minus what I paid for the items…so its not a perfect guess, but close.
7. Finish my 2019 NaNoWriMo novel (~35,000 words) and publish it before November 1st.
14,120 words and counting…I hope to finish my novel during the time we will be spending at home over the next few weeks months. (Hopefully not years…)
If you want to check out my novel from last year, it is Murder at Kelsey Hall and is free right now with Kindle Unlimited on Amazon.
8. $5 Weekly Charity Challenge
I grabbed four boxes of macaroni to add to my food bank stash. **I always try and pick up this version because it doesn’t need any butter or milk added
9. Make a spiritual checklist to do with my kids each month
For May, we plan on:
Reading a saint story weekly
Praying the Rosary together I prayed a rosary while walking at the track and my children joined in on the last two decades when they finished riding their scooters. Praying outdoors is wonderful.
Going to adoration
10. Things I hope to accomplish while we are following the “safer at home” order
- Work on puzzles with my kids (So far we finished Winnie the Pooh, Tangled, Lady and the Tramp, and Fantasia)
- Add gravel to our driveway (In progress)
- Clean up our yard (ongoing lawn maintenance)
- Spruce up and spring clean the house (I added more plants and figurines to my staircase plant display)
- Take Emma on more driving lessons (Ongoing)
- Have a tree cut down in our yard (We trimmed back tree branches that were leaning on the house)
- Build a wood shed to contain all of our firewood
God Bless!
The Thrifty Educator 