1. Walk at least 500 miles this year (361 miles down and 139 to go)
I completed ten miles this week by doing Bodyfit by Amy videos on YouTube and walking.
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
I really enjoyed reading Atomic Habits. It helped to confirm why some of the changes I make in my life have lasted while others have not. I also got some great tips on how to move forward and make even more goals being met possible in the next year.
Ben and I have been reading The Trumpet of the Swan together. It is a delightful story. I had only seen the cartoon adaptation before, but the book is amazing.
4. Take a family outing each month
We took the kids out to eat Mexican food after Emma got off of work. **We want to do more family trips but juggling classes, work, and life make it too hard to plan things. Hopefully life will settle down again and we can go back to having longer adventures.
5. Have more family game nights
Not yet
*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
Book for Emma: $1.50
Pirates of the Caribbean shirt for Ben: $3
Shower curtain: $3
Estimated running total saved by buying used for the year: $538
**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
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 donated five cans of ravioli to the food bank.
9. Make a spiritual checklist to do with my kids each month
For August:
-Learn one hymn a week: This week we learned “City of God” and “Blessed Assurance”.
-Read one saint story a week: St. Dominic de Guzman was our saint of the week. He got people to turn back to God through praying the rosary.
-Read the daily mass readings at least once each week – completed
10. Home Improvement projects I hope to complete by the end of the year
- Build a wood shed to contain all of our firewood
- Have a tree cut down in our yard
- Add gravel to our driveway
- Build a cat tree for our kittens (Almost done!)
- Build a display shelf for Ben’s room
Take a load to the dumpOur yard is mostly debris free!!- Finish the trim on the kitchen cabinets
God Bless!
The Thrifty Educator 