{Image by Dani @ Hard Corps Love}

April 11th.

It's that time again.

Time to take a little look at the progress on my 2011 goals.

I have to say that I haven't been as attuned to my goals in the past few weeks.

And now that I am here, writing about them, I feel as if I have not been working on them like I want.

Also, as I am sitting here, I am realizing that it's APRIL!

And that we are already FOUR months into 2011!  

Seriously!  Where has the time flown away to?!

That being said, I, all of a sudden, have a strong desire to really get to work on some of my goals.

I think something that holds me up is feeling like I don't have enough time.

Time to research new ways to be eco-friendly.

Time to upload and edit videos.

Time to plant more green beauties.

Time to read as much as I want.

Really, though, time is what I make of it.

And I think I am in high need of a re-evaluation of how I use my time.

And WHAT I do with my time.

We'll see what conspires through that...

On to my goals.

1. Read 12 new books.

I WAS working on a book last month.

But honestly, it was boring to me, so I stopped reading it.

And I NEVER stop reading books.

It just wasn't holding my interest.

Must find something new to read...

2. Try 2 new recipes.

Done. And done.

Fudge Pudding Cake (We call it chocolate goo dessert, ha ha!)

Tofu with Peanut Sauce.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole.

Caramel Corn with Cashews and Pretzels.

I think it's high time I start SHARING some of the fabulous recipes we're trying.

Just saying...

3. Lose the "baby house" weight.

Yeah, this one is NOT going well.

Pretty sure I've GAINED weight in the last month.

It's all the desserts that Max and I indulge in!  

Boo.

4. Read (at least) one chapter in the Bible every day.

Not so good on this one either.

I need to MAKE time in my day to do this.

Or it just doesn't happen, which is no good.

I always feel refreshed and inspired after sitting down with my Bible.

5. Tell my babes I love them every.single.day.

Still doing great.

I guess I THOUGHT I needed help with this.

But the words come out of my mouth much more than I realize!

6. Grow something green.

Our green plant is still alive over in the corner.

I have to admit that I forget to water it and it gets a bit droopy-looking.

But it is still alive!  

AND I started a teeny pot of green peppers and they are sprouting!!

I am also hoping to work on my pot of herbs and front flower bed in the next few weeks!

7. Get outside and walk every day.

This one is going better than the past few months.

I think that having Lucy around helps immensely.

We have been out every day with her.

I want to work on her leash skills.

Plus, a lot of days, I find myself saying that we all need to get out of the house for awhile :)

8. Use less. Conserve more.

Going alright.

We have been trying to find ways to use empty containers instead of throwing them out.

Areas to work on?!  

We use cloth diapers, but still occasionally use disposables.

I think I can cut down on the amount of disposables. Or try to.

And the plastics.

I am terrible about using plastic bags that I end up throwing out the next day.

I really want to work on using more reusable plastic containers and limit my plastic bag consumption.

9. Take more pictures. Capture everyday moments. Record more video.

Doing pretty good on this one.

I want to work on capturing more everyday moments.

So often, I find myself seeing a moment and NOT grabbing my camera.

I want to work on that.

10. Spend less. Save more.

This is going not-so-good.

I think I could commit a few blog posts to this principle.

But basically Max is a spender and I am a saver.

And that can cause some clashing.

And also some spent money in our account.

I feel (in my saver brain) that we have been spending a lot of money lately.

So we are working on this.

Slowly. Very slowly.  But surely!

11. Be more intentional.

Still hard to measure this.

But I have noticed myself, in moments, very intentionally thinking through how I want to act and respond to a situation or circumstance.

Like yesterday, Max was laying down during the kids nap time.

And I had the option - do I lay down and spend a few minutes just being with him, relaxing?

Or I do I work on my to-do list? Clean? Pick-up?

I layed down.

I don't want to have wasted moments - moments that I wish I could have back.

I want to enjoy my family and cherish the time I have with them, always.