This Week's Goals

We bought our new washing machine and it was delivered last Wednesday. I love having a top loader again! The clothes wash quickly, I don't have to worry about cleaning the inside of the machine, and I don't have to worry that the machine will shut down in the middle of a load. I'm back on track with laundry again, and looking forward to staying that way.

Last week, instead of going to the library to work on my websites, I dropped the kids at my mom's house and came home to tackle my husband's office. I filled at least 5 trash bags with junk and old papers, and took 4-5 boxes to Goodwill. Over the past few days, I've been putting CD's in storage boxes to reduce the amount of space they take up, and sorting through some of our keepsake boxes to get rid of items we don't really need to keep.

I still have a few boxes of photos to sort through, along with my husband's notebooks, keepsakes and files. My goal this week is to continue working on the office and staying on top of the laundry.

I'm also going to start jogging this week. I jogged for 20 minutes yesterday, and it was hard work, but it was fun. Here's hoping my extra weight just falls right off!

This Week's Menu

Monday - Mexican Lasagna
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Spinach Quiche, French Bread
Thursday - Meatball Sub
Friday - Hot Dogs and Tater Tots (Mom and Dad eat out)
Saturday - Pizza

This Week's Goals

I've still been playing around with my schedule and I've dramatically reduced the amount of time I spent working. Much of the reduction has been through eliminating time wasters, but a large part of it has also been shifting my focus from work to home, and realizing that if it's in God's plan for me to succeed in business, He will work it out.

Last week, a friend came over to help me organize our playroom/schoolroom. It had been organized at one point, but as our family grew, so did the clutter. It is a relief to have an organized space in which I can actually work and think! The only other room in the home that needs heavy duty attention is the office, so that's my next project after cleaning the laundry room.

Speaking of laundry... Our machine is on the outz again! Our well-used warranty has expired and we are buying a new machine. I can't wait to get this hunk of junk out of our home! When we get our new machine in, I'll continue working on a method to keep our laundry clean and put away.

I read this interesting blog post by author Tim Ferriss about the secret to changing behavior. I'll be incorporating some of these principles as I work toward my goals.

This Week's Menu

Monday - Nachos
Tuesday - Dinner at Grandma's
Wednesday - Stuffed Pasta Shells
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Burgers and Fries (Dad taking Jasmine out to Dinner)
Saturday - Pizza (Taking Andrew out w/Friends)
Sunday - Chicken Burritos

This Week's Goals

Last year, I rarely spent time reading books that weren't related to research for my homeschooling website, and that's something I wanted to change this year. Right now I'm reading a book called, The 4-Hour Workweek and it is totally changing my thoughts about productivity and time management.

Instead of encouraging multi-tasking and efficiency, The 4-Hour Workweek teaches you to be more productive so you spend less time working and more time doing things you enjoy. The author devotes several chapters to teaching techniques that will eliminate time wasters like e-mail and meetings. He also speaks extensively about delegating, outsourcing and automating tasks.

One thing I've decided to do is shorten my workday to 2 hours so I have more time to spend accomplishing non work-related goals like spending time with my daughter and managing laundry. I'm going to play around with my schedule a bit this week.

Another goal for this week is to get back on track with my diet and workout schedule. I overate and skipped my workouts Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and I'm really feeling the effects of it.

This week, my goal is to continue working out on my treadmill one hour per day and stick to my healthy eating plan.

This Week's Menu

Monday - Chicken Quesadillas and Chips
Tuesday - Dinner at Grandma's
Wednesday - Beans and Rice
Thursday - Mexican Casserole
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Pizza (Andrew and Isaiah's birthday party)
Sunday - Roast

My Secret Weight Loss Weapons, Part 2

I don't mind working out, but I really, really hate dieting. I don't like denying myself my favorite foods and I don't like feeling hungry when I go to bed at night. Here are some strategies I use to trick myself into eating fewer calories without feeling deprived.

1. Divide meals in half. - I've already shared that I sometimes rely on frozen dinners for lunch, but for dinner I eat the same meal I prepare for my family. The difference is, I only eat half of what I would have normally eaten. If we're having Mexican casserole, I eat a small portion of casserole and 1 serving of tortilla chips (I actually count them). I sometimes serve myself on a salad plate so my plate looks really full. My stomach is already adjusting to the smaller portions and I feel full more quickly.

2. Eat dessert. - Sometime after I had my second child, I developed a sweet tooth. I still eat dessert, but now I have 1 cookie instead of 5. I remind myself that we're not in the midst of a famine. I can always have another cookie tomorrow, so there's no reason to hoard.

Here's My Secret Weight Loss Weapons, Part 1. I'll share more tips next week...