Thursday, January 26, 2012

Menu Plan and Goal Check

I'm a little late to the party this week (can't believe it's Thursday & I still haven't posted a menu!), but things have been crazy. I missed a bunch of work last week due to the weather, so I'm playing catch up this week. Plus planning my son's birthday party, and all of the normal rigamaroll. :-)

 
We've been eating lots of yummy things this week, and here's what's on the menu for the next week or so:

 

And, with just 5 days left in the month, I wanted to do a quick January goal check. Overall, I'm feeling pretty good!

  1. Lose 4 lbs in January, bringing my weight to 146. - I've been doing exceptionally well with eating and working out. I've been eating between 1400 & 1500 calories/day, and hitting the gym hard. My clothes are definitely fitting better, but I've only lost one pounds. I'm pressing on & staying focused. I know I already feel better.  
  2. Complete 900 minutes of cardio. Wow! That feels like a lot. :-) - I've completed 845 minutes of cardio so far, so almost there!
  3. Find a training plan for my 1/2 marathon, and map out all workouts. - Completed! I've registered for two races, found a suitable training plan, and added all workouts to my calendar. Yeah!
  4. Spend $0 on clothes/shoes/makeup for myself & $0 for clothing/shoes for the kids. - Groan. I spent $14.78 on an eye brow pencil when my other one broke. I did return a pair of (unworn, tags still on, of course) pair of yoga pants that I bought in December & didn't end up needing. They were $21.89, so I at least offset my spending.
  5. Complete 10 strength workouts. - I've completed 8 strength workouts, and have five days to get in the last two. I've struggled with this one way more than my cardio goal, but I know I can do it. 
  6. No artificial sugar in coffee or tea. Evaluate diet to see if I'm consuming other artificial sweetener. - I've completely eliminated sweetner of any kind in my coffee & tea. It's been a shock to the system, but I'm slowly adjusting ot the taste of my coffee with just milk. I also stopped drinking the flavored water at work (I used to mix with Crystal Light and/or flavored Talking Rain).
  7. Find an "extra" $650 in the budget for two tuition credits for each child. - I used $325 in Christmas money to fund one credit/child, and used the dividends from a stock to fund the other $325. Done.
  8. Track all spending, stick to budget, and complete a monthly spending report. I'd like to also do a minimum of two weekly spending reports in January to check to see if we're on track, highlight any "red" areas, and adjust our spending accordingly. - On track. 
  9. Pay an extra $500 on our vacation mortgage, and $500 extra on our primary mortgage. - Done! I received (and subsequently sold) some employeer stock, as well as received dividends from another stock I own. I paid $1000 to our second (primary residence) mortgage, as it currently is at the highest rate.
  10. Have a date night with M. Need to look at the calendar & get this planned out. - We had a fabulous date night last Saturday, and talked to friends about potentially trading off date night sitting, which would be fabulous & frugal!
  11. Get together with two friends. - A couple of planned events got moved due to the snow, but I'm meeting a few friends for lunch tomorrow.
  12. Determine guardians for the kids, which is the part of our wills that have caused us the most consternation. It's a very difficult decision, there are no easy answers, but it's just irresponsible to avoid the decision. - Anyway, still nothing.

How are you doing with your January goals? Feeling on track, like you can tackle everything you'd hoped for?
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