March Goals

Here are my goals for March! (If you're interested in how these map to my 2012 goals, you can read more about them here.)
I feel like I'm okay with the artificial sugar in my coffee/tea (I've successfully eliminated it for two months), so I'm cutting that goal, & adding another. I try to limit myself to 12 goals per month.

1. Lose four pounds in March, bringing me to 143 pounds.
2. Complete 1100 minutes of cardio. I've been crushing this goal, so I'm bumping up the number.
3. Complete all training runs for my half marathon, and complete my 15K race on 3/19!
4. Spend $0 on clothes, makeup, shoes, etc for myself/kids. *Caveat - I may need a new pair of running shoes*
5. Complete 11 strength workouts. Bumping this up by one workout, as I still feel like I need to devote more time to my strength training.
6. Find an "extra" $650 in the budget to purchase two tuition credits for each child.
7. Track all spending, stick to budget, and prepare month end spending report.
8. Complete taxes, & fund what we owe.
9. Have one date night with M.
10. Get together with two friends.
11. Create a master list of accounts/passwords to store in our safety deposit box.
12. Investigate & create new budget based on a few options we're considering. (Selling our vacation house, buying a rental property, etc). This is very much a first stage of a long process.

February Goal Wrap Up

The month is almost over - can you believe it?! Here's how I did on my goals for the month of February. Overall, I'm very pleased. :-) It's a short month, but I feel like I accomplished quite a bit.

These were my goals for February! (If you're interested in how these map to my 2012 goals, you can read more about them here.)

1. Lose four pounds in February, bringing me to 144 pounds. - I lost one pound, so progress was made. Ultimately, I'm having a hard time controlling my calories, because I'm working out like a crazy person. I know keeping the calories in check is important, but I'm also pleased because my clothes are fitting better & I'm in much better shape than I was a few months ago. Some days I'm STARVING after a long run, other days not so much. My calories are pretty wildly varied, & I haven't figured out how to account for that..
2. Complete 900 minutes of cardio. It's a shorter month, so this will definitely be a challenge. - I blew this one away, & even beat my huge January number. I'm planning to work out tomorrow, so this isn't a final number, but I completed 1173 cardio minutes in February. Boom!
3. Complete all training runs for my half marathon, and start training for my 15K in March. - Done. I fell behind for a few days when I got sick, but I rallied & I'm back on track.
4. Spend $0 on clothes, makeup, shoes, etc for myself/kids. - I did "okay" on this one, but didn't achieve my goal. I spent $137 on clothing for myself, but $100 of that was from my birthday money, so my net spend was $37. I'm actually going to return one of the sweaters (love it, but the color doesn't look good with jeans, & I wear jeans every day pretty much to work), so I'm giving myself a pass. We had to replace two kids winter jackets this month, for a total of $76. The good news was there was no unecessary kids clothing spending, and the jackets were essential & will last until the end of next winter.
5. Complete 10 strength workouts. - I'll be wrapping up the last workout tonight, so I'm giving this a complete!
6. No artificial sugar in coffee/tea or other beverages. - Done!
7. Find an "extra" $650 in the budget to purchase two tuition credits for each child. - I funded half of this, so one tuition credit for each child. That's all the budget could afford this month, with a bunch of unexpected car expenses.
8. Track all spending, stick to budget, and prepare month end spending report. - I tracked all of the spending, & I'm almost done with our month end spending report. Overall, there were some expenses outside of our budget (car expenses, travel which is part of our yearly budget, but wasn't expected in February, etc). Very little random extraneous purchases, and I'm pleased with where we ended up. February is always a struggle for us - my birthday, my son's birthday, Valentine's Day, the kids have a week off of school, etc.
9. Reallocate savings goals to pay for taxes. Waiting for a few final documents, but it's looking like we'll owe around $10K. *shivers* - Done. I'm taking Friday off to really commit the time to get our taxes wrapped up, and we have a plan for what we expect to owe.
10. Have one date night with M. - Done!
11. Get together with two friends. - Done!
12. Create a master list of accounts/passwords to store in our safety deposit box. - This was the only goal that I didn't even attempt, so fail. I'll roll this goal over to next month.

How about you? How did your February goals come out?

Menu Plan Monday (2/27/12)

Trying to get back into the regular habit of posting my menu plans. On Mondays. ;-) Otherwise, the week turns into a crazy blur. I'm happy to report that I spent most of Saturday in the kitchen, & stocked the freezer fairly well. That makes me feel much more relaxed about my ability to throw dinner together on crazy evenings.

Here's what in the lineup for the week:

• Monday - Leftover Fiesta Chicken Casserole. LOVE this recipe.
• Tuesday - Chicken marsala casserole + roasted brussels sprouts
• Wednesday - Sauteed tilapia with lemon peppercorn sauce, over orzo.
• Thursday - Homemade Bolognese sauce (from the freezer) over pasta
• Friday - Chicken peanut chow mein + wine :-)
• Saturday - One dish chicken and kielbasa dinner
• Sunday - Either chicken souvlaki, or pizza, depending on our plans for the day.

What's on your menu plan for the week?

Weekly Spending Wrap Up (2/20/12-2/26/12)

I'm happy it's Sunday, because I'm exhausted! I ran 8 miles yesterday, worked out today, swam with my youngest, made 10 meals & 6 dozen muffins for the freezer, and did all of my normal household miscellany. Today, my youngest & I spent the day together while my oldest + my husband skied. It was a very nice day. I'm trying to motivate myself to get off the sofa & get dinner prepared. So far, not very motivated. :-)

Another week, and here's how we did! :-)

• Monday
• $85 - child care, as schools are closed but our employer is not. On a gift card.
• Tuesday
• $9 - lunch at Panera. On a gift card. I was at home sick, & ran out to get some soup.
• $326 - one tuition credit for each child. I used S's birthday money (gifts from family) to fund his.
• Wednesday
• $76.57 - new ski coats, as one got lost & one was ripped at the seams. Spending this much makes me cringe, but both will last through the end of next winter. I did manage to get them on sale, but there were very few options this late in the winter
• -$60.17 - returned a dress at The Gap. Trying to offset the kids ski coat purchases.
• $583.49 - car expenses. Drat.
• $51.61 - gas
• $7.61 - lunch, out
• Thursday
• No spend day
• Friday
• $158.47 - Costco, groceries
• $30.31 - Costco, household
• Saturday
• $31.24 - pet store, for fish food & other various fish supplies
• Sunday
• $12 - child care at the gym, on gift card
• $5 - frozen yogurt, free with a coupon
• $21.25 - I took my youngest son on a Mom/Son day, & we did a bunch of fun stuff (see above & below) :-). This was for lunch out.
• $20 - a new pair of jeans, for me
• $68.83 - two pair of jeans, as a gift for my sister. I'm not sure what size she's wearing, so I'll return one after she has a chance to try them on.
• -$16.96 - returned a top to Jcrew
• $5.45 - bought my youngest a Lego key chain.

Total spent for the week = $1303.70

The car repair 44% of our spending this week, and the two tuition credits were another 25%.

How did you do on your weekly spending?

Tales from the grocery store

It's been a while since I categorized what we bought at the store (in this case, Costco), so I thought I would post it again. I'm training for a 1/2 marathon, so there are a few more high energy snack options mixed in this time around. We're also out of almost everything, & I'm hoping to stock the freezer with a few extra meals this weekend.

Household:
Laundry soap - $14.69
Body wash - $11.49
Total household spend (including tax) = $28.81
Total percentage of spend = 15%

Pantry items:
Rice - $5.49
Diced canned tomatoes - $5.93
Canned black beans - $5.79
8 pack of spaghetti noodles - $8.59
2 pack of tortellini - $9.39
Pickles - $3.89
Total pantry items = $39.08
Total percentage of spend = 20%

Bread items:
Two loaves of wheat bread - $3.99
Tortillas - $4.99
Whole wheat English muffins - $3.79
Total bread items = $12.77
Total percentage of spend = 7%

Dairy items:
Milk - $4.93
Romano cheese - $8.89
Fage yogurt - $12.49
Eggs - $3.85
Total dairy spend = $30.16
Total percentage of spend = 16%

Produce:
Clementines - $6.99
Pears - $3.99
Apples - $5.99
Honeydew melon - $3.99
Kiwi - $5.99
Pineapple - $2.99
Cucumbers - $2.99
Bananas x2 - $2.78
Mushrooms - $3.99
Lettuce - $3.49
Six pack of peppers - $5.49
Total produce spend = $48.68
Total percentage of budget =  25%

Snack items:
Nugo bars - $18.49
Cashews - $14.99
Total snack spend = $33.48
Total percentage of budget = 17%


Total spend = $192.98

Breakout of categories:

• Produce - 25%
• Pantry - 20%
• Snacks - 17%
• Dairy - 16%
• Household - 15%
• Bread - 7%

Both our pantry & snack categories are higher than normal, but the pantry is to be expected given my meal stock up. I'll have to keep any eye on our snack spending.

What about you? How have you been doing at the grocery store lately?

If you could do anything this weekend

I know most of us (all of us?) have tons of work, family, etc responsibilities over the weekend, but for whatever reason, I keep fantasizing about what I would do with an entirely free weekend in my own house. (Read, no kids. I would LOVE to have my husband there, so we could go to dinner & such).

Here's what my responsibility free weekend would look like. . . . I would:

• Do two long runs, catch up on my training plan, & maybe hit a yoga or pilates class at the gym
• Get a massage
• Get a pedicure
• Do a little window shopping, especially for things like shoes, that my kids cannot stand looking at
• Catch up on my freezer meals & get a bunch of meals stashed away
• Bake muffins & breads for the freezer
• Try my hand at homemade tortillas. I've been dying to try a recipe, but never have time.
• Finish my taxes! I know - it's not very fun, but it's really hard to get this done with the kids at home.
• Take a bath. Maybe multiple baths.
• Read my book.
• Watch romantic comedies
• Sit in a coffee shop & people watch for an hour, while sipping my latte
• Meet a girl friend for dinner/drinks.

Of course, that's nothing like what my weekend will actually look like, but a girl's got to dream. :-) Here's what's really on the list for the weekend.

• One long run, assuming my lungs are recovered from my cold
• Maybe getting the time to add 1-2 freezer meals to our stash
• Taking the kids to soccer practice
• Taking the kids skiing on Sunday
• Various meal preparations
• Laundry
• Homework assistance
• House cleaning

Okay, so tell me - if you had the weekend entirely free from commitments of any kind, how would you spend it?!

Happy Friday! And, I finally figured out how to turn off the comment validation (you having to enter those crazy word phrases when you want to comment), so I hope that makes things easier!

The goal that's not on track

I'm (in general) a pretty motivated person, use my goals and progress to motivate myself regularly, but for whatever reason, I'm in a FUNK. A weight loss funk, to be specific. Over the past week and a half or so, I've had a bad cold/flu, and haven't been able to work out as much as usual. When I work out, I'm motivated to eat well. When I'm home from work sick, propped on the couch watching CSI. . . .well, sometimes I'm eating Cheetos & Oreos.

Yikes. It's embarrassing to admit. Anyway, now that it's out in the open that I'm sure I won't be losing any weight this month, despite the fact that I'm running a lot (last week notwithstanding since I was sick), I'm obviously eating too much.

How do you get yourself back on track? I'd love your motivation, even if it's not around health & fitness goals. Being sick has sapped my energy, & it's hard for me to care about much at all right now, but my jeans are getting tighter & it's time to nip this in the bud!

And, we had to cancel a vacation to the beach for this week, which made me super sad. M's work schedule changed, & it just wasn't possible. So, I'm not here, enjoying the sunset & drinking wine on the deck.

Maybe I should post what I'm eating for a few days, to shame me into eating well again? :-)

And, question for any of you gardeners . . . is it time to start thinking about planting? I'm going to focus on two plants this year - tomatoes & cucumbers. I want to go big with both. I'm in the pacific northwest, & would love any recommendations around planting times.

Quick check in

I've been sick the past few days, and now I'm feeling all out of sorts. I'm still not feeling 100%, but I'm back at work today & trying to keep myself awake in my office. :-)

A few random things. . .

• My son had his birthday this weekend, & it was a hoot! He had his party at a bowling alley, & it ended up being a lot of fun.
• We had family in town & I got in a great run on Sunday, which I wasn't expecting. Yeah for unexpected exercise!
• I met a couple of girlfriends for dinner on Sunday night. It's been way too long since I've gotten together with friends, so it was fantastic to catch up & chat over a glass of wine & dinner.
• I'm doing reasonably well on all of my February goals. I'm a little behind on my strength training, but am hoping to muster up enough energy today to put in either a quick run, or a cross training workout + a strength workout.
• We've used up all of our freezer meals! I can't believe it. Typically, we have around 10 meals in the freezer available for last minute dinners. Obviously, February has been a crazy month, because we've worked through our entire stash. It's a mixed blessing, because my freezer is now (mostly) cleaned out (still contains meat), but I'm nervous about not having a backup. Especially with not feeling well. My goal is to come up with a plan to start filling it back up.
• We're working through a few long-term financial plan details. We currently own a vacation home (we don't rent it out), but it's getting harder & harder to make time to use it with our kids schedules. Although we love, love, love it, we're thinking that long term it might make more sense to sell it, and invest in a rental property instead. We shall see. Deep thoughts & things to consider.

What has everyone been up to lately? Would you mind sharing your top freezer meal recipes? I'd love input on top choices. I know I'm going to make spaghetti sauce with meat, chicken pastina, and almond chicken.

Menu plan for the week

I'm late to the party, but need to get myself organized. It's been a crazy with a couple of week - I had a birthday, Valentine's Day, my son's birthday is tomorrow, we have family in town over the weekend. . .

Anyway, if I don't write this down, I'll end up with no plan at all. Here's what I'm thinking of for the menu:

• Wednesday - Mystery casserole from the freezer. I finally defrosted this! :-)
• Thursday - Leftover tacos
• Friday - Leftover mystery casserole
• Saturday - guests in town & for dinner. I'm likely going to buy a few prepared casseroles from Costco + salad + bread + wine for our event.
• Sunday - I'm having dinner with girl friends, so the kids/M will fend for themselves or have leftovers.
• Monday - Baked penne with roasted vegetables + barbecued chicken from the freezer.
• Tuesday - Mahi Mahi tacos
• Wednesday - Almond chicken pasta (sauce from the freezer)
• Thursday - Leftovers
• Friday - Marsala chicken and mushroom casserole
• Saturday - Maybe a date night. Otherwise, something easy!
• Sunday - Pizza, apres ski.

Did you have a nice Valentine's Day? Hope it was fabulous.

Weekly Spending Wrap Up (2/6/12-2/12/12)

Wow, what a spendy week! Most of it was planned (it was my birthday, so we had a few things we knew we would be spending on), but my car unexpectedly needed a new battery, we had an extremely expensive trip to the dry cleaners (M wears suits for work), & we had a one time expensive house cleaning visit.

M & I were planning on skiing together on Friday for my birthday, but it was raining at the mountain, so we had lunch together, & then I did a bit of shopping, & got a pedicure. I received $100 as a birthday gift, so I'll be using that to offset some of my shopping. I also might return a few things once I see how they match up with what I already have. My shopping goal for the year is $500, so I want to be sure that I *love* everything that I get!

Here's what we spent:

• Monday, 2/6
• No spend day
• Tuesday, 2/7
• $87.49 - Costco for groceries
• Wednesday, 2/8
• $7.09 - Fred Meyer for mouthwash
• $275 - cleaners. We switched house cleaners, and they require a one time deep clean before they start billing monthly. Yikes! I will say, our house is crazy clean right now. ;-) This includes the deep clean & one week of normal cleaning.
• Thursday, 2/9
• No spend day
• Friday, 2/10
• $54.72 - lunch out
• $30 - pedicure + tip
• $66.14 - a few sweaters, silver flats, a pair of pants, & tights from The Loft
• $120.42 - My favorite sweaters were on sale at Jcrew, so I picked up two & also got a top.
• $125.82 - two dresses at The Gap
• $39.74 - dry cleaners
• $99.99 - a new blow dryer. (My gift from M.) It dries my hair in 1/3 of the time I normally spend, so it's a huge morning time saver. LOVE it!
• $169.71 - new battery for my car.
• Saturday, 2/11
• $10 - massage tip (on a gift card), after I used a free promotional card for the massage
• $150 - estimated dinner out to celebrate birthday/Valentine's Day. I didn't sign the check, and it hasn't posted to the credit card yet.
• Sunday, 2/12
• $47 - two ski passes
• $1.04 - prints at Rite Aid for my Valentine's gift for M. I printed out family ski pictures & framed them, replacing a collage that had pictures of us skiing together ten years ago. Talk about progress. He's going to love it!
• $15 - lunch at the ski lodge. Didn't wake up early enough to pack a lunch for the kdis, after our date night, at it was silly expensive.
• $11.97 - gas
• $26.84 - some sort of spray for the yard that I didn't quite catch, per M's request.
• $58.30 - groceries at Costco.
• $1.95 - strawberries at Fred Meyer, per the request of my little guy, who was shopping with me.
• $175.46 - gifts for my oldest son's birthday. I'll be getting reimbursed for most of this, as I picked up gifts from my mom & grandmother.

Total spend for the week = $1563.68! After subtracting the cash for my gift & the money I'll be getting back from the birthday gifts I picked up, total spend was $1353.68. We are also expecting the upcoming week to be relatively expensive, as we have my son's birthday party, family visiting, and a few other smaller things planned..

How did your week go? Did you spend more or less than planned?

Ten Percent

Did you know that 2012 is ten percent over?! I calculate my workouts based on the month & the year (to make sure I'm pacing appropriately, and don't leave myself with an unrealistic amount of workouts to complete in December. Not that I've ever done that before. ;-)) As of today, 2012 is 10.4% over.

In light of that, I'll do a fast 2012 goal check. :-)

1. Achieve and maintain my goal weight of 130 lbs. I have 20 lbs to go, as I'm starting at 150. - I'm currently at 148 so I've lost 2 lbs. Although this doesn't look like much, I can tell that I am in MUCH better shape than I was a few months ago. My clothes are fitting better, I'm eating well, & I'm working out. Definitely feel on track with this one.
2. Complete 10,000 minutes of cardio. My goal was 4500 for 2011, and I crushed this goal in 2012  (ended with 8700 minutes). I want to go big with this goal. :-) - On track! I've completed 1420 minutes of cardio, so 14.2% of my yearly goal.
3. Run a 1/2 marathon. I was fully trained for my first 1/2 marathon before I broke my foot in May. I'm starting from scratch, but want to get back to it. - On track! I started my training plan yesterday, & ran 5 miles.
4. Spend less than $500 on clothing for myself and less than $500 for shoes/clothes for the kids. I shop for entertainment, and it's totally unnecessary. - On track. I've only spent $14.78, and have actually returned a few things so that I have a negative total for the year.
5. Complete 100 strength training workouts. - On track. I've completed 13 workouts, so 13% of the way to goal, with 10% of the year elapsed.
6. Give up artificial sugar. (Mostly, the Splenda in my coffee & tea.) This will be TOUGH for me. :-) - I haven't had anything, and my taste is starting to adjust! Although, now that I think about it, I'm going to start needing a electrolyte drink for my longer runs. I wonder if they all have artificial sweetner? I'll have to check this out.
7. Reach 50% of our goal for the boys college tuition GET accounts, for both kids. This will take about $12,000. - We've funded $650, so we're technically behind. However, the bulk of this will most likely come out of my September bonus, so we'll only be making small steps until then.
8. Track all spending, stick to our budget, and complete monthly spending reports. - On track in January, and February is going well. We're certainly not on track in every category, but things are balancing out nicely.
9. Pay off $50,000 on our vacation house mortgage and $100,000 on our primary residence mortgage. - Not sure if this is going to remain a goal. We may be saving cash for a remodel, so we're not sure where we'll land on paying down our mortgages.
10. Have one date night per month with M. - On track. Had one for January, and another scheduled for this weekend!
11. Get together with two friends/month, and plan a minimum of one girls only vacation this year. - Not on track. We had a snowstorm in January, a friend's mother got sick, work conflicts came up, etc. I did meet up with a friend this weekend for pizza, but need to make this a priority.
12. Meet with an attorney & get our life insurance, wills, guardianship, trusts, etc squared away. This is a MUST do this year. - Well, we finally discussed guardians, so that's one step in the right direction. This month my focus is a list of all accounts, so I need to get on that.

How are you doing with your 2012 goals? Do you feel like you're on track? If not, are there changes you can make to get back on track?

Weekly Spending Wrap Up (1/30-2/5)

Hope you had a great weekend! Here's how we did with our spending last week.

• Monday (1/30)
• No spend day!
• Tuesday (1/31)
• Free birthday coffee at Starbucks + breakfast wrap (on gift card)
• $114.85 - Costco for groceries.
• Wednesday (2/1)
• $59.83 - registration for half marathon in May
• Thursday (2/2)
• $59.83 - registered my sister for the half marathon in May. She registered me for a different race, so returning the favor.
• Happy hour with M, on a gift card.
• Friday (2/3)
• No spend day!
• Saturday (2/4)
• $13.93 - groceries
• $75 - went to dinner with friends, and we treated.
• Sunday (2/5)
• $8 - snack at the ski lodge
• $47 - lift ticket for myself & our youngest (other two have season passes)
• $9.71 - car wash after we left the ski area. The car was filthy with mud, salt, etc.

Total spend for the week is $388.15! This is our new low. So excited, especially given that the $75 on dinner was unexpected, and a last minute thing. We're making progress!

How was your week?

February Goals

Can you believe that January is almost over, & it's time to look forward to February?! February is a fun month - my son is turning six, and I'm turning, well, older. . . :-)

Here are my goals for February! (If you're interested in how these map to my 2012 goals, you can read more about them here.)

1. Lose four pounds in February, bringing me to 144 pounds.
2. Complete 900 minutes of cardio. It's a shorter month, so this will definitely be a challenge.
3. Complete all training runs for my half marathon, and start training for my 15K in March.
4. Spend $0 on clothes, makeup, shoes, etc for myself/kids.
5. Complete 10 strength workouts.
6. No artificial sugar in coffee/tea or other beverages.
7. Find an "extra" $650 in the budget to purchase two tuition credits for each child.
8. Track all spending, stick to budget, and prepare month end spending report.
9. Reallocate savings goals to pay for taxes. Waiting for a few final documents, but it's looking like we'll owe around $10K. *shivers*
10. Have one date night with M.
11. Get together with two friends.
12. Create a master list of accounts/passwords to store in our safety deposit box.

What are your goals for February?

January Goal Wrap Up

The month is winding down, and I'm very excited by my progress in January!

1. Lose 4 lbs in January, bringing my weight to 146. - I ate well 90% of the time this month, and achieved my fitness goals for the month. I lost a total of 1.8 pounds. However, my clothes are fitting much better. So, while not exactly what I'd hoped to see on the scale, progress was definitely made on this front.
2. Complete 900 minutes of cardio. Wow! That feels like a lot. :-) -Done! I completed 1135 minutes of cardio. It's amazing what you can accomplish if you push yourself! 
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. - Mostly. . . 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 completed 11 strength workouts for the month, and can defintiely tell a difference in muscle tone.
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. - Done, done, and done! 
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, and other various last minute schedule changes, but I'm getting together with a few friends on Friday.
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. - This is the only one I didn't get to. I think we're honing in on an answer, but I don't consider this complete.

How did you do with your January goals?