Small Changes for 2013, Part 2

So some of you have had more time to find your word for 2013 or make some resolutions. In my last post I said I was making small changes in 2013 and some wondered what they might be. 

I read somewhere that the #1 resolution by Americans was to lose weight. I love to eat! Over the holidays as more and more treats came into our home, I would snack on the high calorie treats that adorned our counters. Thus a little weight gain. 

Track Calories

My small change in this area is to be more active and to eat mindfully, which is a lot easier said than done. So the first small change I have made is to track my calories again. I am choosing foods that are higher in protein, less processed/packaged foods. I am also making an effort to have fresh veggies and fruits ready to be eaten. It seems when I want a snack, I don't want to take time to prepare it, so it really helps having the veggies washed, cut and ready to be eaten. My favorite go to snack is greek yogurt. If you haven't tried it, you should! It is a great source of protein and really delicious. Be sure to read the label as there are now a lot of varieties, with some containing too many calories. These are previous posts that I have written about healthy eating: here and here.

Be Active

The midwest winter months can really drag on, as those who live in the midwest know, all too well. I am aiming at being more active. I continue to ski with my family on the weekends. I have also gone back to tennis one day/week. I committed to working with a personal trainer in a group setting in February. I am using the rest of January to get ready for this huge challenge. I already logged the training dates into my calendar and I am committed to being in the gym at a minimum of two days per week.  I am also hoping to make a reacquaintance with my treadmill! 

Home Organization

Another small change I have made is in the area of organization. I am following A Bowl Full of Lemons, New Year's Home Revolution which is a 14 week home organization challenge. If you are interested in checking it out, go here. What I like about this challenge is that it can be as little or as much organization as that space needs that week. I figure even if  I clean a drawer a week in the space that they suggest, I will end up with a minimum of 14 clean drawers!! A small change that will lead to a bigger change! 

Before I started the New Year's Home Revolution "Organization Challenge"  I cleaned and organized my laundry/mud room. I am not quite done renovating this space, as I need to have a new faucet and sink installed and need new artwork above the coat hooks. I also need to find a way to hide the electrical cords from the washer and dryer, below the cabinets. I hope to dedicate one full blog post to this room, as it is a big part of the functioning of our family! Here is a peek at the progress so far from last spring: 

If you want to see what my laundry room looked like "BEFORE" go here and here.

A have a few more small changes for 2013 that I will share with you in another post. And to leave you on a note of other things happening at our house...a scheduled surgery for my son Foster, to repair an "acute ulnar collateral ligament"or thumb ligament, after he suffered a ski injury dubbed as Skier's Thumb...a similar injury his father also had as an 8th grader. Like father, like son.

Xray at orthopedic surgeon's office:

My kids love playing with the fun stuff at the orthopedic surgeon and using instagram:

I hope that your 2013 is off to a great start and that you are still enthused about the possibilities of great things to come in the new year! 

hugs, 

Cathy

My 2011 Word of the Year: ORGANIZE

This was taken by Ana from her bedroom window through a screen at sunset the other night. She took it with her videocam that has a 5 megapixel camera.
Glorious, wouldn't you say?

My word of the year this year is ORGANIZE! I really thought long and hard about this one and it kept coming back to me that the more organized I am, the more free time I will have to spend with my family & friends. I first wrote down (with a pen & paper!) all of the things I felt I did well in 2010. I was surprised that the list was so long!! Then my husband suggested a few things that I had not remembered, so I had to add a few more. I really liked the process of looking back on 2010. I think part of the reason I had many things on my list was because of blogging. I love the interactive part of blogging & the immediate feedback. Here are posts of a few accomplishments:

outdoor painted table~before

outdoor painted table~after

kitchen re-do, part 1

update to my son's bedroom (think ski!)

my organized office 

summer laundry room ( i will have to do this again, after ski season!)

under the kitchen sink

If you tend to be a procrastinator ( I am, too much thinking going on here!) then you need to join up with Amy at New Nostalgia who hosts a linky party on Tuesdays call Anti-Procrastination Tuesdays. Amy is an incredible blogger & is fighting breast cancer and has recently undergone a double mastectomy.  She will be hosting Anti-Procrastination Tuesdays again on January 11, 2011. So go get your post ready & send some love to Amy!

One project that I never fully blogged is my shutter project. Remember I agonized over whether to paint the existing or buy new? It was #3 on my list here. I promise to give you photos & a full post in the near future.

I did post my first video, held my first giveaway, my first interview with blogger Suzanne of beachouseetc, held my first linky party and made my first blog header in Picasa in 2010.

Last night I spent a few hours on a new blog header & it didn't work. It appeared to be perfect & then when I clicked on "collage" it wrapped my words, so that you could only see half of them! Does that ever happen to you? So, to all of you that have new blog headers for 2011, I am not lazy just technologically challenged, at the moment! And yes, I am envious of you!

Here are a few things I have already done in the first week of this year:

• cut down on coffee ( I am down to 3 x 8 ounce cups and heading down to 2x8 ounce cups)
• figured out how to get Ana's videos on the computer from her new Kodak Playsport videocam~it is waterproof & so much fun! Had to return her Flip because I could not get it to charge. Love Kodak & think they should sponsor me since I have always loved their products. It is the only brand of point & shoot that I will own!
• put kids on a new schedule for tennis, which is working out really well!
• moved all of my 2010 papers to storage
• did my ballet workout, it is a good stretch & great for the lower body without being too hard on the knees
• a clean house~woot, woot!

Some of the things I want to accomplish in 2011:

• make a blog book~if you have done this, I would love to know how you did it
• streamline my time in making new blog headers
• clean my junk drawers
• clean my sock drawer
• come up with a plan for all of my photos, both digital & printed
• print photo books for each of the kids
• transfer more video to dvd
• organize a prayer group~any ideas for non denominational?
• get in shape for slalom skiing~see my post on slalom skiing
• post about women business owners & The Steeple Project
• learn how to use my new camera (after I buy one, maybe in a few months!)
• make decision on computer which is having memory problems & is soon to be outdated
• continue to learn how to relax
• and many decorating projects, so you will have to follow along on my adventures!

Are YOU trying to get more organized in 2011? Maybe one of these posts will help you:

Organized Papers

Quick Scrapbook

2 of my  favorite skiers. Love those smiles & the dimple! Photo credit: Ana.

Here is my Anti Procrastination list for this week:

1. ski (that's what we do here in Ohio in January!)
2. clean sock drawer (stop laughing Rich!)
3. reconcile October,  November & December checking statements (wish I could do it every month!)

It is a short list, but realistic!

I am hoping that you are off to a great start in 2011. Looking forward to sharing with you my long lists & hopefully some pretty photos!

I am finding it difficult to post, as I am without my SLR camera. But don't worry, I am finding ways to get around it. You may even see a video on here. I know, crazy things are happening here at checkitoff. I mean holy cow, only 3 cups of coffee. It's going to be a great year! 
hugs,

Quick Scrapbook

What do you do with all of the snippets of life; concert/dance recital programs, newspaper clippings, certificates of achievements, sports programs/photos, heat sheets, ribbons, etc? Well I have a quick & easy answer! A few years ago when I attended my niece's graduation party, I was able to flip through her life via a 3 ring binder. My sis' mom-in-law, has saved & archived all of her important papers. It was awesome to flip through & see all that she had accomplished in her school years!

I had been saving these items for my kids since pre-school & throwing them into a drawer. But trust me, there was NO organization to it! As soon as I got home, I rushed to the office store & bought the clear sheet protectors. I use the *Avery* brand where it states "acid-free, archival-safe".

Recently I put them into the binders & did a quick "pretty up" to the binder using coordinating scrapbooking papers. This was a very easy & quick project & now all of my 3 kid's snippets of life are organized. My first grad party is in 5 years. I already have one thing checked off my list! Hope you like this idea~Cathy M

Organized Papers

Just a quick post today, as it is a snow day & the kiddos are home making messes, dripping melting snow on the floor, bugging me...you know what I mean~so without further adieu:

Do you have stacks of paper that need organized? If you are a busy person, then I can tell you that you probably do!

Last year my goal was to be better organized & I can definitely say that I am, in one area! OK, only one area, but that is still progress!

While going through your stack, sort papers by (kid's homework, bills, investments, medical, etc.) Then go out & buy these rather inexpensive folders. Be sure to label them! At the end of the year or during tax prep time, you will be able to find out what you need quickly! And that is a good feeling...I then empty these every year & rubber band & label the contents & store in a labeled banker box in the basement. I also use them for my small business & they really do keep everything organized. Cheap, easy & organized! ~That's my style~

Snuggly

February can be so cold in Ohio! Since we just received a whopper of an electric bill, I decided to turn down the heat. Now my house is a little less comfortable than usual. This morning I heard my youngest & she was doing something in the laundry room. She came out wearing her North Face jacket & gloves & snuggling her blankie. I guess she was a bit cold & not used to the new temp in our house. She looked so snuggly that I had to get a photo of her. Don't worry, she didn't take the blankie to school. She asked me if I would put it in her room for her! Yesterday I was privy to a conversation at the hair salon (tried a new place & new stylist & I am "oh so happy"!) Two stylists were talking about their kids & breaking them of the bottle & their pacifiers. They each had a great attitude and had decided that this process would happen & that their kids wouldn't be lugging their bottle & pacifiers to kindergarten. Yep, I can agree with them, and they probably won't be taking the blankie to first grade, either! I loved the upbeat parenting attitude of these two stylists. Here is a picture of Miss Snuggly before heading out the door to school:

I am in full cleaning mode now folks! If you read my last post you will know that I was struggling to get motivated (Florida dreaming!) Now I realize that if I don't get going I will be filled with regret! Also, it helps that I have finalized our travel plans. Yesterday I was able to get my laundry room cleaned, as well as the pantry. I have put off the cleaning of the pantry for about 2-3 months. Let's put it his way, you could not even walk inside it, let alone try to get to the vacuum cleaner, or anything else for that matter! There is still one shelf that needs organized, but I am just thrilled that I can open the door & walk in.

There were two tricks that got me motivated to get these things done in a timely manner. The first trick was to use my "egg timer". I LOVE this thing! I purchased mine from the grocery (under $10) & here is what you will need on yours: a clip, ability to put in minutes or hours & a magnet. I put in the amount of time in which I would like to accomplish the task & then clip on the timer. It really helps to keep you focused on how much time you have. I also use it for the kids for piano practice. They put in their 10 minutes & start practicing. That way I don't have to keep asking "did you practice long enough"?

The second trick was that I had to take the day off from the computer on Wednesday. My hours online reading blogs, researching items (spring shoes, flights to Florida), & checking Facebook were really adding up. The homily at church on Sunday was all about addictions. Of course I sat there thinking that I was doing pretty well, with only a morning addiction to coffee. (Yes, my addiction to Hazelnut Creme coffee cannot be broken!) But then when I searched my soul I realized I was lying to myself. So my goal was to not even touch the computer on Wednesday. Well I cheated 2 times, but briefly. We will see how I do next Wednesday! But seriously, by taking the day off from the computer freed me up to tackle some other tasks. So I guess you have to decide what is holding you back from achieving one of your goals? Yep, that's right you might have to get out from under that cozy comforter!

The end result:

I hope you are starting off your February with a fresh attitude. We are expecting a winter snow storm in the next few days, so there will plenty of snuggling & drawer cleaning & probably a fresh pot of homemade soup. I will keep you posted:)