Events
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week Jake was traveling the majority of the week for work and we had the girls 7th Birthday Party. It was neat celebrating, it’s still hard for me to believe that my babies are 7 years old.
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday- Read a book to the girls everyday – we had a couple later nights this week
Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this weekGo on our Date Night with the GirlsCelebrate with family and friends at the Girls Birthday PartyPick up the girls new glassesSchedule Appointment with Chiropractor
Personal Goals
Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – need to work on this one
Finish reading Everything Romance by Todd HaferRead and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).- Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans – got most of the travel itinerary done, just a couple minor details to be worked out
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday) – with several doctor appointments after school dinner was delayed
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom – this didn’t get done this week
Business Goals
Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog postsSpend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk- Write a Guest Blog Post – working on it
Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or LunchEmail Alms & Legs Ministry Team with the Meeting Notes
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – went over a little this week with the girls birthday party, Valentine’s Day & Date Night
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – working on it
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes – getting closer
- Put money aside for upcoming trips – have some of it set aside
- Pay for Jake’s College Classes – cash set aside for the first 6 months
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
- Go on our Date Night with Jake
- Celebrate Valentine’s Day
- Celebrate Brina & Karlie’s Birthday
- Spend time together as a family
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley
- Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
- Packing “To Do” List
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the downstairs Bookshelves / Desk / Dressers
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Write a Guest Blog Post
- Finish 2011 Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
- Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
I loved you yesterday….
Book: “Everything Romance” by Todd Hafer
Any time is the perfect time to celebrate with the ones you love! With Valentine’s Day celebrations around corner I thought I would share with you a book I recently read called Everything Romance by Todd Hafer. The book is packed full of great quotes, recipes and information. It has plenty of great ideas to get your creative juices flowing for your upcoming Date Night, Valentine’s Day, Honeymoon, Anniversary or any other fun celebration with your spouse. You will get a wonderful variety of romantic inspiration from the book through:
- Blessings & Prayers
- Did You Know? (fun love facts)
- Features (Conversation Starters and More)
- Lists (such as Creative Ways to say “I Love You”)
- Love Boosters & Love Busters
- Love Letters (from famous people like Mark Twain and more)
- Perfect Pairs & Famous Quotes
- Poetry & Poets
- Special Recipes
- Gift Ideas & Love Stories
- Scripture Verses, Trivia and More!
I thought this book was great reminder of how important it is that we spend time with our spouse. Going on a Date Night even after your married helps keep you connected. The book has a lot of different ideas. My suggestion is take the ones that work well for your marriage and implement them. There is plenty of fun activities to try and inspirational sayings to get you started. I especially enjoyed the love quotes and the recipes. The top 100 lists for Love Songs and Romantic Movies are wonderful starting points for Date Night ideas.
I haven’t had a chance to try all the recipes but here are a few fun ones:
- Berry Sweet Breakfast Parfaits for Two
- Lip Smackin’ Spicy Lime Popcorn
- Smooth Operator Blue Smoothie
- Perfect Pair Pizza Pita Snacks
If you need some great ideas for the upcoming Valentine’s Day celebration or more ideas for your Date Nights I would recommend checking this book out. Everything Romance would be a neat Valentine or Anniversary gift for your spouse. You could read through the book together or use it to help plan out your next date night.
I think investing time and energy into our marriage is important. While I may not be inspired by every story, quote, or activity in the book I believe the author did a good job of putting a great mix of ideas so each person can pull their favorites out for them to implement or enjoy. The book was a fun one for me to read and I appreciate a book that focuses on building better relationships! I am already looking forward to our next Date Night! 🙂
Rate my review & be entered into a giveaway: I reviewed this book for “Blogging for Books.” By rating my review, it allows me to choose another book and enters you in a GIVEAWAY! The rating is a two step process.
Step 1: Rate my review below (select the number of stars, enter your email, and hit submit).
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher through the Waterhouse Multnomah. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Be My Valentine: Red Velvet Heart Cupcakes
Red Velvet Heart Cupcake ready to be baked!
If you are looking for a fun Valentine’s cupcake I have one for you to check out. I got this brilliant idea from Muses of Megret on how to make heart shaped cupcakes without buying a special pan! By putting a small marble beside the cupcake liner it makes the cupcake form a heart shape while baking. Love it! 🙂
When the girls walked into the kitchen after school last week the first comment I heard wasn’t “Mmmm….the house smells good!” It was “Were you playing with our toys while we were at school?!” The first thing they noticed was that their marble and maze toy drawer was sitting on the kitchen counter. After a little more investigation they realized that I had just kidnapped the marbles for a little bit. They thought it was a pretty cool idea and were willing to let the marbles finish baking with the cupcakes (and get re-washed because I dribbled batter on a couple of them) before playing with their marble mazes.
Red Velvet cake mix
I decided to make a Red Velvet cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting. Red is a popular Valentine’s Day color and shows up beautifully in the cupcake liners. Although I have made red velvet cake from scratch (with beets instead of food coloring) in the past I decided this time to use the Red Velvet cake mix I already had in the pantry. The batter turned out nice bright red as expected. Preheat the oven as directed on the cake mix or per your recipe.
Using a marble to make the cupcake turn into a heart shape
Put cupcake liners in 30 muffin tins. Typically most cake mixes only make 24 cupcakes, however, this batch made more cupcakes with marble taking up a small portion of each cupcake plus I only filled the cupcake liners halfway with cake batter.
Heart shaped cupcakes with the help of a little marble
Once you have you cupcake liners in the pan place a small marble between the pan and the cupcake liner. The liners should resemble a heart shape.
Pan full of red velvet hearts just waiting to be cooked
Add cake batter to each of the cupcake liners. NOTE: Be careful not to overfill the cupcake liners, if the cupcake expands over the edge of the liner you’ll lose your heart shape. I filled mine cupcake liners half full and all of them turned out well.
Red velvet cupcakes cooling
Place in the oven and bake. Since most cake mixes give you a range of time (27 to 32 minutes) I set the timer for the earliest time and checked them. Mine were ready when the timer first went off. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting and red sprinkles
Frost cooled cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting (I had some in the pantry that I used). Spread the frosting in a heart shape pattern and add a few red sprinkles to dress it up a little bit more.
Red Velvet Heart Cupcakes
Enjoy your Red Velvet Heart Cupcakes! The girls had a blast helping “sprinkle” the cupcakes. It was fun taking the cupcakes to a couple events and enjoying the leftovers for school and work lunches. These would be great for a Valentine’s Party at work, school or just for fun!
Be My Valentine: Sweetheart Strawberry Smoothie
Sweetheart Strawberry Smoothie
Last week I picked up some fresh strawberries on clearance at Ingles. As soon as the girls saw the strawberries they wanted to know if I would make them a smoothie. This past weekend while they were playing together I decided it was time to make they smoothie for them. I came up with this recipe using ingredients we had on hand.
As an extra treat I put freshly cut strawberries around the smoothie on a plate. I cut the stems off the strawberries in a “v” pattern making the strawberries look like little hearts.
Sweetheart Strawberry Smoothie:
- 5 Strawberries (fresh or frozen0
- 1/4 cup Raspberries
- 1/4 cup Cranberries
- 1 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup Ice
- Extra Strawberries for garnish
- Cool Whip for garnish
The girls loved the fresh “heart” strawberries and their smoothies. I super excited that they willingly ate some fresh cranberries and raspberries which were in their smoothies. The more healthy fruits, vegetables, and nutritional goodies I get into the kiddos the better. They love smoothie treats just as much as I do! 🙂
Strawberry Smoothie with Cool Whip and a Straw! The girls LOVED it!
Be My Valentine: Sweetheart Sandwich
Valentine Heart Sandwich for the Brina’s lunch box
It is a lot of fun putting in something different into the girls lunch box. Around the Holidays and whenever I get the urge I do a special surprise in their lunch boxes. I typically do at least one special lunch box note or shape or treat a week, occasionally they get a few extras squeezed in when I have the time and creative juices flowing. In honor of the upcoming Valentine’s Day Holiday I put a heart PB&J sandwich in their lunches.
It an easy way to show the girls that I am thinking about them and care, plus they had a blast showing off their heart sandwich at lunch time to their friends! The majority of evenings if we have time I have the girls at least start putting together their lunches. Many nights they make the PB&J sandwiches themselves. Yes, they are messier and probably use more peanut butter and jelly but they enjoy pitching in and helping put together their lunches. Also, lunch making time gives us a few extra minutes of productivity and socializing together in the kitchen. Sometimes after they finish their lunches I will sneak in a note or something special other times I am making the lunches so I will add a special Momma’s touch.
All you have to do for this simple treat is make your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Use a cookie cutter to make the shape you want. Put it in a container or sandwich bag and it is ready for them to discover the next day at lunch.
Heart shaped cookie cutter that I used for their PB&J sandwiches!
Karlie’s sweetheart surprise sandwich!
Be My Valentine: “Sweet” Treats
“Thanks for always rooting for me!” (IBC Root Beer) and “Thanks for always being our ‘sweet’ girl!”
Every once in awhile when the girls and Jake are gone or busy with something else I will pull together a surprise. I am thankful for my family and blessed with a wonderful husband and two sweet girls. Life is not always “perfect” but it is fun.
Spending a few minutes to show appreciation to my husband or my kids is worth every minute I invest. The best part is I do it at random times when they are not around so it truly is a surprise. This gift was originally given to Jake and the girls on Thanksgiving Day but it can be applied very easily to Valentine’s Day celebrations as well.
If you are looking for something easy yet sweet to do this Valentine’s Day this was one that my family enjoyed. After putting together your gift I challenge you to go one step further make a commitment to continue being a blessing to the ones you love by surprising them with a sweet note, treat, or something special throughout the rest of the year. Try to make it part of your routine whether it is once a week, every other week or once a month. Showing your care makes an impact on the lives of others.
I came up with the sayings for the girls heart “love” notes – Thanks for always being our “sweet” Brina (or Karlie)! Love, Mom and Dad The cute “pop” love note is from Darling Doodles. She has a template you can print out if your interested in doing something similar for your spouse!
Be My Valentine: You Make My Heart “Pop” Valentine!
Make My Heart “Pop” Lollipop!
(Use one lollipop or a bucket full of lollipops)
As I was thinking about ways to show love to my family over the Valentine’s Holiday I came across a picture I took recently of a gift I did for some friends and the idea hit me. Why not a fun phrase for Valentine’s Day lollipops that I picked at Staples marked down on clearance and with a coupon. That’s when I came up with the phrase….”You Make My Heart ‘Pop’ Lollipop!”
This would be a fun one to put together the night before Valentines Day and have sitting out on the table for your kids for breakfast or to take to your spouse at work or have your kids take to share with their classmates. Here’s what I did:
- Red Metal Bucket
- Green Shredded Paper
- Lollipops
Fill the bucket up with the shredded paper and add the lollipops! You can add a saying like “You Make My Heart Pop Valentine” or “You Make My Heart Pop Lollipop” or something along those lines.
I already had the bucket from a previous event, the green shredded paper was in my gift giving basket, and I bought the lollipops on clearance with coupon so the entire gift didn’t cost me anything but time. You could do this with other lollipops as well (see below).
Bucket full of lollipops to share!
Be My Valentine: “Bulls Eye Heart” Cookies
Bulls Eye Heart Valentine’s Day Cookies
You can use any cookie recipe you want to make these fun cookies. We did a sugar cookie base, but chocolate chip would work great too. The best part is you make your favorite cookie recipe and add frosting in the shape of a heart to make it special. You could even do store bought cookies and add the frosting to make it even easier if your tight on time! 🙂
Our family likes picking up the writing frosting that sets up after a few minutes so you can stack the cookies without them sticking together. The two brands we have used most often are Betty Crocker Writing Icing and Wilton Icing Writer (see picture below). You can often find them for $0.99 (or less) for a box of 4 colors at Bargain Foods if you are in Upstate, South Carolina area or a couple dollars at Walmart or your local grocery store. I have found that these tubes of frosting are easier for the girls to use as well. Plus since you are not icing the entire cookie they get less frosting which means less sugar!
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
It was a busy week and I got sick (that doesn’t happen very often) so that slowed me down a little bit but I was able to make some headway on my goals. Thankfully I was able to get some rest and don’t have to postpone too many items.
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday- Read a book to the girls everyday – I fell asleep early one night and didn’t wake up until after the girls were in bed so the book didn’t get read
Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this weekSchedule a Date Night with the Girls & Re-Schedule My Date Night with Jake- Finalize the Girls Birthday Party Items – working on it
Set up a dentist appointment for the girls– scheduled and went to the dentist, no cavities!- Pick up the girls new glasses – picking them up this week
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – with being sick I didn’t get this one done this week hope to get back on track soon
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – not every night
Finish reading Crush It by Gary VaynerchukRead and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).Set up an appointment to get updated on shots / vaccinations– went to the doctor and got my shots, wasn’t too excited about this one, but it was necessary for upcoming travel!- Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans – dates set / plane tickets purchased / visa – my visa has arrived and tickets are purchased, waiting on Jake’s visa!
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the houseDinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom – the time I had allotted to do this was taken up with being sick and trying to get better, hope to get this done next week
Business Goals
Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog postsSpend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk- Write a Guest Blog Post – deadline was postponed with sickness
- Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes – scheduling this week
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or LunchEmail Alms & Legs Ministry Team regarding our upcoming meetingPut together the Alms & Legs Meeting Agenda
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – working on it
- Start working on our personal 2011 taxes – we have started the taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips – putting aside some of the money
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
- Go on our Date Night with the Girls
- Celebrate with family and friends at the Girls Birthday Party
- Pick up the girls new glasses
- Schedule Appointment with Chiropractor
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading Everything Romance by Todd Hafer
- Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
- Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Write a Guest Blog Post
- Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Email Alms & Legs Ministry Team with the Meeting Notes
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
- Pay for Jake’s College Classes
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
