GET SH*T DONE: AUGUST 2018 GOALS + JULY 2018 RECAP

It’s time to check in and reset. Below is a recap of how I did on my July 2018 goals—and a fresh list of things I’m aiming to get done this August. Let’s go… one messy step at a time. 🧹

✅ July 2018 Goal Recap

Personal Goals:

✅ Finish three books: DONE! I killed this goal by finishing SIX BOOKS! This is the highest number of books I’ve read in a month in YEARS. I credit this to getting rid of Facebook AND using my Kindle in addition to physical books. Here are the books I finished in July:

Bullied to Death? by Judith Yates
Saving Each Other by Stacy Mitchell
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova
Switch and Bait by Ricki Schultz
The Sh!t No One Tells You About Toddlers by Dawn Dais
Gracie’s Secret by Jill Childs

✅ Do not get back on Facebook: DONE! I had to log back in to run an ad for work, but have not stayed on or used it socially. Loving all the extra reading I’m getting done by not Facebooking!
❌ Finish season three of Desperate Housewives: FAIL. I made no progress on this one. With Jerry being home nights now, if I watch any TV at all, it’s usually a crime show or something with him. Plus… our bedtime is super early right now due to his early work schedule and me being massively pregnant.
❌ Read and discard two magazines: FAIL. I picked out two magazines but didn’t get around to them. Rolling over this goal.
✅ Upload all photos for my April – June Shutterfly album and get book made: DONE! And now I have SIX books all waiting to be printed! At least they’re done and ready for me.
✅ See two movies in theater: DONE! I saw exactly two this month:

The First Purge: this was awful! I love this series usually, but this movie was one gigantic political statement / rant, and it was not horror at all. I saw this with Jerry.
Unfriended: Dark Web: this one was pretty good! With the way the internet is and all the creepiness out there, I could see this situation being a reality. I saw this with Jerry.

✅ Address and mail out invitations by July 7: DONE! Finished and mailed out my bestie’s bridal shower invites with a day to spare on July 6!

Financial Goals:

❌ Pay $250 on Visa card: FAIL. Only $150 this month. Considering our minimum payment is $25 though, I still think we’ve basically been crushing it every month with at least $100 in payments.
❌ Increase Caleb's Savings by $100: FAIL. Only $30 this month.
✅ Increase savings by $100: DONE! We put aside exactly $100… then had to transfer $90 to our checking account yesterday to cover for a couple of billing errors through Facebook ads and our insurance. Grrr. This money will be put back as soon as we get reimbursed. Still counting it as done since the money will be returned.
✅ Purchase infant carseat: DONE!
✅ Buy new bedding for Caleb: DONE!

Household Goals:

❌ Sort through two boxes in laundry room: FAIL. I just have to put my “Clutter Chronicles” room-by-room project on hold until after the baby comes. I can’t physically do it right now. I am still throwing away and donating random things, but I’m not doing the heavy room by room de-clutters at the moment. Stay tuned though… I WILL continue this project!
✅ Cook dinner at least six times: DONE! I cooked dinner TEN times in July. Here’s what I made (some I made twice as you will see):

Lemon Butter Chicken Pasta (2 times) on 7/2 and 7/9: This is a favorite in our household. I got this recipe from my mom and it’s so tasty! A little “advanced” for me, but we love it so I push through. HA! Note: I use a bottle of lemon juice instead of a real lemon. I also double the amount of lemon to make it saucier / more liquid-y (pro tips from my mom).
Bacon Quiche on 7/3: I love a good quiche! They are very customizable and easy.
Ranch Pork Chops on 7/10: We’ve had this before. It’s SO simple and easy. We’ll continue to make this again.
Caesar Chicken on 7/13: Another recipe from my mom that we love. It’s super tasty and only has a few ingredients. Note: I use only a parmesan cheese shaker… I don’t use the two different kinds like the recipe calls for.
Baked Chicken with Artichokes and Tomatoes on 7/17: We liked this a lot! I found it was easy to make with just a few ingredients. It was healthy and tasty. We’ll make this one again.
Crockpot Crustless Pizza on 7/21: Super yummy! I made this because Jerry is doing Keto, but I ate mine with bread. We’d definitely make it again, however, we thought that the pepperoni made it a little too oily and salty. Next time, we’ll try different kinds of pizza toppings, or a lot less pepperoni.
Italian Sausage and White Bean Skillet (2 times) on 7/23 and 7/30: SO good, so fast, so easy, so healthy. We loved this one and will definitely make it again and again!
Crockpot Sundried Tomato Chicken on 7/31: Pretty good, but not sure yet if I’ll make it again.

✅ Set up Caleb's new toy bins and clean up: DONE! Mom helped me with this one weekend while Jerry was working OT. The room is still quite a mess, but the kid loves wreaking havoc with his toys. What can I say?

Other Notable Accomplishments:

Redeemed the cans and bottles that have been sitting in our garage. This was going to go on my August goals list and Jerry just took it upon himself to do it one weekend. Yay!
Got Dakota’s hair cut. Another one that was going to go on my August goals.
Got my oil changed. Yet another one that was planned for August.
Transferred 100 videos from my phone to my external hard drive.
Apparently, I am nesting and feeling super productive right now. We knocked out a lot of July goals in addition to knocking out goals that I was GOING to set for August. Go me / us!

✅ Total Completed: 10/16. A pretty good month! I had higher hopes for our financial goals this month, especially because we got some OT pay from Jerry, but it was an expensive month and we took care of a lot of (expensive) things: new glasses for Jerry, new carseat and swing for the baby, new bedding for Caleb. Getting these things done meant we couldn’t reach some of our other financial goals, but they were just as important. Definitely crushed the cooking goals and reading goals, which is awesome!

📌 August 2018 Goals

Personal Goals:

Carseat installation: we need to get the two infant seats installed, in addition to getting Caleb’s both readjusted. This one will be easy to knock out because I already made the appointment. #winning
Finish four books
Read and discard two magazines: rollover goal!
Finish Forever YA book club book on time for our meeting
Pack my hospital bag: holy crap, cannot believe I just typed that, but considering I’m due mid-September… I should really get this done by late August in case of an early arrival. I don’t remember what I need aside from clothes for baby and me, and chargers, phone, etc. HELP! What else do I need?!
Get my hair cut: here’s how my hair routine goes (it is super fancy): let my hair grow long, get sick of it and chop if all off. Repeat 1-2 times per year. That is all.
Get Caleb’s hair cut: he could use one more haircut too this summer.
Finish transferring videos from my old phone: I transferred nearly 100 videos last month from my phone to my external hard drive. Now I have about 100 left to go. After that, I can give Caleb my old phone to play with and he will be so excited.

Financial Goals:

Increase savings by $300: stepping up our game here since August is my last full month before going out on maternity leave and we need dat money!
Increase Caleb’s savings by $150: we need to boost up his account before I go out on leave because we have to make two of his preschool tuition payments before the end of the year and again… maternity leave.
Pay $100 on Visa: much lower than our normal goal but that’s because we’re swapping our focus from debt repayment to saving for the next two months in preparation for my leave. Debt repayment is still important obviously, but we’re not going to be able to go full throttle again until I return to work at the end of the year.

Household Goals:

Goodwill drop off: I have a good number of boxes and bags that need to be donated. I’d like to get them out of the house before the baby comes because #decluttering.
Pick up baby clothes and sort: my brother and SIL have some baby clothes for us that we need to pick up and get sorted!
Wash baby clothes: I also need to get some baby detergent and clean the stuff that we already have so it’s ready to go for baby.
Finalize Caleb’s new room and bed for transition: we have to pause potty training for a bit (per the doctor’s suggestion since Caleb was holding it in for so long that he was getting to be in pain), so instead, we will work on the crib to bed transition. This month, I want to finish cleaning up the room (going through all the toys in there and donating, tossing, or putting away), and then finish setting up the bed (putting the sheets and bed railing on). After that… we are going to attempt moving him over this month. Fingers crossed.

PHEW! This will be my last month of setting a lot of goals for awhile. Once the baby comes (NEXT MONTH!), I’ll be in survival mode and will only set a few each month.

⭐ Priority Goal: Stick to the weekly budget and avoid impulse spending.

One messy step at a time still moves you forward.

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