21 Days to a More Disciplined Life~ Day 5

Well, apparently, I goofed (more likely had a computer glitch) yesterday when I said we weren't doing Sundays. So now I'm scrambling a bit to catch back up. Today there will be 2 posts, one from yesterday's challenge (that I thought was today's) and up next will be today's. If you are interested in reading the day 5 challenge post, it can be found here. http://www.servingjoyfully.com/2012/11/05/discipline-day-5-anticipating-obstacles/
So our challenges for day 5 are/were:
Assignment 1: Continue with Small Habit:
Got my walk done in the early morning sunshine today. Felt good. I can even do walking lunges without being sore for 2 days now. Guess that means it's time to dig out the hand weights :)
Assignment 2: Continue with Life Hack:Woke up to a clean and shiny kitchen today. LOVE it! Makes it much easier to prepare a nice breakfast for myself and the boys when it's not a cluttery mess. Also really aids in getting Dan out the door with his lunch in a timely fashion.
Assignment 3: Mega-Project step 5:
Well, to be honest, now that I need to re-arrange my 21 steps list again due to the misunderstanding, I am not sure if I've done this step or not. I will check my list, re-order and then post an update later. Isn't that what we are learning about today? LOL, the obstacle being that I thought we weren't working on Sundays and now I'm behind, but since I was ahead, I might not actually be behind. Ooo, brain cramp. I'll check my list and let you know!
UPDATE: Just checked the list and I'm pleased to announce that I'm still on schedule. Yesterday's task was to start an e-Bay selling shelf in the garage to place all the items we want to sell. I have a nice clean shelf just waiting to be used once I start digging through boxes. Yippy for not letting that obstacle get the best of me!
Play along and join us over at www.servingjoyfully.com if you want. It's not too late :)
     Blessings,
        Kristy

21 Days to a More Disciplined Life~ Day 4

Hello friends, we are to Day 4 of the 21 Days...Challenge (we are skipping Sundays) and today's challenge is all about taking things one step at a time. You can check out today's post by going to http://www.servingjoyfully.com/2012/11/04/day-4-one-thing-at-a-time-a-blog-makeover/. It gives us 3 steps to work on today
Assignment 1: Follow through with small habit:
I got up and walked first thing after Dan left this morning. Although it was chilly and my nose felt a little nippy, it felt good to get out there and be doing the 'right' thing first thing in the morning. I also felt like I accomplished much today because instead of lingering in front of the computer screen for an hour (or two *gulp*) I just got started with the rest of my day after a quick perusal of my e-mail and an even faster check in on FB.
Assignment 2: Follow through with “life hack” habit:
My life hack it to clean the kitchen every night before bed. I am LOVING this one. It's so great to get up to a shiny kitchen instead of last night's dinner dishes still laying around and all the counters being sticky and covered in crumbs.
Assignment 3: Mega-Project:Officially, I am quite a bit ahead on my steps for this, so I'm taking the day off. But the task that was slated for today was to work in the garage for a while trying to make some more room. I wasn't as successful at this as I had hoped to be, but was still pleased with my time spent in there moving things around. Over all, I'm rather pleased with how the whole project is coming along.
Today’s Assignment: Make a list of habits:
In the interest of being very, very (read this as PAINFULLY) honest, I just don't think I can add one more thing at this time. I'm already adding working out, cleaning the kitchen, staying on task with schooling, setting stricter boundaries for myself so I'm not a continual doormat, and daily personal Bible study (not just what I'm doing with the boys for school) The last 3 I already started before this challenge came up and I don't think I can add any more without burnout and failure, so I guess my habit is to say no when my plate is full *winks*.
If you are interested in joining the challenge, or even are just wondering what on Earth I am talking about, check out the e-book that started it all and the blog that started this challenge over at http://www.servingjoyfully.com/2012/10/30/21-day-self-discipline-challenge-kick-off-link-up-here/
     Blessings,
            Kristy

21 Days to a More Discipled Life~ Day 3

1. Follow Through on yesterday's "small thing"
~DONE, or more accurately, I don't have to go walking on the weekends, so I guess PASS is more like it :)
2. Life Hack: Pick one bad habit to break or one good habit to add
~I'll be adding a quick tidy of the kitchen to my evening routine. This is something that I've really been good at in the past, but has kind of fallen to the wayside in the hectic summer we had and I just haven't gotten back to it. SO, onto the daily docket it goes! And just in time to make a new habit for the holiday baking mayhem!
3. Complete Step 3 of the MEGA project
~My job today was to take all of the empty boxes in the room, break them down and cart them out to the garage where they actually belong. I'm fighting for space in there since Dan has so many projects going on as well, but they need OUT of that room, so I made it happen. Shhh, don't tell Dan I moved some of his things. LOL!
If you're wondering how to join, or what the fuss is all about, check out http://www.servingjoyfully.com/2012/11/03/day-2-discipline-in-the-small-things/ for links to buy the e-book that inspired the challenge, and/or join the fun!

21 Days to a More Disciplined Life~ Day 2

Hi there, it's day 2 of the challenge to be more disciplined. Today's topic is that discipline is a process and not something that magically happens overnight with LIFE ALTERING results. (If only, right?) So today we have 2 small assignments.
1. Pick one small task, do and commit to the follow through
~I need to get back to my daily walking as I've been rather lackluster about it now that it's getting cooler overnight. It's so nice to just crawl back under the covers once Dan is gone for the day. Or worse, go straight to the computer and spend far too much time on it. If I get up, go walking and get GOING, I am so much more motivated by the 'extra' time I have and use it for a much better purpose than staring mindlessly at the screen. So, I'm committing to walking all 5 of the weekdays.
2. Do step 2 of the MEGA project
~Yesterday I went into the back room, stood there and just acknowledged the huge mess that it is. I took a picture and shared it, and also counted the boxes as best I could. (45 boxes~ ouch) Today's project is to set up an e-Bay mailing shelf in the closet so that as I sell things, I don't have to be digging through piles of junk to find a box, bubble wrap, or the scale. I've got one started in there, but alas, never followed through with it. So, since I intend to sell a good amount of things over the next month or two, I need to be set up for that.
If you want to join in, here is today's post at Serving Joyfully http://www.servingjoyfully.com/2012/11/02/day-2-self-discipline-is-a-process/
There you will find links about Crystal's book that inspired the challenge, and links to the sign up page and the daily challenges. ENJOY
     Blessings,

 

         Kristy

21 Days to a More Disciplined Life~ Day 1

The challenge: To become more disciplined in my personal life. As Crystal pointed out, discipline is a choice (ouch) So if I am the problem, then I am also the solution. Touche. So our challenges for today are to
1. Do a small task that's been bothering you
~For me, that was filling the salt shaker. I know, minuscule and ridiculous to put off. BUT, filling the salt shaker would use up all the salt I had in the pantry container as well, so I had to go to 'deep storage' to retrieve more salt, fill the pantry sized container and then fill the salt shaker. I know, no big deal, but I've been putting it off until today when I realized that not only was the salt shaker low, it was completely empty. Oops. So off to deep storage I went...blah blah blah, and poof, it was done. total time taken? 5 minutes
2. Take your huge plan for the whole challenge
~For me that will be cleaning out the spare bedroom for my parent's arrival) and break it down into 21 manageable pieces. I don't think I'll do that here just yet, as a few steps still need to be tweaked, but I'll share all 21 steps sometime soon, I promise
3. Do the first thing on that list.
~For me, that means going in there and taking a BEFORE picture, and taking an honest look at how much is in there and how it will best be tackled.


OUCH, worse that I had hoped. This ALL needs to be taken out, sorted and dealt with, and also OUT of this room. Eek!

So there you have it, my DAY 1 Challenge and how I'm taking care of business :)
If you are interested in joining the fun, check out the How-To's over at http://www.servingjoyfully.com/2012/10/30/21-day-self-discipline-challenge-kick-off-link-up-here/ 

21 Days to a More Disciplined Life~ the WHY

Welcome friends! For the next 3 weeks, I'll be joining a challenge with some friends to read and apply the book '21 Days to a More Disciplined Life' written by Crystal Paine, otherwise known as the Money Saving Mom. I'm joining this challenge because despite all my wonderful plans, hopes and dreams, life/laziness often gets in the way and I end up feeling defeated and discouraged. I'm hoping that this will give me some great ideas in the way of practical tips and setting realistic goals for myself that are manageable.
The challenge for the first day is to come up with the WHY I'm participating. I guess it's because I always end up setting myself up for failure by either tackling these HUGE goals that aren't broken down into manageable steps, or I just fail to allow room for life. I find myself thinking, "If I could JUST have 3 days without the kids to get my life in order" or "If we just took a week off of homeschooling, I could get so many projects done" or something else along those lines when in truth, I need to just be more disciplined in my regular daily life so that I don't need a vacation from my life in order to organize my life. Does that even make sense? I hope so, because it's all I've got. HA!
Anywho, if you are interested in joining the challenge, you can purchase the book here at http://crystalpaine.com/21-days-to-a-more-disciplined-life/, and then join the challenge over here at http://www.servingjoyfully.com/ Hope to see you along the way :)

Truth in the TInsel~ Christmas/Advent Idea

I recently found this cute little book called Truth in the Tinsel. It's an e-book for the younger set of kiddos that shares a verse and a craft for each day of Advent to bring the focus back to the birth of the Savior instead of on MORE MORE MORE...gifts, treats, Santa. I purchased it and can not wait for the right time to start. I like that she offers either a list of supplies to make all the crafts so you can be sure to have them on hand, or a printable version of the craft for each day so even the busiest of families (or those with MANY small hands) can enjoy the book. Check it out over at http://truthinthetinsel.com/buy-the-book/ Enjoy!
Blessings, ~K~