So, Week 1 is over

So, my progress so far, has been lukewarm, at best. Let's talk, shall we?

Fitness/Health/Eating Clean- I've done, actually, really well. The clean eating has been easier than I imagined. The hardest parts have been 1)the vending machine at school and 2) the lack of carbonated  beverages. However, I haven't broke down yet, so I think it's been good. Packing my lunch and cooking every night has also been a struggle, so we hope to do all of our meal planning and prep done this weekend, so we won't have to rush or stress when we both get home at 6. I hope to document everything and take lots of pictures for you, so look for a post tomorrow. 

I also tried a CrossFit class, which killed me y'all. I went to Mountain Island CrossFit, which I would recommend to anyone, simply because I heart four days later. It was also a great reminder that I am so out of shape. I just took the introductory class, which was free, but will be taking their Foundations Classes, hopefully next week. The cost is sizable, and therefore, an investment. But really, so is your health. So, we're going to make it happen. 

Pretty House-The biggest roadblock to making my house pretty is money (isn't that always the problem?), but I've decided on two low cost projects to get me started. First, since I'm working on my upstairs, I picked this decoupaged coat rack for The Boy's room. Luca is getting a Marvel Superhero Room, so I thought a coat rack decoupaged with some vintage Marvel superheros might work well. I'll also be doing this pillow, using some leftover burlap I have. The one I'll make will say Mange Y'all, blending Matt's Italian heritage and my born-and-raised-in-the-South mentality. I plan on putting it on our bench window seat in our dining area (that has yet to be built). Both of these projects will be relatively inexpensive and should be quick and easy to do, which is key to me right now. Because these projects seem small, I kind of them as a cop out, but time and money are restraints, so we make things happen. 

Finding Money- This has been a goal for both Matt and me. We've done several things to make this happen. First, we have Cooper. Cooper is where all of our loose change go. When he's full, which surprisingly, will be soon, we'll take him to the bank and put him in our savings. But, seeing him on the counter is a nice daily reminder of what we're working towards. 

Also, I've been couponing, using Southern Savers. If you're trying to figure out how to save money through couponing, that website is fantastic. However, because going clean is dependent on unprocessed food, coupons aren't really helpful for food. However, Southern Savers lists all sales, including on meat and produce, so it helps make meal planning and grocery shopping easier, buying things on sale and using those to plan accordingly. Couponing, though, has been fantastic for nonfood items, such as laundry detergent, shampoo, and toilet paper. If you don't have a CVS card, you need one. I currently have $14 worth of CVS Extra Care Bucks sitting on my table, just waiting to be used as cash. Seriously, CVS and ECB. It's awesome.

Our 52 Week Challenge has been great, and I've started the 52 Week Quarter Challenge for both of my children. For our 52 Week Challenge, instead of starting with $1 and going up a dollar each week, we started with $2 and are going up by intervals of 2 each time. This is something that we have committed to, if only to save us stress at Christmas. 

Experiences- Finding time for experiences, or even making my Experiences calendar has been difficult. Izzy is a girl scout, which she loves. This weekend, she's in Asheville, making a quilt. Next weekend, I have traffic school (oops!) and cookie selling. January is littered with GS activities and its been making it difficult to plan anything else. Hopefully, though, I can make the calendar this weekend, maybe while I watching the BIG GAME.

If you live in Charlotte, you know which game I'm referring to. People you didn't know even knew what a football was are suddenly on the Panthers bandwagon. Tomorrow, they play the 49ers and will win, I can guarantee it. It could be that I am hopeful, or a hometown girl, or the fact that our team desperately needs this, but I have faith. Here's a song that is both awful and catchy for you to check out, especially if you're a Panthers fan.

Of, so that's where I am. Perhaps this week will be better as far as progress. 

Have advice? Need some help? Lemme know!

My Plan of Attack

Now, when people make New Year's Resolutions, it is often geared towards one specific thing-get fit, get organized, find love (Side note: Love finds you, people. Don't go looking for it. I met Matthew while working at a pool, in record high heat, which says something when it happens in North Carolina, when I was covered in sweat, smelling like chlorine.), or try to save money. This article lists the ten most common resolutions. With the exception of number 7, which is to quit smoking, (which I don't do, because smoking is gross and my lungs are important to me, because, you know, they help me breathe, which is apparently essential to living), my blogging/Pinterest  project here is going to attempt to cover all of them. So, because this list looks a little daunting, here's how I intend to make it happen:

1. Lose weight- Matthew and I are going to try Clean Eating this year. Because of our schedules, we eat out, a lot, and are totally dissatisfied with ourselves. So, I have a Pinterest board full of Clean Eating Food that will start on Monday. Sunday, I'll go over my week's meal plan and food prep. I'll be honest, making the clean eating switch is going to be hard for us, because we love processed food. I mean, we're also lazy, and busy, but so much non-clean food is delicious. I mean, the Spicy Chick-Fil-A biscuit is phenomenal. Also? I'm addicted, like every teacher ever, to Diet Coke. So, clean eating will be difficult.
Matt and I will also be attending a CrossFit intro meeting on Saturday morning to see of we can handle that. From the results I've seen from people who do CrossFit, it seems intense, but would get me to look good in a bathing suit. Which, really here, is the ultimate goal.
In addition to these huge changes, I also have my Getting Skinny board, where I'm sure I'll find tons of inspiration and workout playlists. Music is key, people.

2. Making my house pretty- Last February, Matt and I bought our first house. It was cheap, close to school, in a decent neighborhood, and had enough room. However, it was built in 1986 and currently needs so.much.work. So, I plan on accomplishing two tasks from my DIY Love board every month. In addition, I also plan on getting my upstairs redone. My upstairs includes two small human rooms, an office, and a bathroom. So, totally doable...I think.

3. Finding more money...somewhere-Here I am lost. Since I'm a teacher and Matt's still a student, with a small human in daycare, we're always poor. Perhaps Pinterest has some ideas? We'll see what happens...But I am TOTALLY doing the 52 Week Challenge, with a twist. More on that later. Also? I started couponing just this past week and today starts SUPER DOUBLES! at Harris Teeter, so, there's that.

4. Experiences- I feel so much better about my life when I'm doing something. I like going out with the fam and making memories. It makes my heart happy. We have a lot of traditions we already have (Free Comic Book Day, St. Patrick's Day Parade, pumpkin picking, etc), but I would like to see more happen. Also, Matt and I need more Date Nights. So our goal is one big date night a month-it has to be more than just dinner and Target. I also will be adding 12 new restaurants to try out for this month and I'll be creating a Calendar of Fun-activities we'll be doing, both big and small, to keep me busy and to make my small people happy.

That's what I've got so far. I'm sure this plan will change and evolve. But for right now, I'm totally OK with it.

I shall leave you with who I call my Internet Boyfriend, the amazing-beyond-words John Green. He writes books (which are great) and runs a webshow with his brother Hank called Vlogbrothers. If you don't know Mr. Green, you should probably check him out. And by probably, I mean really.totally.most definitely.  Here, I'll help you out. Watch this:

John Green, I tell ya, he's on my level with 2014 being the best.year.ever.

My New Year's Resolution

I'm not known as a happy person. In fact, I'm quite the pessimist. I like to say I'm a realist, but really, I'm a pessimist. But if I'm being honest, its because I spend a lot of my day being bitter, or jealous, or angry, and mostly, insecure. I often feel like life is not fair and that I deserve better. Better than what? Really, everything-a cleaner, nicer house, a job where I am paid a more livable salary...you know, life.  And lately, things seem to have gotten worse. Or, at least, my feelings towards my life has gotten worse. So, I need to fix it. So, my New Year's Resolution is to make this year the best.year.ever. And Pinterest is going to make it happen.

I am a firm believer in Pinterest envy. Mainly because I experience it daily.You can read about it here, but it's where people (mostly women) pin things they want to make/do/see, and feel like these things will make their life more...something. They'll be a better wife/teacher/mother/person and because they often can't measure up to the perfectness they create on Pinterest, they feel less than. They feel like other wives/teachers/moms/people are all doing it, so why can't they?

I often feel like a failure. My house is always a mess, I'm always poor, and I always feel like I am the least put together person ever. However, from the outside, I'm sure that's not what people see. In fact, at a Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night a couple weeks ago, a parent commented that I'm their child's favorite teacher because I'm always so organized and the child always knew what to expect. I think I'm the most disorganized, the student thought I was the most organized. Perspective.

My pastor, Steven Furtick, tweeted one time:

I think this is important to remember when we examine our lives and compare them to others. However, I also think that it's important to realize that if there are things we want in our life, we should go after them. If I want to be a better wife/teacher/mom/person, I should also put the work in. Putting in work does not mean pinning 8998 things on a variety of boards (you can follow me here, I love followers!) and then being miserable when you don't accomplish them. Putting in work means...well, you do the work. If I'm jealous of the mom who hand makes adorable Valentines for their daughter's class, I open up that pin and I make adorable hand made valentines for my kids' classes. If I am feeling insecure because I have an entire board called Getting Skinny, but I still weigh the same I did was I was 10 days post-baby, a baby who is now 2 years old b-t-dub, then I open up some links and I stop being a fatty. 

So, my New Year's Resolution plan is two-fold: 1. to keep things in perspective-to remember my worth as a person and know that that I see negative in myself is not what others see, and 2. to stop pinning things and start DOING things. I'm also going to keep this blog so you can see that a girl who struggles with insecurity and anger and bitterness, like every.day, can make things happen for the better. 

You should probably stick around. Things are going to get interesting.