take 10::goals

as you can imagine, getting behind on the daily chores means my list of things to do grows exponentially. lemme tell ya, santa’s list has got nothin on mine! i felt like i was progressing at a pretty good pace until we were nudged off course and i’m feeling like i’ll never catch up. spending the past couple of mornings taking a look at my journal - seeing where i started and thinking about where i’d like to be, i realize that it’s time to buckle down.

with that in mind, you all are gonna be my accountability partners. i’m going to make a list of the top 10 things i MUST get done (and why!!) and y’all can hold me to it. deal?

1. start working on quickbooks. (nope, haven’t done that yet). since hubby’s now in business for himself full-time and that income is our main source of income, i decided to be a grown up and meet with an accountant. since the difference between giving him our tax info as a quickbooks file and giving him our tax info on a spreadsheet is about $500 or so, i’ll go with quickbooks. just gotta decide if we’re going to purchase the software or use the online version. short story made way too long, i need to call them and figure out which would best meet our needs.

2. make some hard decisions about my etsy shop. sounds kinda backwards but i’m considering putting my shop on vacation. i really want to concentrate on expanding & promoting my charms. i’m finding it difficult to focus on my artisan pieces because i’m not getting as much joy in their creation as i used to. since my time is limited, i’d rather not spend it working on something that’s not as enjoyable if i don’t have to. thoughts?? am i crazy?

3. i MUST figure out what i’m going to do to get into shape (and stay that way!). it’s beginning to affect how i feel about myself. yes, the Lord loves me regardless of what i look like. and no, my self-worth is not based upon my appearance. but i know i can do better so i need to make it a priority. otherwise, it ain’t never gonna happen! ;-)

4. even more important, hubby and i need to start setting aside time alone with one another. for us, it’s become easier to just do everything as a family since it’s difficult to find (and afford!) a babysitter and little man isn’t too keen on the idea anyway. but that doesn’t do our marriage any good and, in turn, it won’t do the little man any good in the long run if he doesn’t have the example of a loving, Godly partnership.

5. along with the quickbooks is gonna have to come a better handle on budgeting. now that our income isn’t regular, i need to learn to put away for what has to be paid in the future. thankfully, i have a few friends who’s husbands are also self-employed so i know i can get some tips from them.

6. i need a daily chore chart. sad, i know. but when schedules get crazy, the first thing to go is the housekeeping. then when i do have a chance to tidy up, the task has snowballed into an all day event. if i do a little at a time, consistently, perhaps i can get a handle on this.

7. now that my website is (basically) finished, i need to finish my husband’s. he got his new business cards, yard signs & vehicle magnets. now i have to get the site up!

8. ENROLL MY SON IN SWIMMING LESSONS!! i missed them last year. this year, it appears that i’ve already missed the spring session. he loves to go ‘swimming’ in our uncle’s pool next door but i don’t feel safe going bringing him when he doesn’t know how to swim. especially when he believes he already knows how. dangerous.

9. set up some advertising for my charms. i had begun some blog advertising and giveaways and i was really happy with the results but i didn’t keep up with it. gotta get that back on track!

10. i’d like to make more of an effort to get my charms in some brick & mortar shops. that’s going to mean putting together a catalog of my custom charms and ordering enough supplies to have the more ‘ready-to-wear’ pieces available for wholesale purchase.

so. that’s it. that’s a pretty big list so i’m not really sure how to track my accountability but i’m sure you guys will come up with something ;-)

what kind of goals have you set and what can i do to help?

take ten::10 things about me…

but first a random pic. here’s the view of our backyard. on april 21st. YESTERDAY. seriously?? this is not spring.

but i digress. today’s “take ten” will be 10 random facts about me that you don’t know (or maybe you do. maybe i already told you. my memory isn’t what it once was)

1. i dislike frosting. loathe, really. too sweet – except for cream cheese frosting. that’ll work.
2. as a child, my parents called me “kirstie beth” (middle name: elizabeth). my mother will still do so, on occasion, but i try not to let that happen.
3. since i was not a fan of my mother’s nickname, after high school i gave myself a nickname: zoey. nope, not even remotely similar to my own name. just liked it.
4. i have 3 sisters and 4 brothers – i’m the baby (no, i’m not spoiled. really!)
5. i once changed the radiator on one of several clunkers i drove in my early years. all by myself!
6. i have been to bahrain, kuwait, saudi arabia, korea, the azores and various airports in between but i’ve never been off the east coast (and no further south than georgia) of the united states. sad. kinda….
7. i have a very real but perhaps unnatural fear of natural disasters. hence my tendency to remain in this area of the country. nor’ easters and blizzards i can deal with. first northeastern earthquake and i’m out.
8. my son’s name was chosen before he was conceived. and i was hoping for a girl.
9. the soles of my shoes melted while performing on an air craft carrier in the middle of the persian gulf.
10. i love disco music.

so there. ten random facts about my life whether you wanted to know or not.

tell me something about you!

take ten::what makes my life easier…

this past week, i’ve been making a real effort to focus on ‘getting it all together’. things like keeping the house relatively neat & tidy, making dinner for my family every night (or at least most nights – let’s not get too crazy!!), keeping my blog updated AND keeping up my momentum with promoting and growing my jewelry business. in the past, at least one of these things was put on the back burner in order to accomplish another. so i’m working on finding tips & tools to make it easier to stay on top of all of it. here’s a few things i’ve come up with:

1. pampered chef. not necessarily the tools and pots and pans and such – though they are awesome. i’m talking about the cookbooks. i’ve got about 4 of the recipe books {especially the “29 minutes to dinner” series} and they are fab.u.lous! the meals are easy to put together and i don’t think there’s been one recipe i’ve tried that hubby didn’t like!

2. ….which leads me to meal planning. i’ve just started working on weekly meal plans. i take out my pampered chef cookbooks, choose the meals for the week and make my grocery list accordingly. and i found – quite by accident – that it works really well when i make enough of one meal during the week so there are leftovers for the next day. one less day of cooking but we still haven’t wasted money by ordering out. hugely important now that hubby’s building his business!

3. i don’t know if you’ve gotten the whole picture of my strengths & weaknesses as of yet BUT housekeeping definitely isn’t a strength. i received martha stewart’s homekeeping handbook as a gift and i was happy to have it! so when my friend shared with me this little shortcut, i was overjoyed: windex. for cleaning the microwave. spray it on, shut the door and come back a half hour later. all the caked on stuff left by those who forget to clean up after themselves wipes right off. easy peasy!

4. AND……kaboom foam-tastic. seriously. it’s magic. well water and bar soap do not a good combination make. we’re talking soap scum so hardy that you need a paint scraper to remove it. {sadly, that isn’t an exaggeration.} again: spray, wait and wipe. love it! {no, i promise this is not a sponsored post. unfortunately i have not received any financial compensation. nor have i received a lifetime supply of windex or kaboom. however, should the powers that be read this post and wish to send it to me, i’m certainly open to either! *grin*}

5. freecycle.org. i’ve amassed quite a lot of ‘stuff’ over the years. add to that clothing my son has outgrown, toys he no longer plays with….that leaves me with not enough room in a small house with no storage space. i don’t always have the time {or inclination} to drive 20 minutes to my nearest goodwill. freecycle lets me recycle my items from the comfort of my own home to someone in the area who will come pick it up!! super cool. and i’ve also gotten my share of awesome stuff!

6. keeping the household stuff together allows me the time to keep my blog updated. but not necessarily in real time. so i schedule my posts. i used to feel like i was cheating by writing my posts ahead of time. but they’re still my words. and if i didn’t write when i have time, i’d have maybe one post a week if i was lucky. part of  my new time management schedule.

7. also great for my blog is microsoft’s live writer. blogger isn’t really as optimal as wordpress IMHO. but i have no desire {at present} to move my entire blog. live writer gives me a bit more formatting flexibility than blogger alone and i can do it from my desktop – no need to log in, etc. i like.

8. i also like picnik. let’s face it. i’m a horrible photographer. even my most casual of photos requires editing. picnik takes care of that 1-2-3 and it also has some really cool effects. i like it so much that i upgraded to premium! and if you know me, you know i NEVER pay for something i can get for free!

9. one huge resource i have and use repeatedly: my husband. he is incredibly understanding, he is supportive and will help me with whatever i ask. that’s huge. i’m a very lucky woman. and no, he’s not available for rent or purchase ;-) {and yes, i edited that photo in picnik}

10. and the most important tool for managing family, home and business? grace. God’s grace is unending and given freely. we, as wives and moms and business owners, are not so quick to allow ourselves the same grace. but i’m learning :-)

share your tips and timesavers with me! what makes your life easier?

take ten::things that make me happy

i may be setting myself up to fail miserably but i’m going to try another series. “take ten”. each week, i’ll highlight ten things – recipes, tips, songs – whatever. all in an attempt to let you get to know me better :-)

this week, here’s a peek at 10 things that made me really happy (in no particular order). mostly completely superficial but that’s okay – joy is joy, right??

1. new shoes! and the best part? the pink shoes: $8.00. and the black: $4.00 (yup, i’m a gal who likes to brag about how cheap she is!)

2. hubby has made the commitment to return to his own business (painting, drywall and property maintenance if you’re in the connecticut area, y’all!). when we first met, his happiness in owning and successfully operating his own business really drew me and impressed me. when little man came along, we got scared and opted for a guaranteed income. God is calling us to step out in faith now. so that’s what we’re doing and we couldn’t be more excited!

3. my travel french press (thank you, target!). i love a good cup of coffee. but all those in this household who share the coffee maker do not share my taste in coffee. so this is the perfect solution.

4. and to completely perfect my coffee experience, i ordered some sugar-free raspberry coffee syrup! gotta love amazon!

5. a while back, i posted about choosing a new duvet cover. well, the choice was made and i’ve been very happy with it but something was missing. so i found these awesome accent pillows. now i smile every time i walk into our bedroom. well, so long as i’ve made the bed ;-)

6. someone i very much respect said this about my charms: “……you definitely have your own style and branding going on and I like that. with so many handmade items on the market that are similar I love when a product line screams the designers style and name. Yours does. Nice job!!” that REALLY made me smile :-)

7. i just picked up these placemats to bring a little spring into the kitchen. i love everything we’ve done so far but, like i mentioned before, i’ve been wantin’ some spring. i wasn’t sure the green would work but after getting them home, i realized that i have plenty in the kitchen that ties in the green!

8. i love the color that this sign brings to this side of the kitchen! this side just seemed so blah…i got this when i bought the placemats to tie in the colors.

9. i’ve been blogging on a regular basis! developing a routine and sticking to it isn’t easy for me so i’m giving myself a pat on the back!

10. this little man. he loves toy story, he loves legos and he loves his mama. yesterday, he said to me “mama, you’re my shining star”. well, little boy….you are my whole world.