12 in 12: April Check in

It's April 12, and time to check in on my progress with my 12 in 12 list.

I have made progress this month! I will just mention some of the highlights for the month, and not write "I haven't done anything with this one" on all majority of the items on my list. I think I wrote that last month too though.

1. P90X has been completed!! I didn't get ripped in 90 days, but feel stronger and like I have more energy! I didn't stick to the diet, and that probably has a little something to do with the lack of results. But Daryl and I have ordered P90X2, and are already 3 weeks in. I still can't do an unassisted pull up, but I'm working on it.

2. I attempted to make home made goldfish crackers, but it didn't really work out for me so well. My little goldfish cookie cutter out of an aluminum can kept coming apart, and I ended up using the little gingerbread cookie cutter. My crackers were a little more chewy than crispy, and certainly did not look as tasty as the ones from Tasty Kitchen.  I may have to reattempt this delicious snack to redeem myself in the baking department.

5. I am participating in the April A-to-Z Challenge. O. M. G. This is so much fun! Not only am I accountable to blog every day for the month of April, but am getting a little creative in coming up with topics for each letter of the alphabet. I have a handful of wonderful followers, and have been left some really sweet comments! Thank you to all of you lovelies for stopping by and leaving your kind words. I hope I can keep ya entertained. Also, I have found a lot of great, new to me blogs! I am loving the "I can't wait to see what they posted" feeling.

8. So far, we have been able to have a date night every month. It still ends up being the last minute "hey do you want to catch a movie" kind of date night, but at least it gives us something to look forward to. One of these months, I'm going to have time to plan a different kind of date. The Dating Divas have some really great ideas, and I really want to be able to do at least one of these super fun dates.

11. Although not hosted at my house, we have had a few dinner/ game nights between mine and Daryl's families. At one of our most recent get togethers, I brought over Furt for us to test out before our vacation this summer. It was fun. My sister in law and future brother in law got really into the game, as they are amazingly quick witted, and can easily come up with stuff to say or act out. I think if I may have had a few more adult beverages in my system, I would have enjoyed it more. It definitely makes for a lot of laughing.

See, there is progress. What about you? Are you achieving any of your goals for this year?

12 in 12: March Check in

It is March 12, and that means it is time to check in with my progress on my "12 in 12" list.

I'm going to be perfectly honest here, and let you know that for the past 30 days, I have been slacking on getting anything done on this list. So instead of going through each item and writing "no progress," I will just highlight the few things I have done.

1. I have now completed phase 2 of p90x! I feel like I have an increase in energy as well as some definition in my upper body (biceps are making an appearance. Make sure you get your tickets to the gun show.) I have missed a few days due to my hectic work schedule, but I think I am this close to being a workout junkie. Daryl and I just ordered p90x2 to begin once we finish this cycle.

2. I have seen these monthly onesies all over the internet. While I am slacking in the blogging updates, I decided to make these iron on onesies found here. I just printed onto iron on transfer paper, and ironed on to a white onesie. Easy cheesy! Look at how handsome my little guy is!

8. Last month was very busy at work for both of us. We ended up going to the bookstore to look for a devotional book for us to read together. Without any luck, we looked at a few other things and then headed to dinner. We went to a local Italian place called Lomontes. We had good food and good conversation, and then headed home. The date was last minute, but much needed. Bonus, I had a gift card, and we didn't have to spend that much money for a nice evening out.

9. I have some frames already, but not enough to create the look I want. Frames are expensive, but the wheels have been turning in my head when I read online about buying frames from Goodwill and then just spray painting them black. Not a bad idea.... now I just need to get pictures together.

12 in 12: February check in

It is February 12, and that means it is time to check in with my progress on my "12 in 12" list for the new year.

Writing this list made me excited to get some things accomplished this year. I realize that some of these items will take some time and I am ok with  working on making progress.

A quick recap of how the past 30 days have gone:

1. I have completed phase one. Although I have not been compliant with the diet, I have completed 30 whole days of working out. There are a few exercises which are really tough, especially during yoga, but I am proud that I have been able to push myself and improve with every workout. Daryl and I have been working out together and are surprisingly really competitive with each other. We push. We work. We motivate. We get it done. 

2. I stumbled upon Kristen's chalkboard table and thought it was a really cool idea. I told Daryl about it and was really just making conversation about how neat I thought it was, and he was all about it. He said I should make that one of my projects to complete while I was still at home with the babies. So off we went to Home Depot to get the supplies to create a chalkboard table. I borrowed a sander from my dad and got to work. It was fun to make, and looks great in the kitchen (maybe even better than it did before). 

3. I have made a teeny tiny dent in the card I have in mind for this goal. I have been doing good with not adding new charges. Baby steps.

4. I have been doing well with keeping track of Nolan's milestones in his 1st year calendar, but that's really about it. I'm slacking on taking and organizing pictures, as well as crafting.

5. I have participated in a few linky parties, and have had more page views. I am having a difficult time with posting consistently.

6. Major accomplishment- organizing my gift bags and tissue paper. I couldn't believe how many bags this hanging organizer held! It has definitely made me feel good getting those bags off the floor, and being able to see the closet instead of that disaster.

7. In the process. I have only pulled my camera out once or twice. I'm proud mama, and this should not be happening.

8. Daryl and I went to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at a "new to us" theater. It was nice to just have some "us" time alone. We are both really excited about making this a priority each month. We have been talking about other things we'd like to do for this month.

9&12. Unfortunately not a lot of progress here this month.

10. I haven't signed up for anything yet, but have seen a lot of events I wouldn't mind participating in. Toobabalooza. MS150. Muddy Buddy. There are a lot of events that seem really fun, and are inexpensive!!

11. We went to my parents house the other day for a family get together. After eating burgers and dogs, everyone was hanging out. James wanted to get a game of phase 10 going, but we were all so tired and didn't end up playing. I am trying to plan a game night at my house. I came across some really fun ideas from The Dating Divas that I could easily turn "date night" into "family night."

12 in 12

I have never really been big on New Year's resolutions. I can never seem to stick to them throughout the year. I do however like setting goals, and get a great sense of accomplishment by crossing things off of my "to do" list.

This year instead of making a resloution, I am going to challenge myself by completing 12 goals in 2012, thanks to inspiration found here. 12 goals to be completed within the 12 months of the year. In order to try and hold myself accountable, I will update on the 12th of the month with my progress. I hope I can stick with this, as I'm actually a bit excited about being able to complete this.

1. Complete P90X at least once- 90 days of intense working out to lose those post baby lbs. I want 6 pack abs!!

2. Make some of the cool things I find online- Food items like French Toast Cupcakes, as well as crafty stuff. I also want to throw in learn how to sew under this goal. I made curtains for Nolan's room, and was surprised how fun I thought it was.

3. Pay off a credit card- As a major stress in my life, I would really like to be able to tackle this one. What a sense of accomplishment this will be!!

4. Start and hopefully complete baby books- I have made a DVD for Madeline's 1st birthday with TONS of pictures on it, but I still want to start a scrapbook for both her and Nolan.

5. Grow my blog- Starting with getting more consistent in my postings!

6. Get my house clean and organized- I find myself doing the same cleaning over and over and over again (thanks to having children). I take one step foward, and two steps back. Although chores like laundry and dishes are going to be done ALL. THE. TIME, I need to come up with a daily/ weekly chore list to really get things accomplished here.

7. Improve photography skills- Really learn and understand photography settings. "Play" with my 35mm

8. Have a monthly date night with Daryl- We have not focused on just us in awhile. I think it will be relaxing to just get out and not worry about the stress in our lives. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, just a chance for us to have some QT together.

9. Create and hang a black and white photo gallery- Home decor project to be done in the living room. Time to go through my pictures and keep an eye out for frames.

10. Train for and complete a race- A fun run? Half marathon? Triatlon? I just want to do participate in something competitive. Maybe Daryl and I can enter and participate in something together...

11. Hosts family nights- How about some quality family time.... movie nights? Game nights? Family fun with a little bit of friendly competition :)

12. Take family portraits- My family has doubled in size and I would love to have professional pictures done. You know, the ones where everyone has coordinating outfits, and there are shots of the whole family, just the kids, dad and son, mom and daughter.... the works! And I want them nicely framed so there is a cohesive, photo gallery feel to them.


These seem pretty managable right??

What about you? What are your goals for this year?