L.M. Montgomery Challenge 2012 Wrap-Up

January has flown by! And now it's time to wrap-up the L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge at Reading to Know.

I'm sure you, and my friend Carrie, are all glad that I'm finished reading Montgomery books.

The Montgomery Books I Read

I accomplished most of my goals for the Montgomery Reading Challenge.

I read and reviewed: Mistress Pat, Magic for Marigold, and The Story Girl. But I didn't get to the illustrated Anne book that I wanted to read with my kids. I'll put it back on the shelf and pull it out again next January.

I also wanted to watch Anne of Green Gables with my children. We did that as a Family Night and you can read about it on my new blog, Everyday Family Living.

What I Learned

I learned a few things about myself by reading these three books.

1. I learned that I do not enjoy long flowery descriptions. I'm not sure if this is the result of social media or if it's just my personality to want an author to get to the point. 


2. I am a grown up. Duh, right? What I mean is that Montgomery writes from the imaginative carefree perspectives of children. Adults in her books though not the enemy are seen as overbearing, too practical, and only concerned about their responsibilities. By her descriptions I am an adult. Which is probably why I find it difficult to enter into her imaginative worlds. 


3. I'd rather read my friend Carrie's reviews of Montgomery's books than the actual books. Reading Carrie's posts makes me want to read the books. They make me want to like Montgomery's books because Carrie enjoys them. She see so much delight and fun in them that I just don't see.


4. One Montgomery book a month is about my limit. I think part of my difficulty this year is that I read 3 Montgomery books in the span of 3 weeks. It was too much for me. I'm going to have to remember that next year.

I'm glad I participated in the L.M. Montgomery Challenge and I'll do so again next year if Carrie hosts it. But I'm also glad it's over.

Are you are "grown up" or do you enter into the magic of Montgomery's books!

Menu Plan Monday :: January 30, 2012

Last week was super busy!

We had our normal 2 extracurricular activities plus a field trip and a play date. Then we all visited the dentist. We ended the week with a fund raiser dinner for my daughter's American Heritage Girls troop.

Thankfully this week is much slower. The only extra thing we have on the calendar is a Cub Scout lock-in for Friday night. My hubby will be sleeping on a gymnastic tumble floor with 20+ little boys while I enjoy the comfort of our bed. Poor guy!

We've put our new 2012 budget in place this week. 

I now have $650 a month to spend on food, toiletries and household supplies. I've also switched to a cash only spending system. My hope is that using only cash will lower my spending. I'll let you know how it works.

With all of these factors in mind, here's my meal plan for January 30 - February 5, 2012.

• BBQ Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Steamed Carrots

• Frito Pie: Frito's, Chili, Cheddar Cheese

• Lemon Pepper Salmon, Steamed Broccoli and Carrots, Rice

• Turkey, Baked Potatoes, Salad

• Chicken Pot Pie, Fruit Salad

• Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Scrambled Eggs

Much of this is coming from my freezer. 

The chicken is frozen and leftover from last week's roasted chicken. The chili is also frozen and leftover from last week's meal. And the turkey is frozen and leftover from Christmas (gotta use that up before it gets freezer burn).

What's on YOUR menu plan this week?


Want to read more January menu plans?

• January 23, 2012
• January 16, 2012
• January 9, 2012
• January 2, 2012

Linked to:

Menu Plan Monday @ OrgJunkie.com

GROW Weekly Goals 1.27.12

It's time to check-in on my goals again. And once again I'm not where I wanted to be.

But, I have reasonable excuses. I spent 3 days last week in bed with a migraine. This week my husband worked nights and was around during the day. Both of those threw off our daily routine.

How did I do the last 2 weeks?

Here are my goals for January 15-21:

Faith

1. Read How to Study Your Bible for Kids with Will Tuesday - Friday. 
2. Made to Crave online study.

Marriage

3. Nightly Face-to-Face with Joel.
4. Plan February date.

Mothering

5. Read aloud 4 books.
6. Plan family nights for January and February.

Health

7. Switch from hot black tea to hot herbal tea (no sugar). (The major cause for the migraine.)
8. Go to bed by 10:30 PM nightly. (Managed this a couple of nights.)

Savings

9. Set up cash envelope system. (Will do this weekend.)
Blog

10. #SITS31DBB (SITS Girls 31 Days to a Better Blog).
11. Share my new blog (EverydayFamilyLiving.com).
12. Snowman and Anne of Green Gables activities.

I think part of my problem is that I'm trying to make several major changes to our routine (Bible studies and reading) and it's too much. So I'm going to step back and focus on some smaller items for the next two weeks.

Faith
1. Read How to Study Your Bible for Kids with Will Tuesday - Friday. 

Marriage

2. Plan February date.
3. Schedule babysitter.

Mothering

4. Begin reading Little House in the Big Woods.
5. Plan family nights for February.

Health

6. Get routine blood work done.
7. Go to bed by 10:30 PM nightly. (Managed this a couple of nights.)

Savings

8. Begin using cash envelope system. 

Blog

9. Launch my new blog (EverydayFamilyLiving.com).
10. Write and schedule February's blog posts.

That's my plan for the first 2 weeks of February.

How are you doing with your 2012 goals?