Happy February!  I’m holding myself accountable.  This is farther than I’ve ever gotten with resolutions!  And this picture has nothing to do with any of this, but I found it on my phone and liked it.

1. Write more.

It’s happening.  It isn’t publicly happening, but it’s happening.

2.  Have monthly budget meetings.

We are getting it done!  Cutting my work load has made our house much more peaceful, but our budget much less flexible.  It’s nice to make conscious decisions going into the month.

3.  Keep my grocery budget under $400 a month.

January was a success!  It wasn’t easy, but it was actually kind of fun.  The girls were super supportive and made really good choices.  I made a run to Costco and asked what they wanted for treats and the choices were jasmine rice, butter, and prepeeled baby carrots.  It’s funny what we miss when we are in the middle of a pantry challenge.  We had rice, cooking fats, and carrots.  It appears that they favor convenience over sweets when it comes to treats!

4.  Fill my pantry with 12 new items.

Oh, my sad little canned pantry!  Last year’s health issues didn’t allow for restocking.  But the four jars on top are cranberry sauce, so we are good to go on hot turkey sandwiches!

5.  Plant a vegetable garden.  And harvest something.

The seed catalogs have arrived!  If only I can wrench them away from the baker, I can start planning.  It appears this is the year she starts gardening…

6.  Complete 12 house projects.

Ummmm, I’m not going to tell you how long we had the lock to be replaced on the front door.  It took 10 minutes to actually do the work.  It took longer to stand in line to have new keys made.  I also took apart the kitchen sink trap to clean it out.  The culprit was a paintbrush and a dozen cherry stems.  How do you not notice when a paintbrush goes down the drain?

7.  Read more.  4 down

I mostly read cookbooks, but I did sneak in a few others.

So technically this is cookbook.  But I read it like a novel, so it totally counts!

I had mixed feelings about this book group book.  I wanted to love it, but I didn’t.  I think I wanted a food memoir and got science fiction.  I love science fiction, but it’s not what I was anticipating.  If my coffee beans ever take on a life of their own, I will be better able to relate to this.

We also listened to The Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins.  It was fun to compare the classics with their newer renditions.

8.  Launch the Curly Girl.

Choices made, deposits paid.

9.  Homeschool with passion and intention.

We interrupt regularly scheduled curriculum to follow passions.  The writer is working on some huge project about World War 2 and The Baker is studying the physics of flight.  Please, no one mention that she is actually learning math here.

So far, so good!  Have a great February!