Monday, January 31, 2011

January Recap

This month I didn't get quite as much done as I had hoped. But due to the following facts, I'm fairly satisfied with how I did do: 1) We moved. Cue insanity. 2) I caught a knock-you-over-the-head-and-make-you-feel-like-you've-been-left-for-dead kind of a cold that lasted for a few days. Then Lane got it too. 3) Shannon was out of the country on a business trip for 5 days. 4) While he was gone I caught a stomach bug. Then Lane got it. Now Shannon has it. So...since we were out of commission for about half the month due to these things, I think I did alright.

In relation to God:
1) Memorize Psalm 1:1-2. I only memorized Psalm 1:1...I never made it to verse 2.
2) Read my Bible daily in order to finish it by the end of this year. I'm actually ahead of schedule, since I've been able to read almost every day and the plan I'm using is only a 25-days-per-month plan.
3) Spend at least 5-10 minutes each day studying and reflecting on a passage of Scripture. Nope. Didn't do this. I did it some days but not every day.
4) Listen to 1 online sermon. I did do this...I listened to a sermon from The Village Church. It actually wasn't the best and I'm not sure I learned anything, but it was a guest speaker, so maybe that's why. I think I'll stick to J.D. Greear next month.
5) Make a monthly prayer calendar. Or at least get the calendar printed, even if it's still blank. Sigh. I still haven't done this. I have a good excuse though. Our first apartment's printer needed more ink, which we didn't get until after we moved into our new apartment. Now we have ink but no paper. I need to buy some paper!
6) Finish "Shepherding a Child's Heart." I haven't finished yet, but I only have 60 pages left. That means I read about 110 pages, and I'm planning on reading a couple of chapters today.

In relation to my family:
1) Have a date night without Lane. Yup! We went to see The Tourist. It was actually pretty good. No nudity, very little bad language, good plot. I'd recommend it.
2) Take Lane outside every day for at least 15-20 minutes unless it's raining or too cold. We went outside 21 of the 31 days this month. 7 of the days we didn't go outside it was either raining or really cold. One day was the day we moved, one day I was sick, and one day I was lazy (my birthday).
3) Take a 2-day vacation to see some friends. This didn't end up happening because the hotel we were going to stay in was booked solid. We still got to see our friends, we just met them here in Istanbul when they came to do the tourist thing, but we didn't get a "vacation."
4) Do something touristy. We went to the Hagia Sophia and to see the Blue Mosque. Go us!
5) Get fully settled and unpacked in our new apartment. Yup! Fully unpacked and settled!
6) Be in bed, lights out, by 10:30. This is a never-ending battle, it seems. We were in bed by 10:30 15 nights this month. That's half...I guess that's better than last month, so it's progress.
7) Throw Lane a bang-up 1st birthday party. I think she had a great party. She had a great cake, some fun decorations (ok, it was just balloons and streamers, but she liked them), and some friends came over. All things considered, I think it went well.

Personal goals:
1) Make our bed every day. I only got our bed made a little over half of this month. Once again, I have good excuses. I didn't make it the few days right after we had moved, because what's the point when the rest of the bedroom is a mess? And I didn't make it when I was sick. Either time. Once again, what's the point in making the bed when all you're doing is crawling back in it every time you get a chance?
2) Get my pajama pants fixed. I had good intentions of getting this done, but I need someone to go with me to translate, and both times I was planning on meeting my friend to do this I ended up sick. Next month.
3) Offer Shannon a back massage every night. Eh. Didn't do so great at this, mainly due to all the other aforementioned excuses.
4) Try 1 new recipe. I made a baked chicken spaghetti. It was pretty good! I'll get a recipe up on the recipe blog after I make it again and get a picture. And I made banana pudding for the first time ever. No recipe needed, though: vanilla wafers, sliced bananas, and vanilla pudding. Layer, chill, eat. Yum.
5) Order photos for Lane's scrapbook and find someone to bring them over. Done and done! Yay!
6) Get out of bed by 6:00. Once again, the never-ending battle. To be continued. Anyone have any hints for how to get out of bed earlier? I need help!
7) Start reading the owner's manual for our new camera. Not really. I kind of did after I took video on Lane's birthday and couldn't view it on my computer. But as far as actually learning anything about how the camera actually works...yeah, not so much.

So there you go. How'd you do on your monthly goals? Check back in the next couple of days and I'll have my goals for February posted. Feel free to join me in setting goals for the month...it's a great way to actually get a few things done!

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