Monday, July 1, 2013

Must Have Monday and July Goals

It's July 1st! 46 days until the first day of school, and that's including the weekends.  I can't believe how fast this summer is going and how much of my "To-Do" list I was going to accomplish hasn't even been touched yet. YIKES! I'm stressin' just a little bit, but sometimes I do better under pressure. Let's hope that is the case now.
Now that it's Monday AND July 1st, I'm sitting down and mapping the rest of my summer. I'm tweaking my To-Do list and feeling the crunch of the last few weeks of summer break. I've told myself I'm going to get moving and get things done. (Let's just hope my kids will let me!) To start me off, I'm linking up with Sabra at Teaching with a Touch of Twang for her Must Have Monday linky party.
My Must have this week are my blank calendars that go on the side of my fridge. I have two. One is a "Master" calendar. Each family member has a color designated to them which makes it easy for me to glance at it and see who is doing what for the day. July is pretty wide open now that baseball is coming to an end. I am going to have so much more time now that I won't be at a ball park every day!

The calendar on the bottom is a weekly calendar for each of the boys. Seems a little redundant, but I use this calendar more for their individual practice times, and more importantly their school schedules like bringing treats, test dates, and important assignments. I was able to customize these to my liking and the entire calendar back is magnetic, so it doesn't slip or slide off. I LOVE them! I ordered them through Customized Creations!

With it being July 1st, and me wanting to be more "on top of things" I've decided to also link up with Jess at I {Heart} Recess for my July Goals. I've listed mine below and am REALLY going to try to accomplish them. If you can't tell, I'm on a mission!
PERSONAL:  Grow more in my faith. I need to do a better job of making more time for my faith. A long time ago I ordered a prayer journal and it's really awesome, I just haven't dedicated the time I should to it. With the stresses of life, I realize I need to put more faith in HIM, because with Him I'll be able to do anything!

FAMILY: With 4 boys, it's sometimes hard to give everyone the undivided attention they want. Before school begins, I'd really like to spend some 1 on 1 time with each of the boys. My second, Cooper, always asks to go on "Date Nights" and I truly enjoy them. I get to have conversations with them that I probably wouldn't had we not taken the time to go on our dates. A little 1 on 1 time with the hubby would be great too! :)

HEALTH:  I think I put this as a June goal, but it never went anywhere. Well, now I'm on a mission. I'm going to begin my workouts and do my very best to cut out the pop. The last time I did this, it didn't take me very long to not crave it as much or often, so I know it can be done. Willpower, something I lack more than I'd like to admit.

SCHOOL:  Organize and Prepare. I know that's pretty vague, but I'm still going through my classroom and would really like to be ahead of the game before school actually starts. I have all four in school this year, with one in junior high, which means game nights on the week nights, so we'll be plenty busy. I don't want to feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water, especially since I'm starting out at a new grade level. My goal is to be at least 2-3 weeks ahead in my planning. My new Erin Condren planner should help with that!

BLOG/TPT: I'm not tech savvy enough yet to do anything TPT, but I'd really like to begin planning what to blog and hopefully share some things that others could find useful! Right now I'm struggling to come up with, what I think, are blog-worthy posts. Hopefully as I begin preparing for my class, I'll have lots of ideas to share.

OUTSIDE THE BOX:  This summer I swore I was going to try new recipes so that when the school year hit I'd have plenty of meal plans to fall back on.  Well, that hasn't happened either, and probably because I really don't like to cook. My goal, try at least 1 new recipe each week before school begins. It won't give me a ton of new recipes, but it's a start. 

Now that I've spent some time on the computer, it's time to get off and begin working on all of my goals and To-Do lists! Be sure to link up with Sabra and Jess and good luck with your own goals this July!

Megan
 

8 comments:

  1. I love the color coded calendar idea. I just bought a wipe off calendar for our kitchen wall and I think the colors will be a must! Thanks for sharing!

    Jennifer
    Mrs. Laffin's Laughings

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  2. I hear you about the cooking! I HATE to cook for just one person, me! I am very bad about stopping at fast food/convenience restaurants on my way home from school... not good, not healthy! However, when my family comes over I LOVE cooking! You'd think it would be the opposite what with the more work. Pinterest has been an answer to my problem. I found yummy, healthy recipes that are EASY PEASY! Many of them are for the crockpot so I can dump everything in before leaving for school and it's ready when I get home. Check out my recipe board on Pinterest. You might find some you like!

    http://pinterest.com/teachersdesk/recipes/

    Good luck with cutting out the pop. I NEED to do that also, but ..... sigh!

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    1. Angela, I'm following your board! Thanks. I'm not so much a cooker, but boy can I bake! I'd rather bake a cake than make roast and potatoes. :) I do love a good crockpot recipe. I especially like the amazing smell when I walk through the door. With my oldest beginning junior high sports, I have a feeling the crockpot will be our saving grace.

      I caved yesterday with a good 'ol pop while shooting off some fireworks, but I didn't wake up craving one like I normally do. That's progress.
      Have a wonderful Tuesday.

      Megan

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  3. I haven't tackled TpT yet either, but I have that on my list this month. I would really like the EC planner, but it seems so pricey...is it life changing? What am I missing? Please share. :) I'll be spending this month working on my classroom and trying to cut out soda as well!

    Good luck with your menu planning! I'm following you now. :)

    Wendy
    Read With Me ABC

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    1. Hi Wendy! I'm not sure on the EC planner yet. I'm too afraid to write in it. :) I bought it with the money my kiddos got me for Christmas this past year and I ordered it during Teacher Appreciation Month, so I got a percentage off. What sold me on it was the durability and all the colors! I also like that it has the calendar pages that I can use for both my school and personal life. I'm a real sucker for planners, so I'm hoping I can incorporate both home and school. I'll have to let you know what I think once I get the year going.

      Thanks for following me and good luck with TpT! I'll be looking for it.
      Megan

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  4. Megan,

    I know I was following you last month, but for some reason, I was not on your GFC Followers list. I added myself again and followed through Bloglovin' as well. Google is acting weird today. :/

    Wendy

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  5. The color coding idea is nice. I have been working on creating a menu board for, at least, weekly menu planning. I feel like because we don't have kids we are lacks about it. I know that we could be saving a lot more money with a little foresight.

    Have you seen all the freezer meals on Pinterest? I am determined to start with some of them. My only problem is not all of them seem very healthy... but they do seem quick!

    Anywho... I'm ready to tackle TPT myself, I just started blogging! Found you through the July Goals Linky and following you on Bloglovin!

    Good luck with those goals!
    Sarilyn
    acuriouskindergarten.blogspot.com

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  6. LOVE your calendars! I have never heard of that company but will definitely be checking them out now! Thanks for linking up :o)

    Sabra
    Teaching with a Touch of Twang

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