January 2011 Consistency Report

Its hard to believe that January is already coming to an end. That means its time for a check up on how we are doing with being consistent in 2011. As I've said before, its important to just keep working on goals and wishes, day in and day out.

I am pleased with some of my progress and not so pleased with other things. I will keep working at it!

Here is a little report of how I've been doing:

1. I have been doing really well with being consistent with menu planning. My menu planning Recipe Binder lays on the kitchen counter top at all times. It is a great guide and helps me so much to know what I'm supposed to be doing.

January has been a very busy time for me, with lots of changes in plans, which means that my menu plans have changed often, as a result. When this happens, I simply mark out the meal for that day and move it over to a day on the next week. I've been planning on making pan fried steaks with baked potatoes every Friday this month, and they haven't been cooked yet!

My friend Elizabeth titled a post this week, "Don't hold your plans too close". That, my friends, is very true! I guess we just have to be ready to go with the flow. I have found that there are times when I don't get things done because of a change in plans, but there are also those unexpected slots of time that become available that I can take advantage of, too.

2. Coupons: I'm still using the coupon organizing system I posted about earlier. With this system, you file the entire coupon inserts by date and then make your grocery list by using blogs such as Southern Savers. This is working well for me and is by far the easiest coupon users system I have found. I'm still tweaking this system and would like to do better in this area.

3. Sewing: I'm proud to have started my Christmas gift sewing for 2011. I've also made great progress toward finishing my oldest UFO Quilt. The quilt top is finished and due to a change of plans over the weekend, I didn't get the quilt backing made. I also haven't been doing the handquilting of the Baptist fans on the Grandma Quilt. I want to do better in this area too!

4. Swagbucks: I am really pleased with my progress with Swagbucks. I've earned almost $35.00 in Amazon gift cards. One challenge with this is to have enough will power to save these until closer to Christmas!

5. Etsy and Ebay: I've not been working on this too much... I hope to do some Etsy Shop sewing soon. Ebay is not too high on my list. I do have 2 or 3 items that I want to sell, not big money makers at all, but nonetheless, I just have to get around to listing them.

6. Spiritually: There's always room for improvement in this area! I have found some spiritual inspiration in an unlikely place. I bought a nice Christian Daily Planner for 2011 on sale for $5.00 in December, which I purchased thinking I would give it as a gift to someone. I decided to keep it, but haven't written anything in it. Each month in the planner has a different theme and each day has a scripture verse and short sentence or two that offers daily encouragement or an explanation of the scripture.

For January, 2011, the theme is "God-given Abilities. A Quote from this theme: "Our goal is to first discover our abilities, then exercise them, and finally channel them toward good and not evil."

One example of a daily Scripture and quote: January 24th: "Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. (1 Cor. 15:58). Use whatever gifts and talents the Lord gave you for His ultimate glory and honor.

The theme for January has really spoken to my heart because I feel drawn to use my abilities to serve God.

So, how are you doing with your 2011 plans, goals or resolutions?