The Life Makeover - November

I feel like I set myself achievable goals for the month of October, and yet I don't necessarily feel like I've done a very good job at achieving them. I suppose I could blame it on my heavy school load this month, but that doesn't really feel right either. I think I just didn't pay enough attention to my goals.

What I feel good about:

I like to think I did more fun activities with Sidney this month. Our evening routine is still going well, and adding fun activities to our schedule has made our days more enjoyable. We like to do a lot of drawing, we play board games and watch Halloween movies. We got outdoors a few times, we went shopping a couple of times and Sidney got to spend a lot of time with other family members.

And Sid's party was a success! It was exhausting but a lot of fun.

I spent time with my family a bit more this month than in September. Sidney loves going over to play with her cousins, and I get to relax and hangout with my sisters and mom. It's relaxing at their house and I'm not sure why I didn't make time to go over there before.

Big Fail:

I haven't been eating breakfast every day. It's a hit or miss really.

And I didn't get any filing done.

I'm Okay With It:

Other than splurging on Sidney's birthday party, I really didn't spend any money on myself. I did have to pay a big chunk of money on my car which was quite unfortunate and took a big dent out of my bank account, but what can you do?

I managed to apply for a few awards and bursaries. There are still some others I can apply for this month. My assignments are all getting handed in on time, I haven't been missing any classes but I am still procrastinating a lot of my assignments.

November Goals:

1. Health: I need to start eating a healthy breakfast in the mornings! But this month I also want to start eating healthier in general. I need to spend more time on planning healthy meals and snacks and to cook more from scratch. I hate cooking and lately I've been making a lot of processed foods. Not very good, I know!

2. Parenthood: Our evenings are going smoother than before. We're making an effort to go out and have more fun. What I could really work on this month is to sit down with Sidney and help her with homework more often. She doesn't get very much homework, and we always get it handed in on time, but I buy activity books for Sidney to help her with spelling and math equations that I would like to spend more time on. And we should be reading more, too.

3. Relationships: This month I read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin for the Self-Love Book Club and there were a lot of really great ideas in there. For example, Remember Birthdays! This month I would love to email everyone I know to get their contact information and birthdays so that I can send out Christmas cards and wish my friends and family a happy birthday every year. I think it's such a great idea because I know how much I love receiving Christmas cards and birthday wishes.

4 Home: Since my filing goal last month was a huge fail I need to work on that this month. Problem is, I never learned how to properly do it. So, I'm going to have to do some research or even ask my mom for help and get it done! I think having a proper filing system in place will keep me much more organized and I can pay my bills on time.

5. Money: Continue to look for work. Find ways to make money. I need to replenish my bank account after that car incident which ate up so much money. Also, I need to call the bank and figure out my car payments because the place where I had my car loan was sold to another bank and I still haven't got that taken care of.

6. School: School is going well. Some classes more so than others. One thing I could work on top of my goal to stop procrastinating, is to pay more attention in class and take better notes. Every classroom has a giant Mac computer on every desk and I often find myself on Facebook and Twitter.

Overall, October was a fantastic month! Some things didn't get accomplished, but the ones that did were worth the tiny bit of extra effort. Now that it is November, and Christmas is coming up, there is going to be a lot of things to juggle. But in the end, it's all worth it!

How did the month go for you? Did you manage to accomplish any goals this October?

Thanks, 

Cole

The Life Makeover - October

 

 

My goals for September were somewhat achieved. Some things I feel were accomplished quite well, and others were not.

 I Feel Great About:

One of the most important goals that I made for myself was a success! I wanted to develop a comfortable evening routine with my daughter. One that consisted of dinner, homework, and a suitable bedroom routine (bath, snack, brush teeth and hair, bed). And making lunches the night before is a major plus! Towards the end of the month, I even started adding some activities to make our evenings more enjoyable.

Making time to see my friends has been really great, too! It can get lonely living on your own with no adults around to talk to, so it was really important for me to get out and see people. Every weekend I managed to see at least one friend, sometimes way more! Sidney really enjoys getting out to see our friends, too.

Big Fail:

My big fail was not picking up my exercise bike, which means I didn't use it for 20 minutes a day.

I'm Okay With That:

My apartment got a bit more organized. I bought a few small things for around my place that makes me happy! And I did switch around some of the furniture. I didn't get nearly as much done as I initially wanted to, but I'm okay with the results.

My budget got done, but like I mentioned, it was pretty loose and I could have done a better job.

It's now October and I have new goals:

1. Health: I still want to get that damn exercise bike! It will get done this month! But my main health goal for October is to eat a healthy breakfast every day, which is something I've neglected to do since school started. Awful, I know! In the mornings I get Sidney all set up for breakfast and while she eats I do my hair and makeup. However, if I get up 15 minutes earlier and do that before Sidney wakes up then the two of us can sit down and eat together. Which is really good parenting, too.

2. Parenthood: I mentioned that my last month's goal for parenting was to develop a better evening routine, and that has worked out awesome, and I also mentioned we started to do more fun activities in the evenings and it's been a lot more fun. So that is my goal for October - do more fun activities with Sidney! It's October, the best month of the year! Walking trails are gorgeous, the weather is amazing and all sorts of fun things are happening! Corn mazes, haunted houses, apple picking! So much to do!

Plus, I have a birthday party to plan for Sidney, who will be turning six on Halloween!

3. Relationships: I've made time for friends, but I forgot to include my family. I haven't seen my parents or sisters all month! In October, I want to see family more often. And because Sidney and I will be doing all sorts of fun fall activities, I'm sure my family will want to get in on the fun.

4. Home: My redecorating and organizing has been going well - let's continue with that. But more specifically, I want to organize my filing bin and set up a more organized system for all that junk.

5. Money: Budget has been made! Now it's time to stick to it... My spending got a little crazy this past week. And I only sent out a few resumes. With the holidays approaching more places will be hiring, it's time to get looking for work! As a single mom, I need moneyyy!

6. School: I'm getting things in on time, and have yet to be late. However, I keep leaving projects until last minute so I need to stop procrastinating. And there are a ton of bursaries, scholarships and awards deadlines coming up in the next two months. I need to get my applications filled out and sent off to at least give myself a chance of getting some extra money for school!

Do you have any goals this month?

Thanks,

Cole

Week 1 Review of The Life Makeover

I've been working on my goals, slowly but confidently. With so many new projects coming up at school, it can feel overwhelming having to deal with my personal projects, too. But these projects are important to me, and they're important for me. For Sidney, too, because she is so greatly affected by every choice I make. Do you know how stressful it is knowing that you are not the only one affected by your decisions? It's tough!

 

Surprisingly, I'm managing much better than I ever thought I could.

You never know what you're capable of until you try it. That's something I'm constantly reminding myself, but it's true!

 

September Goal Update Week 1:

 

1. Health: I still have not picked up my exercise bike! Maybe this weekend? Even though this isn't part of my goal this month, I just want to say that I can really feel a difference in my health from the amount of walking I've been doing since school started!

 

2. Parenthood: Sidney and I have developed a comfortable evening routine. Not only that, but I've been making a conscious effort to be more patient, and to not skip any part of the routine because I'm too lazy or tired. That used to happen a lot. I'd feel tired and grumpy and so I would promise to read Sid double the bedtime stories the next night. It always made me feel guilty and I hate feeling guilty. Or sometimes I would decide to make Sidney's lunch in the morning, so I could relax sooner, but the next morning would be hectic and I'd curse myself for not doing it the night before. This week has been great though.

 

3. Relationships: Over the last little while I haven't done much with any of my friends. Since deciding this had to go on my Life Makeover list, I've made plans for Saturday and even messaged a friend I haven't seen in months. We're making plans to go to the movies sometime soon.

 

4. Home: My living room is slowly coming along. I have a little work space I've been putting together in the corner, which is something I wanted to do when we first moved in. But Nick claimed this spot for his music (guitar, amp, records, stereo, etc.) and so I settled my desk in the bedroom. Now this corner is all mine! Ha ha ha!

 

5. Money: Okay, this has proven to be the most difficult task so far! I did send out two resumes earlier this week, and will continue to browse job listings. Now the hardest part has been this damn budget! I bought a book (way to spend less, eh?) called Debt-Free Forever by Gail Vaz-Oxlade (from Til Debt Do Us Part! Love that show.), and I thought it would quickly show me how to make a quick budget. Turns out it's so much more complicated than that. This book has steps, and while I probably could skip ahead, I decided it was better to read through it and complete the activities in order. My budget might not get finished for a while, but I still have 17 days left and I want to do it right.

 

6. School: Like I mentioned in my Life Makeover introductory post, school is just on this list so it doesn't end up getting neglected as I move further along with my goals and get more involved. You'll be happy to hear that I have been early for every class since the beginning, and have handed in every (two) assignments in on time! Plus I've done all the reading ahead of schedule, and have even taken it upon myself to do extra assignments that are not required. I'm not bragging or anything, I just LOVE this program!

 

It's incredible how amazing I've felt this week. I'm excited to get up in the mornings and rarely sleep in! I love going to school early, and I love coming home. My apartment is slowly making it's way to how I want it to look, which has made it much more enjoyable around here.

 

And I have to say, going over my finances for the first time... ever... feels really good. It's scary at first, and the numbers are a bit shocking, but at least knowing what I owe gives me something to work with and that's good. Now to find out what I bring in... Hopefully that number is shocking in a good way. ;)

 

Yes, I'm still sad sometimes. It would be weird if I wasn't. But I'm practicing gratitude and being more optimistic. It's kind of like a fresh start, and I'm really glad that I started school at the same time. I think if I weren't in school I would be a complete train wreck over this breakup, but school keeps me focused and positive.

 

How's your week going? Have you managed to tackle any goals today?

 

Thanks,

Cole