3 in 30

A friend of mine linked up to a 3 in 30 challenge on her blog. There was a link, and so, of course, I followed. This challenge really speaks to me at a time in my life when I am struggling with getting things done. There's so much to do in the house (every room has at least something unfinished), in the kitchen (I'm trying to eat more and healthier), in my spirit (I'm trying to pray more and read the bible) and in my life (I'm trying to exercise, be healthy, blog, and balance life in general). I get overwhelmed with my to-do lists so I make schedules. I get overwhelmed with my schedules, so I give up. Last night I sat on my booty and watched 2 hours of TV for lack of anything better to do.

I'm attempting to go from 0-60 in a day, and it's stressing me out. I need to pare down my to-do list into something managable. I need to do 3 things this month, and 3 things next month, and eventually I'll be doing it all (ha!).

So what to start with?

The being healthy kick is time-sensitive. I am participating in a facebook challenge as well as a company sponsored (so I can get a discount on insurance) challenge, both to lose weight in the next few months. This needs to be one of my top 3 because, well, if I get to it "eventually" I won't be able to complete my challenges! Of the millions of things I could do to be healthy, I think this month I am going to focus on eating balanced meals. I don't eat enough. I never really knew this until I started trying to track the "portions" I eat and make sure everything is balanced. If I cut out the crap (which doesn't really fit into a food group anyway), there's not too much left. I skip breakfast a lot. I skip lunch frequently. I always have dinner, but I rarely snack. Basically, not enough. Starting this past weekend I've been focusing on eating more often, more meals, and more better (can I even say that? lol!). I have lost 2 pounds since Monday. wow! Apparently my body was in starvation mode... and I had no clue. So this month, I just want to keep it up. I want to keep eating enough food. I'm not going to worry about going over (within reason obviously), I just want to get the food in my body. Then, maybe next month, I can start counting the calories and see if I've gone "above and beyond" on my eating more. haha!

The next big thing for me is my spiritual life. I want to read the bible. I want to pray and be closer to God. I just haven't been doing it. So item #2 for me will be to read the bible every evening before bed. I'm not giving myself a time or chapter minimum... just so long as I pick up the bible and read something... ANYTHING. Every day. From here, I will try to work more on my memory verses. I am currently memorizing Collosians 3. I know v1-12, but I've hit a stumbling block. Basically, I've stopped trying. *sigh* I don't want memory to be a fad for me. So I commit to continue reading (I'm in Genesis right now), and to not forget the Collosians 3:1-12. The next step will be to work on memorizing the rest. I may continue to work on it, but that will just be a bonus. My PRIORITY (isn't that such a key word?) is to make time to read. Isn't it so easy to get overwhelmed when you try to do good? I go from not reading, not praying, being a 1-hour-on-Sunday Christian to having a fire in my heart. I want to read, study, memorize, pray, minister, and so much more... but I need to learn that these things take time. If I am not willing or able to carve out hours out of my day on a moments notice, then I need to accept that these things will take time to work into my life. This is where I am now.

#3 is the hardest. There are a few things I would like to focus on. I would like to run regularly. I would like to work on The Shine Project (another fun new blog thing I just found). I would like to finish the unfinished projects in the house. I'd like to clean more regularly. I'd like to spend quality outside time with my family. I'd like to clean up the yard (or does this go into unfinished projects?). I'd like to take more pictures. I'd like to visit more with friends and family. I'd like to send cards "just because." I'd also like to work on my complaining and my attitude in general. Ugh! I guess that's more than one thing...

Running is something I enjoy doing. While I would like to, eventually, build to running every day, I am consistently running at least 3 times a week and I think that is good enough for now.

The Shine Project is just not a priority. I really like the idea... I might even blog about it... today! BUT this is not going to be one of the 3 things I do without fail. And if I try the Shine Project and don't have time, it's gone. This is definitely something I'd like to attempt eventually, but it doesn't make sense right now.

The projects in my house are a beast. This is something important for me, but it is something to do as a family. I hesitate to put something like this on a list of "must do" because it concerns my husband as well. I know that there are things I can do by myself, but it would not take long before I required my husbands help and/or had to spend money. I think it is best to leave this off the list... but again, something I should at least be working on in my free time.

Cleaning is a maybe. I mean, it needs to be done. I'd like to think I could just do it, but this may be a good canidate for my 3 in 30 challenge.

Outside time, pictures, cards... all of this stuff is more "fluff" to me. I think they're important, but when it comes to getting my life back in order, I think there are more important things to focus on first.
Complaining is the other big one.

How do I choose between cleaning more and complaining less? I think this month I will go with cleaning more just because it's much more measurable (everyone remember there SMART goals? lol!). I already at least touch the big stuff weekly (sweep, vacuum, dust, etc), but I would like to vacuum more often. I think a good goal for me would be to vacuum every time little dude takes a bath. I discussed it with big dude, and he agreed to do the baths to give me the time. It won't be every day, probably, although little dude wishes we would, but it will at least be a few times a week. Ok that's the plan!

So...

For the next 30 days (roughly the month of April) I will be working on...

1)  Eating balanced meals every day
2)  Reading the bible every day
3)  Vacuuming/sweeping every time Braden takes a bath (on top of normal cleaning)

Also, I will be linking this up, however I'm a little ahead of the game. As they are wrapping up their current 30 days, I will wait until they begin again to link in.