It's a Beautiful Day

Well, I think I have a plan.

I'm going to come up with a goal in each of the previously mentioned areas. I'm going to work on that goal until it gets done. No time limit. I think this will help because I tend to start a million things and then not finish them. With no time limit, I can direct all my resources on a job/habit until it's done.

Since it's Ash Wednesday, I feel like this is as good a day as any to begin again. Speaking of which, I'm going to include the words to my favorite Lenten song, Ashes:

We rise again from ashes,
from the good we've failed to do.

We rise again from ashes,
to create ourselves anew.

If all our world is ashes,
then must our lives be true,

An offering of ashes,
An offering to You.


We offer You our failures,
we offer You attempts;

The gifts not fully given,
the dreams not fully dreamt.

Give our stumblings direction,
give our visions wider view,

An offering of ashes,
An offering to You.

Then rise again from ashes,
let healing come to pain;

Though spring has turned to winter,
and sunshine turned to rain.

The rain we'll use for growing,
and create the world anew,

From an offering of ashes,
An offering to You.

... Thanks be to the Father,
who made us like Himself.

... Thanks be to His Son,
who saved us by His death.

... Thanks be to the Spirit,
who creates the world anew,

From an offering of ashes,
An offering to You.

So, here are the goals:

1) Spiritual: Giving up Coke for Lent. Ahhhh! Full disclosure: I subscribe to the "you can have your Lenten sacrifice on Sundays" camp. I'm also going to try and pray a rosary daily.

2) Cleaning: Come up with a weekly chore list. As each chore gets accomplished, we can put a little gold star (yes, I'm breaking out the grade school stars) next to it. If by the end of the month, we've starred 80% of the chores, we get a reward.

3) Decorating: Our bedroom. February of the book I referred to in last post and whose name currently escapes me.

4) Frugality: Making a master grocery list/price list. I think I'm pretty saavy about food prices, but I'm working on a 6 month stockpile and want to make sure I'm actually getting the best prices. We had given up on BJs, but I think I'm going to look back there because they have a really cool coupon policy -- you can use 1 manufacturing coupon on each item if it's individually packaged. Easy example: Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls come in a 3 roll package. You can use 3 manufacturer's Qs on each. (Q = coupon, because I am a nerd.)

5.) School: Complete, before the next test: All objectives, all vocabulary words, all reading. Take all appropriate practice tests.

As you can see, this has morphed into 5 goals, but that is just how it worked out in my head.

My goals for today: school vocab words, convincing Melanie to let us out of class early so I can be home in time to watch Lost.