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December 2016

My 5 Goals For 2017 (My year of truth!)

 

I debated a lot about goals for 2017. Not because I didn’t want to set them, but because I have such a driven personality that I knew that I could easily set goals that would throw me off from my plan to make 2017 a year of truth.

I had to ask myself and my husband, “How do I pair having a year of truth with goal-setting for my blog, business, and home life?” And then I had to really let myself mull over the answer for a few weeks. Several in fact. Then I finally decided that I would pick only a few small obtainable goals that would inspire, refresh, and renew me.

If you’ve known me longer than a few minutes you’ll know that I’m the master at picking goals that will challenge me as a person. In fact, I generally love nothing more than regularly having a big challenge to tackle. But this year, I’m just tired of difficulty and strife. Call it a result of our nation’s current political climate or just my angst at the end of my first true fiscal year as a working blogger, I’m a little over a great many things. And any goal that involves a challenge to my sensibilities and true self will likely exhaust me.

So I chose goals that sounded inspiring and motivating to only little ole me — while at the same time peppering my annual goal list with a few tasks that would encourage me to be more exacting and intentional in my priorities.

Now, let me be crystal clear: Sometimes it’s really good to choose goals that will challenge us to work really, really, really hard. Sometimes we need to be reminded to be in a season of hustle. Some will need to set those kinds of goals this year, and that’s always going to be fistbump worthy.

So if you need to get out of debt, or to start that business, or to tackle that huge dream board project, do that first!

But there are also some of us who need to choose much simpler and smaller goals. Tailored goals. Goals that aren’t going to make us feel like we need to work, plot, execute, and delegate from dusk to dawn when we’re already tired and worn out from the minute our feet hit the floor each day.

So if you’re in one of those seasons of fatigue, I challenge you to choose goals that will enrich and refresh you. That’s what I kept in mind when I chose these following goals.

 

My Goals for 2017:

Motherhood – Continue with TTC and expanding our family, naturally.

Marriage – Have a 3-hour date night with Daniel at home each week.

Myself – End my workdays by 3pm each workday, continue working on my novel, read for 1 hour daily, workout 3 days each week, and drink two quarts of water per day.

My home – Consistency. In meal planning, cultivating a recipe collection, morning and evening routines, zero-waste living, cash envelope usage when shopping, and 1-hour daily cleaning schedule. 

My blog, TheLadyPrefers2Save.com — Create and publish 1 e-book on savings, create an effective media schedule each week, time block 3 hours each weekday to blogging and business activities, and double my live streaming and video production, exposure, and presence online. 

And that’s it! I carefully chose each of these goals considering what would be best for our family, for this current season of life, and that would encourage me to keep my commitment to make this a year of truth.

 

How & Why I Chose These Goals:

People often ask me how to figure out what goals to set, and how I know exactly how to decide on priorities is often by just walking around my home and taking a temperature of how my life is working, what needs addressing, and how these changes will affect my family, and myself, in the months to come. I then base my goals based upon those priorities. 

My current priorities are mothering, my marriage, myself, my home, and the business. With these priorities in mind, I chose an area in each of those categories that I really want to improve in and around my current routines in those same categories. Then, I polished up my goal list by turning my list into a very specific and measurable goal. Things that could clearly define my year to come.

 

Motherhood Goal: Continue with TTC and expanding our family, naturally. This goal is very personal to me for obvious reasons. While my husband and I both have a heart for adoption, we have decided to take some time and see where things can develop naturally on their own. With several setbacks, including two miscarriages this year, we are looking to enjoy our time together and not focus on deadlines and sorrow. I’m just not ready to give up this dream. While not wanting to not lift up and enrich the lives of those who we love in our lives now, kiddos and fuzzies alike, my husband and I are hopeful that the Lord and Mother Nature will be good to use in 2017.

 

Marriage Goal: Have a 3-hour date night with Daniel at home each week. My husband and I talked about this and asked each other, “What goal would inspire us each week? What would be a goal that would be good for me as an introvert who often feels that the world is simply too peoply out there? What change could really impact our marriage?”

After some discussion, we came up with the goal of having Have a 3-hour date night at home each week. This could be for a simple movie night. Or it could be a hey look, I’m cooking for you tonight kind of thing. It doesn’t matter what it is, what matters is that it’s at least 3 hours per week, sans kiddos, fuzzies, friends, and the internet, and it’s just the two of us.

After three years of not having a lot of purposed us time, we recently started dedicating time to spend together and it’s really been great for the health of our marriage. Yes, it required effort to make it happen, but it was so worth the effort. 

We got to get away from all of the usual responsibilities of life and just have fun together, hang out together, experience new things together, and just talk. It was so good. It’s been refreshing. Even if it’s just me hearing about my husband’s favorite new podcast or me rattling on about a new way to remove plastic from our zero-waste home. 

 

Goals for Myself: End my workdays by 3pm each workday, continue working on my novel, read for 1 hour daily, workout 3 days each week, and drink two quarts of water per day. While I know this is sort of an interesting goal, or rather goals, and you may be wondering why I would choose them. Some of you might even be thinking, “Why on earth would she pick such odd goals?”

Truth be told, at first, I felt almost a little bit embarrassed to put it out there that I had set a personal goal to end my workday at 3pm every day. But when I was thinking about goals, I realized this was something that would not only give me the opportunity to set the temperature of my home each day before my family returns home each afternoon at 4:30 but also to give me the downtime and self-care I desperately needed.

This goal is something I could use in many different ways as I cannot tell you home many times I have ended my blogging sessions only to find myself right back on my computer scheduling this or that only to turn around at it was 11pm! For me, 12-hour blogging days need to come to an end! I’m going to intentionally devote a lot of time this year to time blocking and the old adage of working smarter, and not harder in 2017.

While I am a small blogger, someone who will always have to create meaningful content, pertinent social media coverage, and hustle to get pitch letters to wherever and whomever they need to be sent to, I still need to have a life. After all, do any of you really believe in bloggers who aren’t living lives of truth and intentionality? I know I sure don’t. 

Most importantly, are the three other goals in this subsection, my true gifts to myself: To continue working on my novel, read for 1 hour daily, workout 3 days each week, and drink two quarts of water per day.

For those who may not know, I have been toying with the idea of writing about my experiences of growing up in an LGBTQ home and the aftermath of losing one of my guardians in a highly publicized hate crime at the age of seventeen. Events that shaped my early 20’s. Events that need to be written and shared with others. And this is the year that I’m holding my own feet to the fire and sharing that part of my story. My truth.

While as a Christian I have long feared the backlash that may come with recanting my life, however at the end of the day I just don’t care what others feel about this matter. And it’s none of my business what others think of me as well.

More importantly, I’m tired of feeling numb. I’m exhausted by the suppression. The fear of losing readers, influence, and income. The fear of offending women of a conservative nature, women who might continue to read my blog but judge me for my upbringing, for embracing my family of choice. But I’ve also learned a valuable lesson in 2016: Those women are not my base, they are not my tribe. Their opinions do not define me or my blog. 

In all honestly, I’ve put a lot of thought and prayer into my decision to write this story. So for those who likely will not stick around to see how the details of this book will unfold, I lovingly acknowledge your position. But do note: I am my story and my story is my blog. 

It’s also worth noting that my personal truths mean more to me than this blog. And if you don’t care for my story and my family, including my family of choice, I encourage you can unsubscribe to this blog, opt to not purchase my future book (because the book will be written), and frankly, kiss my ass. I’m a little tired of self-suppression, and that’s where I will leave this sentiment for now. So yeah, starting my novel, that’s one of my personal goals for 2017.

I am also setting the goals of reading for pleasure for 1 hour daily. It goes without saying that as a blogger you receive a lot of books to review for work, many unsolicited. This often leaves you with little time for pleasure reading. In 2017, I’m going to be uber-selective in titles I publically review and devote 1 hour daily to reading selections from my local public library (for which I’ve created a new to-read memo on my online library account this very week) and to clean out my must-read list on my OverDrive App. This also included reading at least two titles from the 2017 banned books list when it comes out in late September of 2017.

Finally, I will be working on physical self-care and improvement by way of creating a workout schedule for 3 days each week and drinking two quarts of water per day. While many days this might be catching up on Youtube subscriptions or podcasts while treadmilling, it will get done. And when it comes to water, pray for me friends, I mean… water over Diet Dr. Pepper. Sigh. It’s got to happen this year. Finally.

By the way, I’m going to be posting on my Instagram account daily in 2017, sharing some of my daily events to keep myself accountable and hopefully to inspire someone else, who may need help in the same areas as well. 

 

My home: This year I’m seeking just one thing, consistency. Consistency in meal planning and cultivating a recipe collection, for staying power when it comes to sticking with a working morning and evening routine and pushing forward with zero-waste and minimalist living, with saving for a rental property and remembering to use and bring a cash envelope system when shopping, and mandating a personal 1-hour daily cleaning schedule each weekday. This is one category I’m going to have to work at each and every day. 

My blog: In terms of blogging, my goal setting this year was once again multi-tiered. First, I want to create and publish 1 e-book on savings by summer. My second goal is to create an effective media schedule each week. This will allow me to time to accomplish my next goal, time blocking 3 hours each weekday to blogging and business activities. Something I desperately need to do. Again working smarter and not harder.

Finally, I will be amping up my live streaming and video production, exposure, and presence online. 

Since I’ve cleared my schedule of a lot of clutter, I’ll have the time to devote to creating, filming, and creating more content for my Youtube account. I’m not going to push myself to have to get it out at a certain time but I’m going to aim to consistently edit and finish a single video of 10 minutes or more one weekly on the site. We’ll see how things pan out! 

You see, for a long time I’ve dreaded being seen online by others. I’m very self-conscious about my weight. Having gone from being 115 lbs. to becoming over double this weight, has been deflating my ego. But those are my issues, my insecurities, and as much as I would love for the world to understand what PCOS, two ankle surgeries, a sedentary work schedule, depression, self-loathing, and apathy will do to one’s waistline, those are my issues.

While I’m still losing weight I can’t let the age of live streaming, blogging business streams, and chances for connection and engagement to slip out of my reach because of childish reasons. Besides, most of the people I’ve encountered online are some of the most encouraging, uplifting people on the planet. So, trolls be damned, right?  

 

So that’s it, friends. My 5 Goals for my Year of Truth! So now I have to ask, what are YOUR goals for 2017? I’d love to hear! Leave a comment and let me know all about them!

 

Soothe Winter Aches & Pains with Salonpas

Disclaimer: I received these products, and giveaway, free of charge, from Salonpas, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. 

 

With the emergence of colder weather comes the need for tedious end-of-season yard work. From raking leaves to putting away patio furniture, there is always something to do around the home. How many of have put on our weekend warrior badges, crossed off every task on our honey-do-lists, only to find that we have overdone it, and now our backs are in searing pain? We’ve all been there, and it’s horrid!

Then in an attempt to get back to life in general, we often reach for OTC pain relievers, but as this is not always the best, or healthiest, solution, we are often left without a real solution to our temporary back pain issues. Luckily, there is a solution as Salonpas is can be your new solution for pain management, with its full line of topical analgesic products- creams, gels, sprays and patches.

 

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What’s awesome about Salonpas is that you are able to put medicine right at the site of your pain, bypassing the stomach and liver, allowing Salonpas to not only use less medicine to deliver an effective dose but to also give you exacting self-care right from the comfort of your own home. And anything that helps keep you comfortable and enjoying your holiday season is a must in my book!

 

 

 

The Salonpas products are great for sore muscles, simple backaches, muscle strains, joint discomfort like a stiff neck or arthritis pain, sprains and even common bruises! We were recently sent a care package to check out, and within a week we had injuries to do home trials on thanks to our old friend, Murphy’s Law, or as my husband calls it, leaf clean-up.

 

 

We received the Salonpas Pain Relieving Jet Spray, perfect for immediate relief when you first get an injury. The smaller nozzle helps you to get the spray exactly where you need it and provides you with a cooling, soothing sensation for up to 8 hours of targeted relief! I found this great for shoulder injuries, as it immediately freezes your pain and stops it in its tracks.

We were also sent the Salonpas DEEP Relieving Gel. A product absorbs quickly into your skin and immediately rushes its three active ingredients, camphor, menthol, and methyl salicylate, which works quickly yo target the source of your pain, providing up to 8 hours of deep penetrating, effective pain relief.

 

 

We also received the Salonpas Pain Relief Patch, the first and only FDA-Approved OTC topical pain patch for the temporary relief of mild to moderate and provides pain relief for up to 12 hours! Its contains two powerful pain fighting ingredients, menthol, and methyl salicylate, which works in tandem to immediately provide relief to areas when applied. The patch is a generous size of 3×4, ample enough to cover injuries of various sizes, and with 5 patches per box, so you can always have one on hand!

(salonpas hot patch backing)

Finally, we were sent was the Salonpas Pain Relieving GEL-Patch HOT-L, made for larger injuries, like shoulder, full knee, lower and upper back injuries. This new patch utilizes Gel Patch technology with two powerful pain fighting ingredients: Menthol for immediate cooling and the soothing power of Capsaicin for long lasting, deep penetrating pain relief.  

 

 

Additional products in the Salonpas line include their Original Small and Large patches, Hot Patches, and their Arthritis Patch, all quality products great for acute pain and inflamed injuries alike. Also worth nothing, you can find Salonpas at your local drugstore, box store, and pharmacy, making this product available to most communities nationwide! 

I encourage you all to check out this new like of Salanpas products this cold weather season. Consider giving those near and dear to you the gift of lasting pain relief. So, friends, I have to ask, have you used Salanpas in the past, and if so, which is your go-to Salanpas product for lasting pain relief? I’d love to hear about it below! 

Save on Scotch™ Thermal Laminators at Walmart

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #LaminateWithScotch #CollectiveBias

Can you believe it’s time to think about a brand new year? January is right around the corner and I know you are ready to get organized and clutter free for 2017. I have got a great option to help you with your New Year’s resolutions! Make a checklist for all your house cleaning chores, create menu charts for your new weight loss goals or design a printable budget tracker that will help you stay on target.

The Scotch™ Thermal Laminator and Scotch™ Letter Size Thermal Pouches are on rollback during the month of December for only $9.98 each! These products are typically priced at $19.97 for laminators and $12.88 for the pouches, so this is the time to buy!

 

 

Shop Here!

I know how important it is to have the right tools on hand when you’re getting organized and ready to move into a new year, so be sure to check out this great deal at Walmart!

DIY 6-Hour Crochet Throw

 
 
There are very few things more comforting when cold weather hits than a comfy, cozy afghan. No matter how cold and dreary a day it might be outside, just knowing I’m only a few rooms away from a hot cup of tea, a great new book, and warm afghan always lifts my spirits. The only issue with Afghans? Their price tag. Sometimes in excess of over $100.00 in many retail stores!
 
So recently, when in need of a new afghan for my more minimalist, neutral master bedroom bedding, I decided to try my hand at making my own crochet version at home. Not only was I able to use several skeins of ethically-sourced yarn I had on hand, but I was able to make an afghan in just under six hours.
 
That’s right – you can crochet an entire 45″ x 60″ inch (114.5 x 152.5 cm) afghan in just one evening. So today I want to share with you this fun and frugal way to crochet an afghan throw.
 
Whether you drape this afghan over your living room couch, adorn the bottom of a cozy winter bed, or make up an afghan to give as a last-minute New Year’s Eve hostess gift, it is sure to get some use. The best part? This warm, chunky yarn afghan can be made while you catch up on your favorite television shows. Might I suggest Season 2 of Fuller House?

So without further ado, here’s what you will need to get started:

 

 

 

 

 

So that’s it, folks! How easy was that? A very basic pattern which turns into an extraordinary afghan. So I hope you will all take a hand at making your own afghan this coming season, and if you do decide to make one of your own, be sure to tag me on Instagram @TheLadyPrefers2Save to let me see how awesome your creations are as well! 

Please note, feel free to pin this project for your own use. for makers looking to replicate this use, please note my patterns are not for commercial use and should you use my pattern in a post of your own, always play it forward and be sure to link your post back to my original listing! Enjoy your afghans!

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How to be a Christmas Eve Person

 

I grew up a Christmas Eve person. Some of my most joyful memories of this celebration happened on that very night. I first realized my love of the spoken word during a church holiday pageant. My Uncle Danny’s yearly vow to be well from his cold-weather bought of bronchitis, which thankfully he always come Christmas morning. How my grandmother loved to create a new wreath for her home each year, which she laid out for the world to see each Christmas eve. and I took turns studying each beautifully wrapped package under the tree, trying to guess its contents.

As a child, I also loved Christmas eve for the opportunity it gave me to hone my spidey senses. I liked to studying each beautifully wrapped package under our family tree, trying to guess its contents. The house was filled with the delicious aroma of fresh baked cookies set out for Santa Claus, fancy buttery cookies from local bakeries, and even a few janky, but lovingly decorated cut out cookies created by yours truly. 

I even loved the simple joys of the season. As the only child in the home, I had the tasks of both eating the last piece of advent calendar chocolate and placing the porcelain baby Jesus in the nativity scene by the Christmas tree.

But despite this joy, my home life was often far from happy. I remember fondly each Christmas eve, as we opened our presents, that instead of sharing in the pure joy of being together as a family, the laughing and oohing and ahhing over the best gifts we each received, we were busy passing around bags. Bags to collect torn wrapping paper and bags to collect back the toys and presents we had just opened. These bags contained the holiday facade of our home, the veneer of purchasing gifts to keep up with appearances for the rest of the world to see, so we could purchase gifts that were never destined to stay within our home.

You see, my grandmother didn’t believe in allowing children to keep more than a one holiday toy each year, which generally left me with one gift, generally a book, and without fail each Christmas morning all my gifts were taken with us to mass, where the presents were given to children less fortunate than myself. This was of course coupled with her impulses to overspend each holiday season, so in lieu of buying fewer gifts for colleagues, co-workers, and neighbors, and instead of allocating those funds to purchase gifts for those less fortunate, those needed gifts came from those in her own home. We lived and gave like that of the Pharisees.

While I always seemed to get exactly what I hoped for, I never remembered feeling the tactile nature of the day. The one toy I was able to keep was generally a collectible. Generally an American Girl doll or holiday Barbie, and though lovely and incredibly generous gifts, these were toys to be seen and not used, gifts that remained encased on high away shelves, never to be loved. The same toys that cemented to me a feeling of  Christmas mornings in my home being very bittersweet, at least that’s how I remember it. 

Then later, even as an adult, when recanting these experiences to my newly found birth mother, who upon asking me how my childhood holidays occurred, discounted my memories and relished in believing that my memories were nothing more than childish lies. And so it’s for those two reasons that I’ve always held a small bit of guilt for not being one of those merry-makers who love Christmas morning. The same memories of Christmas mornings that to this day always leave a small pang of disappointment in my heart each year.

Now friends, don’t think this story to be one of sadness and despair. It was because of these events that I was able to make a great Christmas eve revelation even from an early age, that the hours leading up to Christmas Eve each year were some of the happiest times in my life. Times when business was replaced with purpose. Where talents were put before the world to see. Where holiday music played and when hearing my home wrapped up in the sounds of my uncle’s laughter meant more to me than any present that could be unwrapped beneath the tree. 

I learned that the true message of Christmas Eve was simple: You are loved. Loved by God. Loved by your family of choice, and even for a few moments, loved by the world. Everything that I remember and hold dear to in those childhood memories tells me that.

For me, the greatest value in being a Christmas eve person, including you all my dearest readers, should be the same: Christmas eve is a splendid time of year because of the birth of Jesus Christ, and that is the kind of good news and great joy that no amount of conspicuous consumerism, bittersweet memories, nor the longing to see loved one’s long since passed, can ever take away. 

As you are reading this I am spending time with my own family, with those who make tomorrow’s sorrows seems so small in comparison to the memories I will be making on this day. So friends, take heart. I have always been a Christmas eve kind of person, and I hope in some small way you all will be too! Today is a celebration of joy. A day of peace. A moment of great jubilation. A time when presents simply don’t matter. 

Take time today for yourself, for self-care, for reflection, and above all else, for laughter. Remember to find moments of joy. To be enamored with hope, for this is what being a Christmas eve person is all about. 

Save on Scotch™ Thermal Laminators at Walmart

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #LaminateWithScotch #CollectiveBias

Do you have your gift list almost complete but still can’t decide what to get the teachers in your family’s life? How about a Scotch™ Thermal Laminator and Scotch™ Letter Size Thermal Pouches? Right now, they are on rollback for $9.98 each!

The Scotch™ Thermal Laminator is a great idea to help you finish off last minute teacher gifts. Just imagine how excited your child’s teacher will be with their own laminator so they can create name tags for the student’s desk, job charts and reusable student worksheets. Give the teachers in your life a gift that will help make their classrooms more efficient and fun all year round!

The Scotch™ Thermal Laminator and Scotch™ Letter Size Thermal Pouches are on rollback during the month of December for only $9.98 each! These products are typically priced at $19.97 for laminators and $12.88 for the pouches, so this is the time to buy!

 

Shop Here

I know how important it is to save money on last minute gift ideas, so be sure to check out this great deal at Walmart!

DIY Crock Pot Potpourri Gift Jars

 

There is just something special about the smell of Christmas. Smells of cinnamon, fresh cranberries, earthy rosemary, and vibrant citrus scents. It’s with these scents in mind that I want to share with you all today my DIY Crock Pot Potpourri!

This potpourri is safer that the usual stove top variety and will make your house so welcoming for the holidays. It will leave your guests will be asking you how you made it!

Here’s how to make it:

 

 

  • 1 cup fresh cranberries
  • 1 orange sliced
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 tablespoon of cloves
  • 3 springs of fresh rosemary (optional)
  • 1/5 gallon water

 

  1. Place all your fresh ingredients in small crock pot and fill about halfway full of water. Turn your crock pot to high heat and leave unlidded.

  2. Allow your contents to come to a full simmer on their own for two hours, and then turn to the low heat setting thirty minutes prior to guest arriving.

  3. This mixture, liquids, and aromatics, can also be jarred, stored in the refrigerator, and re-used for up to a week, making this recipe a great way to use up pre-composted citrus and fruit scraps left over from baking sessions as well!

  4. Essential oils can also be added to this potpourri. Oils such as lemon, cinnamon, spruce, peppermint, frankincense, and ginger would may great additions to this recipe as well!

 

 

Now in addition to using this recipe at home for my own family during the holiday season, I also like to give this recipe jarred as holiday hostess gifts to party’s my family attend, as well as parting gifts to friends and family we entertain at home as well.

The nice things about giving this potpourri as a gift are that the contents can be created ahead of time (up to a week), jarred, and refrigerated until giving. Also be sure to add small, simple touches to your jars, such as adding fresh springs of rosemary, bay leaves, and star of anise.

Also consider adding striped bakers twine, raffia, rope, or fabric, and a handmade card to make your jar a memorable gift for others this season. 

Personally, I find this potpourri to be nothing short of amazing and will be sure to be a favorite at your next get together, too! So everyone, do you have a favorite way to scent your home over the holidays? I’d love to hear about it below! 

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