#onelittleword 2014: February Goals

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Hey there friends!

Whew! I think we're through the worst part of moving. We still have more stuff in boxes than I would like, but we're getting there!

We're already halfway through February, but I wanted to make sure I shared my goals with you! The accountability is good for me. Maybe some of them will help motivate you, too!

Here's a quick re-cap of January's goals:

Home

- Pack! This is a big one, and its going to take most of our time. 

     -Donations to charity

     -Sell any sellables 

     -Unnecessary items packed this week

Well, we're all moved in, so everything must have gotten packed, right? Let's hope!

Personal

- Get in the Word every day! It could be sitting down to study, or jumping on to one of my favorite apps, but    it needs to happen.  January was great. Probably not every day, but very close to it! 

- Commit 1 hour a week to doing something fun for me. Ask for help with the kids if I need it! I actually did this! I got a few days of great naps from Owen, and good quiet time from Abbey which let me do things like read my favorite blogs, and get caught up on some scrapbooking!

Blog

- Read 2 books

     - How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul by Ruth Soukup Still working on this one. I'm reading it with a group, so we read a chapter each week. It's great so far!

     - Growing Your Blog While Managing Your Home by Jacinda Vandenburg  This book is seriously my new favorite blogging resource! If you haven't already, you can read my review of it HERE. If you are a blogger, you want this book. Ke

So that was January. Not too bad, I think! Let's get going on to this month.

Home:

- Eat at the dining room table. The dining room table is our main crafting/school/work space, so it gets cluttered quickly. I need to make sure it is ready to be eaten at every night, or we end up in front of the TV. No good!

- 2 loads of laundry washed, dried and folded 5 days a week. Our new place has a vertical washer and dryer, so they are smaller than side-by sides. This means smaller loads. If I'm going to keep up, I need to step up my game!

Personal:

- In the Word every day. 

- 8 cups of water daily. I'm SO bad at drinking water. Considering the fact that I'm nursing, I really need more than 8 cups, but I'm not even getting that right now so baby steps!

- 2 workouts per week. Time to get this butt moving!

Blog:

- Keep reading How To Blog...

- Finish new design! :)

Finances: 

- Write a snowball plan for remaining consumer debt  (not an affiliate, just good info!)

OK...that should be good for the month, don't you think? 

Do you have any goals for the month?

Are you good at staying self-motivated, or do you need help?

Read any good books lately?

Be blessed,

Heather

Barefaced and Beautiful

Hi friends,

I want to talk to you today about something that is heavy on my heart. I want to talk to you about body image, self-esteem, and how they can impact all of our children, but most often our girls.

Growing up, I was horribly insecure about my body. My butt seemed too big, my skin was bad, and I've had "child bearing hips" since I hit puberty. My weight has always been a struggle. At the schools I grew up in your clothes and how they fit you might as well have been the be-all, end-all of your value as a person, or at least it felt that way.

(ridiculous, right?)

These insecurities have followed me into adulthood, which seems ridiculous. They are lies about my worth and appearance. I know that they are lies, but they still sneak around in the back of my mind.

I don't want that for my daughter.

She is beautiful. Not because I am her mother and will always think so. Not because she meets some standard for physical beauty, but because she is herself. She is exactly who God designed her to be, and that is beautiful.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well

Psalm 139:14

So, I am her today to stand up and say "enough"! In honor of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, my friends Sarah, Sarah, Aleisha and I are showing our #BarefacedBeauty to the world! Messages of true beauty and worth need to start at home. We can't depend on "the industry" to teach our daughters these values, because they will lie to them. It starts with us, and it starts now.

To learn more about National Eating Disorder Awareness Week watch this video

Dove also has a wonderful #BeautyIs campaign that just released this video, "Selfie". It's wonderful, check it out! I love what Dove is doing to take steps towards changing industry beauty standards.

Are you going to join us? Show the world your #barefacedbeauty, and show them what real #beautyis!

You can find me here:

Instagram . Twitter . Facebook

Be blessed!

Heather

Our Week in Pictures

Hey friends!

How was your week this week? We had a lot of fun. Are you on Instagram? Let's be friends! I'm its_alongstory. :)

On Sunday afternoon we went to Medieval Times to celebrate my sister's 23rd birthday. We go every year, which you would think is hilarious if you knew my sister. She's hip, and fashionable, but when it comes to fake jousting she is all. over. it! We go, we cheer, much fun is had by all.

Abbey was crowned the Queen of the Tournament by our knight! After each event the knights hand out flowers to girls in the audience. Just before the joust (the main event!) they hand out a banner like this one. It took Abbey a second to realize that this was better than a flower. Haha!

Who watched Sherlock on Sunday?? We have been waiting forEVer for it to come back, so we camped out on the couch with some popcorn and had a little date.

Both kids slept past 8 one morning this week! It was pretty much amazing. I actually got to make myself a cup of coffee and finish it before it was cold! I also got to sit down with my real bible and take real notes. Fantastic.

This guy turned 2 months old! Stop it. Stop it right now.

This is what happens when you get your sister's hand-me-downs. Pink diapers. Poor kid.

For some reason lately we have been eating an obscene amount of french bread. I decided to try my hand at making some myself, and I may never buy it from the store again! I used this recipe, and it was so good! I put my ice cubes in a pan, though. Throwing them on the bottom of the oven seemed risky!

That yummy bread turned into even yummier meatball sandwiches! Hooray for an easy Friday dinner!

I'm linking up with Jeannet!


Be blessed,
Heather

Valentine's Day Cinnamon Rolls

What is it about breakfast? Maybe it's just me, but there is something so wonderful about blessing my family with a big breakfast. I think that so many of our mornings so quickly move to oatmeal and cereal that taking the time to do something more than that just feels special.

What better day for a special breakfast than Valentine's Day?

And what better for that breakfast than cinnamon rolls??

They're heart shaped! and pink! and they have sprinkles! Sounds pretty special to me.
They also couldn't be any easier which is always good.

Start by opening up the outer half of your cinnamon rolls. I used canned rolls, but you could absolutely do this with your favorite homemade recipe.

Roll that piece back on itself so that you have a heart.
Tip: pinch the bottom a bit to really emphasize the bottom. Otherwise it rounds out during baking and you lose that heart shape.

Bake according to the instructions. While they're baking, add a little food coloring to your icing. Again, I used what came with the rolls, but a simple powdered sugar icing would be great here.

Take the rolls out of the oven and let them cool a bit.

Add your icing, and throw on some sprinkles. You could have this ready when the kids get up, or use it as a fun chance to get them into the kitchen. This is definitely a recipe that kids can do!

Do you have a meal that is more special than others?
What are your Valentine's Day traditions?

Be blessed!
Heather

Linking up at:

Almost Supermom . The Road to 31