Goal 69: Healthy Homemaking Step #1

I was really happy to get Stephanie Langford's e-book Healthy Homemaking a couple of years ago. Stephanie's website, Keeper of the Home, was a really welcome find when I first got into improving the nutrition in our diet. Stephanie lives somewhere near Vancouver, BC which is just a hop, skip and a jump from my old neighbourhood, which means that she faces many of the same food sourcing challenges that I do.

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I think I have mentioned that I love lists. So when I can find an e-book that is essentially a list of steps one can take to be more healthy, frugal and environmentally friendly, with a bunch of information on how to do it, I'm sold. I have wanted to work through this book in an organized manner for a while, which is why it is in my goals, so here is what I am learning and have learned as I have read and re-read this book over the past year. Hopefully you can find some ideas that inspire you to!

Goal 94. Read 5 Christian Books

I love reading books. Peter Pan once said, as we walked out of a library, "I love libraries because it means that anyone, for very little money, can learn anything." He is completely right. I love reading books which is why in my goals I have at least 26 books to read plus half the Bible! I have finished reading 5 christian books and want to share with you the good and the bad.

Goal 26. Planning retreat each week

Two very exciting things have happened in my life recently! I got a new job at a much larger general hospital in Edmonton, rather than a long-term care centre and have started courses to complete my degree! So needless to say I have been rather busy lately, and I have decided that my blog is going to be updated bi-weekly for the time being. I am very excited... but my first course is Stats! Scary!

While getting organized for school I realized I needed a better planner to organize my time and keep track of assignments. So I put together a quick Summer planner for myself which I am sharing with you here. 

Goal 56. Save $1000 Emergency Fund

Hi everyone who reads my post! Does it make you sad to be losing the penny? Today we are going to talk about a subject that can get really emotional, really fast..... money.

But! This post is meant to encourage. It really encourages me. Here is the basic set-up. In the past two years while living below the poverty line (which is actually cool because then you get free money from the government! Yay free money!) Prince Charming and I have been able to save up our $1000 emergency fund and last year saved $9,000 for school.

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Goal 49. Simplify Meal Plan / Groceries

Last night at my small group I posed this question, "I just don't understand how one can go to the grocery store without having a meal plan. When I try that I leave the store with tons of food and nothing to eat!" All the girls agreed and most of the men did too! This of course sparked a little conversation between all of us, but then the men went on to talk about sports. The girls of course kept talking!

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For me the benefits of meal planning are first of all time. I hate it when I get home from the store and don't have enough food to get through the week. This means that I actually plan all of our meals and snacks when considering my menu. The second goal is budget. I am still not great at this part, but I am sure I would be in a much, much worse position if I didn't plan. And the third goal is health. We are much less likely to go out to eat and aren't continually eating junk food snacks when we have easy, healthy, tasty food at home. For us now eating out is purely emotional, as in, we tend to eat out more if we are feeling down, sick or just "hard-done-by". We also eat out if we are feeling celebratory. So we still have a ways to go, but I want to share how I organize the part I am good at. :)