New Year's Resolutions - One Week In

So, it's been a week since the new year began. Have you followed up on your resolutions? Don't answer that.

My word for 2014 is "faithfulness," and I've begun working on the different areas that I know I need to be more faithful in. I know I'm not going to reach perfection overnight, but as long as I am striving to work toward these goals I'm ok with that.

Faithfulness in our finances. Since going back to using only cash a few weeks ago I've found that it's much easier to keep within our budget, especially when it comes to our grocery budget. I also decided to take out my whole monthly grocery budget at the beginning of the month, which enables me to spend a little extra some weeks when I see some good deals, but still be aware of how much I have left to spend for the rest of the month.

Faithfulness in living a healthy lifestyle. I committed to trying to exercise on a more regular basis, especially during my overnight shifts because it helps me stay awake—not to mention that it's just plain good for me. I also bought lots of fruits and veggies this past week and have found that if I am purposeful in using them in my cooking we eat a lot more of them every day.

Faithfulness in my spiritual life. I've been making it a point to spend time in the Bible each day. I was also able to download Beth Moore's "Believing Day by Day" to read, and I've been making a point to listen to Christian radio and/or sermons when I'm doing housework.

Faithfulness in being good stewards of the homestead God has blessed us with. Not a whole lot has been done on that front, but we did spend Saturday putting away Christmas decorations, cleaning the house, shoveling the driveway, and draining the never-ending pool of water in our basement.

Faithfulness in being the wife my husband needs me to be. This week I tried to put some extra effort into picking up the house, doing the laundry, and making good meals. It's hard when I'm gone for three days straight each week, and I want my husband to eat healthy, so making sure he's cared for in that way is important to me (see amazing dinner at right). I think he appreciated my extra efforts on the home front, and that even though I kept pretty busy we still got to enjoy some quality time together ;-)

Overall it's been a good start to the new year, and hopefully by keeping my goals in the front of my mind and letting you all know how I am doing I will continue to be faithful in all I want to accomplish this year.

Keep pinchin' :-)