Intentional Life Project (June Linkup)

Message from Ginny:  Well, my friends. This is a bittersweet moment. Back in January I had a (seemingly) brilliant idea to create the Intentional Life Project. I was joined by the amazing Bre (see her new blog here!) and it took off running! And, that's it. It never picked up traction and never got off the ground. We have had a few faithful followers - and I am so thankful for them! But, I am sad to say the project is coming to an end. This is the last month - so please link up as a final farewell!

June's Intentional Life Project topic was time with your loved one/spouse.  My goal was to spend some quality time with my husband three nights a week.  I know this might not sound like a lot, but we are really busy in the summer, so we don't spend as much quality time together.  Kevin plays softball two nights a week on a men's team and we play together on a co-ed team once a week, so those nights are full of softball and hanging out with friends.  We usually have something going on almost every weekend in the summer, so a lot of our weekends are shot as far as quality time together.  We know that summer is busy and we both have fun and we enjoy time spent with friends and family, but sometimes it's good to have time to hang out with just the two of us.

We didn't do as good with this goal this month as I would have liked, but the next month or two looks a little better...it's not quite as busy.  And Sunday is our one year anniversary, so we have a whole day planned of quality time with each other :)

The Intentional Life Project is a community where we can hold each other accountable for our personal goals – whether they are small or super life-changing. We want this to be an easy, feasible, way for each of you to tackle those goals that mean the most to you.

THE HOSTS

Ginny // Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

Bre // Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

 

OUR JUNE CO-HOST

Ericka // Blog // Twitter // Instagram

LINK UP YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT GOAL FOR JUNE

1. Follow your hosts and co-hosts and enjoy reading about their monthly goals!
2. Read a few fellow link-ups and comment on their blogs. After all, the goal is to cheer your friends on!
3. Please link up your goal status, inspiration, tips, or progress! If you want, include a photo of your goal tracker! Please link up your exact post url - not your blog's homepage, unrelated projects, or giveaways. They will be deleted.
4. Share! Let your friends know that you want them to join in!

Intentional Life Project (May Link Up)

Hope you all had a great weekend!  I worked on Saturday, then we had a graduation open house that we went to on Saturday night.  Sunday was spent doing stuff in the yard and around the house.

On Friday I shared how I did with May's Intentional Life Project.  You can read that post HERE.  Today is the actual link up, so be sure to link up below!  I'm co-hosting for June, so make sure you read below to see what June's goal is and be ready to link up with us on June 27.  One lucky person who links up each month will win a prize, so be sure to link up your post :)

The Intentional Life Project is a community where we can hold each other accountable for our personal goals – whether they are small or super life-changing. We want this to be an easy, feasible, way for each of you to tackle those goals that mean the most to you. The project revolves around our printable Goal Tracker - which you use to track your own goal every month. The only requirement is that you link up your goal tracker with us on the LAST FRIDAY of every month! This qualifies you to win that month's prize. Information about the project and a downloadable goal tracker can be found here. If you want to get Intentional Life Project reminders by email - sign up here! We also have an exclusive Google Plus community - for anyone participating in the Intentional Life Project. Email Ginny to be invited. If you would like to co-host for a complete month, please email Bre at: peacoatsnplaid{at}gmail{dot}com.

THE HOSTS

Ginny // Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

Bre // Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

 

OUR MAY CO-HOST

 
Jenn // Blog // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram  

Participate in June!

Join us for June theme of "Time with your loved one or spouse." Our May Co-Host is Ericka from This Crazy Thing Called Life. Your goal can be anything that gives you more time with the people you love!  (Ideas include spending quality time with your spouse, having dates with your children, calling your mother every day, etc.).  Print off the goal tracker, track every day you work on your goal, and link up with us on June 27!

LINK UP YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT GOAL FOR MAY

1. Follow your hosts and co-hosts and enjoy reading about their monthly goals!
2. Read a few fellow link-ups and comment on their blogs. After all, the goal is to cheer your friends on!
3. Please link up your goal status, inspiration, tips, or progress! If you want, include a photo of your goal tracker! Please link up your exact post url - not your blog's homepage, unrelated projects, or giveaways. They will be deleted.
4. Share! Let your friends know that you want them to join in!

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Intentional Life Project: Improving the Mind & Soul

I have been horrible at this month's goal for the Intentional Life Project.  Seriously, horrible.  My goal this month for improving the mind and soul was to read for 20+ minutes a day.  I did it twice this month.  That's it.  I love to read, so I don't know what my excuse is.  I usually read before bed, but this spring/summer has been busy and when I go to bed, I'm too tired to read.

I'm hoping that now that it has started warming up, I can spend some time sitting out on the deck reading in the sun.  And hopefully at the beach a few times this summer too.  I love reading and I have so many books on my "to read" list that I really want to get to.

Be sure to link up your Intentional Life Project post with Bre and Ginny and be eligible to win a prize!  I'm co-hosting next month for "time with your loved one/spouse" so make sure you remember to link up so you can win :)

My goal for June is to have QUALITY alone time with my husband at least three nights per week.  We are busy in the summer, which is good and fun, but it's nice to have a little bit of time together just the two of us too.  We love to go on walks with the dog after work and it's a great way for us to talk about our day and have great conversations.  So whether it's going on a walk, eating dinner outside together on the deck, or going on a date, I want to make sure to create that good quality time even during the craziness of summer.



Do you like to read?  What are some of your favorite books?  What's on your summer reading list?

Intentional Life Project Info/Details

I've been participating in the Intentional Life Project for the past few months now and many of you have commented on my posts saying you would like to participate or use the handy goal tracker.  So, today I wanted to share the details of how you can participate and even win a prize!  

You can find all of the details and download the goal tracker HERE.

Each month, the link up is on the last Friday of the month with Ginny, Bre, and a different co-host each month (I'm the co-host for June).  Each month there is a prize that will be randomly awarded to someone who links up.  It's super easy.  Just track your goals, post about it, and link up!  The schedule for the topics/goals for each month and the linkup date are listed below.

I hope to be reading some of your posts about improving the mind and soul on May 30!

My goal is going to be to read more.  I love reading, but haven't been doing much of it lately, so I want to get back in to it.  Every day that I read, whether its 20 minutes or 2 hours, I'm marking it on my goal tracker.  What are you goals for this month?

Intentional Life Project: Time Management

Linking up today with Bre and Ginny.

You can read part one of this month's Intentional Life Project HERE.

My goal for the Time Management challenge was to get up 20-30 minutes early each morning.  I'm much more motivated in the mornings than I am when I get home at night, so I wanted to get up a little earlier to get things done.  Put away laundry, load/unload the dishwasher, workout, etc.

I've been doing ok with this...I wish I was a little more consistent, but I'm getting there.  Yesterday was actually the first day I got up early enough to work out before work and it was great.  I felt so good knowing that I had already accomplished a decent workout before 7:00 am!

I hope to continue getting up early, especially to work out.  I'd like to be able to do a 20-30 minute strength/toning work out in the morning before work, and then go for a walk or a run after work.  Even if I just get up early enough to do something quick, like organize the mess on the kitchen counter, or unload the dishwasher, I feel like I've accomplished something.

I'm happy with what I've done with this month's Intentional Life Project and plan to continue implementing it in to my daily routine.  Be sure to check out visit Bre and Ginny and link up your Intentional Life Project post!

Intentional Life Project: Time Management

Linking up today with Bre and Ginny.

April's "theme" for the Intentional Life Project is Time Management (you can read all about the Intentional Life Project HERE).  Who couldn't use a little work on their time management skills?  I know I need it!  I decided that I wanted to wake up about 20-30 minutes earlier every morning to get some small tasks done.  I find that I'm more productive and motivated in the mornings before work, than I am when I get home from work.  I figured I could handle getting up a little earlier, and I would like coming home knowing I don't have things waiting for me to do.

So far I've been doing just "ok" with this, but I'm hoping to get better.  I love getting things done in the morning, such as emptying/re-loading the dishwasher, putting away laundry, cleaning off the papers that have piled up on the kitchen counter, and yesterday I even ran the vacuum through the house real quick!

When I get home from work, I'm usually ready to do a quick workout (sometimes), make dinner, and then relax for the night, so getting this little things done in the morning has really been nice for me.  As usual, I'm loving what the Intentional Life Project is doing for me.  It's making me be INTENTIONAL (see what I did there?) about little things in my life that can make a big impact.  If you haven't participated in this series, you should definitely check it out and link up...it's not too late!

Do you have any tips for improving time management?  Any great time saving ideas??

Intentional Life Project: Improving the Budget

Linking up again today with Bre and Ginny.

I've been doing pretty good at this month's Intentional Life Project: improving the budget (read this month's first post HERE).  My goal was to limit myself to one specialty coffee per week (instead of the 2-4 I was buying).  So far, so good!  We are actually in Cincinnati right now visiting my brother-in-law and his wife, so we'll see how I do during the weekend.  I think I tend to splurge more when we are away from home.

Wednesday was 99 cent drink day at Biggby, so I had to make a stop and get one (did anyone else take advantage of that great deal??).  Here is what this month's chart looks like so far:

Each "X" is a day where I did NOT purchase a specialty coffee. So, there have only been four days so far this month that I have purchased one.  Which basically means that should be it for the month if I'm sticking to one per week. I'm going to try to stay strong :)

I'm loving the way that this project is making me think about different aspects of my life and be "intentional" in them.  I'm already looking forward to finding out next month's topic!  It's not too late for you to join the Intentional Life Project either.  Just head over to Bre or Ginny's blog to get all the details and link up!

What are some simple things you do to help improve your budget?  Do you love specialty coffees/drinks as much as I do?  :)

The Intentional Life Project: Improving the Budget

Last month was the first time I participated in The Intentional Life Project and I'm excited to continue participating.  You can read my posts about last month HERE and HERE.  The theme this month is improving the budget.  I'm linking up with Bre and Ginny today to tell you my plans for this month.

Overall, I think my husband and I do a pretty good job with our "budget" and managing our money.  However, we are always up for finding ways to save more money and improve our budgeting skills...you know, to save for that fancy car I want :)  So I decided for this month's "improving the budget" theme, I would try to save money on something that is pretty frivolous (in my opinion).

I find myself getting "specialty" coffees from McDonald's, Biggby, or Starbucks 2-4 times a week.  I pretty much drive past McDonald's and Biggby on my way to work every morning, and the grocery store I go to has a Starbucks in it.  These drinks can cost anywhere from $3-$5 each time.  So if I got a $4 coffee three times a week, that's $12 a week, and $48 a month on coffee!  That's probably a good average of what I spend.  I'd rather put that (roughly) $50 a month towards our savings account, so I decided I'm only allowing myself ONE specialty coffee drink per week.

Getting a Starbucks coffee is my favorite way to get through a grocery shopping trip!

I do love that little extra "treat" once in a while, so I thought once a week would be a good way to curb my little coffee addiction and save a little cash in the process.  I have a Keurig at home and we have coffee at work, so there is really no reason for me to stop and get coffee on my way to work anyway.

I know this is a small way to improve our budget, but I think it's an easy one, and hopefully it will help me recognize other small areas I can improve as well.

What are some of your ideas for improving the budget??

The Intentional Project

A couple of weeks ago I talked about The Intentional Life Project (first post here) that Bre and Ginny started.  The "theme" for this month was health related and my goal was to drink two home made smoothies and/or juices per week.

So far I've been meeting my goal and I'm proud of myself for keeping up with it.  I've only made one juice recipe so far and I didn't really like it that much.  I think the vegetable taste was too strong for me.  I have a few other recipes I want to try though, so hopefully I'll make another one this weekend.

recipe found here

Even though my juice recipe wasn't a hit, I am LOVING the green smoothies I've been making.  I love making them for breakfast.  My favorite combination is a handful of spinach, small scoop of vanilla whey protein powder, 1 banana, a few strawberries, handful of blueberries, about 1/4 cup of almond milk, and a big scoop of ice.  That's what I usually make because that's just what I have at home.  I've found some different recipes that I want to try to change it up a little bit.

I love the idea of The Intentional Life Project and can't wait to see what next month's theme is!