New Year's Thoughts

I've had a busy beginning to my year so I'm just now putting down a few New Year's thoughts.

First off... I had a marvelous first Christmas being married to Brian. We celebrated on Christmas Eve with his side of the family then Christmas morning we were able to spend together before headed out to my side of the family in the evening to celebrate with them. Being able to spend the morning together was really special. We made breakfast together and then opened presents and stockings. Then we enjoyed a movie together. I'm sure next Christmas will look different with a baby but I'm excited for the change, though of course a little terrified.

Which brings me to the new year. We only have three months before we'll be welcoming our little girl  into our lives. It's feeling more and more real every day as I feel her moving inside me. Our nursery is pretty much set up and ready to go. Most of my thoughts are on what's to come with her as I think of freezer meals, packing bags for the hospital and all of that jazz. It's hard to focus on much else and when I do I get behind on everything I need to do to prepare! It's craziness!

I'm still finding time to read here and there, which is essential as I press towards my goal to complete my Classics Club challenge this year. I have 38 books left on my list... three of which I'm currently reading. I'll probably skip a couple on there though to be honest.... I made a list of 103 with the idea that I would only read 100. I just make my own rules up like that. I know it's going to be hard to find time to read with a baby but I'm going to try to make it happen and if it doesn't I'll have to accept that.    I also want to be able to get other books in my reading schedule besides the classics of course or else I'm sure I'll get burned out quickly. Probably a little non-fiction and some fun lighter fiction will be mixed in there too. My Goodreads goal I put for this year was 50 books. I think that's doable. I hope!

Overall I'm thrilled for the new year and the changes it's going to bring. I'm just praying I can meet them with patience and grace. Do you have any New Year's resolutions?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Bout of Books: New Years Resolutions Challenge

The Book That is hosting a challenge for Bout of Books and I'm going to join in! Basically I'm listing books that represent my resolutions for the new year. :)

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee represents the 50+ books I plan to re-read this year. I've been wanting to re-read this one for a long time. :)
• Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens represents the 20+ classics I will be reading this year. 
• The Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wecker represents the more modern books I hope to read this year. 
• Horse of a Different Color by Ralph Moody represents the Little Britches series that I hope to finish at long last this year. 
• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier represents my TBR pile list. I've had this one on there for a long time and I'm looking forward to knocking it off. :)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Monthly Resolutions- April 2013 (Link Up!)

Last month was my highest blog views all time! I'm hoping this month to top that!
Again this month I'm doing a link up for monthly resolutions and I'm inviting you to join me. This is just a fun way to make some goals for the month... which are far less daunting then resolutions for a year. At the end of the month we'll link back up with a "report card". :) You can have as many or as few resolutions as you like. So here are my resolutions for the month.

Read or re-read five books

Conceivably I could get away with less since I overdid it last month but I'd rather just stick with my pattern of five a month and we'll see how it goes since this will be a busy month for school. 

Memorize Psalm 31:7-8

And finish up memorizing verses 5-6 that I slacked off on last month.

Pray Daily

Do one crochet project

As I mentioned in my report card for March... I'm making crochet items to sell to help raise money for my mission trip this summer to Puerto Rico. So I envision myself making a lot more than just one crochet project this month! If you're interested in purchasing something from me contact me I'd be happy to do it. I'd say my prices are reasonable. ;) 

Read a Psalm a day

At least THREE blog posts per week

I upped my goal since I really overdid it last month. I suspect I'll overdo it again this month but I'd rather be on the safe side. :)

Study, study, study!

I have an a math exam, a unit exam and my pharmacology exam this month. So much to study for and so little time (or at least that's how it feels to me). 

(Idea borrowed from Kelli at She Learns as She Goes)
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Monthly Resolutions- March 2014

This month I've made a momentous decision. Let me explain.
I first started doing these monthly resolutions and report card posts to link up with Kelli from She Learns as She Goes. When she stopped doing them, I just kept on going because I found they kept me more accountable. This month, I've decided to host the link up. I am in no way trying to replace what Kelli did just trying to carry it on until she may or may not decide to start it up again (which I would love it if she did!). :) So be sure to make your own post with monthly resolutions and link up below and at the end of the month I'll have a Report Card link up so we can all see how we did on our resolutions. It's all just fun so no real pressure. Enjoy! :)

Read or re-read five books

I fell behind one book last month but I'll pick that one up this summer instead of trying to layer that one on right now while I'm in the midst of school. Hopefully this month I'll finish up listening to the audiobook of The Warden, finish reading the ebook of The War of the Worlds, finally start The Children of Húrin and get some other fun reading in. :)

Memorize Psalm 31:5-6

To go along with my year's resolution of memorizing Psalm 31

Pray Daily

It has become far more of a habit now, which is great, but that doesn't mean I get to slack off now! Quite the opposite!

Do one Crochet project

Hopefully I can slip this in somewhere. When I got a new coat last month I bought some yarn to make a hat and scarf to match but I never got around to making them... maybe that should be my next project.

Read a Psalm a day

I realized a little late that I forgot to include that in my resolutions last month but I still did it. This month I plan to continue on with that. 

At least two blog posts per week

I know I overdid it last month and I'll probably over do it again this month but better safe then sorry.

No Netflix

A new goal this month. I've been using my brother's account and he's discontinuing it anyways so there shouldn't be anything too hard about that. However, my sister and I are probably going to start up our own and go fifty-fifty on it so I'll still have to resist. I feel I could be better spending my time reading or studying. 

Study, study study!

I've got to be a more diligent student. This semester of nursing school is a killer and I am going to have to work as hard as I can to pass it. It is traditionally the hardest semester and it is not uncommon for people to fail it. I really don't want to do that. So study! :)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

2014 Goals: February Update

Today I'm linking up with Mama Kat for one of her blog prompts. Today it is an update on my 2014 goals. :)

Read or Re-read sixty books

I've got nine books done so far so on track right now. However, I need to hurry up and finish a book before the end of the month or else I'll get behind. 

Memorize Psalm 31

I'm keeping on track with this really well actually. I have the first four verses memorized which is in line with my two verses per month goal. 

Keep up with my Spanish

Not really at all. However, I'm planning on going to Costa Rica for my church's mission trip this coming summer so I'd better do something about that. :)

Pray Daily

Yep! This last month I haven't been as good about actually praying but I read a puritan prayer every evening before bed so I count that. :)

Do One Crochet Project per Month

I did plenty last month but now I'm thinking about this month and I don't think I've done any. Oops... I'll get onto that!

Write!!!

A little, not much... but that's what I expected. :) However, that's more then last semester.

Lose the weight

I don't even want to talk about it. I've been having a lot of trouble with this one. Life has been crazy and that means I eat crazy. I'm trying to stabilize that some though but it's not easy. You can pray for me with that. 

So over all I"m doing pretty well with a couple goals that I need to put more work into. I have the year ahead of me though so hopefully I can do just that. :) 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Monthly Resolutions- February 2014

January went by really fast but also really slow. However, it's now February which means school starts really picking up! Fun!

Read or Re-Read Five Books

Last month I listed which books I wanted to read that month and we know how that turned out. So.... what I'm hoping to read/re-read this month is Ender's Shadow, Mary Poppins in the Park, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Wind in the Willows, and The Children of Hurin. I also started listening to The Warden last evening via audiobook but I'm thinking that will take longer than a month to listen to. We'll see how it goes! :)

Memorize Scripture

Next up are verses 3-4 of Psalm 31. Hopefully these will be as easy as the last two verses. :) 

Pray Daily

Same as last month.

Do one crochet project

I doubt I'll have the time this month to go overboard and crochet fifty hats... okay it wasn't fifty, but it was a lot! 

At least two blog posts per week

Sometimes I do more, sometimes I do none, but I'll at least try for two blog posts per week. :)

This month will be quite busy enough so I'm not getting fancy with my goals. My clinicals for nursing school start up in a little over a week. I'm very excited for this semester of Pedes and OB. :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Resolutions- January 2014

All the books I want to read this month.

A new month and a new year! I would have posted this yesterday but I already posted two blog posts yesterday so I figured you were blogged out. I'm just a little excited for a new year and I can't wait to see what happens!

Read or Re-Read Five Books

I've got this little stack of books I'm supposed to be reading that I haven't. Hopefully I can get them done this month. They including reading JRR Tolkien's The Children of Húrin, Frank Herbert's Dune, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, and re-reading Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows and Johann Wiss's The Swiss Family Robinson. So since I know what books I should read this month will help me actually get them done… right? 

Memorize Scripture

I'm planning on memorizing the first two verses of Psalm 31 to go alone with my year goal of memorizing the whole psalm. 

Pray daily

I downloaded a prayer journal app as well as an app that sends me reminders to pray for people. Since I use my phone a lot, I'm hoping that helps. 

Do One Crochet Project

My goal for the year is to do one crochet project every month so this is in line with that. 

Read a Psalm a day

Reading one chapter of the bible every evening works best for me. I'll be starting with Psalm 1 and reading through. After I'm done with the Psalms I don't know what I'll do but that's a long ways away so I really don't have to worry about that now. :)

At least two blog posts per week

I'm trying to keep up with my blog more so hopefully I can give y'all some fun posts this month! 

Thanks for checking my resolutions out and I look forward to seeing how I do this month! 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

2014 New Year's Resolutions

I've never been a goals and resolutions kind of a person and I have never up to this point made any New Year's resolutions. However, after a little over a year of doing monthly resolutions, I think it's time. I tried to make these kind of general and they reflect my monthly resolutions…. I'm a creature of habit.

Read or Re-Read 60 Books

Last year my goal was 50 and I want to up it this year.  Not by much obviously but let me tell you my logic here. Sixty is divisible by twelve, so that gives me a goal of five books a month. Also, sixty is a nice even number, unlike certain numbers divisible by twelve. A little math logic for everyone to start their year off. ;)

Memorize Psalm 31

There's twenty-four verses so I'll split it up into two verses every month to make it more manageable. 

Keep up with my Spanish

I've become incredibly lax with retaining what I learned and I really want to keep that knowledge! 

Pray Daily

Prayer is something I feel I really lack. I'm hoping to keep some sort of prayer journal or something to keep me on the ball about this. 

Do 1 Crochet Project Per Month

I didn't crochet much last year but his year I'm hoping to make a few things that have been on my "want to make" list for awhile. 

Write

Just write…. I pretty much had to give up writing last semester because I was so busy with school I couldn't justify spending my time on writing. This year hopefully I can budget in some writing time.

Lose the weight

I lost about ten pounds last year but then plateaued and then halfway gave up and now I'm back at it! This year I want to lose those last pounds and get to my goal weight.

My overall goal for the year really is to be more organized and diligent in what I do and in what I do, I want to do all to the glory of God.

Happy New Year!

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Resolutions- December 2013

There was a reason that I always put the year with the month on the titles of these posts, because I know that there would come a month when I realized that I had been doing this for a WHOLE YEAR! Yes indeed, I've been making monthly resolutions for a year now and I have loved every minute of it! It has kept me far more accountable and has set me up for hopefully making some yearly goals in the future. So here are my resolutions this month.

Read or Re-Read at least 10 Books

I just need ten more books to complete my year's goal of 50 books. With just a couple of more weeks left of school that will leave me plenty of time to read (as long as I don't do a marathon of Doctor Who). ;) 

Read Proverbs

With 31 chapters, that doesn't give me much leeway in my normal read one chapter an evening schedule. I think this will be a really great book for me to re-read and hopefully garner some new wisdom from.

MEMORIZE PSALM 31

Once I'm done with the school semester then I might actually have the time and brain space to do this. 

Pray Daily

I need to stop making excuses and start doing this. This shouldn't be so difficult. 

TWO blog posts per week

Shaking it up! I'm going to be giving you two blog posts per week. So more witticisms, more recipes, and more ME!!!! ;) 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Resolutions- November 2013

I have two tests this month! One this coming Monday and one right after Thanksgiving (if ever I am a teacher I will NEVER do that to my students). Prayers appreciated! :)
So resolutions!

Read the Johns, Jude, and Revelation

Read or Re-Read at least 10 books

Why so many? Well way back in the day (otherwise known as the beginning of the year) I made a goal on Goodreads to read 50 books… I have currently read only thirty so if I want to complete that goal I need to read twenty more books… ten this month and ten next month. It's really just a simple matter of mathematics. ;) The math may be simple but me reading that many books with this busy of a schedule isn't so simple. However, that's what I'm going to have to do so bring it on!

For fun, I made a deal with two of my little siblings this evening. They each picked me out a book to read and I picked them each out a book to read and we have until next Saturday at midnight to complete them. It really just started out as a ploy to get my sister to read a harder book but it turned out giving me two books I have to finish by the end of next week. Not hard books, but still. To make sure we actually get it done, if you don't finish your books, you give the other person a pack of gum (we're kind of gumaholics in our family so gum is our currency of choice). 

Write a blog post per week

Pray Daily

Failed last month but doing it this month. I remember last November and I've seen it popping up this November too people were daily posting things they were thankful for on Facebook. I want to incorporate that into my prayer time as well… taking the time to thank God for all he has given me. 

Study

Two tests… I've got to study. :)

Memorize some scripture

I'm thinking Psalm 31 but I'm also thinking that there is no way I'll get the whole of that memorized in a month… so my goal is at least to get started on it… a few verses or something. 

No free time this month!
Linking up with Keli at She Learns as She Goes. 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Resolutions- October 2013

October brings pumpkins, apples, and harvest! For a lot of people Halloween is the main attraction of the month but in my family we always celebrate October 31st as Reformation Day and we'll have a campfire, roast hot dogs and s'mores, and read the story of Martin Luther.  A new month also brings new goals... so here are my October resolutions!

Read through Philemon, Hebrews, James, and 1&2 Peter 

I'm really enjoying reading through the New Testament. I actually started doing it on my phone's ESV bible app instead of reading from my bible. That only started because I accidentally left my bible at my parent's house so all I had was my phone and then I really liked that because I could put notes on verses and favorite verses and it would save it all. I really don't like marking up my real bible. 

Read or Re-Read at least three books

That seemed to be a good number for me last month. I feel like I have a pretty good rhythm of reading right now. I normally read my Tolkien while I eat lunch... just a chapter maybe more depending on how much time I have. Then in the evening or if I have free time (haha) I'll read my other book, which is more leisurely reading. Normally I don't have two books going at the same time but I'm making it work right now. Also, for fun and to keep me motivated, my younger brother and I are doing a challenge for the month of October to see who can read the most pages. I would do books but that's not always fair. We'll see how it works out. He has a lot more time to read than I do but I read a lot faster than I do so maybe it will all even out. :)

Write a blog post per week

I felt like this goal was really good for me last month as it kept me on a schedule. So I'm continuing it this month and hoping for good results.

Pray Daily

My list of things to do when I am bored of studying.
Hoping they'll make me think twice about pausing my studying
as well as keep me focused on still doing
something beneficial if I'm not studying. 

I really want to get to the point with my praying where I don't have to make a goal of it... I just do it. As I mentioned in my September report card I am also attending a weekly prayer group where we pray for about an hour which I have really enjoyed. 

STUDY!!!

Self explanatory. I have no elaborate goals for how many hours I should study every day or week this time. Let's just say... a lot. I didn't do so well on my last test so I really need to delve in a lot deeper in the future. 

Stay more organized

Last month I become more organized this month I need to keep that up and stay more organized. I need to put it on the calendar, set a reminder if necessary, put it on my to do list, put it on my grocery list. Whatever it takes.

Keep up with my Spanish

Since I am not taking any Spanish classes this semester... and maybe never again, I want to try and keep up with my Spanish myself to the best of my ability. My newest endeavor to do this is getting Spanish devotionals through Bible Gateway. I am forcing myself to translate those and I think it is actually helping. :) On a side note, I just recently signed up to get daily devotionals from Bible Gateway and I really like them! I would highly encourage you to get the Charles Spurgeon one and the C.S. Lewis one. Those are my favorites. :)

So those are my goals for this month... what are yours?

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Report Card- September 2013

It has been a busy September with nursing school. I used to think I had no life... now I KNOW I have no life.

Read through 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, and Titus

I actually was able to get through them a week before I needed to. Obviously my counting skills need some work as I thought the number of chapters was going to end up perfectly with the number of days in the month.

Read or Re-Read at least three books

I read The History of the Lord of the Rings: The Treason of Isengard,  The Book Thief, and The HIstory of the Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring. I'm also currently reading Wives and Daughters. 

Write a blog post per week

I did it... twice a couple weeks! It came to a total of seven blog posts not including my resolutions posts! :) I actually have felt really good about my blogging this month. I know I mostly gave y'all recipes but I don't think that is anything to complain about.

Pray Daily

I did better about that then last month but I still didn't quite make it daily. I started attending a prayer group at my church weekly which I have really enjoyed. We pray for about an hour. This has really put me in a great mindset about prayer. 

STUDY!!!

Working on my calendar/planner while drinking some tea.
I'm in the tea mood right now. :)

I did alright. I know I didn't get fours in every day for sure. However, I think I got enough studying in... though I know I could have gotten in more and would have benefitted from it. 

Become more organized

Well my whole daily word document diary fell through after about a week but I have become a lot more organized now. I've been sure to put things on my calendar and set reminders on my phone/computer as well. All in all I think it was a success. I even went ahead and put my schedule for Worshipers in Training (my church's storytime) into my calendar and set reminders so I wouldn't get taken unaware. Now that my schedule is all organized I guess it's time to work on my room.... :(

So there's my month. Not too bad but definitely room for improvement! I'll be back later today with my October resolutions. :)

DON'T FORGET TO LIKE THE BLOG ON FACEBOOK!!!! :) 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Resolutions- September 2013

I made it simple last month and I am going to make it simple again this month.

Read through 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, and Titus

I look at that and notice that they all begin with T... because I always notice the important details first. ;)

Read or Re-Read at least three books

That seems like such a minuscule amount as compared to what I normally will read per month but with school I don't want to overwhelm myself. 

Write a blog post per week

I'm going to try to keep up with my blog a little more. I hope this won't drag me away from my studying. 

Pray daily

Same as last month. I want to make a daily habit of praying.

STUDY!!!

This nursing school thing is hard and time consuming. I want my goal to be that I study for AT LEAST four hours daily (except Sunday). If it is the day after the test or something like that I'll take it down to two hours. I want a total of at least 24 hours studying time per week. I've just got to dedicate myself and keep at it. 

Become more organized

I've made a lot of progress with this. Last year I forced myself to keep some sort of a calendar to keep track of when school things were due. Now that I have an iPhone I set reminders and make to do lists. What I have the most trouble with though is keeping track of things outside of school. I have a confession to make, I missed a doctor's appointment... because I forgot to put it on my calendar! I felt really dumb and I'm resolved never to do such a thing anymore. In the past I have always relied on my mom but with being at school so much I don't really communicate with her a lot. And, as she has told me many times, she can't keep track of everything that all nine of us are doing. I just need to take a little responsibility for my own time. I have come up with a plan to keep a daily word document diary and then a weekly word document diary. This was roundaboutly inspired by Hayley at Victorious Heroine. We'll see how it goes. 

So all the same goals with one new one. I really think that since doing these monthly resolutions that I have done a much better job of getting things done and trying new things. So even if you aren't much of a goal maker, you might want to try this... maybe just do weekly goals and see how that works out. 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Report Card- August 2013

The end of August has come and here's how my resolutions went.

Do the thirty day shred- B

I am still currently doing it but due to some unforeseen circumstances I missed three days so I wasn't able to finish it this month but I'll be done in just a couple more days! It has definitely challenged me a lot. I think that once I'm done with it I'll keep doing level one every other day or something just to keep the muscle I built up. 

Stick to my diet- B

I have done pretty well. Again, due to the same unforeseen circumstances, I had about three or four days straight where I cheated but besides that I've done well. 

Read Galations, Ephesians, Phillipians and Colossians- A

Achieved! I appreciated only having sixteen chapters to read, which made it far more relaxed for me.

Read or re-read at least three books- A

I finished Dragonhaven (which I can't exactly recommend... it was okay but had some problems). I also read The Return of the Shadow and Psmith Journalist, which I do recommend. :)

Write at least three more blog posts this month- A

Yes I did it! I wrote this one about my obsessions, this one that included delicous recipes that you should all try, and this one that was about how my first week of nursing school is going. 

Pray Daily- D

I am working on developing this into a habit. I didn't pray every night but I did pray some nights. There have been many things that have been going on in my life right now that have given me reason to pray but it is good for me to remember that even if everything is going well I should still be praying. 

Start of school well- A

I was planning on being really on top of it and having stuff done ahead of time but unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, that didn't get done. However, despite that I believe I started of pretty well and I am keeping on track of all that I need to do.

Bonus!

I crossed two items off my bucket list.... I learned to swing dance and I learned to waltz. I'm not saying I'm good at swing dancing or waltzing, but I know how to. Proficiency is yet to come. 

Final Grade- B (I'm guesstimating on that but I think I'm right) 

Life has been busy, hectic, and stressful but life goes on. My grandparents did get into the assisted living home they were hoping to so last week we moved them in and so far it is going well. My sister and I ended up moving back into their old house again, this time though because my grandparents want someone living in it and keeping it up. 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Resolutions- August 2013

I'm making this as simple as I can so I won't fail miserably... like last month. Here goes.

Do the thirty day shred

So I hit a plateau in my weight loss and it was recommended to me to try some more intense workout to kickstart losing weight again. So I chose Jillian Michaels thirty day shred. I did my first day of it yesterday and I'm pretty sore right now. I'm not really looking forward to these next twenty nine days.

Stick to my diet

Besides the normal calorie counting I'm also going to try and cut down on processed foods. I really don't eat too many of them already but I'm going to try and cut down on them even more. 

Read through Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians

If I counted the chapters right that should only be sixteen chapters, which isn't much but I'm trying to take it easy this month. 

Read or re-read at least three books this month

Only three. Hopefully I'll do more but I am really just bogged down with so many things that I'd like to lower my goal for this month.

Write at least three more blog posts this month

Just three. I can do that... right?

Pray daily

Self explanatory.

Start of school well

I can't believe that I'm going to be starting nursing school in just a couple weeks!!!! I want to be well prepared, have a cheerful attitude, and start off with a bang. 

I'm trying to make it simple this month with the same goals I normally do but just less intense... except the thirty day shred... that's intense. :(

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Report Card- July 2013

I really didn't want to write this post... because this month was an epic failure. These things do happen... I know... I just wish they didn't happen to me. So here's the bad news.

Read or re-read at least ten books- F

I finished re-reading The Return of the King, read The Phantom of the Opera, and got a good chunk of the way through Dragonhaven. That's it. 

Exercise in some form fifteen minutes six times per week-A

Achieved.

Stick to my diet-A

Trudging along. 

Cut down on electronics time- D

meh

Write at least five more blog posts this month- F

Obviously if you have been reading my blog you will have noticed that I only ever did one other post.

Read through 1 and 2 Corinthians- A

Completed.

Memorize that scripture

Uncompleted.

Try at least three new recipes- A

Yes! I did do that! And it was fun! I made peach pie bars, banana bread, and... and I'm super proud of this one... made my own bagels. All were absolutely delicious. 

Start Praying- B

I've been pretty good about this... but not perfect.

Be patient with what the future brings- D

I'm not a patient person... and I don't take things in stride. :( Update on this... my grandparents have moved in with my family for the present until they are able to get in to an assisted living home.

I really just didn't have a good month as far as resolutions go and in a lot of other ways as well. I did have tons of fun, don't get me wrong, but I was very busy and I'm so tired. VBS was a blast and we just got down with the county fair, which was also fun, but both wore me out a lot. I want another summer... where I get to relax more. I wish. 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Mid-Month Progress Report

Got a nasty shock when I realized I was already PAST halfway through this month. Umm, we are getting a trifling too close to August for my liking. And my resolutions aren't tripping along so well either. :( How are they going... well here's the scoop.

Read or Re-Read/Listen to at least 10 books

So.... hehe, I still haven't finished the Return of the King... got a couple more chapters in but besides that... nada. I have been listening to The Innocence of Father Brown, but really haven't gotten too far into it. And that's it. I fail miserably at life. :(

Exercise in some form at fifteen minutes six days a week

Amazing work for me so far! At least I have one resolution that is alright.

Stick to my diet

I'm doing fine. I actually haven't had a cheat day in over a week, which is doing pretty well for me. :) So I guess I have another goal that hasn't failed... yet.

Cut down on electronics time

Somewhat... but not much. 

Write at least five more blog posts this month

Ummm... no! I only have written one so far. Need to really get on this.

Read through and study 1 and 2 Corinthians

Okay maybe I am doing better than I though because this makes a third I am acing so far. I'm almost done with 1 Corinthians and then I'll start 2 Corinthians... Completely on schedule! :)

Memorize that Scripture

Well... no! I was going to memorize the scripture the children had to learn for VBS but I didn't. I'm kind of getting it jammed in my head now that I am in the middle of VBS week but that is through no effort on my part.

Try at least three new recipes

I tried way more than three new recipes! I had family in town over the 4th of July and my cousin and I made the desserts for our meals. I am going to post a blog post some time in the hopefully near future including all of the very delicious recipes we made. I also have recently tried out a peanut butter coffee cake that was scrumptious and some peanut butter chocolate scones that were heavenly! :) Notice peanut butter in both titles and do not be surprised. :)

Start Praying

I have done pretty well on this. I have prayed most evening after I read my bible.

Be patient with what the future brings

Well, I am trying to be patient. For further explanation.... I and my older sister have been living and caring for my grandparents (one of whom has Parkinsons and the other had a major stroke this last January) since the end of April but with my starting up nursing school this fall and my sister going back to school to get her bachelors, we have decided that we cannot do that any longer. At this point though, it was getting too difficult to do anyways. We do not know yet what my grandparents are going to do... we do know they cannot live on their own. Hopefully they can get into a very nice assisted living home but there is also a possibility that they will be staying with my family for a time. Whichever happens I appreciate all prayers. And I need to be patient... really patient.

So that's how my goals are going for this month.

As I mentioned above, I am in the middle of VBS at my church and it has been a blast! The first day was rough the second day far less so and I am thinking by the end of the week I might just have the hang of it. :) 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Resolutions- July 2013

Yeah for July! A very hot and tiring month. I have just come to the realization that after July is August and August means school starts up again... something is wrong here.

Read or Re-read/Listen to at least 10 books

Making allowance for audiobooks this month. So much more I want to get read or listen to. Looking forward to a good month of reading/listening! :)

Exercise in some for at least fifteen minutes six days a week

I have decided to be a little more lax about that goal this month. Technically anyways I should take a break from exercise every once and a while.

Stick to my diet

I'm not giving myself a limit with cheat days this month. I just know that there's going to be a lot going on. I'll try my best to keep it to three cheat days but I'm not making that part of the goal. I do know that I am looking forward to a very delicious 4th of July where I'm not going to really care about what I eat too much. 

Cut down on electronics time

Because I still need to work on that.

Write at least five more blog posts this month

I'm not sure I can do five with all the hecticness of this month but I'll try my best... you can ask no more!

Read through and study 1 and 2 Corinthians

I really enjoyed reading through Romans and when I was done I saw that 1 Corinthians was next. I counted up the chapters in the two books and it's 29 so I'm going for it! 

Memorize that scripture!!!

And I'd better get that done quickly before VBS starts in a couple weeks.

Try at least three new recipes

What a delicious sounding goal... don't you agree? :)

Start Praying

I'm very bad about telling people I'll pray for them... and then forgetting to. So I want to start keeping a little prayer journal. I even found an app for my iPhone. Since I always have my iPhone on hand I can just whip it out when people tell me about something and enter in there so I CAN'T forget... at least that's the plan.

Be Patient with what the future brings

There are probably going to be some changes made in these next couple months that are going to influence me a lot. It hasn't worked out as well as we had hoped with my sister and I living at our grandparents and caring for them. It's a long story but the long and short of it is that despite our best efforts (and I mean best) we can only do so much. So we aren't quite sure yet what is going to happen but something is. So please pray for my family with this transition and that I will have patience. 

In case you are wondering what all busyness I will have going on this month here it is. I have VBS in a couple weeks which I am helping with, the county fair where I will be exhibiting stuff (for the last time... I'll be too old next year) for 4-H, and that is all on top of my normal duties at work and taking care of my grandparents. Then I have a lot of things I need to get done for the nursing program too before I start that up in the fall. Yes I am very busy. Anyone else have a super busy month for July?

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Report Card- June 2013

June has been plenty busy, hectic, stressful, but yet enjoyable. Some of my goals I aced, some I unfortunately didn't. So here's how it went.

Read or Re-Read at least 10 books- A

This was achieved. I got halfway through the month and wasn't so sure I could do it but I did. However, let me be honest, about half of them are audiobooks. This was not something I planned for but I think it is only fair to count them. I ended up having more times where I could listen to an audiobook and not always time to actually read. So I read/listened to The Watsons, Sandition, Ultimate Proof of Creation, The Black Arrow (Half audiobook half read), The Taming of the Shrew (audiobook), and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I re-read/listened to The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, Much Ado about Nothing (audiobook), and Pride and Prejudice. I also started re-reading and am about half way through The Return of the King, and I started listening to The Innocence of Father Brown. 

Exercise in some form at least fifteen minutes a day-A

I faithfully did it every day except one but to be fair, I spent pretty much the whole day being active helping out at a day camp so I think we can let that one pass.

Stick to my diet- A

It was hard, but I only had three cheat days. 

Cut down on my electronics time- C

I tried to make a conscious effort to do it and it helped some but I still need to work on it. 

Write at least five more blog posts this month- A

Exactly five. I just wasn't in the blogging swing this month I guess. I really had to work at it to get my five posts in. I had one post full of greek yogurt recipes, another post that included a movie review of Wreck it Ralph, a recipe post for creamy avocado pasta, a post about my new audiobook love, and finally a post all about Jane Austen's books and the various film adaptations. Check them all out!

Read through and study the book of Romans- B

I read through it, but I am not sure I was so good about the studying part. I did read slowly and concentrate on it though. I really enjoyed it. There was so much theology in it that my head was swimming. I strongly encourage everyone to read it. 

Work on my writing- B

I didn't manage to really make any progress. All I really managed to do was write a little on one story, come up with and work on a new story idea, and avoid my actual novel all together. However, I did work on my writing in those lame lazy forms so that counts for something I suppose.

Memorize some scripture- F

No. I do know what I want to memorize, the scripture for the VBS that my church will be doing. However, I didn't actually memorize it. 

Try at least three new recipes- A!!!

I tried a ton of new recipes actually this month. Far too many to list off. Tons of delicious fun! :)

So a month of ups and downs. I'm not really sure of my average... eyeballing it I'd say a B- or C+. 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Resolutions- June 2013

So another month begins and resolutions must be made. I want to try some fun and different ones this month... to change it up a bit. I keep doing the same ones and it becomes too easy. Not to say I am getting a total revamp... but some new ones are required.

Re-occuring Goals... Though all tweaked a little bit

Read or Re-Read at least 10 books

That's right ten! I think I can do it and if I can't shame on me!  I want at least three of these to be theological/non-fiction. Speaking of which, at the homeschool convention this weekend I obtained several new books, which I am super excited about. I am now the proud owner of ALL of Jane Austen's books including, Sandition and The Watsons, which came in the copy of Northanger Abbey I bought. I can't wait to read those as I have always wanted to. I also loaded up on some Dickens, Tolkien, and Agatha Christie. 

Exercise in some form for at least fifteen minutes EVERY day

That's not asking for too much and already that is pretty much what I have been doing so this shouldn't be too hard for me. All I am asking for is fifteen minutes. 

Stick to my diet

I want to have less "cheat days". I have kept with once a week, and I really feel like I should have less then that. I am not trying to entirely restrict myself so sometimes I will indulge but I probably don't need to do that once a week. So I think for part of this goal I will try to limit myself to only three cheat days for the month of June.

Cut down on my electronics time

Computer and iPhone... though it would really be better if I used my computer more than I use my iPhone... if that makes any sense. 

Write at least FIVE more blog posts this month

I'm upping it this month! I have several drafts that I have let rot for far too long. They mostly involve movie reviews that I feel too lazy to think about writing. 

New Goals!!!

Read through and study the book of Romans

Romans is I think the most theologically heavy book in the Bible... though don't quote me on that... please. It seems to have all of those nuggets of truth though that people whip out at opportune moments. It has been awhile since I read it but I would really like to go back through it and spend some time studying it. 

Work on my writing

So I write in spurts... lame little spurts. I have the novel that I have been writing for forever, and the two that I randomly got inspired to write a few paragraphs on last month that I need to work on. I got a book from the library called First Draft in 30 Days, which really is more about writing a really detailed outline in 30 days. Anyways, so far it has been excellent and I want to make that kind of outline for everything I have going right now. That, and do some actual writing... that would be nice too. :)

Memorize some scripture

I memorized scripture back when I went to Sunday School and I more or less remember it. I am pretty good at paraphrasing a verse but definitely not knowing it word for word or where in the bible it comes from. So I really want to work on this. I am not sure quite yet what my plan is. I don't want to be too ambitious and I'll probably be starting small. Hopefully this can be a long term and ongoing goal.

Try at least three new recipes

Sometimes I get on spurts where I just start baking and baking. I love those moments... but my diet doesn't. Anyways, I digress. Though I did make a really good chocolate cake with chocolate peanut butter frosting recently.... recipe coming soon. So I want to find three new recipes and try them out. I have a ton that I have found over the last year or so on the internet that I just put into Evernote and forget about. I need to try them out!!!! What is the use of finding recipes if I never use them? Exactly. 

So old and new and hopefully plenty of fun for this month. I definitely wanted to add the goals about spending more time in God's word because eat the homeschool convention this weekend one speaker said something rather convicting. He was talking about how much time people spend watching TV, which I don't watch TV but I waste plenty of time on other stuff (cough, iPhone, cough) and he said that the average Christian is going to spend more time watching TV (or other stuff in my case) then going to church, Sunday school, spending time in the word of God. That kind of gave me a jolt about what my priorities are. 

If you missed it, I got accepted into the nursing program for my school for this coming Fall semester and I am SUPER excited. It's kind of crazy to think that it is finally going to happen. 

So make sure to check out Kelli's blog, which I am linking up with and have a great month! 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.