Reboot Camp

Image by liftarn via FlickrThere are times in your life when you look at your life and realize a few minor tweaks will make everything better. Then there are times when you need much, much more. I'm in the second time right now. I'm looking around and thinking things could be so much better. I had all these great ideas and plans for the new year. Alas, almost nothing has been done with any of them. At a time like this, minor tweaking isn't going to cut it. You need a complete reboot, hence my new Reboot Camp. It is almost 10 weeks long and runs from Valentine's Day to Easter, one "love" holiday to another, so to speak.

My daughter Spitfire and I are embarking on this plan to make positive changes in our lives over the next ten weeks that will hopefully carry over into the rest of the year. We are each setting our own goals, because we have different things that need fixing. At the bottom of the post, I'll tell you how you can play along.

I'm working on five different areas:

Spiritual
These are the things I'm doing to do to help my spiritual growth.
1. I'm going to attempt to read the bible over the next 10 weeks. This is ambitious considering time constraints and the other reading I have to do, but I'm going to attempt it.
2. I'm going to start a prayer journal. I've been meaning to do this for some time, but instead have been relying on my own overtaxed memory to keep lists of prayer requests and answers to prayer. It's time to write things down.
3. Complete at least one bible study.

Physical
This includes, diet, fitness and physical appearance.
1. Follow a modified version of the No-S Diet. I'm kicking it up a notch by eating healthier foods during the non-S days and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption.
2. Exercise at least four days a week. I've been doing Zumba with Bookaddict, but it's been pretty hit-or-miss. Now it's time to do something more consistently, whether it's Zumba, interval walking or T-Tapp.
3. Take vitamins and other supplements. I have them but they aren't doing me a bit of good sitting in the bottle. 'Nuff said.
4. Drink more water and less other stuff. I already drink very little in the way of soda but I drink a lot of iced tea. I'm switching to more water and more herb tea and less iced tea.
5. Simplify my beauty routine. For a season, I'm packing up the daytime moisturizer, the nighttime moisturizer, the undereye cream, and the rest and using rosa mosqueta oil instead. I'll let you know what effect this has on my skin. I'm also paring down my makeup options in hopes that having a quick routine will ensure it actually gets done.

Household
This is about the cleanliness, organization, and systems of the house.
1. I'm instituting certain changes in the way chores, both the kids' and mine, are done. I'll post more details about this later.
2. We are working towards simplifying meal preparation and shopping. I have created a master menu and am working on a master shopping list. I'm also making changes to my pantry, refrigerators, and freezer to accommodate and aid this endeavor. Again, I'll be posting more about this as it unfolds.
3. Starting in March, I want to keep up with the Home Sanctuary challenges. When I was doing them before, my house looked better. This Company Girl has been seriously falling down on the job.

Creative
This encompasses writing and sewing and, well, creative stuff.
1. I'm going to attempt to finish my first novel. I started it several years ago during NaNoWriMo, and have played with it a little, but never seriously. I want to get it finished.
2. I'm going to work my way through at least one of my creative writing books.
3. A massive clean out of my crafting area is in order. Once again, I am simplifying. I'm narrowing down my stuff to needed supplies and basics, a few choice projects and the fabric and patterns for the upcoming season, along with a couple of reference books.
4. I'd like to complete half a dozen or so projects by the Easter. More would be even better.
5. Be more attentive to this blog. I plan to post regular updates on this project as well as other stuff. Stay tuned!

Other
This is a mishmash of other goals in various areas.
1. Keep up with church jobs. I'm working on the church blog, the church Facebook page and going through Care Pastor training. I would like to be more faithful about keeping up.
2. My reading challenges have been neglected while I was working my way through a pile of ARC's. I need to update my reading lists and see where I am.
3. I plan to read at least 12 books.
4. I'm revamping my homeschooling in several ways. We are trying some new curriculum and I'm carving out time to spend with the younger ones to shore up some areas they are lagging in.

There you have it. That's the plan. Can I do all it? I don't know, but I'm sure going to try. I can sure use all the encouragement and prayers I can get though. If you have goals of your own thus far unrealized and want to play along, write your own post about your plans and goals and link to this post. Then come back here and leave me a comment saying you're participating in the Reboot Camp and leave a link to your post. Feel free to join in anytime during the camp.