Resolution Update: January

Time for my monthly goal update! On January 1st, I set 5 New Years Resolutions for myself. At the end of the first month, let's see how i'm doing!

• Lose 10 lbs by March 1st.
• I am down approximately 5 lbs! I have 4 weeks to go until my March 1st deadline and if I up my exercise a little bit more each week, I should definitely be able to accomplish this. I have had some brief relapses the last couple of days because i've been sick (apple crisp and bowls of ice cream), but  I'm getting right back on track tomorrow. I'm still sick today. :p

• Limit fast food intake to once a month
• On track! I chose Carls Jr. as my fast food of choice for the month of January, and I most thoroughly enjoyed my charbroiled chicken club. I didn't get waffle fries or a chocolate shake, my two other favorite things, but I had to show a little restraint for my weight loss goal. I am kind of regretting it though.  
• Attend the temple with Brad at least once a month  
• Success! My mom was in town for a couple of days so not only did Brad and I get to go on our monthly date (I pre-planned monthly dates as part of Brad's anniversary gift), but we were able to attend the temple the next night as well.  Funny story though, our temple bags have been in the trunk of our car for a while, and our gas can has spilled quite a few times back there. It wasn't until we were changing into our white clothes in the temple dressing rooms that we realized our clothing COMPLETELY REEKED of gasoline. So gross. Oh well! They are washed and good to go now.
• Take ONE 3-credit college course through BYU Independant Study and receive an A
• This one is nowhere near completion.  The cost of courses actually went up without me realizing it when I posted this resolution, so I need to somehow earn/find over $400 for a 3 credit course. Ouch! I've been taking surveys diligently though and have made about $20 this past month with them. I also earned about $20 in my PayPal through various things, but have already spent it on different things for the household. Our budget is SUPER tight, but I am still determined to make this goal happen!
• Post on my cooking blog at least once a week
• Success! Mostly. I did post 4 times in January, so that's about once a week, but sometimes it was more like, 9 or 10 days rather than every 7. Not that that's a big deal or anything. It has been nice blogging again, though. And it's definitely easier to find things to blog about when we can no longer afford to go out to eat or pay for convenience foods. I even made 2 loaves of bread to use for sandwiches, garlic bread and toast since we ran out of frozen loaves in the freezer.

Can't wait to see how things go in February!
I've only been exercising about twice a week, but i'm going to up that to 4 times a week this month. 
I still haven't decided what fast food I want for February. I'm thinking Del Taco. It's cheap and always delicious!
I'm not sure if my parents will be coming my way at all this month, so i'll have to find a babysitter so we can go to the temple. Hopefully I can find someone to do it for free!
I've also rustled up a few things I think I can sell, so I plan on saving that money specifically for my college goal. I'm thinking I can bring in about $30-$40 on selling things. I have another $15 coming to my PayPal this month, and hopefully I can get at least $10 from my surveys. Sadly, most sites only offer rewards and not cash payout, but I'll make it work.
For my cooking blog, I plan on continuing my "A Peek Inside My Freezer" mini-series, as well as sharing one of new favorite bread recipes and hopefully posting about my parent's famous enchiladas. There's a cookie recipe i've been wanting to try as well, so if that turns out yummy, i'll post about it too.