ZonePerfect Blog Forward Challenge Part 3 with a Giveaway!

Lately on Facebook, I've been seeing some posts counting down to Christmas already.  I know a lot of people wish it was Christmas all year 'round and are really looking forward to the holiday season.  Me?  I'm just getting past the start of the school year and am counting down to Halloween, as this might just be the year that Grace decides to go out for Trick or Treat for the first time!  She loves the decorations and the pumpkin patch is her favorite place in the world, she's just not into the scary parts and every year opts out of costumes (even her princess costumes) and trick or treat.

Seeing these crazy, Christmas Countdown posts has made me realize that this year will soon be coming to a close, which I find really hard to believe!  Where has the time gone?  It also has me thinking about the goals that I set for myself earlier this year when I signed up for the ZonePerfect Blog Forward Challenge.

Currently, we're in part 3 of the challenge and while I've really done well on some of my goals, there are still a couple of points that I need to make an effort to address.

Eating Healthy was at the top of my list.  For the most part this year, I did really well in making healthy food choices.  Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables were served with meals throughout the past several months, though, I will admit that I didn't do such a great job kicking the junk food habit completely.  On a good note, though, I have been grabbing an apple to eat in the car while waiting in the pick up line after school!

This year, I wanted to Become More Active.  I wish I could say that I stuck to this one from the very start but sadly, it took a while for me to get my butt in gear for this one.  But for the past several weeks, I've been getting myself (and the dog) to the walking park for a daily walk.  Occasionally, I manage to fit in two walks a day!  It's not much, but it's definitely a start!

Saving Money is hard for us.  We've been on a single income since we moved into our home 7 years ago and finding extra money to stash away isn't easy.  This year, with Grace starting school, we've had some additional expenses making it even that more difficult to save but at the same time, we're trying to make smart choices with our purchases and really making it a point to avoid late fees by paying our bills on time.

Getting Organized is still a big problem for me.  I thought with Grace being gone from the house for 2 hours, that I'd be able to get a ton of stuff done and organized around this place.  Nope!  Not at all.  If anything, I feel like I'm more unorganized than ever.  Something seems to come up every day, not to mention the ton of paperwork in Grace's back pack every day!  This kid needs her own filing cabinet!  I joke...but hey, that's a great idea!  I'll be focusing on this goal in the upcoming weeks so that I can be organized by the holidays.

It was difficult to admit that I need to Be a Better Wife and Mother.  I'm having a tough time with this goal, too.  I think time management is a big issue.  I get up, get Grace ready for school (this takes several hours and usually there's an argument during this time), drop her off, come home, eat lunch, try to clean up a little, then pick her up, then it's time to make dinner, etc.  I've been trying to fit in some mommy/Grace time with visits to the playground and play dates, etc.  But all of that cuts into the time I need to be doing stuff around the house.  Often, I'm tired and grumpy.  Not my idea of a better wife and mom.  This needs more work.

I vowed to Take Care of Me this year.  This seems to be the goal I focused on the most, as I felt it was important for me to be well (mentally and physically) in order to follow through with any of the other goals on my list.  While I still haven't gotten in touch with a therapist for my depression and OCD, I have taken care of other things that have been neglected.  I learned how to drive this year, I saw an eye doctor and got glasses (I haven't worn my glasses in over 12 years) and I'm currently recovering from some some dental work I had gotten done.  I joined Weight Watchers online and even went to a meeting recently.

Part 3 of the ZonePerfect Blog Forward Challenge has reminded me that I do need to work more on my goals.  Reading the letter I wrote to myself at the beginning of the challenge also reminds me that I need to order myself some Dark Chocolate Almond ZonePerfect bars!  They are my favorite, but I have a difficult time finding that particular flavor in the stores we shop.

With just about 2 1/2 months left in the year, I plan to reall dig in and get involved in working on reaching my goals.  Here's what I plan to work on:

Eat Healthy.  It's soup season, so this should be a no brainer!  Lots of fresh vegetables and lean meats in my soups, along with whole grains in my hearty, keep-warm soups!  Keeping a handful of ZonePerfect bars in the glove box of the car will help me keep on track when I'm on the go!

Stay Active.  I'm keeping up with my daily walks.  The dog won't let me skip them anyhow!  With it getting dark earlier, I'll have to take my walks before picking Grace up from school.  Also, I'm considering checking out a local gym.  I need to see if this is something we can afford.

Save Money.  I started my Christmas shopping earlier this year and have been taking advantage of sale prices and some daily deal sites.  In addition to avoiding late fees, I also plan to focus on saving money on groceries.  With Joe doing the majority of the food shopping in the past, we didn't pay a lot of attention on the cost of groceries, just getting what we needed when we needed it.  Now that I'm driving, I think I should be able to comparison shop and save more money on the food we purchase.  Also, I am continuing to transfer money to our savings account every week.

Get Organized.  I'll be putting an empty box in the back of my truck each week.  Every day after dropping Grace off at school, I will add items to the box that we no longer use.  At the end of the week, when the box is full (hopefully), I will drop it off at a local thrift shop that takes donations. Working on time management will also be something I will be focusing on in the next several weeks.

Being a Better Wife and Mother and Taking Care of Me.  These are tough ones.  I believe I will always be a work in progress when it comes to both of these goals.

How about you?  Did you set goals or make resolutions for yourself at the start of the year?  How are you doing with reaching those goals?  Did you forget about them, like I sometimes do?  What are your plans for finishing out the year with those goals in mind?

To help give you incentive to reach your goals, ZonePerfect will give one lucky Under the Big Oak Tree reader a ZonePerfect Wellbeing Essentials Kit which includes hair ties, a pedometer, lip balm, a tumbler, and some ZonePerfect bars!

It's super easy to enter using the rafflecopter form below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

*As required by the Federal Trade Commission: The information and gift packs have been provided by Abbott Laboratories to Under the Big Oak TRee at no cost. All that was asked of Under the Big Oak Tree was to review the product, and give our honest opinion.