It's been weeks {ok months!} since I've had a functioning laptop, so I haven't blogged much. So I'll start from scratch with my weekly goals. 

This Week's Goals:

Menu Planner: Dinner at Mom and Dads, Subs, Burgers/Corn Dogs, Tortilla Pizzas, Taco Salad, Chicken Cordon Bleu, something quick between work and church. 
Household: Find Elias' snowpants and see if any of Colin's old boots fit Elias, make a large trip to the storage unit
Personal: Go to bed before 11pm at least once, have an official weigh-in
Family: Buy boots for the boy(s), have a family pizza/movie night, 
Misc: Continue to gather everyone's Christmas' lists

1. Lose {at least} 32 pounds
2. Sell this house
3. Read 1 Book per month (Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug)
1. I re-read 7 again
4. Do 1 Service Act per month  (Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug)
1. Was involved in 2 food drives
5. Do 1 Random Act of Kindness per month  (Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug)
6. Have 1 Family Planned Activity per month  (Sept-Zoo, Oct-Fall Fun, Nov-Children's Museum, Dec-FMG for Santa and Trains, Jan-Florida, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug)
1. Went to the Children's Museum 
7. Donate 32 articles of clothes
8. Fund a well 
9. Have Family Pictures taken {scheduled for November}
10. Go out of town with the girls in the family
11. Do {at least} 32 new pins (4/34)
1. Pumpkin Bars {delish!}
2. Ghost Artwork {we used our hands so it would be less messy}
3. Spider Handprint Art
12. Join a Life Group at church
13. Mail at least 1 Card per month (Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug)
14. Create a 1 Month Menu Planner - and see if it works
15. Ride the train to Chicago with the boys
16. Create an art project or treat with the boys for all major holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, NY, Easter, 4th of July)
1. Made Handprint Spiders with the Boys
2. Made Handprint Ghosts with Colin
3. Made Halloween Cookies with Colin
17. Go on a date with Mike once {at least} once a quarter
18. Go on a date with just Colin
1. We had such a great time that I'm going to try to do this on a routine basis. 
19. Go on a date with just Elias
20. Make Christmas Cookie Platter for Mike's work
21. Create a service project {preferably ongoing} at work {WIP}
22. Do my own version of 7 
23. Allow Colin to have a sleep over with a friend
24. Increase ING account by $X
25. Pay for Disney in 'cash' {have a day paid for all of us with loose change/survey $}
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Last Week's Goals:

• Menu Planner: Dinner at Mom and Dads, Beef Roast, Fall Harvest Party, Halloween {take out?}, Spaghetti Bake, Leftover Spaghetti Bake, and ?
• Household:  Make at least 1 trip to the storage, Send Computer out to be fixed - Scheduled for box to be sent, Schedule time to get hot water heater fixed 
• Personal: Go to bed before 11pm at least twice, Track food at least 3 days, Do 2 New Pins
• Family:  Find Colin a new dentist and make an appt, Fall Harvest Party, Halloween, 
• Misc:  Send Christmas Emails out, Product Survey on Thursday, Food Survey on Friday with Elias

This Week's Goals:

• Menu Planner: Dinner at Brandon and Shaina's, Make Your Own, Subs,Tortilla Pizzas, Tacos, Chicken Rice, and something quick between work and church. 
• Household: Make at least 1 trip to storage, Ship Computer out to be fixed, Schedule time to get hot water heater fixed 
• Personal: Go to bed before 11pm at least once, Track food at least 1 day, Do 1 New Pin, Hair Appt
• Family: Find Colin a new dentist and make an appt
• Misc: Hair Appt, Food Survey with Elias on Thursday, 

Last Week's Goals: 

• Menu Planner: Dinner at Mom and Dads, Tortilla Pizza, Beef Roast, French Loaf Sub Thingy, ?,  Spaghetti Bake, Leftover Spaghetti Bake between work and church
• Household:  Make at least 1 trip to the storage, Send Computer out to be fixed, Schedule time to get hot water heater fixed 
• Personal: Go to bed before 11pm at least once, Track food at least 3 days, Do 2 New Pins
• Family: Find Colin a new dentist and make an appt, Go to Library, Do at least 1 Halloween Activity with the boy(s)
• Misc: Figure out boys' Halloween Costumes, Send Christmas Emails out

This Week's Goals:

• Menu Planner: Dinner at Mom and Dads, Beef Roast, Fall Harvest Party, Halloween {take out?}, Spaghetti Bake, Leftover Spaghetti Bake, and ?
• Household:  Make at least 1 trip to the storage, Send Computer out to be fixed, Schedule time to get hot water heater fixed 
• Personal: Go to bed before 11pm at least twice, Track food at least 3 days, Do 2 New Pins
• Family:  Find Colin a new dentist and make an appt, Fall Harvest Party, Halloween, 
• Misc:  Send Christmas Emails out, Product Survey on Thursday, Food Survey on Friday with Elias

Elias got sick last night. I hardly slept. Was running on fumes most the day due to lack of naps. Then just as I was crawling into bed got the dreaded phone call "ummm 3rd shifter hasn't shown up and isn't answering the phone." So here I am at work. Dead tired. Busy work is complete and I still have like 2 hours to go. So although I'm probably writing this sooner than ready, I need to do something productive. 

This post has been weighing on my heart lately. I needed time to process it. I truthfully need MORE time but since I have nothing but time, I might as well a start now. 

Earlier this spring, church did a series called a Hole In the Gospel based off the book. We were given a calendar which focused on different areas each week; they had calls of action, statics. I remember looking the calendar over and one date really hit me. Ok, it more than hit me. It literally rocked me to my core. 

Those numbers are so staggering to me. 6000 children die.A.DAY because they don't have access to something as basic as clean water. The static bothered me. It made me uncomfortable. But to be completely honest here, not uncomfortable enough to do much more than post it on facebook (where I don't think one person even commented on it. Oddly though, if even ONE jumbo jet crashed, I'm sure it would be the most popular commonly posted topic that day). I wish I could say that I did something dramatic once I heard this news but short of turning off my faucet more often, I didn't do too much. 

Fast Forward to the end of summer. One of the blogs I read mentioned the new book for their book club. I was in need of a new book, so I thought if the library had it available for my kindle, I'd join in. Believe it or not, for once, they did. I quickly put a hold on it and waited my turn. 

Enter 7. Officially known as 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess. A mouthful, isn't it? Let me tell you though ... it was as good as the title is long. Good enough that I've now read it twice. A quick run down of the book can be found by clicking on the link above. But let me say this book hit me about as hard as hearing 6000 children die a day from lack of water.

"How can I be socially responsible if unaware that I reside in the top percent of the wealth in the world? (You probably do too: Make $35000 a year? Top 4 percent. $50000? Top 1 percent.) 

Excess has impaired perspective in America; we are the richest people on earth; praying to get richer. We are tangled in unmanageable debt while feeding the machine, because we feel entitled to more. What does it communicate when half the global population lives on less than $2 a day, and we can't manage a fulfilling life on twenty-five thousand times that amount. Fifty thousand times that amount. 

It says we have too much, and it's ruining us."

I'm wrestling with what exactly it means for me and my house and my family. I know a change needs to happen. I know a change IS happening. I'm trying to decide how to make it happen. Expect more as I process this ... and I have a fixed computer that allows me to use the keyboard :)