Well, we are now half way through the year. It’s time to get serious about some of these goals if they are to be achieved by the end of the year! June has been a funny one here, with Mr C recovering from his operation and therefore some quiet times for going out and so on, plus me changing to full time supply work and travelling some very long distances for work. I feel like I’ve done a lot more of the boring ‘grown up’ stuff and less of the fun side of things!

17 cupboards/drawers/storage areas sorted (10.5)

Not quite a whole area sorted so only a 0.5, but I’ve put a lot of the children’s old things on eBay, as well as sorting through my own clothes. Also, I’ve taken the cloth nappies we had out of storage, given them a good wash and listed them for sale. It’s nice to have a little bit more space, and a few extra pennies from selling things.

16 new recipes tried (8)

I made elderflower cordial earlier this month, and it was delicious. The next recipe was a made up one (by me) which used the cordial. I mixed it with gin and lemonade to make a very refreshing and tasty cocktail!

15 minutes per day on household admin

This is still working ok, and on the days when work is quiet I have made the most of the time to sort areas and do a spot of deep cleaning with no one to trample all over wet floors or dive into the piles of things I’m trying to tidy. I even managed to remember non uniform day correctly, which was a miracle.

14 blog posts per month

I managed exactly 14 in June, which I was a bit disappointed with, I think being so busy meant I had less time to think of exciting posts and I feel like my blog has stagnated a bit. Maybe time to look at a freshen up, with new ideas. Definitely one to think about.

13 tutorial posts in the year (6)

I’ve not done any more this month, I’ve been working on larger projects from patterns so I’ve not done anything to write a tutorial for.

12 frugal things

It’s been a bit tricky to be frugal this month with a few things in the house breaking and needing replacing, but Mr C bought some plants that needed TLC from the ‘reduced’ section at the garden centre. They have revived very nicely and have added some colour to the patio for just under £3. We had to buy a new fridge and, because it was in the middle of the heatwave, we ended up paying a little more than we wanted to in order to get one quickly. 5 days with no fridge in very warm weather with two children just seemed a little too much. I’ve yet to decide whether our next decision was frugal or not, but we are getting a new car. My car has been temperamental for a while, but it has broken down on me 4 times this year. The most recent was 30 miles from home, and with Mr C (at that time) unable to drive to rescue me I was in a sticky situation-not to mention the fact my phone battery had died so I couldn’t call him anyway. Fortunately the fault reset when I started the engine again, though I was a bit nervous the whole way home after that. We looked into the fault and it seemed the cost would be up to £1000 with no guarantee of it being fixed. At that point we decided that it was no good having such an unreliable car, especially with me driving up to 40 miles for work. The garage we are buying the new car from actually gave us a reasonable part exchange price (even with the fault). Hopefully that will be the right decision, and although it’s not necessarily money saving, having a little piece of mind will be worth it. One area where we have saved money is home insurance-I shopped around and halved the cost!

11 photos of the whole family (1)

No more this month, hopefully we will get some good photos over the summer.

10 comments/likes/both on other blog posts per day

Still plodding on. The only time I didn’t manage this was when I was working really far away as I tend to read blogs last thing at night and I was just falling asleep as soon as I got into bed. Sorry if I am a regular follower of yours and I’ve missed reading your blog-I’m trying to catch up!

9 crochet projects completed (7)

One more-the little bootees. I’ve done a lot more knitting than crochet this month too.

8 times more spent setting up photos than taking them

I’ve been using outside more for photos, and that has brought new challenges as I’ve had to try to avoid getting unwanted background items in the shots. It’s also worked well for me as I mainly take photos in the evening and the light has been really nice for it.

7 patterns written (2)

Nothing, nil, nada. I’ve been making my WIPs and not experimenting with my own patterns. However, every new pattern I try helps me to learn a new technique or stitch, and this bank of information will hopefully come in handy when I do get around to writing more of my own.

6 new places visited (4)

One Friday after work, I arrived home to the news that Mr C’s parents were having the children and that we could have a day out. We went to a small local town (Horncastle) to visit a craft store and generally have a wander around. It was rather lovely to visit a new place (we’ve driven through it several times but never stopped there). We finished it off with a cup of tea and shared a slice of cheesecake. Here’s a photo of the cheesecake (with Mr C in the background, who insisted he needed his sling on for sympathy!)

5 outings with friends organised (3)

None this month, but I would have been reluctant to leave Mr C to care for the children alone with his poorly arm. Hopefully soon!

4 cards made per month

Lots made this month for birthdays and Father’s Day, none for the reserve stash but they have all been sent out and warmly received. I definitely need some birthday cards ready to go.

3 seasons of harvesting on the allotment

This one is still on, the first harvest has been and gone, we’ve been feasting on strawberries throughout June and the new potatoes are starting to be ready too. The other plants are growing well too, and we are getting ready to preserve some of them as they are ready in the next month, especially pickling beetroot and blanching and freezing green beans.

 

2 workouts per week

I’ve been far too tired after working and allotmenteering. I’m beginning to wonder if these are more of a winter thing for me, as the summer leaves me with so little spare time.

1 Slimming World Target certificate

The start of the month was a fail as I struggled to manage everything. However, since then I have lost weight every week so I can’t grumble.

0 unnecessary craft purchases

Maybe one or two have sneaked in, as I found some lovely stitch markers from Lulabella’s Hand Knits. (Check out the page, and don’t blame me if you end up buying too!)

Now we are half way through the year, I can see where I need to work a bit harder, and where perhaps I was a tad unrealistic in January. How are your goals going? Have you achieved any already?