Well since it’s already May and it’s too late for “It’s gonna be May” (N*Sync)… how about this meme:

as long as you love may backstreet boys_

{source: Backstreet Boys via Twitter}

This made me laugh harder than it should. I love it!

If you don’t appreciate that one, maybe you’ll like this one:

may meme

I like May. It makes me wanna work in my flower gardens and clean my entire house. A new month equals new goals. The higher I aim the more I get done so this is a lengthy list! Things are going to start picking up this month as far as kid’s sports go so I really need to buckle down to make sure I’m still able to accomplish what I’d like to get done.

Monthly Goals: May 2016

My Monthly Goals: May 2016 - via LiftingMakesMeHappy.com

Fitness

My main fitness goal this month is to bring my workouts back down to the basement for heavy lifting strength sessions. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked out with a barbell and I really, really miss it. I also need to make a new playlist!

My workout schedule:

Sundays: Off
Monday: Chest/Triceps
Tuesday: Back/Biceps
Wednesday: Shoulders
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Off
Saturday: Cardio/makeup day (we have a few track meets this month on Thursdays so we don’t get home until the kids’ bedtime – we’ll see how it goes.)

Financial

My financial goals have everything to do with getting out of debt. I plan on making this an upcoming series on the blog to help me stay accountable to myself. Debt is a major stressor for me and the only way to get rid of it is to just pay it and be done. And not accumulate any more.

Put $1,500 towards a combination of my student loan and credit cards
Update automatic weekly payment for my car payment – doubling the minimum payment amount from what it was. The end is in sight… this will get my car paid off in less than 3 months!
Continue putting $5 a week towards my newly formed IRA account. This is an automatic transfer. Might sound ridiculous to some, but my focus is on debt y’all.
Schedule all May bills (I always do this at the beginning of each month so I know how much will be going out and so I don’t forget any payments)

Blogging

I’ve just recently decided to go full throttle with this blog. It’s my baby. We’ve been together since 2008. I pretty much took the past year off (with random posts here and there) but now I’m jumping back in. Losing my dog and my stepdad within 3 months of each other last year was a huge struggle for me. Coming up with blog posts to write about was tough and seemed so insignificant at the time. The good news is that the passing of time helps us heal.

Post 3 times per week on topics like fitness, financials, blogging, reviews and/or meal planning
Continue using CoSchedule to help me plan my editorial calendar and social media posts
Earn $100 from this blog
Increase monthly pageviews from 5,608 –> 7,000
Participate in at least one link-up per week
Brainstorm blog post ideas for the next 6 weeks

Personal

In addition to my fitness, financial and blogging goals, I also have some personal goals I’d like to accomplish.

Read two books. I like to choose one for personal development and one that’s just for fun. This month I plan to read The More of Less by Joshua Becker (BecomingMinimalist.com) and Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson. I also just started listening to The 10x Rule audiobook during my 40 minute commute – each way. Somehow it keeps me from being a speed demon. I can like that after getting two warnings in the last 6 months. Whoops.

Get rid of 200 things. This includes articles of clothing, old books, movies, home decor, etc. I’m so sick of STUFF. Less stuff = less stress. I plan on using a combination of the Konmari Method and tips from The More of Less as mentioned above. The Konmari Method helped me get rid of 5 garbage bags full of clothes a couple months ago.

Spend 30 solid minutes with God every day (for prayer, gratitude, Bible study, devotions, etc.)

Spend 10-15 minutes every night planning for the next day in my Passion Planner (to-do list, appointments, goals, etc.)

Focus on a vegetarian diet. Between my sister being an inspiring vegan and watching documents related to veganism and vegetarianism I’m working on changing the way I eat. I hope to share some of my meals plans and/or meal ideas this month so stay tuned. :)

Time to get down to business!

xo Mindi