Ashley's 2010 Goals

I'm not one to make goals just to break them or to be a stickler on such things. But for the fun of it, I created a list of goals for 2010. Originally, these were only ideas in my head, but Dave Ramsey keeps emphasizing this week the need for written goals. Since he's older, wiser, and richer than me, I'll follow his lead. (Bryan said he'd also contribute his goals--we'll see when they get posted).

1. Clean out the freezer of non-meal items.
Whenever I cook a chicken, I tend to keep the broth--to use for soup or in receipies. Earlier this week, I counted 12 cups of frozen broth. Since we had chicken and dumplings on Monday, we're down to 6 cups. Also, we have random things in there, such as 2/3 cups of pumpkin, 2 servings of chicken casserole, 5 frozen tater tots. I take 100% responsibility on this!

With Baby #2 coming in March, we need the space to store breast milk and "real food"--which leads me to goal #2.

2. Stock freezer with homemade "convenience" meals for the post-natal survival period.
Last week I made a double batch of lasagna. We ate one tray; the other is frozen and ready for March. Additionally, I have 2 different chicken-based meals ready to thaw and throw in the crockpot. I've been reading up a few other freezer-cooking ideas on other blogs, but any suggestions are welcome!

3. Balance the checkbook at least every 2 weeks.
Enough said.

4. See how long we can go without writing a check.
This year has been a turning point for us with online banking. Once we make sure that we can set up an online account with our church tithe, there will be no need to write monthly checks for anything! (In fact, I ran out of checks on Dec. 31st and haven't looked into re-ordering yet.)

5. Negotiate our Time Warner internet bill to reduce by at least $10.
My friend Curt was able to do this. Since our bill just increased, now is the perfect time to get on this one.