New Years Resolutions

Aahhhh! Holiday projects are over and everyone is making new resolutions for this coming year. And I'm joining them! It's good to have goals.

Here are a few of mine. I say a "few" because I figure that if I make several at least on of them will stick, right? We'll see!

Fitness
yes. I'm claiming this one... I know it's the most common and the most commonly broken, but I'm still claiming it. I did get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight after John was born, but my pre-pregnancy weight was definitely not my long term goal. And the pregnancy did strange things to my body. I carry weight differently now and it's not a very flattering different.

Another exciting reason to lose weight came up on Christmas Eve! A very beautiful sister-in-law of mine received a very pretty diamond ring from her boyfriend. We are excited to receive Manly into our family! He loves Jesus & John so he's off to a great start! The wedding date isn't finalized yet, but I know I would like to lose at least 20lb before it happens.

Owning the day
This one is something that I've kinda learned the hard way. When John was born I struggled with depression. I still do on bad days, but I've learned ways prevent this. Exercise is a big one. But another one that helps is if I wake up before John does. I like to get him going at 7am, weather he's up or not, it's just makes the rest of the day work really well. Sometimes he wakes up a little earlier, but he is pretty much like an alarm clock now. However, no one loves & adores their alarm clock! And I've been lazy and waking up at 7am when I HAVE to.

I do so much better on days when I wake up an hour before he gets up and get ready for the day. If I claim the day instead of the day claiming me things just work better around here. Reading my bible, hugging my husband and having a cup of coffee will go a long way toward improving my attitude towards John and myself.

(sorry if that sounds harsh towards John but that's real Mom talk! I promise I love my baby but somedays changing diapers and other Mommy duties get to me)

Etsy
Believe it or not I do have an etsy shop. Remember Thirty-one-Twenty-four? This year I hope to list more things. Most everything I've posted has sold so I really ought to bank on this. I have lots of ideas and friends and family keep the suggestions coming.

The short term goal is to just break even. The truth is that I love making things with my hands... quilting, sewing, crocheting, knitting, scrapbooking, just plan crafting! I love to do it all!!! So if I can break even then it wont hurt our budget.

The longer term goal is to make money to help boost our savings. I would love to commit to this but the fact is that I have an emerging toddler and can't ignore him. One thing I realized when my Mom was here was that I don't get in the floor and play with him enough. I tend to be all about business with John... feed him, clean him, etc. It's all about balance and I need to find it. I think once I find the balance I can focus on making money with a second job.

Gardening
Alright, last year I had a pretty good excuse... John. This year he's older and can play with himself (or some toys) quite contently. I really want to teach him about gardening and we need to spend more time in the yard together. The big hurtle with this is of coarse little critters. But I think I can get over it enough (or set plenty traps) to manage a small garden.

Currently we have spinach and lettuce growing in our boxed garden but that's not enough. Remember cotton and sunflowers (those were so pretty) and cucumbers and fall veggies (like pumpkins) and I need to give corn another try! Plus kids that grow vegetables are more likely to try a wider variety of food.

So those are the goals! I will try to keep you updated because after all this is our Swindell update site!

Happy Resolutions Making! And Keeping!!!