Sunday, January 27, 2013

Hellooooo 2013!

Happy New Year!!!
Oops, I guess I'm a little late for the party. Nevertheless, I'm here to reminisce, resolute and of course, celebrate.



2012 was a great year for a lot of reasons. We got to see lots of our old friends and family, we took a trip to the Grand Canyon, and had many more firsts with Alora. I also made some changes in my professional life mid-year that allowed me to have a little more time at home with my family. I can not tell you how grateful I am to have this flexibility in my workplace. I can tell you that I go through a lot more coffee and under-eye concealer but the added stress challenges of my crazy schedule have been ok. Somehow I actually feel more balanced, more centered and much happier. The challenges that have come with this crazy schedule have also helped me to find out more of what makes me happy and what motivates me.

2012 was a busy year and with it came its share of hiccups. We had Alora's second hospital stay with RSV and a water damaged house and far more than our share of fender-benders. But at the end of the year, we can look back and mark 2012 down as a good year.

I haven't made resolutions for quite a few years (at least none that I've looked at after January) so I thought I'd give it a try this year. 


1. My first resolution is to pick a word for the year. Maybe you've heard of this, maybe you haven't. I first discovered this idea through Ali Edward's site and I've always liked the idea, so this year I thought I'd try it out for myself. Initially I was thinking my one little word should be "eeeee!" or "yipeeee!" because I have so much to be excited for. I do have lots of things that I'm wishing for (more on that another day) but I'm also so excited about so much that I have going on right now. Alora is at such a fun age. She's my little buddy and I couldn't be more proud of her. Her excitement over the little things in life is so contagious. I find myself squealing right along with her as we open a new jar of peanut butter (there's nothing like that first scoop!) or when we spy an airplane in the sky, when we get to stop at the tracks to watch the train go by... But after I little more thought I've decided to go with choose for my one little word. Although it doesn't sound like it, it really goes hand in hand with my first word idea. I do have a lot to be excited for, but I need to make a lot of choices to stay happy and excited. I can choose to get off my butt and exercise. I can choose to eat better.  I can choose not to raise my voice or get snappy (me? never!). I can choose the right things/people/activities to make priorities. Do I need to vacuum or do I need to rest? What will make me feel best, in turn making my home the happiest and my family feel the most loved. And visa verse. What will make my family feel best because a happy family equals a happy mom and wife.



This one little word will hopefully guide be in the rest of my resolutions. So in no particular order, here are the rest of my goals and resolutions for 2013:
2. Be healthy.
3. Take more time, or time-outs to simply play.
4. Take charge of my home. Just do it or fix it already(!) instead of staring at it.
5. Spend less.
6. Lighten my load. This one is two-part. First, I always over pack. It doesn't matter if it's my purse or luggage for a trip, I. pack. too. much. Secondly, I'm a saver and I hang on to waaaay to much stuff. And the crazy part is, it's things like boxes and string. Things with zero sentimental value. In my head I'll say, "Oh I might be able to use that someday when I'm making a project..."  Unfortunately I don't  have the time for lots of extra projects now, so there's no point in hanging on to all the extra. When I do have the time, then I can start "hoarding" again (right?). But it won't be hoarding because I'll actually be using stuff But for now, just let it go.
7. Host and entertain more.
8. Photography - take.more.photos. With my camera or phone. Oh, and edit them. Delete the bad and edit the good so they look as beautiful as the subjects in them. I do know how to use photoshop, after all so why not put my skills to use on our photos? And also, to maybe try to learn a little more about my camera. I say that every year so I threw it in for good measure. Maybe one of these years it will actually catch on.
9. Start a list of rules (more on that one later).
10. Re-read The Happiness Project and The Power of Now. Both of these books had a big impact on my attitude and happiness and I'm due for a refresh. I'd also like to read Gretchin Rubin's new book, Happier at Home.
11. Go to thrift stores. I've actually only done this a few times but whenever I take the time to go to a thrift store, I have SO much fun. So I'm adding this one to my list just as a reminder.
12. Do some more DYI projects - refinish furniture, sewing etc. 
13. Fill my calendar with dates. Instead of saying "Oh, that would be so fun..." and then never following though, I want to make a point of scheduling dates. Make it happen.
14. Organize - My home and this blog could both use a little love in the organizing area. There just doesn't seem to be enough time (or time paired with functioning energy) to do it all but my hope is to do a little better this year.
15. Do more projects with Alora. Pull out the craft supplies and let the glitter fly!
16. Continue guiding Ali's transition to a big girl - potty train, move to a big girl bed,  and get.rid.of.the.paci.

16 goals! Yes, that's a lot for a year, but I have to at least give it a try, right? And to keep these fresh in my mind, I'm going to print these out and keep them in my calendar for a daily reminder. I also have a few ideas for this little blog.


Blog Goals
1. Share more of my little accomplishments. After all, that's really what life is about and what fills my day.
2. Share more of my passions. I love design and home decor and I love shopping for home decor. Unless it's for myself. Then I get overwhelmed and curl up in a ball. Partially because there is just so much amazing stuff out there but even more so because of a little thing called the budget. As much as I'd love to say the opposite, I don't have boat loads to spend on decorating. But that doesn't mean I can't have fun daydreaming.  I love going out and treasure hunting, being inspired, and seeing new ideas so what better place to share them than here?
3. Organize it! That's right, this little blog could use a little love.
4. Find ways to interact with my readers.  
5. To be real on this blog. I can't compare myself to other bloggers out there, especially the ones with kajillions of followers. I'm a normal girl with normal stories. So I'm going to try for more of a "what you see is what you get" approach.  I ramble. I'm a little goofy. I'm a terrible speller and an even worse proofreader. I don't use commas correctly. And I start sentences with "so" and but"...and "and". I just need to remember to be me and have faith that the reason you are all here is because there must be something you like about my stories (... or something you like to make fun of!).

You might have noticed that I did not mention anything along the lines of "create x new posts per week or month". Anyone who's been reading this for a while knows that it just doesn't work that way for me. I wish it did, but this is me. At least for now...

How about you? Do you have any great resolutions to share? Or One Little Word that you're working?

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