Time for me to go back and see how I did on my Resolution List last year. I'll put together another list for this year soon, but for now- The Results!
1. Write more. I had this last year, but I want to focus more on my stories, not only on my blog. I don't want to spend less time on my blog- just more on the stories.
I'm working on it, though I wouldn't necessarily call this a success.
2. Learn how to use my sewing machine. I would really like to learn how to make some of those clothes, purses, etc that I have the patterns and fabric for in there! All I need is the know-how!
Yeah, total fail on this one, though I do have someone who knows their stuff on this, and is going to come help me!
3. Continue to cook more at home, and cook healthy meals.
I think I've been doing okay with this one. I could do better, but I have been actually thinking about it in my choices, which is a good start.
4. Learn how to shop efficiently for healthy food and snacks.
Not sure I'd say yes I did to this, but again, I've been more aware in my choices, which helps me grab for the more healthy options, or realize that I am not really hungry, and not grab anything at all!
5. Make it a habit to eat breakfast, and choose (and bring) healthy snacks throughout the day. Yeah, this didn't happen.
6. Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! And not be discouraged if I don't "see" results. Let my body tell me how it's doing, maybe not visually, but internally.
I was actually doing rather well when I had my treadmill up, but since we've moved it's pushed aside until I have room to put it back up. I'm jonzing for it though!
7. Find some new parks. The ones I know of in the area have become dull to me, and even my kids. Time to move on to new and fresh.
We did look, and found one or two new ones that we like, though there really isn't anything right around here. I need to look closer to home.
8. Find some good hiking trails, and use them; get us all out there, breathing in that fresh air!
Last time I went on a hike, I twisted both of my ankles and am lucky I didn't break them. I'll get back to this once I buy some reasonable hiking shoes.
9. Go camping. I cannot remember the last time I went, and I miss it.
Sadly, this didn't get done, and I am kicking myself for it.
10. Go out with my family at least once a month. By family, I mean my brother and sisters, and mom and dad. We don't spend as much time together as we use to since I quit partying. I need to have them for dinner, or whatever.
I don't know if it's once a month, but I have been getting out more with them, which is awesome.
11. Start actually doing all those crafts I bought all the supplies for.
Started to.. mostly beading. I actually did a bunch this year. Not any of the other crafts though, although my daughter really got into crafting this past year... so she uses it, too!
12. Learn how to make more natural, environmentaly friendly products for cleaning, both the house and our bodies.
Haven't started yet, but still really want to. I did make some cleanser, but didn't like how it worked. I did buy one of the books with some great recipes in it, so one step closer!
13. Go see some live music. This shouldn't be as difficult as it's been for me. I know there's live music around here- I am just horrible about finding it.
Yeah, this one didn't work, either. However, I took my son to his first concert. That was pretty awesome!
14. Get the animals to the vet. This is one of those ones that really should have been done last year, but wasn't.
Check.
15. Figure out what is going wrong in my son's Language Arts class, and help him remedy it.
He's not in that class anymore. His teacher was very unresponsive for how much he'd talk. He's doing much better in his new class.
16. Help my daughter understand this math stuff.
I can't say it was me who did it, because I don't understand the stuff myself, but she's doing much better now.
17. Give a garden another shot, but read up on it more instead of just jumping in.
I was going to, but the weather killed it, and I just couldn't keep up on the weeds growing around it. I think I'm about done with the gardening. The flower garden did well, though!
18. Model more for Dustin.
I've done that. I've also backed off and let him have other models, for things I'm not really comfortable with, just because I should.
19. Get the shed cleaned out, gone through, and organized.
Does it count that this was done because we had to move? I say yes. *nod*
20. Get the boxes in my bedroom cleaned out, gone through, and reorganized.
I did do this. Before we moved even!
So, overall I didn't do very well. This year my goal list is going to be shorter, and more thought out. I'm not going to dwell on what I didn't get done, though. Instead I will feel good about what I did accomplish, and continue to work on what I've started, as well as incorporate some more!
New Years
It's that time of year for new resolutions. Okay, it's a little past that time, but I've been lazy busy. Okay... I've been lazy. I was looking over what I'd written last year. All those things I had planned on doing. Some I did, some I tried, some I didn't even attempt other than thinking about it.
I've been writing more, even if it's mostly blogging rather than actual storytelling. But it's more than nothing. I've been reading more, which is fantastic. New stuff and old alike. While my vocabulary isn't necessarily broader, I'm still getting those daily words with which to cram my head with. I have been cooking in more, but not necessarily eating out less. However, I have been trying to make more health-consious decisions when eating out, as well as when cooking at home. I was exercising more, but got discouraged when I wasn't seeing results. I tried, hard, alot... and got nothing. So, now I have to try again. I planted my garden, and tried to keep it tended, but between my brown thumb, the rabbits, and the slugs- it died. I got my son in karate (which he still loves). I got my daughter into choir for awhile, but she doesn't want to do any after school activites (I'll find something eventually!). The kids' dental work is either done, or doing. I got medical insurance. I've been drinking more water.
So- that is 2009 in a nutshell. At least, based off my resolutions for that year. I got maybe half accomplished, and I think that's pretty good. There are some I really wish I'd taken more time to do, but they will be in this years, and maybe this will be thier year. That said- here are some of the things I'd like to get done this year:
1. Write more. I had this last year, but I want to focus more on my stories, not only on my blog. I don't want to spend less time on my blog- just more on the stories.
2. Learn how to use my sewing machine. I would really like to learn how to make some of those clothes, purses, etc that I have the patterns and fabric for in there! All I need is the know-how!
3. Continue to cook more at home, and cook healthy meals.
4. Learn how to shop efficiently for healthy food and snacks.
5. Make it a habit to eat breakfast, and choose (and bring) healthy snacks throughout the day.
6. Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! And not be discouraged if I don't "see" results. Let my body tell me how it's doing, maybe not visually, but internally.
7. Find some new parks. The ones I know of in the area have become dull to me, and even my kids. Time to move on to new and fresh.
8. Find some good hiking trails, and use them; get us all out there, breathing in that fresh air!
9. Go camping. I cannot remember the last time I went, and I miss it.
10. Go out with my family at least once a month. By family, I mean my brother and sisters, and mom and dad. We don't spend as much time together as we use to since I quit partying. I need to have them for dinner, or whatever.
11. Start actually doing all those crafts I bought all the supplies for.
12. Learn how to make more natural, enviornmental friendly products for cleaning, both the house and our bodies.
13. Go see some live music. This shouldn't be as difficult as it's been for me. I know there's live music around here- I am just horrible about finding it.
14. Get the animals to the vet. This is one of those ones that really should have been done last year, but wasn't.
15. Figure out what is going wrong in my son's Language Arts class, and help him rememdy it.
16. Help my daughter understand this math stuff.
17. Give a garden another shot, but read up on it more instead of just jumping in.
18. Model more for Dustin.
19. Get the shed cleaned out, gone through, and organized.
20. Get the boxes in my bedroom cleaned out, gone through, and reorganized.
Just what the title says- O.M.G. Three letters. Yeah, okay, so maybe not so fanatical, but still. It may not be the greatest literary achievement ever conceived by (wo)man, but still- it came to me with ease and comfort.
BUT... you can't read it yet. I didn't bring it up here (to my station at the library-where I'm working), so I don't have it to type into here. And even if I did, my thaydra.com is only log-inable from my home computer, because I simply don't have a "Sign-into-me" link on the page. Call me names, that's okay. I'll post it later. It will skip ahead a week or so, but that's okay. I don't mind.
Today my plans were to get out and finish digging that second garden bed. I started my morning (after getting back from dropping the kids at school) by going and doing my starts. I re-started my zucchini, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, chives, and more I cannot remember off-hand. Then I took the crib side I found on the side of the road and started to spray paint it a bright, sunny yellow. I am going to use the parts of the crib as trellises for my peas, beans and cucumbers. I got the second bed all dug up. I cleaned up the porch and the carport. The house is vacuumed, and the laundry finished (with the exception of the load that is still drying). All of this accomplished by noon! I'm feeling rather good right now.
The sun is bright and warm. The air smells sweet and fresh. The music is loud and motivating. I ate some pot stickers with sesame oil and a glass of water or two. I am feeling very happy and alive. I cannot wait until every day is this nice outside! It really puts my spirits high.
I realized today that one or both of the dogs decided to eat my raspberry start. Grrr. That is alright though, because I am pretty sure it was already dead anyway. Now I will be more motivated to go get another. My rosemary is not looking very well, and I think where I put it is too shaded. More so than I thought it would be. I'm concerned whether or not it will survive another transplant. They are hardy creatures though, so I'm hopeful. I plan to buy some more to add around it anyway.
Now I need to get ready for my hefty walk. Hefty for me. I plan to walk down to the kids' school to pick them up. We all decided they would like to walk home from school today, since it is so beautiful out. Which means I first have to walk down there. It is about 2 miles, maybe a little more, one way. Too bad there is no sidewalk, else I'd love to take the pups!
There's nothing like rearranging your house to give you a sense of fresh accomplishment. It has its little way of giving you the feeling that you've done something to better your lifestyle.
Today, we did a few arrangements. We swapped out coffee tables. We had a regular, table with legs in the living room which Dustin uses as a desk for his two monitors. We switched it out with the other one we had in the game room , which had a bunch of storage underneath, not to mention gives more tabletop space. Now, all of the random stuff that accumulates around that area can be neatly stored underneath and out of sight.
We also gave the kids' desk area some more storage. We had one of those tall, skinnyish plastic drawer units in the kitchen, and it really wasn't being used as I had hoped. (My fault, since we decided to go ahead with putting in shelves instead.) So I pulled it out and placed it next to the kids' desk. Now, they have a drawer for their pens, pencils, and scholastic materials (think compass, calculator, etc). They have a drawer for their play dough. One for their scholastic workbooks. One for paper. And they each have a drawer of their own for any of their randomness that hangs around there (mainly, my son's Lego stuff, and my daughter's books and trinkets).
Then for my desk. I took off a small shelf that had wasted, unused space below it, that my monitor sat on. Then I moved the shelves over to the wall side of my desk, and my monitor so that it sits directly in front of me. This way, I don't have to turn my head to look at my monitor. It's much nicer on my neck in the long run. Plus, now my desk is all dusted, rearranged, and sharper looking, I think.
I feel accomplished now. I have a flank of corned beef thawed in the kitchen that I am about to go throw into my new crock pot for dinner. I need to go check out whether or not my Wii will play dvds, and if not, see about hooking up the old dvd player to it (I really need something new to work out to. The Wii Fit is just boring now, so that I don't have motivation to go do it). Then, after finishing up with the laundry, I will be nice and content with my day's work. I might even go try and mess around in the garden if the weather holds up some more. Gods and Goddesses alike all know that I could use the Sunshine!
The day is coming to it's end, and I have to say, I feel rather accomplished, even if I did not get everything done I had originally intended. I finished my cup of coffee, and did indeed have another. Once the kids were up and ready to go, we headed out to get some shopping done. Your garden variety household items from Walmart- including some food for my mouse, which is usually not easy to find there. A trip to the chinese buffet for some lunch, which the kids always enjoy. I did make it to the Goodwill, and while I did not find my baking pans, I did pick up some various items, such as a cute little tea party tin for my tea, and I even tried on some clothes, and brought them home with me. I even found a pair of very cute snakeskin look-a-like boots. Rawr.
On the way home we stopped at Lowe's- always dangerous! But we found just the light Dustin wanted for really cheap. We grabbed some of those planting pots that you can plant right into the ground, and I was able to transfer all of my starts that are now too big for their little greenhouse to those, and keep them in the shed with the lights still.
I got my house picked up, and the kitchen clean. My son worked on more of his homework, and him and my daughter both chose to use tomorrow as their day of cleaning their rooms. That is fine by me. I'll be working all day!
I sat down and went through a couple of the cookbooks, and typed up some of the recipes I thought looked interesting into my laptop. (The laptop is the only computer we have set up for printing from at the moment.) I even drew up a menu for the next 8 days, including a shopping list. Most of the items I already have on hand though.
So, all in all, I think it was a pretty good day. I'm satisfied with what I got done, and it makes me feel good. Now, I'm going to go play video games!