2009 has gotten off to a calm and peaceful start for us, which is how 2008 ended as well. More than any other year, this year has found us all so content and happy with where we are -- both of us with jobs we enjoy, living in a town we love, not worrying about money, and making changes as a family that are meaningful and important to us.
I have lots of photos that I want to share, but I will save them to spread out over the next several blog posts. Most of them are little bits and corners of my house, with several new things that I got for Christmas and my birthday that are making me very happy right now...but I wanted to make sure that I blogged about my goals for 2009 first. I've been mulling this post over in my head for quite a few days now, and I need to stop thinking about it and just get it posted.
I don't do resolutions. I never end up keeping them, and for me, honestly, without a "deadline" to attach to them, I simply find myself putting them off, over and over again. There are several things that I want to do (and continue to do) this year. We (Chris and I and the girls) have really made some changes at home that I strongly feel are for the best for us all -- these include recycling everything that we can (and reducing / reusing whenever possible as well), making family exercise something that is fun (we all have bikes now, and we're going to start walking/running together in the spring), unplugging (no tv/computer/ds for girls during week, and game night every Wed night), better eating (menu planning / weekly shopping / more home cooking with organics, fresh veggies, homemade foods), and learning new things (daily reading, knitting and other crafts, music lessons, gymnastics for Cami).
There are big things I want to accomplish this year too -- I want to plant a garden. I want to be as close to debt-free as possible (there are some things that will make being completely debt-free not possible at this time, but we are working on those as well -- they will just take more time). I want to run a 5K with Cassidy in December for the St. Jude's Marathon. I want to learn to play an instrument (I'm thinking that I'd like to learn to play the dulcimer -- Cass plays a bit, and I'd love for us to learn more together). I want to continue to grow my business at {we are} storytellers. I want to get my thyroid under control. I want to do charity work.
Most of all, what I want to continue to become more self-reliant, self-sufficient, and self-reflective. Like many others, I chose a word for 2009 -- INTENTIONAL. I want each action that I take to be a product of intent, of purposeful conscious thought. No more mindless consumption. No more taking the easy way out. When I started making these lifestyle changes this past year, one of the things that I noticed was that those choices were things that resulted in feeling more content and happier with where we are and what we have. And that is something that I want to continue to nurture and grow in our family. It will not be easy -- I fail at it just as often as I succeed, but it is a learning process. It is a process of becoming more aware of what I am doing, and that awareness is not something that happens in a flash, but rather something that slowly evolves.
In keeping an awareness of those big items, I am also setting a number of monthly goals for myself, which include both things that I need to do and things that I want to do. To finish this post off, I thought I would include them here. I'd love to hear your thoughts and your own goals; please share them here if you have the time and inclination.
January goals:
* ride bike to work whenever possible (will depend on weather and work travel schedule)
* make dr appointment and get thyroid regulated
* save money for treadmill purchase
* knit 2 projects this month (scarf?)
* embroider set of cloth napkins
* order seed catalogues and place seed order
* take lunch 3x a week
* try 4 new recipes
* read 8 books from bookshelves
* purge remaining scrapbook supplies
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