February Resolutions

Again, I'm a little behind, since it's the end of the 3rd day of February...

Because I'm trying to keep these goals as realistic as possible, I'm carrying over the ones that I need to keep working on and am adding just a couple more...

February Resolutions 2010

(January Resolutions carried over in purple)

• Say no to sodas!! 
• Watch less TV. 
• Blog about more interesting things!!   (I deemed this one irrelevant for now)
• Be more active.
• Be more diligent about growing my faith.
• Stop the clutter!  (I've established a bit more organization and am changing bad habits)
• Comment on more blogs!!  (doing much better)
• Send out at least 3 cards this month.
• Make a remodeling plan.
• Spend more "alone time" with my kids individually.
• NEW FOR FEB-  Set daily goals and accomplish them
  Since I've been sick on and off (as if I haven't told you that enough already!!), my house looks very much like a disaster zone. Thankfully, Lady M has really stepped up and has proven herself to be a magnificent cook, even at 8 years old. Even still, things like dusting, vacuuming,  mopping, etc, have sort of fallen to the back burner. The most important things are done when I have those small bursts of energy now. However, as I KNOW there will be more days ahead where I'm feeling fine, I need to make at least 3 goals every day to get done. Things like "vacuum", or "straighten Miss Priss's bedroom", or "plan meals". That way, I can slowly get my house back in order and feel accomplished, instead of like a lazy sick lady.
• NEW FOR FEB- Stay home more often.
  With the recent bad weather here in the Triad of NC, I have been forced to stay home more than I usually do. But I realized today the benefit of that. First, we aren't eating out as often. Second, I have much more money in the bank than if I'd been out driving around the world and buying stuff I really didn't need. So it's a new goal.
• NEW FOR FEB- Stop worrying about the baby.
  That one is a bit more tough, but I know I can do it. I have placed my trust in God, since He's the only one who can make this baby grow to full term and be okay. And although I've verbalized that time and again, there are times, like right before I fall asleep, when an overwhelming anxiety will attack me. All I can do then is pray and give it back to God, but sometimes, it's easier to sit and rationalize it away, or if I'm really tired, get caught up in it.  The biggest part of this goal will be that if I can get to the end of February without Baby losing his/her heartbeat, I will have carried this one longer than any of the last 3.  I figure the best I can do is to relax, and let God do His thing :)

January 2010 Recap

So it's the last day of the month and it's time to reflect on how I'm actually doing with the resolutions.... Here's the breakdown-

• Say no to sodas!!
  I have done better than I was doing, but not as well as I'd hoped.  See, when I get all nauseous and stuff, I crave water like I'm dying, but the first sip makes everything start lurching in my belly.  That carbonated mess always seems to settle things down when it's super cold and you're only taking tiny sips. I  have managed to substitute other drinks in place of soda at most meal times, so I'm making teeny tiny improvements....  
• Watch less TV.
  I have NOT done better here. For the first week or so, everything was going great. Then the morning sickness started, and when you're weak and dehydrated, the only company you can really find is that box with all the flickers and sounds.  I will work on that some more in February...
• Blog about more interesting things!!
  Not sure my content has changed all that much, but I was ever so kindly reprimanded for ever saying that my blog was boring or that I couldn't write well, so we'll just let that one drop...
• Be more active.
  Uh, again, FAIL. When I get past the first trimester slump, I PROMISE I will do better.... stay tuned...
• Be more diligent about growing my faith.
  How do you measure that, really? I have been able to spend  a little more time reflecting on God's Word, and have been more diligent about prayer, so I guess that's an improvement. I think my biggest growth has been that I've completely released this pregnancy to Him, and have received the most awesome peace. Not to say that my own fears and worries will not come back from time to time, but I can quickly rebuke it away now, and know that God's in this, no matter the outcome.
• Stop the clutter!
  YAY!! I have accomplished something this month!! Part of the reason why I think the clutter is lessening is because I've been home so much more and people can't hand me stuff and say, "hey, I think you need this".    Most of my household clutter has come from those things that people generously bestow upon us, not knowing that we're busting at the seams with JUNK!! That means as I'm starting to feel better and getting out more, I'll have to learn to use one little word more often: "NO!"
• Comment on more blogs!!
  I passed this one with flying colors. In fact, one day I actually commented on 33 different blogs. THAT'S RIGHT!! 33!!  I must say that there were some days that I didn't log on, but I did actually comment a LOT more this month, so I can say, I'm doing better!
• Send out at least 3 cards this month.
  Well, unless you count the bill for the garbage collector, I haven't put ANYTHING else in our mailbox. I'll keep working on it though....
• Make a remodeling plan.
  Again, a big fat no. ( Boy do I feel like a failure!!) All my plans are still in my head. But we have had quite a change in income this month since Boss has started working "shifts", so maybe that one needs to be postponed for quite a while, until the finances pick up a bit.
• Spend more "alone time" with my kids individually.
  I did actually get to spend an entire afternoon with Lady M alone this month, as we went to the Mad Platter to paint some pottery. It was fun!!   Gotta keep working on this one.... 

So it looks like I still have a long way to go.... I'm going to carry some of these over to February, and add some new things too. Check back tomorrow and see what my new challenges are!

January Resolutions

I don't do New Year's resolutions. I've never really done them, because I would like to believe that I see a problem and start working on a change at the first sign. Here lately, it seems as though my problems are getting a bit more overwhelming. With that said, I'm going to do MONTHYLY resolutions. I think baby steps are the way to go. After all, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So here are my goals for January 2010.

• Say no to sodas!! - I've battled my addiction to carbonated beverages for years, and when I was pregnant with Lady M, I not only gave them up, I gave up CAFFEINE all together. Since I'm struggling so much with making that scale number go down even the slightest, I'm taking one little step at a time to change my habits.  
• Watch less TV.  I never used to have that problem, but we had gone without cable or satellite TV for two and a half years. In November, I crunched the numbers and realized that we could get cable, phone and faster internet for the same price as what I had been paying for phone and internet. So I gave in and signed up. Now I find myself constantly stuck on Channels 55 and 61 (HGTV and Style- but only when Clean House is on). I'm telling you what, TV is addictive!!
• Blog about more interesting things!! Sometimes I read back over my own blogs and say, what was I thinking when I wrote that??? I used to write some really neat, funny or thought provoking stuff, but to read my more recent stuff, you'd think my brain had fallen out!! I'm gonna give it my best at trying to be a little more enticing...
• Be more active. That one can be tough considering I'm in the first trimester of pregnancy number 6 for me. My hormones are making me so tired all the time, and it's all I can do to get out of bed some mornings, but like it or not, I need to be in better shape!! Up until my last pregnancy, I was walking every day for a few miles, but it was late summer and my allergies were making me asthmatic, so I quit. And even after I miscarried, I didn't start walking again... I have NO excuse!! So I will try to start out small, and either get a treadmill, or pick a warmer day to walk starting this coming week.
• Be more diligent about growing my faith. I have such a desire to deepen my relationship with God through Christ, but sometimes, I get so busy with the silly stuff that I let my quiet time diminish into something more like 30 seconds of the day. No wonder I find myself with all this stinkin' thinkin'. I have to manage my time more wisely for the important things!!
• Stop the clutter! Boss and I have spent the last few days doing a HUGE cleaning of our house. We have more house than we need, and sometimes those extra spaces get filled full of that junk you meant to haul off 2 years ago, but just didn't get around to it. As of 2 hours ago, we've gotten rid of 12 lawn & leaf bags full of clothes, toys, and other stuff to donate to charity, 2 chairs, one Gazelle exerciser, one queen poster headboard & footboard, a kids snoopy table and chairs, a doll house, a Barbie mall, 3 porcelain tea sets, a sewing machine, a rocking recliner and footstool, a train table, a dollhouse bookshelf, and approximately 56289347489 little giblets of toys in our bonus room. So I already have a great start to this month's goals!!
• Comment on more blogs!! This one is HUGE for me. I read a LOT of blogs, but sometimes I think I've left comments for people, and I just didn't. I know a lot of my blogger friends probably think I never stop in to read their stuff, but I do! It's just that I can be easily called away from this screento take a toddler to the potty, or answer a question about long division, or make a juice cup, or break up a quarrel... you get the point. But I am going to do better! My goal is at least 3 blog comments a day.
• Send out at least 3 cards this month. I buy greeting cards. I buy them a LOT. I have boxes and boxes of cards (organized neatly at least) that I buy when I am in a mood and need some cheering up. When I find funny cards, whether they're birthday, get well, whatever, I get them. The problem is, I forget to mail them. I will buy cards with specific people in mind, but I totally forget to put them in the mail. So I'm going to make myself get better at snail mail correspondence.
• Make a remodeling plan. My husband and I bought our house right when we were married, and we jumped at the first opportunity for a good deal. We ended up getting a 4 bdrm/3 full bath house with a kitchen, living room, den, laundry room and bonus room on 2 acres. It was a foreclosure, and such a bargain. But we moved in in April of 2005, both working full time, and I had major surgery in June 2005, and all our plans to paint and redecorate and update,etc, fell by the wayside. Now we are finally getting to a place where we can look at things and realistically say, let's start doing this or that. I hate debt, and we will NOT take out loans for anything, so this will take very careful planning... starting with the den and living rooms....
• Spend more "alone time" with my kids individually. I love spending time with my kids. Miss Priss gets individual time with Mommy while Lady M is at gymnastics, but Lady M pretty much never has one on one time with me. Since we homeschool, Miss Priss is here, and Lady M is here, and I am here almost all the time. If I go somewhere, I take the kids with me. If I need to get something done on my own, I usually call my mom or my mother in law to watch both of the girls. It's just easier. I need to work on carving out some special time for Lady M and I to be able to do things together without Miss Priss though, so we can keep our relationship in good standing. After all, she's 8 going on 18!!

There you have it. I'm adding this to my navigation bar up there under the header, and I'm going to mark my progress as I go by editing this blog. Then I'll post new goals for February. I'm not giving myself a specific number of goals each month, since some will be more intense than others. My number one priority at this point is to try to carry this baby FULL TERM!! That would be the best goal to achieve all year!