Plans and Possibilities

So now that we are over halfway through January, maybe I should put out my "resolutions" out there.

Obviously, not procrastinating is not one of them. :)

I don't really care for the word resolution. That word is much bigger than what I do. I don't have major goals or aspirations other than to be all that I can be...oh great, now I have the Army commercial in my head.

Anyway, I don't really set major resolutions. I just set little goals for the year in hopes that I might keep at least a few. Some are just continuations of things we started the previous year, others are changes I am hoping to make...

Things like...

• Flossing more (I know better than to say daily because I will fail at that!)
• Doing one thing a day for me. Words with Friends and Facebook doesn't count. It may be a quick game with my Scrabble Flash cubes or a hot bath/reading a magazine (tonight's choice). Just one thing.
• Making weekly menus and sticking to them. I have been shopping for about a week at a time, and it has worked pretty well. I also recently cleaned out the freezer and inventoried the meat we have in there so I can plan meals using that. I will still put in an "on your own" day as well as an occasional eating out night. But at least if I have ingredients ready, I am more likely to cook.
• Spending more one on one time with the kids. With Maria, that has become easier. She has more homework than anyone else, so we get to spend a lot of time together. :) And Joshua just kind of commands it. So I am making more of an effort to spend time with the big kids once the little ones are down for the night.
• Continuing our once a week "dates" with the children on a rotating basis.
• Having once a week "dates" with Mark...whether it is actually going somewhere or just getting take out to have once the kids are in bed.
• Cooking new recipes with Mark every other week.
• Eating more fruits and vegetables. And making sure my kids see that.
• Not being on electronic gadgets as much in front of the kids. That has actually evolved fairly naturally. I don't usually have time until they are in bed. But sometimes I get to playing on the i-Touch (especially after a hard day) and don't want to stop. :)
• Using coupons again. Ironically, I used them often when were younger and had no children. Our grocery bills were minimal. Now that I have a larger family and make a lot more trips to the store, I rarely use coupons. Doesn't make sense to me.
• Telling more people when I am thankful for them or what they have done. Sometimes that means contacting their boss to make sure the right people hear the appreciation!
• Doing one thing a day to improve the house, whether it is cleaning out a closet or just straightening up a drawer. (Today's activity: organizing my spices in the kitchen)
• Wise financial choices and using our resources (not just our paychecks) to pay for bills, charities, etc...things like selling unused furniture or skipping a restaurant meal.
• Reading the Bible regularly.
• Praying with and for the children regularly.
• Being an encourager, whether through a positive message left on Facebook or a comment on a friends' blog.
• Continuing our "clean out" of the house, getting rid of things we don't use.
• Getting my China out of the attic and using it!
• Backing up my photos monthly as well as working on each month's calendar page (we create every December) at the end of the month instead of waiting to do all of them in December with a deadline...
• Going to bed by midnight every night. On that note, I better go...

More later,

Reba