Goals for 2011

I don't know about you, but at the beginning of the year, I like to reevaluate my life and decide where I need to tweak things and make improvements. So I thought I would put in my blog the areas of my life where changes need to be made, goals I am setting for myself, areas that need more consistency, etc. Maybe this will inspire and motivate you to do the same. I've heard it said that new year's resolutions go in one year and out the other. Let's not let that happen this year.

Home:

I want to create a warm and loving atmosphere in my home. That starts with my attitude. I've been too whiny and complaining of late. I want to begin using kind words, be an encourager, pay attention, and lighten up.

Make a cleaning schedule in an attempt to keep the house in visitor worthy shape in order to avoid the mad rush to get the house clean from top to bottom before holidays and overnight visitors. We did the mad dash several times this year, and it isn't fun.

Get daughter in on this action - she is old enough to be helping her mom and dad keep the home picked up and clean. I am going to make her a chore chart in an attempt to help her help me.

Continue to declutter and give to our favorite local charity. We decluttered quite a bit this year, some left the house, but a lot of it is still in the garage.

So, clean the garage!

Retile entrance from garage into basement. Paint basement bath. Do a little redecorating in there.

Replace toilet in master bathroom. Look for marked down new vanity top for master bath. Ours is showing little cracks in the sink bowl near the drain. I am afraid it may leak. This could be pricey, so I am going to look at local salvage stores for this. We have brushed stainless faucets to be installed but a vanity/sink top should go in first.

Paint master bedroom and bath.

Continue to purge no longer needed or wanted books and sell to McKays for extra dollars.

Sell items on eBay or Craig's list for extra dollars.

Clean and organize master bedroom closet. I've put this off for too long.

Take down outside lamps on front porch and deck and spray paint a nice oil rubbed bronze color.

Paint front door. Touch up outdoor trim paint.

Pressure wash deck and fencing. Stain deck. Plant pretty flowers in my deck planters.

Consider and pray about selling home and downsizing to a home in order to eliminate a house payment.

Family:

Consider doing new things together as a family. We really do enjoying sitting on our butts in front of the telly together, but a little variety might be nice!

Institute more family nights - game night, movie night with theme dinners, etc.

Be more consistent with family devotions at meal time. We like taking turns reading from our devotion book at the dinner table.

Sit at the table together as a family for at least one meal a day. We are spending too much time in front of the tv in the den eating our dinner. This is okay on occasion but I do not want it to become a habit.

As a family, we need to eat more healthily and incorporate more fruits and vegetables into our diet. That is my responsibility and I need to be more consistent in this area. I plan our menus and do most of the grocery shopping.

I would like to start baking our own bread. I used to make sourdough bread and it was so good. I could substitute half of the bread flour for whole wheat to make it healthier for us. Bread in the store is getting to be very expensive. Especially, the healthier natural bread.

I want to grow a vegetable garden again this year. I didn't do it in 2010 because I was having so much back trouble in the spring. Homegrown veggies are so good. I really enjoyed my zucchini, green peppers and tomatoes in 2009 and need to do this again. I want to add summer squash, green onions, and leaf lettuce. Maybe even more. We'll see.

Homeschool:

I have a goal to get daughter caught up on her school work and I want to be an encourager to her to want to learn and read more for pleasure. I love to read and loved to read when I was her age. In today's age of modern technology, I am finding it hard to "hook" her on reading for fun.

I need to take a more hands on approach to her schooling. I think, as an only child, she finds homeschooling on her laptop to be sorta boring and lonely. I need to be present more and assist her with her lessons.

I have a couple of bible study books I want to do with her this semester. How to Study Your Bible for Kids by Kay Arthur and God What's Your Name by Kay Arthur.

Personal:

Generally, I need to take my vitamins and exercise more consistently. More vegs and fruits are also needed in my diet. I have a very nice treadmill sitting in my den that makes a nice purse/handbag holder! On those beautiful days, a nice brisk walk could be just what I need. It will lift my spirits as well as exercise my old body!

More consistent time in God's Word and prayer. I read from Genesis through Isaiah this year and then some. But I would like to completely read the Bible from cover to cover this year. Our church has made this a challenge for each of us and they are even going to post our daily readings on Facebook. Isn't that great.

I also have several books with study guides that I would like to read and do. Many of them have to do with women's issues as wives and mothers.

I would like to read more books this year. I have started reading at bedtime while my melatonin kicks in. I was doing crosswords every night but now I am finding reading before sleeping to be quite enjoyable.

On that note, I have been attempting to get to bed earlier and would like to be in bed by 10 or 11 at night. That would allow me a little time to read before going off to the land of Nod. I have set 7:00 a.m. as goal for getting up and starting my day.

I would like to improve my crocheting skills. My favorite teacher moved away. Now I must try to teach myself or find a new friend with crocheting abilities.

I would like to get caught up on my scrap booking. This is fun and I enjoy it. But with hubby being unemployed, printing photos just hasn't been in our budget. I have plenty of scrap booking supplies from my time as a Creative Memories consultant, so that is not a problem budget wise. My craft room also needs some cleaning and organizing.



Psalm 51:10

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.