Resolutions 2013

It's amazing how sad it is to me to look back at my resolutions from last year. I mean, I did okay, it wasn't completely dismal. Except, possibly, (yes, very possibly) for the music resolution. In all honesty I think I sat down at the piano maybe twice in the last year, maybe. Well, I probably sat down at it more than twice... but to play??? Twice at the most. Very sad. I do want to do better at it this year. But even more than playing the piano I want to paint it. Is that crazy? For several years now I have felt a little unfaithful (unfaithful?!?! when I sit down to it to play twice in a year?!?!?) to the piano I have been *playing* since I was five. "Why?" You might ask. Well, I like to go to craigslist and various online classifieds to look at old pianos. HORRORS! I know, how mean am I? My poor humble piano that has stood by me quite faithfully for 3 decades... waiting patiently to be played, I might add.  However, I discovered chalk paint this past year. So, even though I can't make my very own piano "old" I can make it more me, hooray! Because of the sentimental value I just couldn't see selling it to buy an old piano- especially since I know nothing about piano restoration or how to tune one or what a good deal might be, etc. I just realized that this has nothing to do with resolutions anymore so I'd better move on. But, plan on seeing pictures of a painted piano in the next 1-5 years depending on when I get brave enough to give it a go.

Resolution #1 Books, books, books
If you know me you know that I don't need to make this resolution. I inevitably will read. However, there are a few books that will remain on my "to read" list until kingdom come if I don't do something proactive about it- like a resolution, so.....
Okay, so I made the dumb mistake last year of reading a few of my choices right away and the other 7 in the last 3 mos. SO- this year I'm going to assign myself a book a month. That sounds doable.
January- Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
February- Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
March- The Lord God Made Them All by James Herriot
April- Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
May- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
June- The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer
July- The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy (okay, technically 3 books but I generally have more time to read in July and if I only finish the 1st one that's good enough for me)
August- The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
September- Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
October- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
November-Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood With Britain in It's Finest, Darkest Hour by Lynne Olson
December- Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story by Ben Carson

Of course, if the mood strikes me I reserve the right to change any of these. Silly. It's like I think someone is actually reading this and going to check up on me, ha.

Resolution #2 Craft more.
In the same vein... if I don't choose specific crafting projects I will end up only painting things when I really need to stretch my sewing muscles since they pretty much don't exist at this point. I'm serious. I think I sewed something once in like 7th grade, when there was home ec. and it was required. I couldn't tell you what it was. Oh, yeah, I forgot I have sewed some quilting squares together and then forgot to sew the squares to each other to form the quilt itself. Hmmm, maybe finishing that project should be on the list? The problem here is I don't know precisely when my sewing machine will be accessible this year so here are 12 projects I want to do this year and if I need to switch some of them out so be it. Honestly I don't think I could do any worse than last year in which I think I completed about 5 crafty-type projects.
In no particular order:
1-Advent Calandar: Inspiration @ Sunlit Pages
2-Family Rules: Inspiration @ here and etsy
3-Family Home Evening Sign: Inspiration @ scatter sunshine
4-Tree Skirt: Inspiration @ Amy Butler Design
5-Mason Jar Wall Vase: Inspiration @ Very Jane
6-12 months of pillowcases. This is an idea that I got at Education Week one year and I have been wanting to do it ever since. It's time. I went to a lecture on fun family traditions and this woman made different pillowcases for each month of the year. Her kids loved it. Each month they would run to the linen closet to get out that months pillow and I believe there was a special birthday pillow as well for the week of that child's birthday. I may need to do this little by little as it's easier to find cheap material for certain months when that particular holiday is over. Pillow case tutorials I've pinned:
notes from the patch and twiddletails. I can't wait to pick out material that fits each month!
7-Hanging dish towels (will probably finish as soon as my toddler gets bored of pulling them down: Inspiration @ Kleio's Belly
8-patch Abby and Ginny's pants knees. Okay, for some people this would not need to be on a list like this. Were you listening above when I said I sewed once in the 7th grade? I was serious. Most things that need to be darned, etc. in my house get pitched. In the current economy I'm realizing I need to make some changes. Inspiration @ designmom
9- Build our family kitchen table (I know, this is the BIG one): Inspiration @ Our Vintage Home Love and Shanty 2 Chic and Ana White 
  10- Build pallet bookshelves for kids bedrooms: Inspiration @ Six Sisters Stuff
11- Paint the girls bunkbeds (okay, another big one).
12- Make Christmas Stockings. Inspiration.... okay I have so many cute stocking ideas that I've seen I honestly don't know which to pick. I will have to narrow it down, obviously, and may just go with whatever looks easiest. Which won't be a bad thing since all of the designs are stinkin' cute.

Resolution #3 Be a Better Mom
Full Disclosure: The biggest things to suffer from my cooking, cleaning, laundering, etc. a house of 11 people, the things that have gone out the window are the little things. The simple little wonderful things that make a life. I feel like a lot of them have gone out the window because I've been too busy with less important things or (mostly) too tired/grumpy. I am really looking forward to having just my little family to myself again here pretty soon. My brothers family is a family of TV. There it is. My biggest complaint. OUT. I am really looking forward to being able to say, "No TV" and be able to enforce it. I know getting rid of TV is not going to get rid of noise but it will get rid of the unwanted noise that has been filling my life as of late. 
I've been reading chapter books to my girls in the evenings along with the picture books that we inevitably pull out through out the day. I have loved this and am excited to keep this going. Abby has been wanting to learn how to play chess and I think we'll turn it into a family event. I also want to spend some more time outdoors in the coming year. I feel like I've gotten really lazy about the outdoors this past year. Being pregnant can do that to you. I'm feeling nature deprived and I'm pretty sure my kids are too. I'm going to work on building some traditions of things we do during the different seasons and hopefully in 2014 I will have a well defined plan for what I want to do in this area. For now, this year is going to be trial and error.

Resolution #4 New Recipes
Just like last year I want to try a few new recipes every month. I don't think I'm going to say one a week or anything like that. I don't need the added guilt if I miss a week. And honestly there were some weeks I tried several recipes and then I would go a month without having the energy to try anything new (pregnancy, again) and while I don't plan on getting pregnant in the next year I DO plan on being a tired mother of 4 at least once in a while. I have 100+ recipes pinned so I don't think I'll have any problems in this department. 
I do think it would be fun in conjunction with res. #3 to highlight a certain place, possibly one that our current chapter book is taking place in,  and cook recipes that come from that area also talking about that part of the world. When we read Danny the Champion of the World  it mentioned Danny's father's favorite dinner being "Toad in the Hole". It might have been fun to try that out when we were reading it. Food for thought. (I am SO not funny, excuse that last sentence). 
 
Resolutions #5, 6 etc.
Another thing that has suffered living in a home of 11- my spirituality. This is not something that I would normally share on a blog but I feel like it has gotten so bad that I need to make a commitment to more than just myself.
We have remained pretty good at family scripture & prayer, FHE and church attendance. However, on the personal front, not so much. I also need to work on my feelings towards my brothers family- it's really bringing me down. Even though I know that living with family for 2 1/2 years is not ideal and that most people would struggle I feel like I could have done better in this area.
 Everyone's resolution: Lose weight. It is SO time to take care of this. I've been saving clothes from before my first child was born. I HAVE lost some weight between babies but I've never gotten down to my pre-first-baby weight. Now that I've had my 4th I'm afraid that none of it will be usable style-wise when I open that box. Not that being way out of style has stopped me from wearing something before. Still... my plan: I need to use the handy dandy app. on my phone. In the past if I have a bad day I've stopped doing this. I need to just input the bad day and move on from now on. Bad days happen. I just hate putting them in. It looks so bad. But it's much worse to stop completely and I know that even though I hate counting calories it works. Exercise: Okay, I know I'm weird but I actually love to exercise. It's the food that really gets me. It's also the time commitment it takes to exercise so I really need to get better at time management.

Time management: this may be my most important goal. I'm going to start planning out my week each Sunday. I do really well with lists . Some people are not list people but I am and I know it. I love checking boxes. I also want to get really solid morning/bedtime routines. I feel like I keep putting so many things off until we move. Hopefully that will happen in the next month. January may be a wash as far as time management goes but I will be figuring it out and getting ready to be super organized really soon.

Well, that about does it... well I want to make a goal to refer to this post at least once a month if not every Sunday to remind myself of my goals and recommit. It also might be o good idea to resolve to write on this blog more often. I really think that's why I was sad looking back at my resolutions from last year. I was planning on sharing my progress and I took a lot of pictures of food and crafts and then never shared them. So that will be my last resolution of all. What are some of your resolutions? I'd love to hear what yours are too so that we can cheer each other on!!! Good Luck with 2013 to all of you.

Resolutions 2012

Resolution #1
Okay. I am not in the least bit crafty. (Why does that Beastie Boys song have to get stuck in my head every time I make a similar statement. I also do not "get around".) I am completely okay with my un-crafty-ness. Mostly. I would like to make functional things around the house if it's going to save money. I DO own a sewing machine but the last time I used it the bobbin kept getting jammed because I put it in backwards or sideways or something. HELP.
Plan: to do one "crafty" thing each month. I may begin with some non-sewing crafts until I can brave up. But, honestly, most of the ideas I've gotten from pinterest are sewing ideas. I DO have some Goodwill furniture/frame finds that need some sprucing up. I'll post each months "accomplishments", don't judge. Posting will keep me honest.
I'd also like to have the kids do a craft a month with me (different craft). To some moms out there who do several kids crafts a week this may not sound like much. For me it is. Plus, most kids crafts seem so wasteful to me. You put it up for a while and then it winds up in the trash. Once a month is enough to decorate for the upcoming month and not feel completely wasteful.

Resolution #2
Teach Drama Queen to read. I've been meaning to get this going for a while. Kindergarten begins next September for her. We have a dead-line people! I used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with Sugar Plum Fairy and was more than pleased with the results. I'll be using it with all of my children now. I just need to go buy some poster board so that we can make a sticker chart for her. Sugar Plum Fairy called her lessons "doing my chart". The stickers are the best part, apparently.




Resolution #3
Trying new recipes. We have around 30 recipes that we do all the time, so I can get us through a month w/out getting too bored. However, I, the mom, get bored and would like to try some new things. I'm making the ambitious goal of trying 1 new dish a week. I'll be posting those results as well.





Resolution #4
I took piano lessons for EIGHT YEARS and can barely play. This, sadly, is because those 8 years were from age 5-13. I also used to sing. Now I hear myself and cringe. It's time for some practice. I don't want to start out too ambitiously so I will limit myself to 1 song a month on the piano and I will practice singing the hymns for the upcoming week in church (a benefit of being the chorister is that I will KNOW the upcoming hymns). I should have been doing this anyway. Bleh.
I would pick the songs for the piano now and list them but I don't want to limit myself.
Resolution #5
Reading: Okay. I don't like choosing a number of books that I'm going to slog through in a year. What if I want to read more than one 600+ page history? What if I want to read a few that require some study and note-taking?

SO... I've decided to compile a list of 10 books that I want to finish this year. I've chosen these books because
1. I need improvement in certain areas
2. I want to learn something or be reminded through a re-read
3. I need to be spiritually uplifted
4. simply because I've been meaning to read them for years and it's time I got around to it

In no particular order:
The Lost Language of Symbolism by Alonzo L. Gaskill
Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew
Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes
The Divine Center by Stephen R. Covey
The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw
Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self Indulgent World by H. Stephen Glenn, PhD & Jane Nelsen, Ed.D.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Favorite!!! Time for a refresh)
The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade by Susan Wise Bauer

To do additions

#58 Learn how to assemble/restore bicycles. I Love old bikes and this goal sounds easier than tackling a car engine. Besides, I don't think my husband has the patience to teach me.
#59 Plant a small wooden boat with flowers (geraniums and Indian peas as a nod to Robert McCloskey) in my yard. I'm thinking either I will wait to do this when I am an old lady and the neighbors will say, "that crazy old lady and her boat!", or I'll plant it in the backyard. This comes a long with a pledge that I will NEVER do the same thing with an old toilet or an old bathtub.

Still inching my way toward 100.

Division: math was never my strong suit...

Yet now I have to deal with it in spades (last old-man worthy pun of the day, I promise, no crossies). Dividing, that is, not math. I seem to be agreed with most adults that advanced math is something I have rarely needed or used. So, onwards...
WANTS: I want, oh let's see, a lot of things. But, as the Beatles once wisely said, "the best things in life are free", no that can't be the one I'm thinking of. Oh yes, the best THINGS in life aren't THINGS. I'm going to shorten my list by eliminating so called "things".
What separates wants from dreams? I'm going to make my list of 100 dreams first and whatever is left out must be a want, right?
Okay, I want...
1. To visit every National Park
2. To visit every Temple
3. To visit every Major League Baseball Park
4. To own an Emerson upright Grand Piano
5. To be able to play it well
6. To finish my degree/ or graduate to some degree (oops, promises)
7. To go to Australia & New Zealand
8. To go to Greece
9. To return to the British Isles
10. To read the complete works of Shakespeare
11. To read all of the "Great Books" list courtesy David Denby
12. To learn how to make Creme Broulee well
13. To learn how to crochet well
14. To make a quilt for each of my children
15. To make a theme quilt for each month of the year
16. To go to Prince Edward Island
17. To run the Boston Marathon
18. To run the Salt Lake City Marathon
19. To climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
20. To hike the Appalachian Trail
21. To go to Alaska
22. To go to the Holy Land
23. To visit Mt. Rushmore
24. To visit the Statue of Liberty
25. To visit the Grand Canyon
26. To learn how to fly fish
27. To learn how to make pottery
28. To learn how to blow glass
29. To learn how to competently use my sewing machine (make clothes)
30. To see "Phantom of the Opera" on stage
31. To see a performance in the theatre in Torino
32. To learn how to surf
33. To help spread the gospel
34. To learn how to can
35. To create a square foot garden
36. To keep bees
37. To write a personal history
38. To organize and compile photo albums for my children and I
39. To make a "Quiet Book"
40. To read Hugh Nibley's complete works
41. To make homemade soap successfully
42. To make salsa entirely from my gardens produce (and salt)
43. To have a working food storage rotation
44. To have fruit trees
45. To learn about the mechanics of an automobile
46. To own a usable vintage bicycle
47. To learn how to sail a boat, well
48. To climb Mt. Washington
49. To fit into my old jeans
50. To feel good about the way I raised my children
51. To be a grandma
52. To have a relaxing front porch
53. To own a long string of dogs and cats
54. To build a bookcase
55. To learn to slolom ski, well
56. To read the annotated lists in all 5 categories from "The Well Educated Mind"
57. To enjoy every moment

Okay, this was MUCH harder than I thought. That speaker wasn't kidding when she said it was nearly impossible to come up with 100. I'm going to consider it a work in progress.

Form: this is a test

This is a test. Only a test. Only?!?!?! So like, it's not a real disaster, right? That's what they are getting at? But, then, why not call it a practice? For those of us not involved in the non-school program saying that something is a test strikes fear into the hearts of child-dom. (I am closing in on 34, anyone under 20 is a child now). I like the idea of being prepared.
So, who am I? What defines me, or more specifically, what to I WANT to define me. I want to be

1. A loving, caring, laughing, accepting wife
2. A loving, caring, laughing, accepting mother
   
3. Ditto to the above friend, sister, daughter, etc.
4. Creative/Fruitful, blooming, productive
   
5. Fun-loving/Youthful/Joyful
6. Healthy
7. Appreciator of uplifting music
8. Organized
9. Good at prioritizing
   
10. Thrifty
11. Seeker of knowledge/teacher
    
12. A voracious reader
    
13. Service-Oriented
14. Someone who consecrates my time and choices to God's purposes
    

The first day of the rest of my life...

So, when God created the world he FORMED, DIVIDED and BEAUTIFIED. While I am definitely not God, He can make an excellent mentor, correct? Or, if you find the French version more romantic, Non??? (Sorry, I am very impressionable and since "Be Our Guest" is playing in the background- Well, just imagine that last sentence spoken by Lumiere (sp?)).

ANYWAY, I could use some work. When did I become this frazzled, time and sleep deprived, talentless, slow witted... okay okay, no need to get myself overly depressed. I'm sure the slow wittedness is due to the sleep deprivation. I should have left it at I could use some work. As for the FORM, DIVIDE and BEAUTIFY model, well, it's not an original idea (although I like to think of my little brain being a tad creative from time to time) I came away from a lovely meeting with some ideas for perking up my life.

Homework Assignment for FORM: decide what MATTERS to me, what are my values. What words define me? I am.... make a list of qualities that define me or that I want to define me.

Homework Assignment for DIVIDE: what are my dreams, wants and goals. I want: make a list. Dreams: try to come up with 100 things that I want to accomplish in my lifetime. Goals: I will list. Set specific time frames to complete the goal. Decide why this goal is so important to me. What is the PURPOSE.

Homework Assignment for BEAUTIFY: Priorities. In order for my life to be beautiful I need to decrease the clutter. That is the tangible but more importantly the intangible clutter. My to-do list. A list: things that HAVE to happen. Once this list is made prioritize the list. B list: things that need to be done but not immediately. C list: long term things.
These homework assignments are best completed in the evening- just a tip if you want to join me on this journey.

I look forward to reporting back to the vacuous internet world... is anybody out there??? Doesn't matter, this is really only for my benefit. Congratulations if you want to join me and plow through my nearly unintelligible, ten years out-of-college out-of-practice grammar. My guess is that grammar will make it onto one of those lists.