Towards a New Year

Superman and I have the tradition of going to lunch together before New Years to talk about what we want from the new year and what we'd like to accomplish. We went this year on the 30th- he had an appointment with his doctor to see if he was cleared to return to work (he was, YAY!) so we had lunch before that since my sister graciously agreed to watch the boys for us.

It's not so much an "I'm going to totally remake myself this year" but a realistic, "I'd like to accomplish this or work towards a new habit" kind of thing. Let's just say we keep each other honest.

I won't share superman's personal goals here, but I'll share mine. My goals revolve around clearing out clutter, both in my home and my body. I don't need to lose any weight per se, but I do want to feel better, and I have had some problems with food allergies resurfacing that I haven't had in a long time. I need to take care of that, and it requires a pretty strict diet change.

1. Plant a garden this year and hopefully end up with edible produce. If not we'll at least have learned a lot about growing green things this year.

2. Eat at-home prepared meals only for a week. We've been working for the past several months to move away from pre-packaged foods and inbalanced meals, and this is the continuance of this goal. This will either take a lot of planning and prep or not much at all, depending on if we attempt this on a week I'm working or on a week that I don't teach.

3. Read 20 fiction books this year. I made it to 17 last year, I'd like to bump it a little bit this year.

4. Start Bible memory with Big Kid and build it into a habit. We'll be using the method I found on simplycharlottemason.com and starting with shorter verses. This is just as much for me as it is for him.

5. Keep my nightstand area completely clear for 30 days except for vitamins, Bible and 1 current book. This is something I am doing particularly because Superman really prefers that our bedroom be clutter free and the fact that my nightstand looks like a library/knitting factory doesn't meet his ideal. So I'm going to limit my knitting to my basket, and my books to the shelf, save the ones I will actually use that evening.

6. Keep/Toss/Donate 15 items each day for 30 days. I'm planning to start this soon, and continue straight through for 30 days, then move on to item 7.

7. Move systematically through the house to declutter and re-organize. The plan is to work 1 month at a time in each room and the goal is to get rid of the things that have not been needed or used in the last year. I did this in 2004 and I've had two kids since then, so the house definitely needs a reboot. The general rooms are in pretty good shape, but our master bedroom closet is still a stack of boxes since our move last April (including some maternity clothes I haven't needed in over 18 months) and our basement is a true disaster of boxes. Most things just need a re-organization- like the linen closet and the laundry room/pantry. The kitchen items were put into random cabinets when we moved in and I'd like to really organize them the way I'd like them to be to make them more functional for me.

8. Drink water. Make juice an occasional thing and soda a rare thing. Another health thing, but one I'm having severe problems with. I cannot have any soda in the house or I drink it all.

9. Move to using as many fresh ingredients as possible in our cooking. Another improvement on our current diets, and another step in a healthier direction.

10. Re-evaluate my goals every 3 months. This is just as important as the actual goals themselves. I need to stay on track, and check-ins are crucial to that point.

Seven Quick Takes

Make sure you check out the other Quick Takes over at Jen's Conversion Diary.

 

--  1 --

Wow, the holidays really take it out of me! Last night was our last big hurrah with my sister who is currently on her way back to school in New York. Thank goodness the last party is done with! The boys have been staying up later than usual, Big Kid has been napping less often in favor of staying up to see visiting aunts and uncles, and the amount of sugar they've consumed in the last 2 weeks is probably more than they've had all year! We're definitely feeling the effects of all that. I'm eager to get everyone back to regular nap schedules and meals.

 

-- 2 --

The Christmas tree is still up. I'm not counting it as terrible since there was one year that our tree was still up on our anniversary. In March.

 

-- 3 --

I'm trying to sort out some information on container gardening for this spring, but I am totally lost on which information is actually useful and I'm starting to get really overwhelmed and thinking I absolutely cannot do this. We don't own land to put any kind of garden in but we have our deck to garden on for food as long as we can do that in containers. In front of our home we can plant flowers, but I'm not so worried about that.

 

-- 4 --

I have eaten way too much candy and had far too much soda over the holidays and my body is letting me know it. I am really tired even after plenty of sleep and I just feel bleh. I need to get back in the habit of drinking mostly water again and get the rest of this candy out of the house OR I WILL EAT IT ALL!

 

-- 5 --

I am not eager to return to work next week. This is the first time I've felt like this. Usually after a longer break like this I'm ready to get back into things, but this time I want to continue on how we've been- lots of cooking and baking, playing a lot of games, and keeping the house clean. I've been looking into a career shift for awhile, something that will allow me to work while the boys are in bed rather than during a lot of their prime waking hours.  I'm really hoping that we will get closer to that this year.

 

-- 6 --

Superman was released from physical therapy on Tuesday and returned fully to work on Wednesday (just in time for the holiday yesterday!). Dealing with the worker's comp people has actually been a really good experience.

 

-- 7 --

I've been knitting my first sock over the holidays! Everytime we went somewhere where we'd be sitting and talking with family I took the sock and it's almost done. I'm so excited since this is why I started knitting in the first place. I've been using Silver's Sock Class and it has been great to follow. I especially appreciate the pictures throughout the tutorial.

What Were You and What Will You Be?

I've been reading Ask Moxie ever since Big Kid was born. The advice over there is so level-headed and reasonable, and not just in the posts. The comments are wise, witty and generally non-judgemental.

Moxie put up a post yesterday about releasing the ideas you hold about yourself that are holding you back. We all think these things and they cripple us and keep us from pursuing our desires. In response to this I wrote: "I'm leaving behind the idea that I'm a researcher and not a do-er. I end up doing very little that I plan because I'm so worried about being perfect. I need to stop researching and just do it."

I worry constantly that I'm not doing the very best of everything for my kids and my husband, and it's time that I make peace with the fact that I'm human. I will be imperfect and it won't scar anyone for life.

Moxie followed up with a lovely post today- What are you? What is the truth about yourself that you will live this year?

Beyond Homemaking Daybook 6

Weather: It's pretty reasonable outside right now- around 45 or 50 I'd guess. Sunny, nice, but unusual for the end of December!

 

This Week: We're recovering from Christmas. Well, more accurately we're recovering the house from Christmas. I spent the weekend going through the boys' toys boxing up baby toys for future little ones and boxing toys to donate. We found new homes for the gifts, and their rooms are in order for now. I'm working on getting out the next size clothing for Little Bit, he's fully in 24 month clothes, but also a few 2T shirts and all 2T pajamas.

 

Current Fiction Read: Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey. I'm about half through now. :)

 

Current Non-Fiction Read: Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss.

 



Craftiness: The big project of the week is to finish Reed's quilt top.

 

Learning at home:  I pulled everything off the Montessori shelves yesterday and I'm going to re-set the shelves tonight after the boys go to bed. There are a few new things I'm going to put out, and some old things I'm going to present again. I also decided to go ahead and really make 2 of the shelves specifically for Little Bit, 2 shelves to share and the other shelves for Big Kid. 

 

New work: I presented odd and even numbers to Big Kid with the Numbers and Counters yesterday. I'm working on some things for Little Bit also.