Happy New Year!

We welcomed the new year in our own style. I baked cookies (and ate almost all of them). We ate breadsticks for dinner, and then had a slight freak out moment over the loud noises outside (until realizing it was just fire works starting a little early). We prayed over our baby girl and tucked her into bed. I convinced Zach to stay awake until midnight. We started reading Lamb together, discussed resolutions, and watched some of our Christmas presents until the countdown was near. Then we popped open a bottle of the champeign left over form our wedding; It tasted terrible, but watching me try to open the bottle was pretty hilarious. Finally we brought in the new year in the traditional style, with a kiss. Happy New Year everyone!

10 Resolutions for 2010

These are my Goals for the year. Some categories have several goals, By being specific and purposeful I will (hopefully) stick to more of these resolutions.

Spiritual

I will read the Bible and pray daily.

Fitness

I will run a 5k. I hope I can enlist a few friends to work towards this with me. It's not a great distance for me to strive for, but let's face it. If I aimed to run a marathon I would never get off the couch.

I will work out in some capacity at least 3 times a week. That can be walking a mile, spending time playing on the Wii Fit, doing workout videos like the 30 day shred, etc.

Food

I will try a new recipe at least once every 2 weeks. That's 26 new recipe's this year. I would say every week, but sometimes I don't get the recipe right until the second try. Luckily my husband is a wiling taste tester, even for cooking experiments gone wrong.

I will make the majority of Haley's baby food as she ventures into the texture filled world of solids.

Reading

I will read more. The goal is a novel a month, but I hope to read more.

Relationships

I will get over hating the phone and call the people I love at least once a month. I have always relied on my ability to pick up where I left off in friendships (I guess that's a result of 17 summers at camp) but there are a few friendships that are too precious to let slip away now that I don't always see all my friends every year.

I will go on a date with my husband every month. Tonight we finally went on our first date since Haley was born (and she's 4 months and 3 weeks old). I forgot how fun dates can be, It definitely needs to become a regular part of our marriage.

Adventures

I will act like I live in the beautiful blue ridge mountains, because I do. I will go climbing, hiking, or to visit waterfalls at least once a month. I will also bring my husband and little girl along for these adventures.

Volunteering

I will give of my time every month, and serve by my husband's side. I will spend morning serving food at LOT, and spend days hanging out with kids at the home. I will not let motherhood be an excuse to stop serving others.

Money

I will live on a budget. Zach and I set a tentative budget for January, but it involves spending about $100 more than we make, so it will need some tweaking. Luckily we have enough in savings to get by for a little while, but this is an area where something's really got to give. Our budget is not extravagant by any means, but now that I'm not working our savings account is taking a huge hit. We will track every dollar we spend this month in hopes of setting a more clear budget.

I will take tips from all the frugalista's and buy better. I will waste less money on groceries that go to waste. I will be more considerate of purchases by knowing where the purchase will go in my house, and deciding if I really need a it or will use it.

I will also do the eat from the pantry challenge for January. My goal is to spend less that $100 on groceries this month and use all the food that is in the cabinets. that means a lot of rice, beans, and pasta. Hopefully I can spend even less thanks to WIC. I will hopefully be detailing the contents of my pantry Tuesday. (This could also help in the trying new recipe's department)

Home

I will find a place for everything I'm my house by March 18th. Now that I have bookshelves and the piles of books are off the floor there is no excuse. I will find everything a place and aim to keep it there.

I will be more consistent with cleaning. I have a chore chart that I like, now I just need to stick to it. I love having a clean house, but don't love cleaning. hopefully having a baby who will be crawling around soon will give me the motivation I need to keep things clean and tidy.

Creativity

I will draw or paint every week. After all, my favorite class in college was my art class. If it goes as planned I'll end up with 52 works of art by the end of the year. Maybe I'll even get to spin some clay in the potter class I've been hoping to join.

Haley had fun trying to eat the sign I made.