A New Year

Three days ago, laying on a double-sized air mattress with Jonathan and two dogs (don't worry, one belongs to the friends we were staying with), we began to think out our resolutions for the year. I'm not big on keeping resolutions. 

I love to make them--the fresh start of a new year gives me the same feeling as a blank journal, so full of the promise of what is to come. However, just as I tend to write a few entries in my journal and leave the rest blank once it's not new anymore, I usually stick to my resolutions for a few weeks or days, and then they fall by the wayside as the rest of life comes around.

I don't have any reason to think that I'll do anything different this year, but I am going to try. I also think that it's helpful to reflect on the past and look forward to how you want life to be different, even if it's not in the form of specific resolutions to be tackled. There are lots of things that I want to change about myself--I want to cook more. I want to keep a neater house. I would like to be more dedicated to my quiet times. But I feel confident that if I set more than just a few goals, I will fail at all of them. So, here is what I did come up with:

1. I want to embrace simplicity in my life. I want this to be my motto for 2009. Simple. Simple. Simple. Seek it, enjoy it, revel in it. This applies to my home--do I really need another spoon, or that shirt that looks similar to the one I already have? No. Declutter. It also applies to my attitude. Take joy and pleasure in a good cup of coffee, a bird's song, or an open window. Finally, it will apply to my commitments. I want to (as much as is possible) simplify my schedule. If something is required for school, I'll do it. But I'm not going to overcommit myself.

2. I want to scrap 50 pages this year. I hear people making scrapping goals in the multi-hundreds, but I know I would not make it there. This goal gives me a little less than 1 per week, and since I'm doing the Amazing Digi-Scrapping Race (don't know what that is? want to see our team blog? It's right here), I know I'll do 2 pages a week for the next six weeks and get a head start. I want to make sure that Jonathan and my memories are recorded, and I'm going to do that by scrapping more and shopping/surfing less.

3. I want to lose 10 pounds and stay within a 5 pound range of that number. It is amazing what a difference eating smaller portions of healthier food, paired with a little exercise, has done for me. Since October, I've lost 8 pounds (I was down 10, but I gained 2 over the cruise and the holidays... a number I'm happy with)! I want to continue these healthier habits and get back down to a weight that I feel really good about.

4. I want to commit to doing Rachel Anne's Small Things. Have you heard of the small things? Rachel runs a blog, Home Sanctuary, on which she encourages women to make their home a sanctuary for their family. She posts one simple small thing that you can do every day to achieve this goal. Sometimes it's a cleaning task, sometimes it's a word of encouragement to a family member, and other times it's a spiritual truth. She has been posting them for a whole year, and while I faithfully read her blog, I rarely do the small things. This year, I want to do them at least three times a week.

So... Those are my goals. I'm feeling good about them and their likelihood of getting completed. I'm feeling pretty good about 2009 in general, actually. I think it's going to be a good year. Happy 2009 to you. :)