Hello 2011

They only sucky thing about saying hello to 2011 was having to say good-bye to my brother and his family.

It. Was. Hard.

I'm going to try to limit my "funk" to the first part of this post.  I don't want to be too depressing.  With all that said - - Today, I need to just chill out.  I need to relax.  I need to allow myself time to be sad.  I'll feel better later I'm sure.  But right now, the reality of it stings.  It will be a while before I see them again.  I try to distance myself each time they visit.  I don't want to get close again because (okay the back of my throat hurts from holding back the tears, so I'm just gonna let them flow.)  Anyway, because if I allow myself to get close, it just hurts that much more when they leave.  Well - - God busted my protective wall I put up.  He knocked it right down and I completely re-connected with Baby Bro's family.  It felt so good.  So - - it hurts so much today.  So understand if I don't answer my phone or e-mails for a while.  I just need to re-group.

There - - moving on.

As cliche as New Year's resolutions are - - I am embracing the idea of a fresh start.  I'm going to list mine for you here.  So let's hit it:

1.  Get healthy.  I plan on doing this by portion control, not eating fast food, limiting sweets (that would include going to Starbucks for my "froofy" drinks), and starting to exercise.  I don't move hardly at all.  And that's unacceptable.  After seeing several pictures of myself over the holiday - - I felt sick.  I'm disgusted with how I look and feel.  I'm not joining a gym or anything.  I'm going to use some of the fitness programs we have on our gaming systems.  And - - I'm going to just get out there and walk.  I'm going to put that iPod on and get moving.  I'm not aiming for a marathon or anything.  This white girl doesn't run.  But I can move.  And I'm gonna.  Another part of my plan is to drink more water.  Lots more water.  My skin needs it and I know my body needs it.  I'm guessing that if I move more, I'll want more.  Get healthy.  That's the plan.

2.  Scripture memorization.  I saw where a friend is doing a thing through Beth Moore.  I'm going to examine more about that today and I might sign up to do that with them.  Her plan sounds easy.  It's not *too* much memorization.  It's based on your own current needs.  If done correctly, I should have twenty four verses memorized by the end of the year.  Hiding God's Word in my heart.  What could possibly be wrong with that?

3.  Reading.  Since I've gotten my Kindle, I've started reading more.  And I love it.  I'm going to spend more down time reading and less farting around on Facebook.  I had a few online games I was playing.  I canceled my account with them and my downtime is going to be spent reading.

4.  Scrapbooking.  I've been in quite the funk since Shannon died.  She wouldn't want that and I don't want that.  So - - I'm going to get after it again.  I'm going to dedicate one day per week where I work on it while the kids are at school.  I need to do my annual scrapbook shelf cleaning.  Time to purge, give away and reorganize.  It's not far out of control.  But it is out of control.  I'll post my projects I'm working on over on my Creative Blog.  You can follow more about my crafty stuff over there.  Nothing much there now.  But be on the lookout.

5.  Cleaning.  I know I talk about this a lot.  But I have some goals here as well.  I'm usually on top of clutter. Surface stuff.  I keep counters cleaned off, the sink empty, laundry done, junk picked up...  My house is *usually* presentable to a surprise guest.  But deep cleaning - - that's where I need help.  I'm going to stick with my usual chores, but add a few hours per week to the stuff that often gets overlooked.  I'm talking about cleaning the blinds, wiping down baseboards, cleaning the ceiling fans, scrubbing grout...  I'll try not to bug you with the details of this one around here.  Because quite frankly, who wants to read about that?  Now - - I still might do a few fifteen minute cleaning challenges here and there.  That helps motivate me to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time.

6.  Church.  Ugh.  If you only knew how much I'm struggling with this one.  Some of you probably have an idea.  I've talked about it on several occasions.  Long story short - - we aren't happy where we are.  (I say that like we go.  We basically don't.  And that's not good with me.)  The solution:  Find a place to go and serve.  That's not easy.  We have to step out of our comfort zone and visit around.  If it was just Mr. B and I, it wouldn't be as big of a deal.  But taking the kids to strange places is hard.  At this point, our prayer is that God will point us in the right direction and rekindle that desire to worship in His house.  My relationship with Him has suffered.  Time to get things right.

7.  Time management.  A lot of my "resolutions" go hand in hand.  This one should easily be fixed by limiting my internet time.  Also by how I get my "chores" done.  If I will budget my time better, I can go to bed when Mr. B does.  (Probably one of his biggest gripes about me.  We rarely go to bed at the same time.)  I want to fix that.  I want to have the coffee pot set, the sink empty, the kids' clothes set out for the next day, their backpacks ready, make up washed off and crawling into my bed by 10:00.  This is do-able, but pretty lofty for me given that I'm quite a night owl.  My schedule needs to coincide more with my family's schedule.  I know it will make my days better (and more productive) if I will follow this.

So - - there you have it.  My goals for improving my life and that of my family's life this year.

I turn 40 this year.  I'm not afraid of it.  I'm going to embrace it.  So - - 2011 - - I'm ready.

Happy New Year!  Thank you all for hanging around and being a part of my life.  Here's to a fun year!!!