Resolutions

Happy New Year!!

We had a great Christmas this year. Lots of good food, family, friends and a great time!

My sister Katie and the handsome little guy wearing his Christmas present - love the hat that I made for him!

This weekend it's time to pack up the decorations and get ready for this year.

Every year it is nice to stop and look back at the last year. The last year had lots of change in store for us - hard, sometimes painful, but all-in-all good. As for resolutions, I want to commit them to memory and I think it would be great to look back to see how I did with that wishlist. The last few years, I have thought that this is a fantastic idea. This year I am actually going to do it! My one word is CREATE. Create change, create new habits, create new surroundings. It just fits my to-do list! :) So.... for my own benefit a year from now....

My 2009 Goals:

1. Finish old projects, once and for all. This includes one surprise for Brian, two quilts (Amy's and Tom's), three vacation scrapbooks (Florida, Vermont and 2006 trips), four re-organizing projects (pantry, bookshelves, laundry room, under-stair closet) and five different wall photo areas (loft, entry, living room, dining room and master bedroom). The purpose being to create a clean slate on the craft projects.

2. Continue creating our home. For Brian this is finishing the wall in the backyard, hopefully putting in sprinklers, grass + trees too if we can afford it. For me, this means painting inside the house. The priority list is our master bedroom, master bathroom, laundry room and downstairs bathroom. And if I get the rest done, the loft. While I would *LOVE* to paint the main area of our house this year (*hint, hint* Brian!), I am realistic in thinking that we don't have the time to do it ourselves or the money to hire someone to do that for us. sigh. Maybe next year! :)

3. Create new routines. This will be the most difficult for me. I want to have a good routine. Right now, it changes day-to-day and I don't think it's working for me. The main change will be an 8:00 pm bedtime and gym every morning at 5:00 am. I've always been a night owl, but I don't want to be anymore.

4. Create great memories. Something I strive for every year really. So far we have several weddings we are really looking forward to, I have a crop that I am co-hosting in May by the ocean, we are hoping to get some hiking in at the Pinnacles again soon, our nephew will turn one, holidays, Lake Tahoe in the summer (for one of the weddings), maybe a few trips with the RV and boat to a nearby lake, go see Wicked in the city (I really hope!)... we'll see what other cool stuff comes up along the way.

5. Create new traditions, new favorites. This stems from adventures in the kitchen where we have spent the last few years experimenting with our cooking skills. Last year, I learned to make flour tortillas from scratch (will post those soon), improved my bread making skills and made my first spice blend. This year I want to learn to make marshmallows, macaroons, creme brulee and crab cakes (not all together!) from scratch. Maybe a few different kinds of bread too. This is where new traditions come in. I want to create a new tradition in our house of trying a new recipe each week. I also want to start some new family traditions for Christmas next year, but for now, I'll keep those under wraps! :)

So over the course of this year, I will revisit this list and a year from now, I will finally have a solid list to compare to. What are your resolutions? Do you have a word?