Looking back

We didn't do anything spectacularly special for our New Years Eve celebration. Marci, my sister-in-law, slaved away in the kitchen all evening making snack foods for the evening. Cheese balls, fruit and veggies, cheese and crackers, Mexican wedding cookies and "cheescake" cheese ball w/graham crackers (compliments of Marci), wantons, etc. My parents and sister Jennie were up in Provo. My mom had a doctor's appointment and it took a little longer than expected so they didn't get home until after the kids were in bed. And instead of playing games and eating we ended up just eating and talking. Telling Jennie our birthing stories and scaring her husband. Then around 11:30pm two of us fell asleep on the couches while talking and when midnight hit we all ran downstairs to bed. It was still fun though! But after I woke up when everyone was going downstairs, in my drowsiness, I got a second wind. I started to put the food away and noticed Marci and Jennie were still talking. And then I remembered it was Jennie's last night! So I sat down and joined them. Well, 3 hours later we decided to hit the sack. We had a great chat and bonding time so I didn't even feel tired until 3 am! Fun times!!!


But looking back at my New Years Resolutions for 2008 I can see what I did and did not accomplish. Here is my list:

1. Potty train Samuel--Well, I worked on this all year. This is my same goal this year. I hope he will be potty trained by the time he is 4 1/2 (March).
2. Earn enough money by doing odd and end family jobs (filing, video editing, etc)to buy a sewing machine--I had forgotten this was one of my goals! And I did achieve this one!
3. Audition for The Miracle Worker at the Hale Center Theater in Orem and be cast! If not there, then somewhere else!--I tried 3 times to get into a show this year. I was called back twice but never cast. Maybe this year I will be in a show. But I am not counting on it.
4. Run a 5K w/Melissa and lose so much weight I could be a supermodel (well maybe a plus sized one, kidding!!!!)--I did this one! I never turned out to look like a supermodel but I certainly felt healthier and felt comfortable w/my body. Now, this is always my ongoing goal, and this year is no different. If I get pregnant or not, I want to stay healthy, and eat less sugar.
5. Be much better at the small and simple things like reading scriptures, praying as a couple and family, and strengthening my faith in Jesus Christ.--This is ongoing as well. I could always do better at this.
6. Finish last years craft projects--I didn't finish all of my projects from 2007 but I finished many more that I did not plan for.
7. Finish editing family videos --I did not do this. But I was able to make the videos from our trip which I didn't expect.

New Years Goals for 2009

So all in all, I did accomplish a lot, more than I realized. That should make me happy! And now I want to make goals for this year. One of my friends posted a one word goal to apply to all of her resolutions. She chose SIMPLIFY. I liked that. I liked how it summed it all up nicely. So I got thinking of what word I wanted to choose. I couldn't think of just one so I chose three. SIMPLIFY, PRODUCTIVE and DISCOVER.

SIMPLIFY: I want to simplify my life by focusing on the small and simple things in life. The smiles of my children. Delving into scripture study. Praying meaningfully daily. Attend the Temple monthly. Hold FHE each week. Have a more balanced and consistent schedule but still allowing room for spontaneous activities. Being grateful for all of the blessings that I have.

PRODUCTIVE: I need to de-clutter 6 problem spots in my apartment. I want to reach my weight goals and continue living a healhty lifestyle. Potty train possibly both kids! Continue working on sewing and other craft projects. Stay out of the red in budgeting terms. Sell books on half.com for my mom and get rid of clothing that I tried selling on ebay for over a year now!

DISCOVER: Audition for plays when possible and maybe get into one! Perhaps open a shop on Etsy. Find more ancestors for Tyler's family and break past the "end of line" and ulitmately bring more souls to the Temple. Move this fall either to Provo for Law school or somewhere new for Tyler's PhD program. Perhaps I'll get pregnant this year, if it's right. And finally discover myself and what i want in life :)

So those are my goals in a nutshell. I hope they are not too ambitious or un-realistic. My goals last year drove me and kept me motivated to be doing. They were always in the back of my mind. At times I think they drove me crazy trying to complete them bcse I wrote them down and was committed to them. I felt that in the last quarter of 2008 I was running faster than I could. I was getting a little too ahead of myself and it made me tired and drained.

But I felt like goals made me discover new things about myself too. I discovered that I really enjoy sewing. I discovered that I love doing family history research (Oh, I was called to be the ward's Family History Consultant--I am so excited!) I realized I need to work on patience and control my temper. I learned that my kids are growing, despite Samuel's skinny frame. And I learned that I need security and friends and love and goals and on and on. Looking back, 2008 had its trials but some wonderful things happened as well. I look forward to another great year and hope to be a better me!