Starting Over..

So, last year got away from me!  I've made my New Year's Resolutions and am hoping to actually stick with them this year!

1.  Exercise.  Isn't this everyone's NYR?  I think I start this every year and fail.  The truth is, I HATE WORKING OUT.  I have some friends who practically live at the gym.  Not me.  I prefer to workout in my basement, where no one can see me.  And then, only when I feel like it.  So far, this system is not working for me.  I won't be blogging about my progress on this goal, because, well, no one wants to hear about it.  But, I'll try.

2.  Eating at home more.  We have a bad habit of eating out.  I like to cook, so it's not that.  It's more a time thing.  I get so busy during the day, I forget to start dinner or go to the grocery store.  This year, we will eat at home more.  I've re-discovered my love for baking (I made an AMAZING Rosemary Potato Bread from browneyedbaker.com the other day...OMG!!).  I've also found a new way of doing meal planning that I'm hoping will keep me interested.  I'm still doing my cooking coop, and that definitely makes things easier.

Another reason for eating at home more - money.  I've been reading a lot the last few days on facebook and some discussion boards about how upset people are with the decrease in their paychecks this month because of the payroll tax.  I'm not a political person, so I'm not going to get into that.  BUT, I've been thinking about where we could cut back in our budget as a result of all of these discussions, and the biggest money drain in our budget is food.  We could save a lot of money just by eating at home.  So my goal (for now) is to cut back to once a week - Sunday lunch.  Right now I'm struggling to figure out how to do meals for Sunday noon when church is from 9:45-12 (including Sunday school).  So, I'll give in and we can eat out then.  My next post I'll talk about my new menu planning plan.  I think it will be a good thing for our family.

3.  Get organized.  Before Christmas, we had one of "those" days.  In literally the coarse of 10 minutes I had a world-class tantrum from G because she couldn't find her shoes, followed by a screaming fit from C because the book he wanted to read was missing.  That was the last straw.  We couldn't find anything because the house was a mess.  The house was a mess because nothing was in it's place.  Nothing was in it's place because nothing had a place - we have too much stuff!!  Over the next two weeks, my husband and I went through the entire house - every cabinet, closet, drawer, etc.  We cleaned, sorted, and weeded out.  We ended up taking 12 large garbage bags plus a pack-and-play and 3 ride-on toys and a baby gate to a donation center.  We threw out 9 large garbage bags of "stuff" that was not donate-able.  We purchased tubs for toys and gave everything a home.  It was a start.  So, I'm off and running to restart the Organized Home Challenge.  I'll start it full in February (lots going on before then), but I'll get as much of January done as I can.

4.  Kid-Time.  This is the most important to me.  Yes, I spend time with my kids, but it's not been very "structured" lately, and there are things I could do better.  Especially with J - after all, he's home more.  So, I'll work on that, too.

These are the things you'll be hearing about from me this year.  I promise to do better at blogging (maybe that should be number 5).  And maybe with your help I can keep these resolutions!