Oh swell...2012

Its been a while. Our Christmas was so busy that I just didn't have five seconds together to post. We enjoyed friends, family and Lots of Christmas crafts and candy! KayLynn is really blossoming and becoming such a big girl. She loves to help when I babysit and clean and always wants to be near me. She is also very empathetic, and everything that my baby makes me feel, her baby makes her feel!!

We are all looking forward to the new baby, although a few of the side affects have been a little hard to handle, I had forgotten! In a couple weeks I will see the midwife, and until then I am ok being nauseated. In the last few weeks I have consumed about 4 jars of pickles, 3 jars of artichoke hearts and am about halfway through a jar of green pickles, not to mention the kimchee! it seems my salty sour cravings are back with full force. Cooking any type of meat makes me physically ill, unfortunately my husband and daughter still like to eat! The only other thing really bothering me is that I am exhausted all the time. Due to that I have had to change my gym time to later in the morning, but I am sure I will get used to it.

As far as our goals for the years... Max and I are going to spend the next few months really focusing on making our marraige better by working harder to be more focused on The Lord. this last year seems like such a blur and we feel like we let a lot slide because we were so overwhelmed, but we are done now!

Our second goal is to gradually ease KayLynn into the big sister role! I tend to baby her and not make her do things by herself even when she is able, however I need to stop, it's not good for her and it won't work when the baby is here!

I have a few personal goals as far as health and schedules as well.

Hope the New Year brings you all blessings.

Calling all wine lovers...

Do you like wine?  Do you like talking?  Well then I have a job for you.  I have only two more items left on my organization list for January.  The BASEMENT and my art supplies.  When I type the BASEMENT in bold letters it should come with the dum dum dum theme music! 

So, if you have a few hours to sit around and drink wine while talking to me and watching me work...Let me know!

So much going on

Saturday was a busy day - I cannot believe how much I got done! 

We got some more of my organizing list done...K and I pulled everything out of the closet and

 my hope chest and put it onto the bed...KayLynn loved throwing linens around.

 The end products:

 I left the bottom open because K likes to play in there.

 And here are some things that I just don't know what to do with.  I am not a huge fan of place mats.  I have two cream (upper left), two stripped, four circle and once lace.  The lace (or maybe embroidery - I can't remember now) is from Japan, and though beautiful I don't know what to do with it.

 Here is all the stuff that came out and can't go back.  It is either going down tot the basement, to the goodwill, or to call-to-haul.  So glad that's done.

 After I was done with that K and I got ready (Max was working out with his strong-man friends like he does ever Saturday morning).  She was going to see Grandma K and then to see her buddies Wren and Lilia, while Max and I had a date afternoon. 

My daughter is so stinkin' cute!

 Then Max and I went to Seattle for what seemed like all day but ended up just being a few hours...  I fell in love with this baby cauliflower - so cute!

 Then we go the call that my nephew Mason was making his way into the world (not to be confused with my other sister Mandy's baby Jack who has yet to make his entrance).  He is adorable and we enjoyed getting to visit with Aunty Amy and cousin Mason.  We go to see them again Sunday morning and K got to hold Mason - pictures to come when my computer starts following orders.

Monthly Goals for 2011

After reading on A Bowl full of Lemons about her getting organized challenge, I have been inspired.  I have decided to give each month a theme (subject to change depending on family needs).  Then I will spend the month doing things around each theme. 

For instance:  January's theme is organization.  I wrote a list of 15 things in my home that need some serious organizing.  My goal is to have all of them done this month.  This is a better system for me since I sometimes have the desire (and time) to do more than one thing in a day, and sometimes I just need the day off!  So feel free to join me if you would like...

My 15 organizational tasks for January are:
1.    Bathroom Shelves
2.    Art Supplies
3.    Pots and Pans
4.    Bedroom Closet
5.    K's Clothes downstairs
6.    Corner Cabinet in the dining room
7.    Cabinet above the stove
8.    Pantry (if you can call it that)
9.    Linen Closet
10.  Hope Chest
11.  Jewelry Box
12.  Papers for Filing
13.  Kitchen Shelves
14.  Mud Room (or what I refer to as the Mud Room)
15.  Call to Haul!!!

Here are my tentative monthly themes...Some are a little obvious!  Let me know if you can think of anymore for my missing months..

January - organization
February - Romance (this was Max's idea)
March - Scrapbooking...
April - Learning to knit?
May - Painting
June - Flowers and Friends (Taking flowers to friends or Family)
July - Correspondence (writing real hand-written letters to friends)
August - Walks and Parks (try all new walks and parks each week)
September -
October - Sewing
November - Thanksgiving
December - Christ's Birth

Goals for 2011

Resolved to:

FAMILY:
1. Begin consistent family Devotions (we got the book that Sarah recommended and the Wee Sing Bible Songs that I grew up with)
2.  Take a real - time off work-vacation.
3.  Tina quit (out of the home) job


KAYLYNN:
1. Learn letters
2. ?

PERSONAL:
1. Read the Bible through in a year
2. Continue my road to health.
3. Spend more time with girlfriends.

Last Year's Resolutions...Revisited

Before We sat down and worked out some goals for this coming year, I figured I would revisit the ones from this year and evaluate them for myself!

Resolutions:
FAMILY:
1. Read the Bible through in a year.  Didn't quite get there - but I got a lot closer this year than last, and I will be trying again.
2. De-Clutter our home. Did it, although it is an ongoing project - we have a small house after all!
3. Get the plumbing done in the house. Yes, we were able to get that done as well as all the electric in the house!
KAYLYNN:
1. Potty Training. She was amazing, and it only took three days (day and night dry since may 2010)
2. Contentment -- learning how to play by herself consistently. She is very good at playing by herself now.  She doesn't always choose to, but when told to play by herself she is able!

PERSONAL:
1. Get back to being healthy. I am very content with where I am right now.  I worked very hard this year trying to get back to being healthy in all aspects of my life.  Though I am no model (and never will be!) I am getting healthier and healthier!!  I also weigh less than I did last year at this time!
2. Spend more time with girlfriends.  I did spend more time with friends(mostly Kjerste!) this year and have enjoyed doing so.  I hope to do more of this in the coming year!

Year of the "New Me"

I have been working hard this year to become a new-better-me. I want to be the best mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, gardener, home-maker, baker, encourager I can be. I don't want to start tomorrow or Friday - I want to start today and yesterday. And, I must say that I am on my way... I have lost some weight. I cut my hair. I am more patient with KayLynn. However, I am disappointed in myself.

I DO NOT read my bible faithfully... And, of course, if I am not communing with the Lord faithfully - how can I do the other things well?

I have decided to make a pact with myself (and the Lord) to get up earlier each day to have my quiet time with the Lord. This means on weekdays I will be getting up at 4:30AM. So, I am going to pull out my coffee maker (buy some coffee) and get started... Please pray for me as I try to make this aspect of my life the best it can be as well!

You may have noticed that I did not reach my goal weight last week. Apparently my 30 minute work-outs five days a week are just not hacking it. Starting this week I will be working out 1 hour of cardio every moning before work. I am praying that this will give me a kick in the pants!!

Habit Forming

I have been working out in the afternoons 3 times a week. It takes up my entire evening leaving me little time for anything else. So, yesterday and today I worked out at the Y before heading to work. This is not easy for me - I like to sleep. So, how long does it take to form a habit? Max says it takes about a month, and everything I have read on this subject agrees with him. Therefore...

I am committing to getting up (freakishly early) every weekday morning and heading to the Y before work for four weeks. That means I get up at 4:50/5:00 AM in the morning. I will also be commiting to Pilates on Monday nights with my mom as teacher! Ugh, last night almost killed me - I am not even sore, just stiff!

The other habit we are forming is having a healthy budget. Up till now Max has handled every aspect of our finances. He has done very well paying off all our debt and putting money in savings, but now we are trying to keep track of it all a little more. So we have instituted a cash rule in our home which we started on Monday. For a while we will be a part of the envelope system crowd. Judging by how Max reacted when I came home with all the groceries for the next two weeks - he had no idea how far money could be stretched (especially when it came to his meat and protein). Our grocery bill will be the hardest. Max competes in strong man and is training for a body building contest in April and therefore needs certain kinds of foods to always be available to him.

So, please pray with me as we whip our family and our bodies into shape.

New Side Item

You may notice a new side item on my blog. I am intent about keeping up with my resolutions, so I am adding my personal resolutions tracker here. This way I can keep a constant record of how I am doing, and have the accountability of having to see you all.

1. At least 156 workouts this year, that's 3 a week, but I started out two weeks behind, so I will have to catch up. REWARD: Salt Scrub at the Spa
2. 365 days of Bible reading. REWARD: Knowledge and better relationship with my Saviour.
3. Weigh in and record weight every 2 weeks, keep track of goal. A pound a week is my goal. REWARD: New Clothes

The other resolutions are harder to track with numbers, but I will keep you updated.

I did the unthinkable...

For me anyway...


For those of you who don't know I am a closet junk-horder. When I was young I collected peechees. Not the fancy ones, no. I had about a million of those bright orange peechees with the basket ball players on them. I always had this fear of having to move and leave everything behind so I would keep it all. Almost in backlash to that - I mercilessly throw things away. I tend not to have junk (at least what I consider junk).


For instance, about six months after Max and I got married there was so much stuff in our basement that we didn't know what to do with it all. There were two huge dufflebags full of stuff, which I took (unopened) to the goodwill. I figured if I lived six months without it, and didn't miss it (whatever it was) - I didn't need it.


However, I am not so merciless with things that I could use when ____ or if _____ (you fill in the blank). But, I decided last night I am done. I finally put up the pictures in the living room - and all that didn't fit got thrown out. I am so proud of me!!

Tonight, I am going to coninue my work and get rid of everything (within reason, of course)!

I can still say, Happy New Year, right?!?

OK with all the Christmas stuff aside, Happy New Year to all!!



Max and I welcomed in the new year with a good night of sleep. We are so old! Since we were all sick (and some of us still are), it seemed like the right thing! Maybe next year we can have/attend a party!


Resolutions:

FAMILY: 1. Read the Bible through in a year. Tam and James got us a new ESV Study Bible, and we plan to use that. 2. De-Clutter our home. 3. Get the plumbing done in the house.

KAYLYNN: 1. Potty Training. I figure we will see if she is ready for it sometime in the summer. 2. Contentment. KayLynn will be learning how to play by herself consistently. We have already started working on it.


PERSONAL: 1. Get back the healthy body I had when Max and I were dating. Not that this is new, I have been working pretty hard on this goal for the last two months. 2. Spend more time with girlfriends.