Valentine Cuteness

I'll try to keep better track, but somewhere on the web led me to these adorable Valentine brownie bags. I love them. I love the idea of bringing them in for my coworkers on Valentine's Day. (next Monday, which means, get cracking!)
I am not sure if it will be brownies, or a fun Chex mix with holiday M&Ms in it, like here, or something different. But I definitely want to show the love on that day.

Healthy Update

Keeping up with my HEALTHY resolutions-
I WILL
Healthy Body
sleep 8 hours a night- still not up to 8 hours, but working on it. Still not turning on the TV unless I think the weather warrants it.
give up soda- still no soda since January 17
drink more water- drinking more, probably still not enough
eat 5 fruits and veggies a day- pretty good with this, since they are free on WW
walk the dog 5x a week- twice in two weeks does not earn me any gold stars
take three classes a week (yoga, etc.)- yoga is a go, nothing else yet
stretch with Alyssa 2x a week- managed this twice, and then Alyssa pulled her hamstring (not stretching with me!) so it will be a bit longer before that becomes regular habit- Alex may have to step in for a bit.

Healthy Mind
read 50 books in a year- I finished The Girl who Fell From the Sky and The One Who Loves You Best these 2 weeks. I think I counted up 20 books I have right now either on my kindle or in a basket that I want to read. All of them. Right now.
complete 2 photography projects- haven’t picked projects yet (still- need to look for project #1)
meditate (work up to 10 minutes at a time)- haven’t worked on this yet
create a monthly review scrapbook layout- behind on January, but it isn’t a great picture taking month for me. Hoping to catch up before February is over
visit a museum once a month- still a no for the year- must put on calendar
complete the scrapbooking classes I sign up for- FAIL. Plan to make a list of currently unfinished classes to put my things in order for.
complete NaNoWriMo in January- FAILED. But want to keep writing, so that is good.

Healthy Finances
complete Dave Ramsey class-decided I will miss too many classes with Dance, etc, and Mark travelling, so I am going to work through the book
feel in control- Not yet
monthly meeting with Mark- did my homework while he was gone, working on better control

Healthy Marriage
date night once a month with Mark (and the financial meeting doesn't count)- no date night, no plans. I guess if I want one, I better plan one.

Healthy Home
organized cleaning plan- need a better plan- would like to start cleaning things out, and definitely need a plan for that
completing projects in a timely manner (I will try and make a list of projects for each month)- haven’t made my full list yet- and now it is the middle of February, so I need to get on that!
In January, my one goal is to finish reupholstering the chair I started in the fall- started recovering it, decided I wanted different fabric, waited a week to get fabric, got fabric, started upholstering it, decided it needed covered buttons on the back. Covered buttons, but now need upholstery needle to finish attaching buttons. Buying tomorrow.

Healthy Spirit
daily devotional time and more prayer-Reading the One Year Bible pretty regularly, also my boss gave me a book by Andy Stanley called The Grace of God which is really good for me, and is helping me with some issues I have.
I WILL TRY AND UPDATE MY PROGRESS SEMI WEEKLY> GOING FOR WEEKLY, BUT MIGHT NOT HAPPEN

HEALTHY- how's that going for you?

Keeping up with my HEALTHY resolutions-
I WILL
Healthy Body
sleep 8 hours a night- going to bed earlier, not up to 8 hours a night, though. Trying not to turn on the tv in the bedroom at night. So far, so good with that.
give up soda- started Sonoma Diet Wave 1 this week, so no soda since Saturday
drink more water- drinking more- having some at breakfast since no juice this 10 days
eat 5 fruits and veggies a day- right now all veggies, since I am on wave 1 for Sonoma- no fruit until next Tuesday.
walk the dog 5x a week- FAIL FAIL FAIL- temperatures not cooperating, either.
take three classes a week (yoga, etc.)- yoga is a go, nothing else yet
stretch with Alyssa 2x a week- FAIL FAIL

Healthy Mind
read 50 books in a year- I’ve read My Nest isn’t Empty, The One that I want, Organized Simplicity, and MiniShopaholic since the year started
complete 2 photography projects- haven’t picked projects yet
meditate (work up to 10 minutes at a time)- haven’t worked on this yet
create a monthly review scrapbook layout- will do it the first week of the following month
visit a museum once a month- tried to go in DC, but it wasn’t open
complete the scrapbooking classes I sign up for- Darci Dowdle, I am sorry. I am planning on getting pictures printed, etc. this weekend for her class.
complete NaNoWriMo in January- I’m WAAAAAY behind, but I want to keep writing

Healthy Finances
complete Dave Ramsey class-hasn’t started yet
feel in control- not yet
monthly meeting with Mark- planned one for this week

Healthy Marriage
date night once a month with Mark (and the financial meeting doesn't count)- not yet, making plans

Healthy Home
organized cleaning plan- my only plan so far is my group cleaning on the weekend, but that has helped
completing projects in a timely manner (I will try and make a list of projects for each month)- haven’t made my full list yet
In January, my one goal is to finish reupholstering the chair I started in the fall- bought stapes for the staple gun this week

Healthy Spirit
daily devotional time and more prayer-retreat was good, but still need it to be a daily habit.
I WILL TRY AND UPDATE MY PROGRESS SEMI WEEKLY> GOING FOR WEEKLY, BUT MIGHT NOT HAPPEN

Since this is the last week of the month, I have a lot to do this week!!

Trying Not to Feel Behind

I am behind in my word count for NaNoWriMo. I plan to write extra tomorrow night, Friday night and I should have extra time to make up some on the weekend. I am trying very hard not to start beating up on myself for this, but I am starting to lose sight of some other goals while working on the book.
I am going to take Gretchen Rubin's advice (she of The Happiness Project) and make myself a score sheet of sorts, with places to actually mark off each aspect of my resolutions and how well I am performing them. I think it will help to keep me focused on my goals, and much like crossing things off of a list, it will give me a sense of accomplishment.
I am all for a report card. It is the nerdy good student in me.
So excited about the 50 books in a year, too. I have finished one, and I am about halfway through 3 others at this point. I love books. I went to the library to pick up a book on organization (a favorite reading topic) I had reserved this afternoon, and I came home with 3 novels, too. How am I supposed to write with all of this reading to do? Although, it is nice to have some free hobbies, because I am trying to get my finances in order, and ever since I made that mental promise, stuff has been happening. (car needs a fuel pump, kid needs glasses, church retreat is this month, etc.)
I have to figure out how to make a list of my 50 books to put on the side bar of my blog. More to do and figure out- I don't know how anyone is ever bored!- there is way more to learn and do than I have time for.
On my way to read a bit before bed. I am hoping for extra sleep tonight.

Daily December Album

The following are the pages of my December Daily album. I uploaded them mainly for my friend Susan, who also created a daily December album in Georgia. Enjoy the pages if you haven't seen it before. I have done this album in 2008 and 2009. I really like looking back on them, and even though it is a bit of a pain, I love having them done. This year, however, I am going to set it up in the summer, so it isn't quite so crazy in December. (I say this every year, but I really think I am going to get it done this year.)

My Family

This is my beautiful family. My siblings and their families. All together at Christmas, which is fantastic. I am almost finished with my December Daily album- have to wait on a few photos to print at Walmart (used some from the iPhone- that's a first) and then I think I can finish it in about an hour. Hopefully there will be photos soon.

Happy New Year

Well, the New Year has arrived, and while it still looks very much like the old year around here, since I haven't taken down any Christmas decorations, I am welcoming it.

Alex and I started our National Novel Writing Month this evening, and I just finished my daily word count. A novel of 50,000 words is the goal at the end of the month. For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo is actually in November, but any mom with kids knows that is not a good month to start a project that big. Our thought was that not much was going on in January, but boy does it sneak up on you. I figure no month would be good, so I am on my way. It is feeling like young adult fiction right now, and I am pretty happy with that. We'll see how it is going at the end of the month.

I am trying desperately to finish my Daily December album, so this post will be short. I am working on posting frequently to the blog, so some may be shorter than others. Tomorrow, I will try and have photos of my Daily December, or my newly un-decorated and cleaned house, or something. I am working on my NEW laptop (a Christmas gift from loving husband) and I have no photo software installed on it, so I cannot put my own photos in my blog posts currently without a lot of effort.