2010

Can y'all believe it's almost 2010?  For a lot of us, 2009 will be remembered as the year our baby/babies came along and turned our worlds upside down.  What a year it has been!  For now, I'm looking ahead and thinking about what 2010 might look like. 

I love the start of a new year, for many of the same reasons I like moving into a new house-it's a blank slate, a fresh start, wide empty space waiting to be filled.  This year, being the end of the decade (or not, depending on how you want to look at it), feels bigger, more important somehow, than most.  Has it really been ten years since the big Y2K non-catastrophe?  I was a senior in high school back then...my, how times have changed.

Anyway, I've mentioned before that I don't do very well making specific resolutions, but this year I do have some general goals in mind.  (And by the way, I did alright with the two goals I mentioned in last year's post;  my house was a little cleaner than the year before and we wasted a little less food.  Not bad, I think.)  So here goes...my list for 2010:

• First, a repeat from last year... the house.  With the babies quickly becoming mobile and a fresh, new house waiting for us, improving my housekeeping skills is more important than ever.  Jeremy has promised to help me in this area, and I think between the two of us we can keep the clutter under control.  The specific goal in this area is to catch our laundry up every week.  Laundry is pretty much the bane of our existence in this house.  We let it pile up entirely too much, and it's got to stop.  One thing that might help this goal is the fact that our laundry area in the house we are buying is right off the kitchen and contains the door to the carport that we will use for coming in the house most of the time.  Meaning...it will have to be fairly neat or I won't be able to get in the door!
• Secondly, another food-related goal...I have to start cooking more, and specifically, more healthy, well-balanced meals (as opposed to the hot dogs I've had for dinner two nights in a row).  As the girls begin to eat more and more table food, I realize how much I don't want them eating the junk that I sometimes resort to.
• In 2010, I want to read more.  With all the extra housekeeping and cooking, I'm not sure where this goal will fit in, but I fell way behind in my annual book count in 2009, and I would like to rectify that situation next year.  (I'm kidding, by the way...I don't actually count my books during the year!)  In the next few days, I hope to narrow down a list of the books I really, really want to read this year, so at least the reading I do get done will be worthwhile.  Any suggestions for my list?  I'm a ficiton-lover at heart, but I'm trying to encourage myself to read a little non-fiction occasionally.  It's good for my brain to actually think about what I'm reading on occasion.  (Wait, most blogs are non-fiction!  That totally counts, right?)
• A baby-related goal for next year is to get out for special activities with them as much as possible.  Being home mostly on the weekends, it's tempting to fall into a habit of staying home and being lazy all day, but I want us to get out and about as a family and make some fun memories in the process.  As they grow up a little over the next few months and start noticing more things about the world around them, it should be easier to find activities they will enjoy.  I figure one of the first stops should be the zoo...and they should be ready about the time the warm weather gets here!  Besides things like the zoo, though, we can do lots of free things around town.  The point is just to get out and do something a little different.
• I don't do the whole work out three times a week, lose 10 lbs. kind of goals, but I can easily resolve to get more exercise.  I can easily do that, because almost any exercise is an improvement over what I do now!  : )  If the soft, post-baby tummy firms up a little in the process, all the better. 
• There are two relationships I want to focus on strengthening and improving over the next year:  my relationship with Jeremy and my relationship with God.  Both relationships have suffered a little in the craziness of the past 8 months (although I have had many a late-night chat with both of them during those months!).  These relationships are definitely constant priorities in my life, but I need to focus more on making them what they should be.  (Along those lines, I'm thinking a once-a-month date night with my husband might need to be added to the list!)
• Lastly, I think, but importantly, I want to practice more patience.  I need to have more patience with the girls, with Jeremy, and often, with myself.  I need to let go of things I can't control and focus on what I can...which are my actions and reactions.  I have a feeling my two little princesses will find constant new ways to challenge me as they grow, and I'm going to have to deal with it better than I have at times in the past.  I'm thinking that working on my relationship with God will come in handy for this goal as well.  : )

Well, that turned into a mighty long post, didn't it?  What are your goals or resolutions for 2010?  If you're doing a post on it, let me know...I might be missing something on my list!

Happy New Year, everyone!