And Finally...NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS!
The past 5 days have been insanely busy...I know, I know, what else is new, eh? Well there are some reasons and I'll be happy to share those tomorrow :) Everything is fine, good, etc., I just have had quite a lot on the calendar!
Today I worked out and then got ready to go and see a show called "Praying for Abbey" with Jaden, my mother-in-law, my cousin-in-law and many of our friends. The show, portraying artistically our friend Abbey's battle with cancer, was beautiful and well worth going. A dance company approached Abbey's family and asked if they could do this as a fundraiser, and the company plans to do more shows in the future for individuals and organizations that need and deserve fundraising. Quest Crew, winners of Randy Jackson's show America's Best Dance Crew and performers on American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, among many other shows, were featured as part of the show. Unfortunately, after getting myself all dressed up and putting Jaden in her dressiest (think Fancy Nancy style) clothes and fur coat, I forgot my camera and have no photos to show of how cute we looked at the show! I also wasn't able to take any pictures of the performance we saw, but I do have a few pics on my blackberry that I will share tomorrow. Read more about the performance we went to at the links above or here. If you are interested in possibly teaming up with the dance company that did this amazing show for our friend and her family, you may contact them via their site.
Tonight after the show my sister and her boyfriend joined us for dinner at one of our favorite kid-friendly restaurants here in town, The Winking Lizard. They have a large lizard cage that the girls love to sit in front of which makes our dinners out there entertaining for them and easy for us :) As soon as we got home I helped them get ready for bed and both little girls were fast asleep within 120 seconds--literally. See, I told you we've had a super busy couple of days!
So onto what I promised to post on Friday, but could not due to complete and utter exhaustion...THE NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS! I have quite a few, but I'm going to try to simplify them here.
1. I'm going to strive to be an even better wife, mother, housekeeper, friend, daughter and daughter-in-law than I already am. There is ALWAYS room for improvement and I love to look back at how far I've come and to look forward to how far I can go. I am trying to make sure that the most important people in my life get the most of my time, energy and strengths. I am trying not to let "life" and "to-do lists" get in the way :)
2. I am going to cook at least 2 new recipes each month. I have many, many fast, easy, family-friendly recipes that I rotate through, but this year my goal is to add 24 or more new ones to our menus. Who knows, maybe I'll get crazy again and start back up "Fantastic Food Fridays" to share a few good ones! I never want to get stuck in a dinnertime rut making the same easy meals over and over!!
3. I have some very aggressive scrapbooking goals for this year as I attempt to completely catch up Sienna's albums to present photos, finish Jaden's birthday album from her 4th birthday party and create each of the girls' their own Disney album. I won't share the exact goals, but I will share that I am already behind because I was hoping to get some pages done this weekend and that hasn't exactly worked out. Oh well, it's just January and I will definitely have time to catch up!! I'm going to start sharing some of my favorite layouts here on our blog so that you can see my favorite hobby :)
4. I'm going to start doing my own Bible study. I have been involved in studies through our church and with a group of women in the past, but it has been awhile and I want to hold to what I posted here on Christmas about making more time for Christ in my life, because he is the reason I have life!! I have a few easy studies and will be choosing one tomorrow morning to start. I'm very excited to learn some things about God, about myself and about life. My goal is to make more time each day for my maker that I already make!!
5. Quite possibly my most talked-about resolution is that of my goal to get back into shape. I am going to try to lose a few lbs, be able to run for longer periods of time, start lifting and eat better than I did last month :) Let's just say that over the holidays I put on 4lbs and I need those lbs, plus about 20 more to come OFF!! I am not trying to lose weight quickly or make the goals here out of reach--one pound per week is all I want. I am more trying to create life-long healthy habits and I'm trying to keep my schedule open enough to stick to the habits and not get so caught up in busy-ness that healthy eating and working out get nudged off the daily to-do list. This all said, I am happy to say that even though the past 5 days have been hectic, I have worked out every single one of these 5 days!!! I am not trying to create a habit of working out so much, my ultimate goal is 4 times per week, but I'm so happy with myself ;)
**That's enough about this resolution, but stay tuned for "Weight-Loss Wednesdays" starting this week where I'll share my weekly goals, my accomplishments and where I've fallen short, fitness advice that I've read in the past and am reading each week in magazines from the gym, etc. I can't wait to share this week!!
6. I'm going to be taking more time for ME. At the end of the day if I don't blog, don't take it personally. Take it to mean that I've decided to take some time for myself or some time to be with my husband rather than blogged that day. If I can't schedule a playdate with you this week or next week, take that to mean that I value your friendship to want to put you on the calendar when I can focus on you and enjoy the time I spend with you, not when I'm feeling overwhelmed or have too many things going on. If I don't return a phone call right away, please know that I will call you when I can give you the time and attention that you deserve. It's time that I put myself on my agenda whether that be through scheduling workouts, time for reading, more dates out with my hubby, time for scrapbooking, time for girls' nights out, time for sister suppers, etc. I may have fewer social things on my calendar in 2010, but the things I do attend and take part in I will fully enjoy, I promise!
7. Finally, I'm going to read more and watch TV less. I haven't figured out which ones, but I am going to eliminate some TV shows that I watch and spend time in the evening snuggled up with a book or a magazine. I have a stack of books that are either new to me or borrowed and I'm determined to read 2-3 each month this year to get through the stack.
So there you have it, my list of resolutions. I ask that all of you hold me accountable, be encouraging and share with me your thoughts as we go throughout this year. I will be updating monthly on how the resolutions are going and while I don't expect perfection, I expect that each month I'll improve in at least one of the 7 areas.
It is now time for some of that "me-time" I spoke about in #6. Have a good night everyone and check back tomorrow for some photos :)
Today I worked out and then got ready to go and see a show called "Praying for Abbey" with Jaden, my mother-in-law, my cousin-in-law and many of our friends. The show, portraying artistically our friend Abbey's battle with cancer, was beautiful and well worth going. A dance company approached Abbey's family and asked if they could do this as a fundraiser, and the company plans to do more shows in the future for individuals and organizations that need and deserve fundraising. Quest Crew, winners of Randy Jackson's show America's Best Dance Crew and performers on American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, among many other shows, were featured as part of the show. Unfortunately, after getting myself all dressed up and putting Jaden in her dressiest (think Fancy Nancy style) clothes and fur coat, I forgot my camera and have no photos to show of how cute we looked at the show! I also wasn't able to take any pictures of the performance we saw, but I do have a few pics on my blackberry that I will share tomorrow. Read more about the performance we went to at the links above or here. If you are interested in possibly teaming up with the dance company that did this amazing show for our friend and her family, you may contact them via their site.
Tonight after the show my sister and her boyfriend joined us for dinner at one of our favorite kid-friendly restaurants here in town, The Winking Lizard. They have a large lizard cage that the girls love to sit in front of which makes our dinners out there entertaining for them and easy for us :) As soon as we got home I helped them get ready for bed and both little girls were fast asleep within 120 seconds--literally. See, I told you we've had a super busy couple of days!
So onto what I promised to post on Friday, but could not due to complete and utter exhaustion...THE NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS! I have quite a few, but I'm going to try to simplify them here.
1. I'm going to strive to be an even better wife, mother, housekeeper, friend, daughter and daughter-in-law than I already am. There is ALWAYS room for improvement and I love to look back at how far I've come and to look forward to how far I can go. I am trying to make sure that the most important people in my life get the most of my time, energy and strengths. I am trying not to let "life" and "to-do lists" get in the way :)
2. I am going to cook at least 2 new recipes each month. I have many, many fast, easy, family-friendly recipes that I rotate through, but this year my goal is to add 24 or more new ones to our menus. Who knows, maybe I'll get crazy again and start back up "Fantastic Food Fridays" to share a few good ones! I never want to get stuck in a dinnertime rut making the same easy meals over and over!!
3. I have some very aggressive scrapbooking goals for this year as I attempt to completely catch up Sienna's albums to present photos, finish Jaden's birthday album from her 4th birthday party and create each of the girls' their own Disney album. I won't share the exact goals, but I will share that I am already behind because I was hoping to get some pages done this weekend and that hasn't exactly worked out. Oh well, it's just January and I will definitely have time to catch up!! I'm going to start sharing some of my favorite layouts here on our blog so that you can see my favorite hobby :)
4. I'm going to start doing my own Bible study. I have been involved in studies through our church and with a group of women in the past, but it has been awhile and I want to hold to what I posted here on Christmas about making more time for Christ in my life, because he is the reason I have life!! I have a few easy studies and will be choosing one tomorrow morning to start. I'm very excited to learn some things about God, about myself and about life. My goal is to make more time each day for my maker that I already make!!
5. Quite possibly my most talked-about resolution is that of my goal to get back into shape. I am going to try to lose a few lbs, be able to run for longer periods of time, start lifting and eat better than I did last month :) Let's just say that over the holidays I put on 4lbs and I need those lbs, plus about 20 more to come OFF!! I am not trying to lose weight quickly or make the goals here out of reach--one pound per week is all I want. I am more trying to create life-long healthy habits and I'm trying to keep my schedule open enough to stick to the habits and not get so caught up in busy-ness that healthy eating and working out get nudged off the daily to-do list. This all said, I am happy to say that even though the past 5 days have been hectic, I have worked out every single one of these 5 days!!! I am not trying to create a habit of working out so much, my ultimate goal is 4 times per week, but I'm so happy with myself ;)
**That's enough about this resolution, but stay tuned for "Weight-Loss Wednesdays" starting this week where I'll share my weekly goals, my accomplishments and where I've fallen short, fitness advice that I've read in the past and am reading each week in magazines from the gym, etc. I can't wait to share this week!!
6. I'm going to be taking more time for ME. At the end of the day if I don't blog, don't take it personally. Take it to mean that I've decided to take some time for myself or some time to be with my husband rather than blogged that day. If I can't schedule a playdate with you this week or next week, take that to mean that I value your friendship to want to put you on the calendar when I can focus on you and enjoy the time I spend with you, not when I'm feeling overwhelmed or have too many things going on. If I don't return a phone call right away, please know that I will call you when I can give you the time and attention that you deserve. It's time that I put myself on my agenda whether that be through scheduling workouts, time for reading, more dates out with my hubby, time for scrapbooking, time for girls' nights out, time for sister suppers, etc. I may have fewer social things on my calendar in 2010, but the things I do attend and take part in I will fully enjoy, I promise!
7. Finally, I'm going to read more and watch TV less. I haven't figured out which ones, but I am going to eliminate some TV shows that I watch and spend time in the evening snuggled up with a book or a magazine. I have a stack of books that are either new to me or borrowed and I'm determined to read 2-3 each month this year to get through the stack.
So there you have it, my list of resolutions. I ask that all of you hold me accountable, be encouraging and share with me your thoughts as we go throughout this year. I will be updating monthly on how the resolutions are going and while I don't expect perfection, I expect that each month I'll improve in at least one of the 7 areas.
It is now time for some of that "me-time" I spoke about in #6. Have a good night everyone and check back tomorrow for some photos :)
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