I spent a lot of time yesterday trying to figure out what to do with this brand spankin new year. There are a lot of goals I'd like to accomplish, but I don't want to set myself up for failure. So here's my list, in no particular order:
1. photography- I am getting my lens next week, and I intend to try Sarah's 365 days of photos (my main lens was broken when we came home from vacation, and I haven't been able to afford to replace it yet. Joe's severence pay is due on the 8th, and he promised me we would go replace it then. All I have in the mean time is a zoom lens, and our house is too small/dim to use a zoom lens indoors. Very frustrating!) I also want to push myself out of my comfort zone and ask people if I can photograph their families for practice. I also will be borrowing books from the library on photography/photoshop topics, but I tend to go overboard and check out every book I can think of and then I get overwhelmed, LOL, so maybe I will try Sarah's 1 book a week approach :)
2. sewing/crafting- I've been putting off cleaning my new machine, so I really need to get on that and then I'll try finishing a project a week, too (thanks Sarah- I hope you don't mind!)
3. cleaning- I really need to start flylady again :( I am unhappy with my little home right now, too much clutter. But its so bad right now that I feel overwhelmed and can't be motivated to start anything properly. I liked flylady when I tried it before, but the emails got to be too much for me. When I unsubscribed to the emails, I wasn't as motivated and slowly gave up (actually, I think I was put on bedrest with Jake about that time, and when I came home from the hospital it was awful) I don't want a museum for a home, and I refuse to put house cleaning before my kids, but I need to get into routine again, and I need some help with motivation, and an orderly place to start. If I can get that under control, I know it would help save me precious time across the board- no more looking for missing things, kwim? Also, it would be lovely if I could just invite people over any old time! I need more friends :)
4. finances- Joe still hasn't committed to the plan to get out of debt yet. I know he wants to, but he doesn't want to fail. Also, I borrrowed the book from the library, and he didn't want to take the time to read it with me. I don't know if I can do it without his full support, so this is hard. However- we are completely caught-up on all of our bills right now, and we will be socking away $1k in an emergency fund when the severence check comes in (ING- thank you BBC!). We have a ton of junk to sell off and I hope that the huge amount of holiday cards I did this year will help spread work and generate more birthday/other design work.
5. work- speaking of, I really need to find the time to do an overhaul and update of my design portfolio. and this would be a great year to develop and open my own website, considering the rediculous amount of money I spent on ebay fees this year... but then I'd have to find a way to advertise it, sooo.... hmm.
6. green living- well that and home improvements kind of going hand in hand this year. I want to reclaim my back yard. Its large and has so much potential, but it needs SO MUCH WORK. Right now, we are dealing with grubs, ants, earwigs, wasps and invasive weed populations. I'm talking infestations. I know that its an imbalance of nature, I just don't know how to remedy it naturally. I am not a dainty little indoor only chic, I've just spent a lot of the past 5-6 years or so pregnant or exhausted from having a small baby. That part of my life is done, so its time to come out of my little cocoon and take care of all the little things that have been piling up around me! Also, though I like to think of myself as tough, I do have some health problems that make the big jobs a little harder for me. As much as I love gardening and I am going to slowly replace our silly lawn with edible landscaping- a full on takeover garden would require me spending too much time in the sun, more that my autoimmune disease would allow. *sigh*
7. health- I guess that leads right into this one. I need to find better ways to deal with my disease. I am not one to run to the Dr for drugs for everything, but I am dealing with some complications and I need to find good alternative therapies to keep me healthy. I've been to several cardiologists, but all they ever want to do is give me beta-blockers, and me and beta-blockers don't get along. I can barely function from the exhaustion when I am on them, and this is a long-term thing, I'd have to be on them the rest of my life. To combat the exhaustion, I've been offered other drugs. Each of which has had their own horrible side effects, which they also have drugs for. In the end I am not myself at all.
I have managed to overcome some things by myself- the extreme low blood pressure issue was actually a sodium deficiency. LOL- all those Drs never figured that one out, because I eat healthy, from-scratch foods, my sodium intake was drastically different from what they normally see. The atrial flutter and mytral valve issues are still there, though.
I have been getting some detox therapy that has improved some of my arthritis issues. I am also convinced that Joe's job change will help me out, too- since the therapies I have had, have shown me to have a build up of heavy metal in my joints, which I find easily explainable since Joe always came home covered in dust from inventory work in an auto-parts warehouse. As much as I tried to get him to keep the conaminates confined to his work clothes/gear, he would want to sit on the couch a while, or go to bed without showering first, etc. (He also has had a lot of arthritis issues). Eventually, replacing the couch, our bed, and the carpeting should rid us of all that lovely asbestos and lead dust.
Sorry! I am all about tangents, LOL...
I also need to tone up this poor saggy body. And continue working on healthy diets for everyone :)
8. relationships- This one is three-fold, I need to work on my relationship with God, I have some major issues that I need to work on with my faith and I really need to start praying more. I've let this one slide waaaay too much. I really feel that working on that will help with my other relationships. Which also need work! I'd like to spend more on-on-one time with each of the kids, and of course, with Joe. If the years continue slipping by as fast as they have, I will get to a point where he is a stranger to me! Not cool. He's so distracted with the new job, I'm so distracted with the kids and housework, ugh. Time to make some time. Recipe suggestions for how to make TIME greatly appreciated! :)
There was more, I'm sure of it- but looking at all this, its certainly enough to start with! I better get cracking!!
