The New Year

Well, the poppers have been popped, the bubbly has been drunk, the decorations have been put away for next year {except for the stupid stockings. They decided to hide until after everything was put away. Stupid stockings}. Time for the new year. Usually this time of year everyone gets so excited about resolutions and making ourselves better. To be honest, I usually hate this time of year because it reminds me of how inadequate I am. So over the past 2 weeks I've done some soul searching trying to figure out what I'd like to do different this year. I cannot tell you how many times I've sat down in January and made lists upon lists of things I'm going to do different, to have these ideas and thoughts forgotten or broken before the month is over. I don't even think I had resolutions last year. I sat down and wrote them, and became depressed and left it at that. As I looked over my life this past year I realized that I did nothing. Nothing great, nothing of worth, and nothing that made me a better mom, daughter, wife, sister or friend. And it doesn't sit comfortably with me to think that I wasted a year of my life with stupid things like Facebook and fluff books. {Wow, don't I sound so grown up. Look at what turning 30 has done to me} So I am unhappy with the way I have been living my life and have decided to make goals that will make me push and stretch a bit. Because if we're not stretching, then what's the point? Obviously not much because I haven't seen much growth {besides pounds} the past few years. So I picked a few things that I'd like to work on. Let me share.

Spiritually: I want to read the Book of Mormon 2 times this year front to back. In years past it has taken me a year to usually do it, IF I do it at all. I'll do really good for a while {like the first month} and then I find that I'm skipping days and then weeks and then I start all over again. Well, no more of that nonsense. It is time for me to buckle down and enjoy the scriptures more and to feast upon them regularly. The thought came to me tonight as I was reading in the Ensign {January 2010 Ensign, article "God is Truly Our Father", p. 14} and it said one of the ways to come to know our Heavenly Father is to feast upon the scriptures. So I started thinking, hmmm. I eat 3 or more times a day. What if I read the scriptures as often as I ate food? It really gave me some "food" for thought. What kind of a person would I be if I read the scriptures more often and really searched through them?

A second part to this goal is to read the Ensign every month cover to cover. Back in the day, when I had maybe one child, I didn't get to the library hardly at all. I didn't know when the latest books were coming out and basically found myself with nothing to read quite often. The Ensign would come in the mail and I'd sit down and read it cover to cover in one day. Usually the day it arrived. Since these days, my life has gotten a bit busier. I have found myself reading a lot more than I used to and now know what month my favorite authors will be publishing their books and tend to have 5-12 books lying around my house at a time. I cannot remember the last time I sat down and read the Ensign cover to cover. This is going to change my friends. {ps. I love love love the new layout to the Ensign. I love that the vting message is right in the beginning. I'm looking forward to reading the Ensign this year!! But I am also not going to gobble it up in one sitting. I plan to enjoy and savor it}

Physical: Well, I've been saying this goal for years now. Lose weight. But this time, I have my mother, who has recently lost over 50 pounds, to inspire me and to kick me in the butt. I am here to report that things are off to a fantabulous start. It's been one week and I've lost 7 pounds. But this is not for the faint of heart. It is hard work and I find myself cursing my "natural {wo}man" several times a day. But seriously people, enough is enough. So I am going to lose weight. A lot of weight. My goal weight is 135 pounds.

A second part to this goal is to buy {gulp} and wear {double gulp} a bathing suit at the Lake this year. I do own a bathing suit. I wore it for 15 minutes in Hawaii and that was it. I am not comfortable with myself and refuse to wear one. I would rather sit on the shore and read a book then have to put on something made of Lycra and spandex and prove to the world and the family what I already know -- the beached whale has landed. Every year at the lake I get razzed from one end of the lake to the other. "Why aren't you wearing a suit?" They think that I'm not having fun if I'm not on the water or in the boat lathered up with sunscreen and showing my pearly whites {not my teeth here, but my pearly, ghastly white skin} to the viewing pleasure of those who are on the lake. Once again, enough is enough. So hopefully by August I will have lost enough weight that I will be able to somewhat comfortably put a suit on.

Home: I am going to keep my kitchen clean this year. I have a real problem with keeping the kitchen clean. I let the dishes from dinner sit in the sink until breakfast or even lunch or sometimes even dinner. I. AM. SICK. OF. IT. So every night I just suck it up butter cup and get the job done. It seems to go much faster than when I am scrambling to do the dishes in the afternoon before dinner starts and it gets messed up all over again. As I sit here and type this, the kitchen is pretty much clean. The dishes are all done and the food is all put away. I have a lot of papers and what not on the counter. So it's not spotless, but at least the dishes are done. And the best part, it's been like this all week. I am so pleased with myself. I find that when my kitchen is clean that my whole house feels clean. {side note here. my Dyson has been broken since before Christmas. I need a vacuum. I've had to borrow vacuums from various in-laws to keep the house from being condemned. I want my Dyson fixed!!}

Personal: Last but not least. I am going to Facebook less this year. This past year has been horrible for me with Facebook. I could be found on for hours at a time, chatting with people, checking up on my multiple farms, with the mafia, in my restaurants etc. No more. I am ashamed to think of what the look will be on my Heavenly Father's face when He asks me to explain the hours and hours and hours I have lost due to Facebook. Now, don't panic. I'm still going to be on Facebook, updating my status and doing a few other things. But gone are the hours on Facebook. In fact I am only allowing myself to go on after certain chores have been done.

And this wraps up my goals for this year. 2010 is looking to be a great year and I am super excited about it. So far, so good. I'm going to leave you with another quote that I found in the Ensign. {January 2010. "The Best is Yet to Be," p.23} This quote is by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

"God doesn't care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go"

Well, I am willing to go. So suit up and let's enjoy the ride!!