Monday, January 2, 2012

Remember that 11 in '11 list??

Goodbye 2011 - Hello 2012.

In honor of the new year, let's look back at my 2011 list.

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11 in '11.

These are 11 things I want to try to accompish during 2011. I figure if I put it here, it will hold me a little more accountable. So here goes!

1. I want to lose 40 lbs this year - and I'm hoping to be halfway there by our 5th wedding anniversary. I think 40 is a very reasonable goal. it is roughly 3.5 lbs a month. I can do it!! - Giant Fail

2. I would like to restore some order/organization to our closets --- mine/Charlie's, Ethan's & Hannah's, linen closet, cleaning closet, all of them! - Not too bad. I have been much better about cleaning out the closets regularly! I need to keep this up!

3. Reduce, reduce, reduce!! We have too much stuff. While I'm organizing (see #2) I would like to get rid of stuff we dont need or use. Craigslist and E-bay -- here I come!! - Not too bad on this one either.

4. Recycle more. Our city provides a large recycle bin and picks up every other Friday. I would like to see us fill it up every other week. - we're working on it. I do forget more than I should...but we are better about it than we used to be. Work in Progress!!

5. Another personal goal - I would like to be able to pump for Hannah until at least 9 months. It's not easy to exclusively pump for your infant while also taking care of your toddler.....er, I guess he's almost a preschooler now - ACK! But I've made it 3.5 months so far. I'm (sortof) in a routine at home and work, and I would really like to do this as long as possible! - I made it to 6 months and I couldn't be prouder of myself!! I had enough in the freezer when I quit pumping, she got usually 1 - sometimes 2 bottles of breastmilk until she was a little over 10.5 months!! I didn't make it to 9 months, but I'm not at all disappointed in myself. I think I did great!

6. Spend more quality time with my kids. Sometimes I feel like I rush through things because I feel like I have too much to do. I need to slow down and enjoy the small things in my life - because let's face it, they wont be small for long! By this time next year, Ethan will be 3.5 years old and in preschool. Hannah will be walking and talking and not taking bottles. So when I have to yawn my way through the day because one of them had me up too early - I hope I can just pour myself another cup of coffee and take it in stride. - Ethan is totally into board games and is fun to play with. Hannah just loves to do whatever. I am really enjoying my kiddos!!

7. Spend more quality time with my husband. I cannot believe we will celebrate our 5th anniversary this year. I mean, we've been together much longer than that - but we've been married almost 5 years. Sometimes it seems like our wedding was a million years ago and sometimes it seems like it was just a few weeks ago. That's crazy. And so this year, on our 5th anniversary year, I would like to turn off my laptop more frequently and just curl up on the couch with my best friend after our kids have gone to bed. - We had a wonderful trip to Vegas and work hard to spend time together. It helps that our kids are in a great evening routine and on a "typical" night....both are asleep by 8:30!!

8. I'm going to read 12 books this year! I wanted to say that I would read 20, but I thought I would set my goal a little more reasonable for this year. I got a Kindle for my birthday so reading is a little easier since I dont have to tote around a "real" book....and I dont have to worry about the library people coming after me when I keep it too long. - Uh...yeah. not so much! I think I read 4. Unless you count "Llama Llama" books, or "Green Eggs and Ham".....then I totally made my goal!!

9. I will keep up better with the blog. I dont see many comments, but I know my family really enjoys reading the blog and keeping up with us and the kids. So, I'm going to try really hard to keep it up a little better - my goal is once a week! Let's see how I do! :) More pictures and videos of the kids - coming soon to a blog near you! Haha - Oh lordy - GIANT fail!!!

10. I would like to accomplish two house projects. We eventually want to be able to sell this house and move to something just slightly bigger. In order to do that, we have some projects that need to get done. I would like to accomplish 2 things on that list during 2011. - We did it!!! We got a new roof and a new deck. We got some trees in our backyard cut down because they were hanging over our roof/gutters. And we put up a very nice swingset for the kids!!

11. I would like to find a new church community where I am comfortable. I have missed church as an active part of my life. I hope I can make an honest effort to find a new place by the time Advent comes around again -- maybe even by Easter! :) - Nope. I didn't make it. **BUT** I did attend Christmas Eve service and realized how much I miss church. I'm actively searching and will be attending service somewhere in the next week or two.


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I'm working on my 12 in '12 list. Stay tuned!!