1.12.2015

I hereby resolve...

I think I've finally gotten my resolutions/goals for the year all settled. They are pretty straightforward and basic. No groundbreaking lifestyle changes.

But first, let's see how I did with last year's.

1) Read 50 books. I read 121. I'm not including this as a resolution for next year but I did set my goodreads goal for 75. That seems low but I'm tackling quite a few longer and/or harder books and I don't want to feel rushed.

2) Keep a commonplace book. I did and really enjoyed it but my entries were sporadic. I'd do a bunch then slack off. I need to make it a more consistent habit so this one makes a reappearance below.

3) Exercise 2x a week. I did okay. I did exercise until the spring but then I started to feel bad afterwards. Not, the tired and sore but still glad I did it kind of bad, but really bad - headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations bad. So I stopped. Then in reading about Hashimotos and thyroid issues,  I learned how exercise can be a trigger and its really easy to overdue it, especially if you have other hormone issues (which I did but didn't know it at the time). So even though I was only doing mild cardio, my body just couldn't handle it. Over the summer and fall we did lots of walking and that was great. I always feel refreshed after a nice walk.

4) Get Chickens. Chickens have been gotten.

5) Work on my cooking skills. Yes, but not the in the way I had planned. The part about less grains really came true when I had to give up gluten. I wasn't able to do as much fun experimental cooking as I wanted. I did do experimental stuff but its a lot less fun when its forced on you because of dietary restrictions. I did get pretty good and eggs (Lucy will actually request "mommy eggs not daddy eggs please" which is 180 from last year) and soup and some other staples. And I make a mean brussel sprout now. I'm hoping to give gluten a try again real so that will open up some more fun cooking options.

So overall, I'd say I did pretty good.

1) Memorize Philippians, Re-memorize James. I'm leading a Sunday School class on Phillipians starting this Sunday and its really hitting home so I thought I'd try memorizing it. It's only 4 chapters so about the same as James which I did 2 years ago. I also need to refresh myself on James more than I have been. No point in putting in the work to memorize something if I'm only going to forget it later. But going through it once or twice a month should be enough.

2) Keep Commonplace Book, 2+ entries/week - Nothing new, just building up better habits

3) French, 30 Duolingo pts week (until August?) and maintain french notebook - That's barely anything so I hope I do much more but I should be able to do even that much on a busy week. I might start Lucy with Speaking French with Ms. Mason and Francois in August in which case I might drop Duolingo but I haven't decided. The french notebook will stay either way. I love my little french notebook.

4) Track my outdoor time. Aim for 1000 hrs. That's a lot and I don't think I will actually reach it. But I'm going to see what we get to. Of course, its been a bitterly cold week so I've been outside about 5 minutes a day - just long enough to let the chickens out and switch water when its frozen. I don't even get the mail unless I'm driving somewhere. But come March, I now that will change.

5) Exercise, 1x/wk - This is walking. In the winter, Craig will pick the kids up after swimming lessons so I can stay and walk around the track. It's just as much about giving me some quiet time to think and listen to podcasts in peace* as much as the walking part. Later on it will probably involve more outside walking but hopefully I can still find some quiet time for me too.

6) Pray nightly, with Craig when possible - More habit building. I'm kinda sad that I even need to put this as a resolution but hopefully I won't next year.

7) Purge/Organize Books (library thing?) - A small house and two children means that decluttering is a constant thing around here but overall, most of the house is under control. The last remaining stuff in the basement has being organized and sent to the attic. All that remains is piles and piles of books. Bookcases shelved two books deep, laundry baskets full (because they used to be on shelves that aren't up right now), and then more stacks just sitting on the floor because there is no where else. When we finally get the carpet put down in the basement and the shelves go up, I want to be very selective at what goes in and if I'm feeling pretty optimistic, I'd love to actually catalog it with an app like librarything or something similar so I know what I have. If I don't do that all now, chances are it will never happen.

So 7 Resolutions. That's not too crazy and most aren't new but just expanding on or tweaking habits so I think it's pretty reasonable. And I'm also planning on tracking my progress which should help.

*So many moms recommend podcasts for keeping their mind engaged while doing chores around the house. How do they do this? My kids are way too loud! I've listened to a podcast while getting a cavity filled without problems so it isn't like I can't work with a bit of noise but when they play, they play loudly.

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