Goals for 2011

I have lots of them!!! I want to see how much I can accomplish this year  :)


1. Write a weekly blog
I work better under pressure. I always have. If I set goals, I am more likely to accomplish what I want to do. I love making lists and crossing out what I've accomplished. If only close friends and family ever read this, it will still have the pressure effect needed for me to try extra hard to finish these goals. So I will blog about my accomplishments and see how many of them I can check off this year. And I'll count on you to keep me on track  :)


2. Go through kid's school stuff and eliminate!!! Keep only twenty things from each year of school.
I have soooo many papers in my home. I would keep everything if I could. I would keep every "firsts", every art project, just everything. But, I realize I have to be realistic, I have 5 children, I cannot keep everything, otherwise you will be seeing me on a future episode of "Hoarders". So, I think that I can narrow it down to twenty things to represent each year. I will find a good way to keep them all nice, neat and organized too :)


3. Go on 24 dates this year with K.C.
So, you may think this is an easy task, but it's not. With five children and him working all the time, this may just be the hardest to achieve. I will plan one date every month and hopefully he is willing to do the same, and we will hopefully have some quality time together every month.


4. Write a children's book
I have always wanted to write a children's book. It has always been a goal. But now I have a concept that I love. And I am going to go with it and see what I come up with. I am excited to "go for it". If it only amounts to a story I can share with my kids, niece and nephews, I'm okay with that too.


5. Back up all my photos onto discs and create Photo Albums for each kid for each year.
Photos are piling up and it's only getting worse year after year. I want this to be the year I dig out and make sense of my photo collections. And then make it something great for my children and grandparents and ME to enjoy and cherish. I have too many photos that have never been developed and haven't been seen since they've been downloaded to the hard drive. That's going to change this year.


6. Back up video onto discs and create fun home videos to share with kids and family
Video too. I have owned a Flip camera for a year now and it has crippled a computer. Organize and burn to discs, free up some memory space on the computers. And make some great home movies for us to enjoy! And I have piles of tapes. Time to transfer to disc and edit those too.


7. Sell 1200 things on eBay, that's 100 things every month
I have become addicted to eBay :) Love it!!! You have something you don't want or need anymore and you sell it to someone who does. And you get money! I don't think I'll ever have another garage sale again. (HATE THEM) I have tons of kids and tons of stuff, I'm thinking this one is going to be easy.


8. Complete P90X in 180 days
I think my husband thinks I'm a wimp. Well, if I am, I don't plan to be for long. But I'm going to keep this in perceptive. I don't have time on a daily basis, nor do I want to go that extreme. So, welcome to my version P180X, I'll let you know what hurts, lol.


9. Create 100 ACEO prints
I love to draw and paint, but I don't have time to make huge masterpieces. I discovered ACEO's online and enjoy them. They are tiny works of art that even I have time to create. I will share my creations.


10. Have a "fun" get-together at our home every month
I enjoy being social, but alot of the time I feel trapped within the walls of my house. I want to make my house a "fun" house. Have little parties/get-togethers/events at our home. Kid-based, Adult-based and Family-based


11. Make 24 "new" meals for the family and have kids rate it
I am not a cook. I usually don't even pretend to try. But I want to be. And maybe if I start pretending, I might be able to fool the family occassionally on my culinary skills. So I am going to cook two dinners every month that I have never attempted before. And I'll let the kids and my husband rate it, to see if I should ever tempt the recipe again :)


12. At the end of the year create a photo album of my favorite photos of the year.
I love taking pictures. I remember loving my photography course in college, which seems like ages ago. I want to take photos like that again. I will, of course, take lots of photos of my children, but I also want to take a look at the world around me again.

Mission Statement :)

I have decided that it's time for me to have a mission. My mission is to rediscover my passion. As a mother of five wonderful children, I realize that most days I'm just in survival mode. Trying to make it through my day with happy children, happy husband, happy house . . . but since that takes up the majority of my day, I find myself not as happy as I would like.


So, I plan on living more, instead of just surviving. I feel like over the years I have lost a piece of me that makes me, me. I intend on getting it back. It's been a rough year for us as a family and we aren't fully out of the woods yet. But, we will and we'll be stronger for going through it.


I love my husband, my family, my life . . . and now, here's to the start of enjoying them all more! And in the process, finding out my special happiness that will make me a whole person again, in my mind and my heart.


Welcome to My Journey . . . I'm not planning on it being smooth but I am planning on making it.