The New Year Brings New Things

So 2009 is here and in full swing. Actually looking back at past years I haven't really made resolutions. But this year I am making some. Some are resolutions and some are goals. But here is a general idea of where I'm heading in 2009.

I do realize I will probably stumble, fall down, and have to get back up again to achieve these but I am not perfect (obviously) so I accept that I may fail BUT will try again.

1. Make some personal changes. I really want to work on the fact that I don't always follow through with stuff I WANT to do or start. This annoys me. And also I am working on others, including being happier, having a better attitude and just plain enjoying the fact I am alive. To help me with this I have a couple books. Stephanie over at Bad Mom posted a book Life Is A Verb, I checked it out and it's been ordered from Amazon. I am excited to read it. Also, Michelle over at Raising Little Women posted about a book - Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight so it's also been ordered from Amazon. I've also started checking out the Happiness Project. So armed with all that reading goodness I'm sure to be successful!

2. Read some Classics. I joined a Classics Challenge on Facebook to read four classics in 2009. I think I can do this one since I love to read.

3. Eat healthier. This is for both me and my family. The kids need to eat better too. I think we can still enjoy our favorites fast foods but not as much as we have been. Sweet Girl is really talking about stuff being healthy so I want to keep that going. Hopefully this will help me lose some extra weight. I am making another attempt to drop some of the extra weight by May for my sister in law's wedding. I am feeling the same motivation I was when I started last July so that's good and I am armed with additional knowledge so that's even better.

4. Enjoy the kids more. They are so funny and life gets so busy sometimes that I don't just sit and enjoy playing with them. I want to do that more.

5. Work on my creative writing skills. I really meant to sign up for the creative writing class at the community college for the spring semester but forgot. So I will try for the summer semester. But until then Deb over at San Diego Momma does a Prompt Tuesday post so I will attempt to do some of those. Maybe one day I'll finish that book I have outlined!

6. Build my Heritage Makers business. I am still really excited about this. I enjoyed making my Christmas cards and got great feedback on them on how they looked. After reviewing some of the Life Is A Verb book, there is a quote in there that goes along so much with the Heritage Makers. It's "In the degree that we remember and retell our stories and create new ones we become the authors, the authorities of, our own life" - Sam Keen. That is the whole point of creating the books and pages with Heritage Makers. To become the authors of our own life and to keep those stories from fading. If you don't know what Heritage Makers is about check out www.OurFamilyTales.com.

7. Get outside (until it gets too damn hot here) and enjoy the mountains around us. The kids like to hike and Leo and I enjoy it as well. So we need to do it more.

8. Spend more time with Leo (wink, wink).

9. Find a church and go to it. MANY thanks to my friend Natalie for giving me some info and food for thought regarding my search. I will give the contemporary services a shot and maybe they will be fine and I will enjoy them. I will go in with an open mind and realize we may have to try a couple different places to find our fit but I want to find out fit soon.

And I think that's about it. This is probably the biggest list I've had ever. But I am feeling good about it.
I'm feeling good about these changes because they are MINE and on MY TERMS (always subject to change to fit how I'm doing with them).
Bring it on 2009.