year in review

As the year draws rapidly to a close, I thought it might be fun to take a look at my New Year’s Resolutions from the beginning of 2012 to see what I did/did not accomplish. I’m not doing this to make myself feel bad, but I think it will be enlightening, and entertaining.

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1. Unpack our stuff, and organize the basement.
Yes! I did this!
2. Learn to crochet.
Nope.
3. Knit something that a person (or animal, I suppose) can actually wear or use.
Sadly, no.
4. Organize my craft supplies.
No.
5. Help my kids to sleep in their own beds.
Sort of, but not really. Lillia still wakes us up most nights, and Zane is still sleeping in our bed (though he does sleep in his crib for naps).
6. Finish thank you notes for the wedding (yikes! that was in 2010!).
Ha! Never gonna happen.
7. Send out thank you notes for the baby gifts.
I hope I did this, but I can’t remember which means I probably didn’t 🙁
8. Blog for confidence (see button on the side).
I didn’t really do this as a formal project, but blogging has become an integral part of my self-identity.
9. Do a 365 day photo project.
I made it 16 days. I’m just not a joiner.
10. Do a major clothing purge and donate what we don’t want.
I did do a major clothing purge, but everything I discarded is now in plastic bins in the garage!
11. Do something special with my husband on our anniversary, sans kids.
Yep! We went out to dinner at the restaurant we went to on the night we were engaged.
12. Give something to charity every month, even if it’s only a dollar.
Yes! I’ve been donating $5.00 a month to Vermont Public Radio all year.
13. Participate in some political activism.
Yes. I helped get the Green Party of NH up and running, but I had to step back when I started classes.
14. Save $20 a week for an iPad, as my current computer is on its way out.
No. I’m really bad at saving money. And, my laptop is fine.
15. Create a handmade gift for every member of my immediate family next Christmas.
What was I thinking?!?!
16. Have a ridiculously immature birthday party for myself (turning 31!).
It wasn’t too immature, but I did get my pink cake!
17. Write letters to my grandmother at least once a month.
I wish I had done this…
18. Find time to read to both of my kids everyday.
Yes – most days – I made a real effort!
19. Explore all of Walpole’s nature preserves.
Still want to do this, but will have to wait for Spring.
20. Cook dinner with my husband once a month.
We did this once. It was fun.
21. Be better about blogging! and make this my own space.
Oh heck yeah! I love my blog 🙂
22. Overcome my fear of tofu, and use it more in my cooking.
Hmmm…I didn’t really do much with tofu, but I did experiment with some other fake meat. Tofurkey hot dogs are awesome!
23. Read at least two new fiction books. Doesn’t seem like much but, trust me, that would be an accomplishment!
Yes…and then some! I did A LOT of reading for my class, mostly fiction. I think I actually read about 8 fiction books this past year.

It’s interesting to observe what types of goals I accomplished, how hard I worked to accomplish them, and what types of goals were just not even attempted. I can see that I did pretty well with cleaning/organizing, reading, blogging, and interpersonal relationships, but I didn’t accomplish any of the goals that involved crafts. I think that says a lot about my priorities (and perhaps the amount – or lack thereof – of free time I have!). I’ll definitely use this information when planning my 2013 goals, which I’ll be posting very soon. I’d love to hear yours!

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settling in

As the remains of Christmas are starting to be tidied up and put away, it feels as if the time has come to hibernate. The snow is draped over our little corner of the world, and I am a mother bear settling down for a long winter’s nap. Life continues, perhaps even thrives, but it moves more slowly, more peacefully, more simply. I’m sending out my thank you cards, letting my little ones sleep late and nap when they please, and looking forward to some warm winter baking. How does winter feel to you right now?

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snow!

No one loves snow more than this little girl…

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And, she never wants to go inside!

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christmas day // part two

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christmas day // part one

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