Greetings! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I took a step back, enjoyed my time with my family, and for the most part stayed off the interwebs and it was rather enjoyable! But now that I'm back I thought I would take a moment to reflect on what was. I sat down and read my New Years post from last year, and while I was partially right about 2011 being the year of Rowen, it was that, and so much more. This year my goals have what I feel is a little more sustenance, some are serious or silly, but all are things I can accomplish if I put my mind to it.
In no particular order...
1. Finish Projects. I am amazing at starting projects. I write my lists, venture to the stores and gather my supplies, and come home and happily start my project. And that's usually where it ends. Started. Just like the four blankets I started for Rowen this past year. I think Rudy almost had a heart attack when I set out to make Rowen's handprints into Christmas Ornaments and I actually finished them in one day and had them hanging on my tree. And then Lola ate one (did I mention we discovered she is the trouble maker?). So this year I want to follow through on my ideas, finish some of the lingering ones (hello home organization binder, yes I see you sitting on the guest bed glaring at me), and attempt to development somewhat of a system that leaves me happy with what I have made/accomplished.
3. Read a book a month. Easy. So long as I don't get distracted by the romance novel aisle at target.
4. Find a church. While our faith as a family is solidified, our faith as part of a community is lacking. This one is high on the list considering the churches we have found thus far have had a lacking sense of community and left us wanting more. I want to find a church that we can feel a part of and where Rowen's faith is nurtured.
5. Bring Rowen's baby book up to date. Or rather start Rowen's baby book, and then update it. I need better pens for this task (I think of this as something he will hold on to his whole life so naturally I have to find the perfect pen to write in it with) and once I find those I will start it, and finish it, see #1.
6. Print pictures monthly. One of my favorite things to do when I go home is find one of the random boxes of pictures my parents have scattered about the house and just sit and thumb through the memories. In the digital era I think this is something that may one day disappear so I have decided I need to print copies of all of our pictures, primarily in fear that one day my numerous computers will die and all of my 'memories' will be lost to me forever. While I love photo books as well, its something about holding the pictures in my hands that gets me. I haven't yet decided how I will store these, but I am looking into either putting together annual photo albums or boxes right now.
7. Date night once a month. Or leave Rowen with a babysitter once a month and go see a movie. I don't really care what we do, but over Christmas break I realized that in nine months other than at daycare, we have only ever left Rowen three times, and two of those times were with my mom when we were visiting home. Its not that I don't feel comfortable leaving Rowen, but rather that we know literally no one here so finding a babysitter hasn't been the easiest task. But I'm working on it, and if we have to have date night by way of 'Casa Rivera' for the next few months, thats ok too.
8. Monthly House projects. Now that we have lived in our house for about a year and a half, we feel comfortable taking on some projects here and there. Rudy calls this the curse of me discovering Pinterest. I call this creating a warm and welcoming home. Either way we have some big plans, and so far we have identified the living room, kitchen, and backyard (bye bye pool, hello Maryland garden paradise) as the first targets.
9. Take GRE and apply to grad school. While I don't know that this is what I want to do next, it is an option I would like to have. In the next couple of months I plan to study my butt off for the GRE and my goal is to take it before Rowen's birthday. The grad school solicitation won't come out until this summer, but if I have all of my ducks in a row before then, hopefully it will make the process easier.
10. Find 'Friends'. This sounds pathetic. Really it does. I have plenty of friends, but the majority of them live far far away. If I were to have a birthday party for Rowen this year, literally the only people I would have to invite nearby would be our beloved Black Family and maybe a few people from work, which I think would be awkward since I really have never hung out with them socially before. Problem is we don't really know where to find these 'friends'. Our neighborhood is old, and there aren't a lot of parks in town for me to stalk potential friends at. We are thinking of signing Rowen up for a class at the Little Gym so hopefully that will offer some possibilities.
11. Save the money. We have goals in our future, and they are going to require money. So we need to curb impulse shopping, stop eating out, and save our moolah!
12. Live in the moment and not for whats next. I feel like this may be my most challenging goal. I am constantly thinking about whats next, the next house, the next job, the next baby, what we are doing next weekend. Its a flaw, and it is sometimes seen as me never being happy with what I have. Which is wrong. I want to show that I am happy, over joyed, and in love with the life I have! And I think the best way for me to do it is to focus on the now, trust that there is a plan, and let the next fall into place.
Geez, these turned out longer that I had hoped for, but I'm happy I got them written down to try to hold myself accountable. What are some of your goals for 2012?
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