I resolve…

I resolve to be healthy.

I resolve to feed my mind and my soul hopefully with only wholesome books, music, art, and other experiences.

I resolve to put out only that which I want to receive. In other words, I will try to be positive and let the light of Jesus shine through my smile, my words, and my actions.

I resolve to be a good friend, mother, wife, sister and daughter. A big part of doing this will be to remember not to over do for others and make sure to take care of myself.

I resolve to reduce clutter. The clutter in my house, the clutter in my car, the clutter in our lives of activities and speeding around like our life depends on being busy.

I resolve to put pen to paper daily. In addition to a weekly entry, I have one or two stories to tell. I need to work on these stories. Stories about my family, stories about my life, and stories that are fictitious.

I resolve to fill some of my free time with creative and wholesome activities. Reduce the screen time for myself and my family. Activities could be hobby based (soap making, baking, or sewing) as well as being outdoors.

I resolve to save some free time for me and God. To be still and pray and listen and read His word.

<<<<<Me healthy!

Resolutions

I know it is the tenth of January. I am a little late in posting or discussing New Year’s resolutions but I am going to do it anyway.

In the past five years we have gone from keeping a very healthy pantry to stocking some of the most obnoxious “convenience” foods.

It was a gradual change that only was noticeable by our growing waistlines. They were small increments but when our big pants began to feel tight, I realized that we needed an intervention or someone to back up and reevaluate the kitchen, the gym, and the screen time ratios. We were spending more time in front of the screen( mostly with school stuff ) with movies, games, and books. My oldest daughter and I have a passion for books and writing, two unfortunately sedentary hobbies. We have workout equipment, dvds and some active games on the XBox. We also have some other games that keep my son sitting. I had to analyze the contents of the pantry, freezer, and refrigerator. The freezer still has tons of goat’s milk for soap making so I don’t have much room for frozen junk food. The refrigerator has good items: dairy, fresh eggs, fruits, vegetables and leftovers, some tortillas and condiments. It was that darned Pantry that kept items with longer than normal shelf life products.

I had to do something about it. I went through and tossed a bunch of items such as breakfast bars, cookies, cookie mixes( I can’t believe it we are bakers!!!), and chips of every variety. I kept and organized staples such as cooking oils, olive oil,s vinegar,  nuts, dried fruit, canned tomatoes, bouillon cubes, spices, flour, other baking staples, oats and other whole cereals, rice cakes, rice, barley, and tortilla chips.

Resolution #1: Eat healthy and whole foods. I really was trying to fool myself that the breakfast bars were okay. They are not. They are highly processed and have high fructose corn syrup. Who needs that anyway? If I want a “breakfast bar” I will make a batch of oatmeal cookies with dried fruit in them and call it a day! I am baking bread  and we have actually reduced the amount of pasta we eat. If the kids crave something sweet, they find a new recipe for something new and bake a batch. We are working on portion control

Then I cleaned out the back room, found much clutter in items that could be given away,  recycled, or trashed. This made some of the work out equipment more accessible. Limited screen time not to include working out with DVDS or XBOX dance/ sports. As soon as the ice melts, we are heading out for daily hikes again.  The chickens have gotten us outside a lot more than usual during the colder months, but we need to make an effort to organize and plan a daily workout.

Resolution #2 Move more… individually and as a family. With Anthem gone, we still have Jack. He is a big and young energetic Shepherd. He needs his daily walks. I am encouraging the kids to take him out for longer walks. It is good for everyone! I think I may start jogging again. My shoulder and neck are feeling much better and the kids are antsy to get  back to it as well, especially when it is warm out.

Those are the two big ones. The other ones are personal.

I am going to try to write more regularly  and nurture my creative side( the non-baking part!)I think I say this every year! I am going to make a HUGE effort to commit only to the time I can give and make sure to carve out some me time on a weekly basis. I already made the greatest step towards this in stepping down from my position at the rescue squad. Part of how I will keep myself sane and managing my time is by logging everything  in my phone calendar. Part of this commitment ban will be making more time to really communicate with my kids: turning the radio down in the car and the house listening and commenting more deeply to their conversations and fighting the urge to shush them.  Don’t get me wrong I love my kids but sometimes, I want to hear the news. Lastly, I will be conscientious about following Jesus’ teachings. My goal is to try to love my fellow brothers and sisters, be forgiving and kind, and try to look at the positive side of every situation. ( I know I am going to be tested just for saying that last part!)

Good luck to all my fellow New years resolutians!