Written while not under the influence of sugar, carbs, alcohol or anything else delicious that is now restricted since it is the new year and I am on a diet.

I have ten blog drafts waiting to be edited. Or discarded.

I have been writing and trying to create something of value, but I don't feel like any of it is worthy of being read.

However, I wanted my readers, (all of six of you), to know that I am alive.

It's been almost two weeks since my last blog post and it has taken me this long to recover from our holiday season of overindulgence. And it was ohhhh so worth it.

Creamy coffees, Swedish pancakes with maple syrup, brown sugar glazed salmon, lemon drops, roasted turkey, mashed potatoes made with cream cheese, peppermint bark, buttered peas, buttered everything! OMG it was spectacular.

But then.

Reality hit. Our pants were feeling tight, and so was our budget. Richard and I decided it was time to get back to eating healthier and watching our spending. Diets aren't fun, and they are doubly un-fun when your debit card goes on a diet too.

This is where we are now though, January 2011. Looking to make positive changes in our lives.

Isn't that how we always start the new year? In the spirit of bettering ourselves, I thought I would share with all of you some of my goals for 2011:

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Read the Bible in one year - When I was about nine years old I read my children's Bible, which is like 500 pages, so I mean, that's quite an accomplishment for a child. But, I have never read the entire Bible, all the way through. I decided that it is something I need to do in my life, thus I have set out on my journey to read the Bible, beginning to end within this year. The funny thing is, I thought it would feel like a chore, but I am genuinely enjoying it and I look forward to my nightly readings. Husband has joined me in this too, and the nights he is home we read out loud with each other. It's become a really fun activity for us to share, and best of all, I'm only 28 chapters in and have already learned so many things that I never knew before. Now I am just wondering why it took me 26 years to get my act together, and start reading the most important book on earth on a regular basis!

Memorize one Bible verse every week - This one goes hand in hand with my first goal. I figured since I am reading the Bible, I might as well start committing some passages to memory.

Get paid for at least one writing job - So in the last seven months I started my blog, and became a contributing writer for The Smartly. This is all great experience for me and I love it...but would really love to branch out a bit and find some writing jobs that pay in actual money, in addition to the satisfaction I get from writing.

Write at least two blogs a week - Ok. FAIL. I know, I already messed up on this, the first week of the new year, but I am totally focused now and will work hard to keep to this goal.

Have Binker potty-trained by June 30th - This is a fluid goal for me. I would love to have him potty-trained by this date, but I know that potty training is something that cannot be rushed or forced, so if this date comes and goes, and he is still in diapers, then I am cool with that.

Date nights four times a month - Our lives are craaaaazy, yo! Between Husband's ever-changing work schedule, the kids, the housework, my writing, Husband's college classes and all the other millions of things that fill up our days, it's hard to get that essential "couple time". We're committed to setting aside time though, to focus on each other and our relationship. Whether that means dressing up and going out to dinner or putting the kids to bed early and just renting a movie doesn't matter, we just like to hang out together and talk about the two of us and how we're doing. In reality we do this a lot more often than once a week, but writing it down as a goal just reminds me to always keep our marriage the priority. 

Mommy and me dates with Binker and Bug four times a year - I get to hang out with the two coolest little dudes every day, but they are each so different and unique, so I like to do "mommy and me days" with each one individually, where we go do a fun activity and maybe go out to lunch. Basically, that kid gets to pretend to be an only child for a few hours and have mommy's full attention. What child doesn't love that? Plus, it is really fun for me to be able to have one-on-one time with each of my sons, and really see what's new with them and what they're doing now.

Read with the boys for a total of 30 minutes every day - Both Binker and Bug love books, and I want to foster that love for reading more and more as they grow. I don't time us or anything, but I just aim to sit and read with them as much as I can throughout the day - whenever they bring a book to me, or they seem bored, or I have a few extra minutes.

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So there you have it, some of my goals for 2011. I would love to hear some of yours - please feel free to share in the comments section for all to see. Until next time, Happy New Year! 

And to my fellow New Year dieters - Ughhh, here's to another day of being "healthy" or whatever.

Finished Product

At the beginning of this year, I made a list of goals for myself. One of those goals was to make a quilt. 

When Richard left, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to take on such a task. My Aunt Nancy, who is a master quilter/sewer/crafter of all things, flew in for a one week visit in June, and she helped me in the process of finding the fabric, cutting, sewing and putting it all together. It was awesome.

Fabric prior to being cut

A quilter's workshop...coffee a necessity

Squares being cut and sewn together

Sewing...

Piecing everything together

Nearly-finished product

 My Aunt helped me to make that shirt I was wearing out of leftover fabric

Nancy took it back to California with her at the end of her trip, to have it professionally quilted by a friend of hers.

I got the quilt back last week.

It is beautiful. And huge! I love it. I can hardly believe that I had a hand in making it. It was so much fun, and I am so glad that Nancy was able to help me in the process, I couldn't have learned from a better teacher.

The front and back

Ryan checking it out

 Since her visit I have made three more - much smaller - quilts. I made identical ones for Jacob and Ryan, and one for my niece, Macy.

My niece's quilt, also made out of leftover fabric from my quilt

I have always had a love for creating things, and making a quilt is something I was certain I wanted to accomplish in my life. I am so glad I can say that I have now, and cross it off my list.

Goals

Goals.

We all have them, whether you take the time to sit and write out a list for yourself, or it is a quick passing thought at midnight as the New Year arrives, we all have something - or many things - we would like to achieve.

My Dad has always been into writing his goals down on lists. He taught this to me, and I remember as a teenager, when every new school year would start I would write out my goals. The GPA I wanted to have, clubs or teams I wanted to become a part of, get my driver's license, etc.

I still put my goals down. For me it is important to see them visually. People say that if you see your goals every day (either written down, or in some visual form), then you are much more likely to achieve those goals.

Shortly before I met Richard I made a goal board with pictures on it. I had a good job, but I was hoping to meet a nice guy. It had been a couple years since my last boyfriend, and I found it to be almost impossible to meet any decent guys (I worked in an office full of women), and while I tried online dating websites, yes, don't make fun, I didn't have any success there either.

After living on my own for a year and a half, I had moved back in with my parents at the end of March to save up some money over the summer. I made my goal board, shortly after settling in at their house. I put pictures on it of all the things I wanted. I found a photo in a magazine of a couple that looked happy, in love. I wanted that. I wanted to find a great guy that could steal my heart. I put the picture up.

Next, I looked for a picture of the kind of ring I liked. After all, once I found this awesome guy, I knew I would want to marry him! I found a picture of an antique-style ring, with diamonds along the band. I put the picture up.

Next I looked for a photo of a cute house. Once I found one I liked, I put the picture up. I also found a photo of a book and I photo-shopped my name in as the author, since I would love to write a book one day. I put the picture up. There were a few other photos, but you get the idea.

So I made this board at the end of March/beginning of April. Every morning when I got up, I looked at it, and every night as I was going to bed I saw it. I didn't do anything with it, talk to it, nothing. Just looked at it every day.

I met Richard in early June. We both knew right away that what we had was different from anything we'd experienced before. He made it pretty clear that he wanted to propose to me, and I found out later that a friend of mine gave him that picture of the ring I liked, when he went shopping for my ring. Within about three months of making the board, I met my husband, and got a beautiful antique-style ring with diamonds on the band. Pretty unbelievable, but also pretty awesome. Of course, not everything from the board has come true, but that doesn't mean they never will.

I remember shortly after I met Richard he wanted us to make a list of our goals together. I found that list a few months ago, and it was amazing, Richard had accomplished nearly everything he set out for himself. Maybe goal-setting isn't a perfect system, but I do believe there is much power in it. I think once you set those goals and dreams in motion, and if you're visually seeing those goals every day, it can definitely lead you to where you want to be.

This year I set some fun goals for myself. I wanted to participate in three 5k walk/runs, (I have done two so far), and I really wanted to make a quilt, (done! And it was really fun).

What goals do all of you have?