On to 2014!

Image courtesy of Dez Pain, rgbstock.com

Happy New Year's Eve!

How are you spending the last hours of 2013? I've been doing the things I usually do: reflecting on the year I've just had and thinking about my goals for the coming year. This past year was kind of a rollercoaster for me, but the high points were great!  I discovered that my husband and I are expecting our third baby this coming spring; I was asked to participate in a huge poetry project during National Poetry Month in April; I met some of the biggest goals I'd set for 2013... Overall, I'd say it was a very good year!

Now on to 2014! Here, in no particular order, are my goals:

♥ Practice art journaling for at least ten minutes every day. Some of you might remember that I posted about this new obsession a few weeks ago. Since then, I've found so much joy and peace in art journaling that I want to make it a part of my daily life. I decided to set the bar low—only ten minutes a day—but I know from experience that once I start working, I usually don't want to stop. In addition, I've signed up for a couple of online art journaling classes that I really think will help me grow.

♥ Practice gratitude. This is one of the goals I had for this year as well, and it's something I want to continue. Looking for the good in each day—no matter how small—has made me truly appreciate how blessed I really am.

♥ Write more! This year was an okay year for writing, but I want to do more. I'm still working on my dad's memoir and my children's journals, but in 2014 I'd like to find another big project to focus on, either in fiction or poetry. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

♥ Read 110 books. I didn't reach this goal this year, but I like the challenge. We'll see how I do once I have a new baby in the house. ☺

♥ Grow in my spiritual journey. This is always one of my goals. I think this year I'd like to focus on my role as a mom and the responsibility I have to nurture my children's spiritual lives. In fact, I read a wonderful devotion about this very thing yesterday: 10 New Year's Resolutions for Christian Moms.

♥ Continue to reduce clutter and organize my home.

So there they are, my six goals for 2014. I'm excited! And tonight I'll celebrate the end of 2013 by watching movies with my husband, which has become our New Year's Eve tradition ever since we had kids. It's a nice way to end the year. ☺

How will you spend the end of 2013? Are you making any goals for next year?

Wishing you all a wonderful day and a Happy New Year! ☺

On to 2013!



Image courtesy of Dez Pain, rgbstock.com


Happy New Year's Eve, friends!

How are you spending the last day of 2012? I'm spending mine the way I usually do—by taking some time to list my goals for the coming year. Although most years my list is pretty long, this year I've decided to keep it relatively short by choosing things that I actually want to accomplish rather than things that I just think I should. I'm excited about what I came up with! Here's my list, in no particular order:

♥ finish at least the first draft of my dad's memoir

♥ practice gratitude every day

♥ exercise regularly

♥ write more poetry

♥ reduce clutter and organize my house

♥ submit more of my writing

♥ work on my children's journals

♥ focus on one fiction idea and put all of my energy into it

♥ read 110 books

So there they are, my nine goals for 2013. And now tonight, I will celebrate the end of 2012 by watching movies, gorging on chips and dip, and drinking wine with my husband after the kids are in bed. ☺

How will you spend the last hours of 2012? Have you set any goals for next year?

New Year's Eve

Today's 100 words:

New Year's Eve will be the same as it's been for the past several years, I'm sure. Hubby and I will rent a movie or two, then after we put the kids to bed, we'll sit down in front of the television with our "treat": bags of chips, bowls of dip, and a bottle or two of wine to toast in 2012. I sometimes miss the New Year's Eves we spent before kids arrived--the leisurely dinners, the fancy clothes, being out with other excited, half-drunk people... But NYE now is nice, too. It's homey, comfortable. It's about family.