Happy New Years!

Good-bye, 2011! Hello, 2012!

This past year has been filled with many exciting things. Abby was born, Nate changed jobs, I quit my job to be a stay-at-home mom, Nate took his Professional Engineer (PE) exam, Nate's company was bought out by another, and we took a fun family vacation to Florida. My gosh did we pack activities in to this year. Looking back over the past year Nate and I realize how much our lives have changed (for the better!) and how much we're looking forward to being less busy and more homebodyish (yep, that's a made up word) with working on house projects. Some of our house projects include repainting the inside and outside, putting in new carpet and linoleum, tearing out the sea grass plants, planting a dogwood (pink, please!) tree, fixing the broken gate, maybe replacing the old wooden fence with a new vinyl one, and redoing the side yard to allow for a shed. What did I say about being less busy this year? :-)

As for resolutions, well, I'll admit that getting back into shape is at the top. Nate and I are making it a goal to lose the baby weight that we put on. We're looking into joining a gym again (we both miss this) as well as focusing on eating healthier. A second resolution of mine is that I want to read my Bible more regularly. More regularly and with more focused intent. I currently read on my iPhone while Abby is nursing but I find that at times I speed read through the verses so that I can check them all off to say that my Bible reading is done. I'm reading a few different reading plans that have you read just a few verses to maybe a chapter or so a day and I want to really focus on their message rather than just skimming them. A third resolution is to do better with my meal planning and grocery shopping. This is the one area of my job that I have such a hard time with and I don't know why. I think it's a mental block now more than a physical or time one. So I resolve to sit down once a week, write out what we're going to eat for meals and snacks, then grocery shop for it. This should help with the losing weight resolution, too! My final resolution is to spend more play time with Abby. She plays so well on her own that I find that sometimes I sit with her for a few minutes here and there throughout the day but then I go back to cleaning, laundry, surfing the web, or whatever else it is that I'm focusing on. It's never a session where we play/read together for an extended period of time. I know that this time in her life is so short and if I don't capture what I can I'm going to miss it so much.

So there you have it. My four New Year's Resolutions are:

1. Lose weight and get healthier
2. Read my bible more and with greater focus
3. Weekly meal planning
4. Better playtime with Abby

Hope your New Year's resolutions (if you make them) are successful! Happy New Year!