1-1-11

Wow, it's been a really long time since I've posted on here. I plan to do better this year. I really, truly do.

I wanted to do a post today, though, about the things I hope to accomplish this year. You know... write them down... put it out there for all the world who cares what my hopes, dreams, and goals are... to read. Yeah. I'm doing it.

So, I'm not going to call this a "RESOLUTIONS" list. Just a Hopes, Dreams, and Goals list for this brand spankin new year.

First of all, I have to believe there is something remarkable about this year. The very first day is 1-1-11 and I woke up at 11:01 am today. Something about that gives me goosebumps and a feeling that this is really going to be a great one!

So, here we go.... and these are not in order of importance, they are merely in the order in which they entered my brain...

hopes, dreams, goals for 2o11

1. Read at least 50 books. My goal for last year was 100 which was quite ridiculous if I must admit. I ended up reading 56 1/2 books in 2010. I say 1/2 because I'm half way through my current novel and I started it in 2010, but I will finish it in 2011, which technically makes it a 2011 book. But... blah, blah, blah. The grand total for 2010 is just that 56 1/2 and my goal for this year is 50. That's reasonable and very do-able.

2. Be a more patient mother.

3. Be a better and more loving wife.

4. Be more organized with my home and business.

5. Shoot at least 10 weddings.

6. Get pregnant. Yes. I said that. Pregnant. Emma wants a sister.

7. Continue to be an avid learner. Learn more about photography. More about business organization and successful business ideas and strategies. Learn more about being a mother and how to best serve and grow my children into successful, great humans.

8. Be a better friend. I am constantly seeing and thinking of things I could have and should have done to be a better friend to the wonderful people in my life. I want to stay on top of that more this year.

9. Be a better blogger. Both on this blog and on my business blog. I love to blog and writing is such a part of who I am. I get so swamped and overwhelmed in my every day life that I push it aside and I don't make it a priority. I want to try to curb that. I think I'm going to do as I know a few of my mentors do and actually schedule blogging topics into my iCal that way it's a true priority in my daily activities.

10. Exercise. Lord knows I have good intentions, but this is most definitely ALWAYS LAST on my priority list. I hope to be active in some way at least 6 days a week. I need at least one day where I can be blah and allow the laziness to envelop me, so I know it won't be a 7 day a week thing. But I just hope to do SOMETHING active every day. Even if it's just walking the farm with my kids on a beautiful day. I need to MOVE every day in some way. Hopefully that will rid me of a little bit of my chub. ;)

11. Things I want to get done to our house this year: Gutters, a lot of painting, and thing I MOST want to get done is to open up the wall in the bonus room that has TONS of space behind it and make it into usable space. I'm not sure yet if it's going to be just to make it into storage, which we desperately need or if we are actually going to make it into another room. Either way, it HAS to be done.

12. Have Noah potty trained by this third birthday in May. The boy has been using the potty since before he turned 2, but he refuses to make the commitment to ONLY use the potty. He likes to do it when it's convenient for him. And I am so much to blame with this, because it is definitely easier to just change his diaper a few times a day than to actually put the work in to get him 100% trained. I'm ashamed to admit it, but it is definitely just as much my fault as it is his. Plus, he's my wittle baby boy and he gets away with so much more than he should just because I think he's the cutest most precious little boy on the planet and all I really want to do is kiss him and listen to him giggle all day.

13. I HOPE to take Emma on a train trip to NYC during her Spring Break to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. I really want to do this with her and I'm so excited about the idea.

14. Generosity of Spirit. It's a goal each day to be very giving with those that I care about and love and also to those that I don't even know but know I want to help. I hope to continue to grow more like this each day. Selflessness. That's my biggest goal.

15. I just hope and plan to make myself, my family, and my business better each and every day.

The end.

I would love to know what your hopes, goals, and dreams are for 2011!!

New Year's Resolutions 2010

I've never been one to really make resolutions for the new year. I guess because I know that I'm not great at being disciplined at things like that, but this year was different. The past few weeks I've found my brain being bombarded with thoughts of things that I want to change about myself, my life, my relationships. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself and I'm actually going to record these in a new journal I purchased as well, but I wanted to kind of do an outline here of what I hope to accomplish in 2010. Maybe it will help me be more accountable for them if I know I've put it out there for all the world to see?


1. On being a mother. I want to be an even better one. My children come first to me, they always have and everything else is a very distant second. However, I need to up my patience level. Emma is at that age where she tries my nerves... she questions everything and wants to know "why" all the time about every little thing. Sometimes this is okay, but sometimes I'm busy and Noah's crying and the phone's ringing and I find myself raising my voice to her when I shouldn't. So, more patience with her questions and with Noah's endless exploring.... that's what I need to do better.


2. On my mentality. I hope to rid myself of people who cause drama. I don't enjoy drama and I can't stand it when I feel like I'm put in the middle of some drama that someone else is just trying to stir up. It makes me feel sick to my stomach and makes me want to just disappear in a closet or something. I learned so much about people who I thought were friends of mine last year and really.. they never were, they were just pretending on some level, because in my book, a friend is there for support and love. Not for middle school drama. So, I hope that the drama in my universe is completely non-existent this year.


3. On photography. I just hope to keep growing and learning and improving. It is such a joy for me to do something that I've always loved to do... take pictures. And I hope that I can be successful in the "52 Photowalks" that I'm going to participate in along with some of my wonderful friends who live far away! :)


4. On being a person. I just want to be a better one. I want to try really hard to live in the present and concentrate on striving towards a wonderful future with my family and friends. I would like very much to not have to be constantly reminded of my failures and I would like to also forget the failures of those around me and only live in the now and try to make a better future for myself, my family, and my friends. I am a person who has always very much lived in the past. I have a hard time letting it go for some reason, but I want to try to... not necessarily let my past go, because it's a very important part of who I am, but to try to focus my energy on the present and the future.


5. On sweating the small stuff. and in the words of the author... it's all small stuff. All of it. This was a hard thing for me to accept. But turning thirty did it for me. It made me realize that life is short, folks. I swear, I just turned 21 yesterday, I can still recall the precise details of that night and the hangover the following day, and now I'm about to be 31. Life is just too short to take everything so seriously. Let it go and move on. Nothing is worth sacrificing what your heart truly desires.


And that's all I'm going to share on here for the world to read. I'd love to hear your thoughts and what your personal resolutions for 2010 are going to be. I want this to be my biggest and best year yet of learning and growing, so please, share yours with me! I might just want to borrow some of yours to add to my list. :)