5 + 1

For all that I have said about trying to be more social and so on, I am wearing the same pair of footed Eeyore pajamas that I put on yesterday when I got home from work. I have not left this house since yesterday afternoon and truthfully, I wouldn't mind a massive snowstorm that kept me here another solid week. Kraig bought groceries last night, I have many books that I am dying to read, Downton Abbey Season 3 premieres tomorrow night, our house is clean (thanks, Amanda!), laundry is done, I have on my glasses, and these pajamas have a few more days of wear in them... BRING ON THE SNOW AND HERMIT LIFESTYLE! 

Since this is highly unlikely, I thought I'd put a few of my goals for the New Year out there (both to remind me as well as perhaps provide a bit of accountability)....

1. A Healthier Lifestyle

I know myself VERY well. There is absolutely no point in saying I am going to start eating vegetables or that I am going to start running or that I am going to lose 40 lbs or even that I am going to drink lots of water because I WON'T. However, I feel very strongly that we need to make an effort to be healthier, primarily to try and establish better habits for the girls than what we have. If a side effect of this is weight loss-- AWESOME. We are starting very small in the hopes that we can stick to it. For now, we hope to start smoothie'ing our breakfast (Kraig makes incredible smoothies and he now has a Ninja) and putting some healthy additives in them. We are going to exercise at least three times a week at Workout Anytime with a goal of doing more from home, and we are going to start cooking more. I can promise you that we won't be cooking especially healthy things but anything would be better than the fast food routine we fell into last semester (primarily because we were NEVER home). Cooking more will also provide leftovers for lunch which will hopefully cut down on those bad habits. I do hope to drink more water and less Coke but I'm not even making that part of this plan.

2. A More Intentional Spiritual Life

We have fallen out of our daily devotional/Bible reading habit with the girls and it has become a rushed prayer before bed and that's it. We have to do better at that. I plan to stick to my daily devotionals I have done for the past year and a half, but I would like to add a Bible STUDY at least a few days a week. 

3. To Become More Globally Aware

I have read so many books this year that have really pointed my attention to this. Several years ago we started recycling, and it has gone well, but I want to add other materials to our recycling and also learn more about composting and rain barrels. Kraig, for some odd reason, loves to grow things, so we plan to add to our little strawberry patch this year. I have always been a yard saler/flea marketer/thrift store buyer, so upcycling things comes naturally to me. I just want to try and decrease the number of things we are responsible for burdening the earth with. (I hate ending a sentence with a preposition.) (Hang on.) I just want to try and decrease the number of things with which we are responsible for burdening the earth. (YES!) I want to buy more that is handmade and local and pay more attention to where things come from and the condition of those creating them. Another new thing I want to learn more about is fair trade. Along with these, and related to a more intentional spiritual life, I just want our family to do anything and everything we can in becoming more mission-minded. I don't mean even evangelizing, just actually going where Jesus would go and doing what He would do. The old "being His hands and feet".

4. Maintaining a Sense of Order and Purpose

I know that I am way more relaxed when I am on a schedule and things are organized, from my house to my car to my classroom. And the fact is, if I am relaxed, everyone in this house is relaxed. :) I also have learned that I am raising one child who needs an itinerary constantly and another who needs time at home as a respite from our too much on the go lifestyle. I want to keep things organized in our house and make certain that we build in time to rest and relax together at home. This is where the idea of Sabbath appeals to me so very much... 

5. Be There

This has been my mantra for between 2 1/2 to 3 years now. It's really a very simple concept-- be truly present in each and every moment. Sometimes they are big moments, like family cruises or birthday parties. Sometimes, they are tiny moments like unseasonably warm days spent riding bikes outside or afternoons in the basement helping Kraig build something. But whatever the moment is, I want to be acutely aware of it and present in it. 

I really want to leave it at five because if I keep going, I feel like I need to go to ten and I don't have that many. But there is one more that I really want to focus on... Shoot. Let's just call this an epilogue. 

Value the People in Life

Ignoring the entire first paragraph of this blog, I want to be sure and make a conscious effort to socialize with family, close friends, church family, coworkers, and acquaintances. We don't talk to or visit Kraig's family nearly enough because we get so wrapped up in things and before we know it, it's been forever since we have been to WV. I want to make sure we talk to them regularly, let the girls facetime with Nana and Popaw and their cousins and be sure to visit more. We want to spend more time with Grandmother and Grandaddy and have Mom and Dad and Natalie and Josh over here more often. I want to invite other couples over more and make more time for my girlfriends. Mostly, I want to do what the Emerson quote I pinned today on Pinterest says and work toward "To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived-- that is to have succeeded." 

That's it! If I can pull off these 5+1 things, even to some degree, 2013 will be a success! :)