I’ve never been one to make New Year resolutions.  I don’t track things in an orderly fashion very well and I tend to completely abandon ideas as soon as they start to derail.  But this year I’m ready for a new start.  2018 was a rough year and I’ve gotten bogged down with the scramble of everyday life.  I think it might be nice to do the things I do with a bit more intention instead of a scramble to keep up.  I sat with my Story Girl in a cafe and brainstormed my goals.  I had lofty ideas, like one a month or ten, because it’s such a nice round number.  But I have 9.  Because that’s enough.

1. Write more.

Everyone around here writes all the time.  There are constantly article and story ideas floating around.  But they aren’t mine.  Time to jump in.

2.  Have monthly budget meetings.

Because I’m  a grown up and it just needs to be done.

3.  Keep my grocery budget under $400 a month.

That’s not the right number for everyone, but it’s where I want to be this year.  My original goal list included lots of little things like meal planning, cooking more from scratch again, and not wasting food.  But it all can be summed up with this one goal.  If I want to keep the budget down, we’ve got to do these things anyway.

4.  Fill my pantry with 12 new items.

Maybe this will be the year that I master jams.  I have no idea why I struggle with this.  But I’ve made the goal pantry items in general so I still have a chance of success if I throw in the towel on preserves.  I can always fall back on things like instant oatmeal mix if I get desperate…

5.  Plant a vegetable garden.  And harvest something.  This hasn’t happened the last couple of years and I need it to.  It’s good for my soul and my grocery budget.

6.  Complete 12 house projects.

I’m not planning for these to be big projects.  It’s the little things that slip by and we start to just not see them any more.  It’s time to make progress on some of these maintenance issues.

7.  Read more.

Technology lures us in and steals our time.  I need to get back to the stories that I love.  My goal is not overly ambitious, 24 books in one year.  And audio books count, because I am apparently going to be cooking more again…

8.  Launch the Curly Girl.

My goal has always been to raise free thinking, functional adults.  Now that it’s approaching like a tsunami, I’m slightly alarmed to find myself alternating between sadness and panic.  So it’s time to reframe my thinking and remember that my goal is to get her out on her own and moving toward the life of her dreams.  It’s happening and I might as well embrace it.

9.  Homeschool with passion and intention.

This is another one of those cheater goals that incorporates lots of small goals.  More art, more messy science, more creating, and more field trips.  All this really means is that I need to stop and notice what we are doing every month.

Here’s to a happy and healthy (emphasis on the healthy) new year!