Welcome 2014!

I'm not a big New Year's Resolution kind of person. I'm more of a "start pursing goals the moment I have one" kind of person...or on the flip side, a "think of a goal, but never start pursing it" kind of person. So, instead of making resolutions that will inevitably be broken by mid-January, I like to make lists of things I would like to see happen before the end of the year.

This year, here are those things:

1. Read more. I have one old series I want to reread before the next book comes out in June, and a new collection of books that I would like to read before the end of the year. I'm going to shoot for 2 or 3 books a month.

2. Do more projects for me. I'm always making things for other people, so this year, I want to make things for myself. I'm currently working on a Seahawks themed flower scarf and hat set, and am planning on being done with it before our first playoff game on the 11th. I'm hoping to make one thing for myself every month.

3. Slowly work up to eating better. Each month, I will try to set a different challenge for myself to work on getting out of bad nutrition habits. This month is "nothing fried".

4. Visit a few places I've never been before. This could be anything from a new country to a new restaurant.

5. De-stash my craft items. I have so much yarn and fabric and other miscellaneous stuff that it's getting out of control. My challenge to myself this year is to only spend money I receive in gifts cards at the craft stores. I got about $75 for Christmas, and I will probably get more for my birthday in May. By coupling store sales and coupons, I think I will be able to make it to at least August without spending more than that. This will force me to use more of what I already have for projects. Of course, buying supplies for items I'm selling will not be counted.

6. Potty train Elijah. I'm all for letting him do things at his own pace, but he's almost 3 and hasn't shown any interest in the toilet. Again, not in a rush, but by New Years 2015, he'll be almost 4, and hopefully will be well on his way to being potty trained.

7. Grace. I want to give more grace - to my family, to my students, to strangers, and to myself. I'm not sure there's a way to measure this, but I want to be actively aware of how I'm treating myself and those around me.

So, that is what I would like to see happen in 2014. If it does, awesome! If it doesn't, well...there's always next year!

Here's to a happy 2014!