"New Years" Resolutions

I'm not a huge New Year's resolutions person because I'm constantly making resolutions for myself, therefore doing so on January 1 isn't a huge priority for me. That being said, I've been thinking about things I'd like to accomplish this year. I think it's the very (very) slow emergence of spring and my spring-cleaning mentality that have me so resolute. Maybe if I blog them (can you use "blog" as a verb?) they'll come to fruition.

1. Be Present. I want to be 100% in the moment in all areas of my life, and try to slow my brain down. At any given moment I am literally thinking of 13 different things and I really want to learn to just turn that off and enjoy every minute. I hate that I'll be playing with Madelyn and find myself thinking about what we need at the grocery store or how I really need to do laundry. There is plenty of time for all of that when she goes to bed, and I really need to learn to segment those areas of my life a little better.

2. Be financialy smart. If you know Matt and me, you probably know that we've had our share of financial struggles since we've been married. Now, we're really in a place where we feel secure, we've minimized our debt significantly, and God forbid there be some sort of disaster, we'd be ok. But, that being said, there is always room for improvement. I've been listening to Dave Ramsey on my way home from work every day, and follow a blogger that always inspires me with her budget-friendly lifestyle, Buford Betty, and I'm more motivated than ever to pay off our one car payment and stock away as much savings as possible. This means a variety of things- continue to meal plan and use coupons to lower our grocery budget, shop sales (and shop less- hah), sell things on Craig's List that we don't need or want (anyone interested in a Tivo that's in perfect condition?!), etc etc...

3. Read More. I've always been an avid reader my entire life, but these last few years I've found myself reading less and less. Lately I've been getting back into it and SO enjoyed it. My interests are spanning the board from mindless chick-lit novels to religious books by Beth Moore to foxnews.com, so if you have any suggestions send them my way! Oh, and how could I forget, Goodnight Moon, Guess How Much I Love You, and the squishy bath book as shown below. and yes, Madelyn wears more than her monkey jammies, but for some reason it seems like that's what she has on everytime I get the camera out!

4. Continue to embrace a clean, green, organic lifestyle. For me this means buying all organic (and when possible local) meat, dairy, and produce, feeding Madelyn (and Matt) good clean foods (not processed junk), keeping our house clean and clutter-free, and enjoying more time outside! I am dying for it to get warm so we can enjoy all of the great outdoor activities Atlanta has to offer. For now, I try to open the windows when we can, even when it's cold, just to let some fresh air in. I think it's really important as most people don't realize the insides of most of our houses are Much more polluted than the outside environment due to chemical cleaners, dirty air filters, candles, etc...

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

On another note, we got the second follow up xrays back from the doctor today and Madelyn's pneumonia is officially gone. Thank. You. God. Oh and, she's starting to walk. Her personal record is 7 steps, but she's still pretty inconsistent. I think my screaming and cheering every time she does it may be scaring her back into crawling, so I'm trying to keep it in check.