Coveting and clearing

The day after Christmas I seriously wanted all the Christmas decor out, out, out. And with much hope and ambition, I did start taking it down right away, but sadly, because I wanted to reorgnize the way I put away the ornaments (I'm getting rid of all those little ornament boxes), it took longer than expected. Tonight we finished pulling down the ornaments we hung from the foyer ceiling and took down all three of the little trees. It feels good to open the house back up. If only it were spring, but alas it's supposed to be 1 degree here. Yuck! With everything taken down it's made me realize how much my walls need art and furniture, and ceilings need new light fixture. One day I'll be brave and just tackle it! But here's the quick list of things I'm hoping to get done this year:

• paint the office

• replace the kitchen light fixtures

• buy a buffet

• buy art/get professional photography done and hang up in dining room and living room

• replace bathroom sink faucets

• paint bathrooms

• possibly tile bathrooms (the lino is holding up well for the most part but one part is starting to peel in one of the bathrooms so we might wait until we see noticeable cracks like we've witnessed in the same lino in our neighbor's house

• clear out the basement and give away tons of crap living down there

• buy outdoor dining set

• buy a rocking recliner for bedroom.

The rocking recliner might be something we tackle soon. We looked this weekend and found something we both like, and after Jonathan scraped his wrist moving our very ancient ottoman in our bedroom, I'm thinking he's more likely to make that happen sooner rather than later.

If we had tons of money I'd love to finish the basement (adding a family room/craft/office area, bedroom, and a bathroom down there), fence the backyard, and put in French doors off our dining area to a little deck with lots of potted plants. A girl can dream!

A little more me this year

Ommm. I guess if I ever get hungry, there's a whole kitchen full of plastic goodness behind me. 

Ah, don't you love January? A new year to don whatever habit(s) you feel like trying in effort to revolutionize yourself. For me, it means I make these super lists of resolutions—one for work, one for parenting, one for the home, and one for me. The resolutions that trip me up the most have to be ones focused on me. My other lists are task oriented: make the bed everyday, teach Vincent his letters, hang curtains, start a garden. I'm really bad about focusing on me, taking time out for myself. This year I want to get back into yoga and spend a little more time reconstructing myself now that I've been on this path of motherhood for close to 3 years (!!!).

Before, I never understood those mothers who let themselves go and stopped doing those things they love. Now I completely understand wearing the crumpled yoga pants and ratty shirts that are more comfortable for your forever (and blessedly) changed body. That first year I was exhausted living on 4-6 hours of sleep a night. There was no way I was getting up earlier than necessary for those few minutes it took to throw on some clothes to rush out the door to drop Vincent off at daycare. Makeup was something that lived under my sink on the off chance I actually got out of the house for functions that didn't require a diaper bag and if I cared enough to put it on.

Yesterday I was perusing one of my favorite goods store, Terrain, and saw this book. If you click on the pictures, you can get an idea of the content, which is simplistic but also very fascinating. That we can change the moments in our lives merely by paying closer attention to them and yourself within that moment. That in washing the dishes and sorting clothes we might actually find we can enjoy it more if only we stay in the moment instead of stressing about the next thing on our to-do list. Working from home I'm constantly bombarded with professional and personal. I can't remember the last time I focused on one thing, giving it my everything, enjoying it, and checking in with myself in that moment instead of being sucked out by constant distractions, be it email, twitter, blog land, Pinterest, Facebook, and texting.

I've already started a little of my resolution revolution for myself by doing mini workouts in the evening with Jonathan. It was an idea I found reading Nellie magazine. Although I plan to revolutionize myself and my mentality this year and let more joy into myself, I plan to incorporate my family in the process where I can! I've never worked out with anyone before, so it'll be interesting the impact that it'll have on me and my marriage. I tend to push myself far and fast. Jonathan tends to back off when it gets uncomfortable. We're each other's yin and yang. We put away the phone, we talk about how we're physically feeling, and if we can go further than the night before. Right now we're only taking 10 or 15 minutes until we build up our stamina, but I can already see if difference in myself, in my marriage, and hopefully in the next month, my body.

New word new year

OK, here's the deal: The new year gets me down. I'm only just realizing the new year heaps on the depression, and that every year around this time, I get down in the dumps. Why? I think I finally put my finger on it: the expectations and pressure to do something profound with this "clean" slate. I always feel like I need to go back to the beginning to have a clean slate. But since it's certainly not possible to be put back in my mama's womb, I guess I need to learn to be OK with superficial clean slates. So deep breath in, and EXHALE!

To help me along with my clean slate is my word for the year: simplify. I heard less is the new more. Profound. Oh and emerald green is the color of the year.

Here are my goals for the new year:
Professionally

• Create a better portfolio
• Find a new job
• Write more, even if it means turning in some rejection letters to some publishers
• Beef up on social media skills

Personally

• Practice yoga on the weekends
• Journal during the evenings
• Knit gifts for next Christmas
• Sew a quilt
• Run in the MuckFest with my family
• Play more with Vincent
• Take more pictures
• Learn how to use my camera outside of the auto mode
• Be more organized

New year's resolutions

Since I'm turning 30 this year, I thought that it was fitting to have 30 resolutions.

1. To get up every morning at 5 and run on the treadmill or do yoga.
2. Blog at least three times a week.
3. Take more pictures of my family.
4. Start a blog binder and spend more time and effort into each post.
5. Redesign my blog.
6. Organize my office/guest bedroom to be a place I'm eager to go to work in every morning.
7. Paint my office.
8. Finish my foyer gallery project.
9. Hang up pictures around the house.
10. Put hardware on the cabinets.
11. Buy wall cabinets for each bathrooms that I can put towels in.
12. Paint the bathrooms.
13. Do something each month to prepare for Christmas.
14. Start sewing regularly.
15. Journal regularly.
16. Go see my niece in California.
17. Develop and cleaning schedule and stick to it.
18. Plan two date nights a month.
19. Practice French daily.
20. Get pointers on giving a better interview and talking myself up.
21. Come up with a budget plan for buying big ticket items for the house.
22. Call my dad at least once a month.
23. Plan a family reunion.
24. Have a girls weekend with my sisters.
25. Get professional family pictures.
26. Knit one item a month.
27. Drink more wine.
28. Set up regular hair appointments.
29. Teach Vincent sign language.
30. Get a new job.

New Year's Resolutions?

Here we are at the start of another year. Usually I'm excited and motivated to find myself with a clean plate. Well, my holiday blahs are lasting into the new year, but I'm determined to put a positive, bright, and motived foot forward. With further adieu, here's my 2009 resolutions. Here's to keeping them!

1. Exercise daily. I've almost got this one down with going to yoga, but now I want to start getting up early and running on the treadmill.
2. Get rid of junk and organize the apartment. It would be nice if my extra/guest bedroom was more of a respite, but it's cluttered, there's videogame wires all over the place, magazines, and crafting stuff all over the place. Goal: trash the magazines, find a way to make the gaming system more hidden (I really hate the sight of wires, don't you?).
3. Send out birthday cards on time.
4. Find healthy recipes that are quick and easy to make. I've relied on pasta too long, and you can so tell.
5. Craft more. I envy so many of my blog friends who make the most amazing things, and I think, I should do that. Projects for the new year: knit soon-to-arrive niece a baby blanket and Valentine's Day cards.
6. Socialize more. This one is a BIG one for me, because I get lazy and comfortable either being at home watching DVDs or Hulu or doing yoga. I need to get out more, before all my social skills deteriorate. Blog readers, I give you a task and New Year's resolution: Get Jess out of the house!
7. Bake bread. I received a breadmaker for Christmas last year. It's about time I make some fabulous bread!
8. Make homemade croissants and ice cream. For some reason, both of these foods scare the crap out of me.
9. Bake and decorate a cake using the cake-decorating tools I received last year.
10. Travel. Maybe the east coast or europe. Don't care just as long as it happens.
11. Blog better. More often, more pictures, and possibly more bling.