Welcome 2012

Reading Mrs BC's post today on how to not only make resolutions but to keep them gave me a bit more insight into my own.
I know my biggest resolution is to stop allowing people to trample all over me.
But there are about 10 others I'd love to follow through with.
They will require planning and organization.
The Daddy Man is not a planner. He is happy to wing everything which does result in lots of yelling and cursing on my behalf. I am a planner and a list writer. I like things done a specific way at certain times.
OCD much?

Here is my top 10 list and how I WILL achieve them.

 
1. Like a lot of other people, losing excess weight is number 1. A new 24 hour gym opened down the road from me just before Christmas. My goal is to attend said gym at least 3 times a week. This means that working within The Daddy Mans working hours I will need to rise at around 5am most days to attend the gym for an hour. Then be back in time to dress and feed the chillies before school.
2. To be more organised. Managing school hours better, packing lunches and homework the night before, planning weekend activities etc. These will need to work around The Daddy Mans hours but I'm sure it can be done.
3. Keeping the house neater. I guess this kind of relates to the above resolution but i think it deserves a bullet of its own. I want to get more on top of messes and washing and dishes and folding and mopping. Pretty much anything cleaning related. I will need to stop sitting down after the kids go to bed thinking "ahhh thank goodness" those pesky dishes wont do themselves and its twice as much work the following day.
4. To take more photos. I am not very good at taking pics. They tend to always be blurry or out of focus etc. It sucks but i guess more practice wouldn't hurt. Organisation and confidence will also assist.
5. A firm budget. Money has always been a topic that The Daddy Man and i could never discuss without war erupting. I spend too much, he spends too much on shit. Something amazing occurred in December though, we sat done and did up a budget together minus fighting or arguing. We worked as a team and didn't get stressed. The goal is to work on refining it more so that we live fairly stress free.
6. More family days out. Being that The Daddy Man works in a department store, he rarely gets weekends free. We need to plan activities to do as a family that will coincide with his days off and work hours. A family holiday is something we will be saving for also. Our first!
7. Study. to improve my sad education and enter a course I have only hoped for. Financial constraints aside If i work hard im sure i can achieve this
8. Managing my mental health. I will accept The Daddy Mans offers of help more, I will take deep breaths more and rethink thoughts 3 times before making decisions and harbouring emotions. I will talk more and not bottle so much up to explode. Being unmedicated is no longer scary. Refining my plan to become mentally healthier will help.
9. As sad as it sounds, I am 25 and do not have my drivers license. The medication I was on for many years made it illegal to drive while under the influence. Now I am medication free I can look forward to becoming a more independent version of me. Practice practice practice.
10. To sew. I do not have a sewing machine anymore and i miss it. I will be asking The Daddy Man for one for my birthday (this month) I will attempt to sew masterpieces!

I guess once a new year is upon us we tend to hope for a new beginning.

It gives us incentive to dream and hope to achieve things we havent yet mastered. I really am looking forward to being the ME I want to be. It might take grit and getting off my butt more but nothing worth anything comes easy.

Planning is a fantastic way to ensure success.

How was your Christmas??

Today's post is brought to you from my wonderful MIL's house.

They say Christmas is about family, giving and love. This week has been shitty for us as you know. However today there was a shining light in form of my amazing MIL.

Lets just say that my side of the family has a tendency to be slightly dysfunctional and today that blazed like no other day. There was a dreaded family "to do" at my mothers home and The Daddy Man and I left quite early to avoid the storm. However it left us feeling down, on the one day of the year that we should be smiling and joyous. We felt sombre and not as light and happy as we should. The day was dampened. However it seemed apparent that it was not to stay that way.

We attended The Daddy Man's family lunch and had an amazing afternoon laughing, smiling and chatting. Like family should. It was great, there was plenty to eat and the kids were all adorned with praise and gifts. As our spirits rose we prepared for our trip to The Daddy Man's mum, my MIL's house. It is about an hours journey away. The kids fell asleep on the trip, I was super sun burnt and we were all desperate for sleep.

Arriving at my MIL's house we delved into more laughter and talking. Food was brought out and consumed quickly. Dessert was dished and afterwards we may have all fallen into a slight food coma. She made us happy and for that I am thankful. We love her so very much.

Because of the distance we are staying the night. The chillies are sleeping, the adults are yawning and Christmas is over for another year. The Daddy Man will be working boxing day and we wont get much downtime this week.I have toys to sort and paper to throw. Boxes to dismantle and wine to consume. Hopefully the new year will be a new beginning and smiles we be a plenty.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and the kids got all the goodies they wanted.