11 in 2011

11 in 2011 (ie: New Year's Resolutions)
1. FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY lose the last 20 pounds that I gained during my pregnancy with Dominick. It's been over four years, and it's starting to drive me a bit (okay, a lot) crazy. Ok, I guess it really hasn' been over four years, not if you count that fact that I got pregnant and had Kirsten in that time period. But still. It's been too long.
2. Date night once a month (with each other, minus the kiddos). We have so much fun together when we do this. We have an awesome babysitter. We really have no excuse not to make this one happen.
3. Go on a fun, family trip every quarter. Just a long weekend will do. Just something to do together, away from our house, where we get bogged down in laundry, cooking, cleaning, DVR, work, errands, and all sorts of other time-consuming stuff. Possible options for this year: New Mexico to visit Jeff's dad, Chattanooga, an Indoor Waterpark, Center Hill Lake, Dunbar Cave State Park, Jack Daniels Distillery.
4. Blog at least once a week. I have been keeping this blog (ie: my e-scrapbook) for awhile, but am not great at keeping up with it. And that's an understatement. I am especially not great at posting actual posts. I have like 952 drafts created that just need a picture, or period, or exclamation point, or some minor thing added to them and they would be finished.. I know I am going to regret it if I don't, uh, finish all of those drafts, and then actually keep up with it at the same time......so I am going to do better. I have been telling myself this daily for over 2 years now, so we'll see how it goes this time around. Maybe I should grade myself on this list in order to actually make some progress? Or actually share this blog with someone so that I am more motivated to keep up with it?
5. Start making my own laundry soap. It's easy (so I've heard). It's less expensive (or so I've heard). It's better for you and the environment (I've also heard). All this hearsay cannot be wrong.
6. Shop, Cook, and Eat healthier (this is for all four of us). I think that our kids eat fairly well. The older they get, however, the worse they get. They are fairly open to trying new things, and eat a pretty wide variety of fruits and vegetables, but there's definitely room for improvement. I want to squeeze more nutrients into their diets (and ours), and incorporate more 'real' ingredients into my cooking and less processed ones. When Kirsten started on milk, we transitioned to organic (because of all of the hormonal effects I have read about that milk has on girls), eggs, chicken, and some produce, but I know we should increase this.
6a. Use a CSA or grow an organic vegetable garden. See #6 above.
6b. Begin buying organic beef from a local farmer. See #6 above.
6c. Do the 7-day detox from therawdivas.com. This is for Jeff and I, and I have him 80% convinced to do it with me. He may, however, no longer agree to it once he sees that name of the website, though. Yep, see #6 above.
7. Move Kirsten's bedroom upstairs. Dominick has been asking for this for awhile, so we just need to make the time to make it happen.
8. Visit Jeff's sister, brother-in-law, and niece in Alaska. We miss them, it's gorgeous there, and last time, they let us bunk with them for free for the week. Why wouldn't we go?
9. Organize and de-clutter our house. First stop: containerstore.com. Second stop: try to convince Jeff to build me a craft room.
10. Go see Kenny Chesney in concert. We try to do this every year. Or every year that he is on tour, which is every year every since I can remember except last year. LOVE. THAT. GUY.
11. Go on a long weekend trip somewhere…..anywhere (just Jeff and I). We did one in Sept 2009 and Jan 2010 (both for weddings), and we enjoyed them so much. This one and the Kenny Chesney one may be knocked out together….if Ticketmaster and Grandma & Grandpa cooperate with us, that is.....and if someone will get engaged, set a date for this year, and then invite us to their wedding :)