Naturally Optimistic

In the past I've made excessive lists about all the things I'm going to accomplish (or at least the goals I've set) for the new year to come. Mostly I do not come close, but the lists allow me to keep my brain somewhat organized. Last year I resolved to do one thing - learn how to knit socks. Well, I was halfway successful. This summer I knitted one sock. One sad sock that still does not have a mate. Ah well. At least I was .500 for the year. This year I feel like my brain/resolutions are split in two. Pre-new-baby and post-new-baby. So here are my goals for both: Pre-New-Baby: -Patch, prime & paint our bedroom, put up artwork, acquire (somehow) night stands & a reading light for me. -Strip the wallpaper in the baby's room, prime, paint, make cute valance, artwork etc for new little peanut. Dig out Dahlia's early infant stuff. Get ready. -Paint those godforsaken ugly flesh colored bookshelves!!!!!! -Paint stairs leading up. -Live more frugally/save more mon...

So - back to the grind here. The grind of getting up at a reasonable hour (oh wait, I have a baby, scratch that). Back to trying to get out the door at a reasonable time. Back to trying to get lunches packed, diaper bags packed, work crap packed, car warming up so it's not driving an ice box; time for raiding the piggy bank (again!) for quarter to park downtown (why don't I just always have some on hand?!?); back to trying to figure out taxes & marketing and trying to keep a 1-year-old entertained. Back to trying to come up with creative ideas, finish projects already started and keep the office tidy(ier) than 2008. Whew. And the 1-year-old just dropped my keys, crying to commence soon although I'd prefer her to take a nap. She's not too interested....dang. I have big goals for the year, the top on my list is not going insane. I also am hoping for teeth & words from Dahlia, a new digital camera and selling a film. Aim high, right? I completely forgot what I was ...

I got a new cookbook for Christmas. It's a Soup cookbook and since I love to make soup it's a perfect fit! :) I decided to make Navy Bean & Ham soup for New Year's Day. I soaked the beans the night before (I actually remembered to do this!) and threw everything else in the crockpot yesterday morning. What I found strange was that it said it made 6 servings yet it filled TWO CROCKPOTS. Who are you serving?? Paul Bunyan? Anyway - I went ahead and made the soup and while it smelled delish...the results were only...blah. The soup is missing something - some kind of spice, some salt some....??? The ham I bought was really really tasty as I was cutting it up but after sitting in the pot all day tasted very bland. We have so much leftover...I don't know what to do with it. I'm considering adding cooked carrots & celery and I dont' know what else? Any spice suggestions? I know it'll freeze up well and we'll eventually eat it all but I'd like to make ...

So this is the post where I list all the ridiculous resolutions I have. Categorized into personal, family, health, travel, marriage, career, blah blah blah. Well, I'm not doing that this year. Of course I could wax poetic about wanting to drink more water and hike more; about being a better wife, mother, friend, daughter, listener, filmmaker, blah blah blah. I could talk about how I want to improve my skills in one area or another or read X amount of books and have adventures in places I've never been to. I could write how I want to be happy with what I have, save more money, declutter more, live more simply, cook more, bake more, make more gifts, etc. I want to keep in touch with friends better, send gifts & cards on time, not be late to everything, be happy with myself more frequently than not and say my prayers every night. And you know what? I want to do all of those things and so many more. Of course I want to do them but this year I'm calling that "life"...

So here we are on the last day of the year. How did that happen? Isn't supposed to only be August or something? I could've sworn we missed an entire season. Ah well. I suppose we didn't and time just moves quickly and here we are. I'm not going to lie. This year was tough. Having a new baby was something that I was prepared for and so totally unprepared for it's hard to explain. I fell in love with my daughter but I don't think I adjusted to motherhood well. I'm not used to sleepless nights and having to put someone else first 24 hours a day. While I consider myself to be fairly laid back, this new little person had me stressed out and discombobulated for most of the year! I think we're both learning though and figuring out our relationship and both of us are gaining some independence from each other, and I think that's a good thing. I love this little one so much. Her goofy crinkled up nose smiles, all of her "words" and noises, the way sh...