Friday, January 2, 2009

Resolutions

I try not to give myself any... I just end up acting like a rebellious teenager and breaking them because "I don't have to follow rules"... lol... I don't like the act of speaking something that I won't stick with. I don't like the idea of not being in integrity with what I say, or what I want in my life. So I will not call these resolutions, instead I will call them 'New Years goals'. That way, when I don't do it for a day, I have not 'broken my resolution' I have 'not gotten to my goal'. Then I can keep going... if that makes sense. Really, the wording is all for me anyhow.

#1: Eat the way I know is healthy. I want to step away from fast food all together. And if I can, get back to making every meal we eat. Three months ago I found this easy. Now it is a challenge... so it is a goal of mine for the new year.

#2: Continue to not drink coffee. I have no idea how long this will last, but it is what is best for my pocket book at the moment. Giving up the Latte Factor.

#3: Get back onto some sort of debt reduction plan. This involves a lot of things that I have little power over (talks with my husband, what our new bills look like in this house, etc) so this is a lofty goal, but it would be great to feel as though we were getting somewhere again with our debt snowball. The first two goals, if they succeed, should help in with general money output.

#4: Feel more pulled together. This means being on a schedule, even when I don't need to. Or at least, getting dressed, and washing my face... even if I have nothing to do that day but watch movies. I have been doing Motivated Moms for the last week and am really enjoying that.

#5: Maintain rituals. In the last year we have grown to need little rituals that we didn't do before. We say grace. I wash the kids face and hands with a warm wash cloth before I put them to bed. These things have really made a difference in our lives and there is some family resistance (dh) to these types of things as he doesn't believe they are needed. I see the changes... and would like to continue those. Perhaps not 100% on my own.

#6: Become at peace with my homeschool style. I don't like book work. I haven't found a real way to teach them the things I want them to learn without the book work. So we start our day. They get a few things done. And then they get bored, and so do I, and we stop. Not the best way to teach them anything.

I think that is enough. Those are the big things I am currently working on.
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7 comments

Sarah said...

The word resoulution isn't for me either. And I share a couple of your goals....and I am so with you on #6....I need to find my place. And workbooks aren't it!!! That is why I am going back to lapbooking. Sort of both worlds...but colorful and sort of crafty. We'll see how it goes....

How long is Alex gone for this time?

Becka said...

Val, check out Moving Beyond the Page. There is some book work, but the book work is mostly research based. Even I am having fun with school now. I posted Marcus, Death Island project, but I neglected to take pics of our 3D map of a community. It's super cool stuff.

And how can you give up coffee???? I mean, I can live without caffeine. But, I crave the taste of coffee. I don;t think I can survive without it.

Val in the Rose Garden said...

Sigh. I could easily give up coffee the way I made it at home... but lattes? That not so easy. ;) It helps that I no longer have a super convienent drive through down the street. When you have to SEARCH for a latte, it takes the fun out of it. lol!

Val

Val in the Rose Garden said...

Becka... MBTP only goes up to 11 years old. Alex is 12 1/2 and in 7th grade. Do you think it would still work? I am printing out the turtle project to see if I could make it up to his level...

Any advice would be great! My email is BlueRoseMama@ Hotmail.com

Val

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year!
I am so with you on goals #1 & #6, I'll check out the links recommended.
Latte's- we bought our machine (Starbucks Barista) for $100 on craigslist, and get local beans from Lisa's source. So yummy and not $$.

We miss you all :)

Val in the Rose Garden said...

Miss you too Sunny! When are you coming over? Email me... :)

BlueRoseMama@hotmail.com

Love Val

S said...

Val,

Your goals list reads almost identical to mine. Even the bit about the rituals. I am having trouble with #6 as well, but sometimes it's all I have the energy for. Pulling out a workbook is easier thank launching into a really creative project and at least I know it's work getting done. Which is not inspiring true learning, nor love of learning.

Anyway... It'll be fun to track our progress. I am wanting to go back to our Waldorf education stuff. I have the OAK meadow Curriculum and think I'll start with that again. It's really gentle, really sweet and speaks to the earth mama in me. Ruby will love it. Gryphon will love it if I throw in more science and less gnomes.

Good Luck!

Oh and I can't handle coffee because of the caffeine, but I love it so!!

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