Happy 2012

It seems a bit funny that I am late in writing this post as one of my new year's resolutions from last year was to make peace with being late. It's actually the only resolution I kept and it has helped Josh and I avoid numerous conflicts, so I'd say it was a good one. The only time I CAN'T relax about being late is when I'm teaching. When I'm teaching if I'm not at least ten minutes early I go into a slight panic attack. I had two other resolutions in 2011 and I didn't really keep either of them. One was to get more hair washes, but Josh won't let me because I'm pregnant. The other was to journal more--I give myself a D- on that one. Oh well, it was a good year, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed every day with my baby boy. The wonder never wears off for me. Even though I can't slow time down, I can make sure that I cherish the moments, and even though there are hard times, for the most part I really do cherish each moment with Caleb as well as the times our family of three (almost 4) is together.

Well, instead of resolutions for 2012, I've decided to come up with a list of goals for small things I hope to accomplish this year, mostly things I have never done. Or some of them I have just never done in Taiwan. I am listing 12 goals, but my real and actual goal is to accomplish 10 of them. Hey, I need a lot of grace, people. Here they are:

1. Make my own Play-doh
2. Use the mymemories software that I won to make something glorious
3. bake bread
4. make stovetop popcorn
5. make lasagna
6. make yogurt
7. make deviled eggs
8. make pancakes
9. make a cheeseball
10. make chicken lettuce wraps
11. make enchiladas
12. make carrot cake

I love how items 3-12 are all food items. Well, I am trying to learn how to cook so it makes sense. One drawback to my current setup is that I can't use the stovetop and the oven at the same time, but at least I have an oven now so I won't complain.

I guess I do have one resolution, but it's more of a lifetime resolution than a new year's resolution. I've been reading Love and Respect by Dr. Eggerichs and realized I need to learn how to speak respectfully to my husband (including facial expresssion and tone of voice.) Man, is that hard! But I know it will be worth it in terms of benefiting my marriage and household. Other than that I just keep on keeping on in the gentle school of homemaking. Sometimes I still get really overwhelmed or discouraged, but I try my best to stay positive and focus on small improvements.

This year we look forward to the arrival of our second little bundle of joy!

Happy 2012 everyone!