Resolutions 2012!

If I'd resolved to blog more regularly, I think I'd have already broke that resolution. Fortunately, that was not one of my goals for the year (though once things have settled, I do plan to do better). Honestly, I always tend to make my resolutions fairly easy. For the past few years, my main goal has to become more comfortable in the kitchen, and I like to think that I've accomplished this! Though I have lost some of my inspiration in the past months- I think after cooking vegetarian for a year while my husband was deployed, I've not yet gotten back into the habit of having to create meat dishes for him, so I will continue this resolution this year as well...there is always room for improvement, right? So..

Resolution #1: Find that inspiration to be more creative in the kitchen again, and find the balance between mine and my husband's very different food choices.

Resolution #2: Continue to save money as much as possible. Last year, I really got better about using my coupons and getting my grocery bill as low as possible and really building up my stockpile. I hope to be able to continue this throughout this year. This will be harder now, as I'm used to shopping at our military commissary where prices are generally much cheaper, but when we move, we likely won't have immediate access to one anymore, so I might have to work just a little bit harder, but I can and will do it. Honestly, with our upcoming move, I've had to step back from the couponing a bit, and instead use up our current stock, and I really miss it, so I can't wait to get back to it full swing!!

Resolution #3: Get organized! I am getting better about being more organized, but when we do move, I hope to really take that farther and start and keep it organized! I've got lots of great ideas (which include an all new shelving system built by my daddy-he doesn't know it yet, and lots of Thirty-One! So let's just hope we move close enough to family that we can make that work!!)

Resolution #4: Grow my Thirty-One business! Having only started at the end of October, I still have a lot of growing to do with it, but I am really looking forward to making this a successful business venture. Being as I cannot really work outside of the home with my son's therapy schedule, I would really like to be able to use this to add to our family income, if only just a little extra 'fun money'. But truly, I really just love this company and the products, so more than anything, I am happy with the chance to introduce it to others!!

Resolution #5: Read the Old Testament. This will be a tough one, but I have a confession to make- while I have read the New Testament many, many times in various translations, I have never been able to make my way through the Old Testament. I end up getting to a point where it's all names and so on and it just starts to look a little too much like history...and I've never been a fan of history (that's my husband's department!) But I would really like to change that this year and finally get through it, or at least make a dent!!

Resolution #6 & 7: Keep a positive attitude and support my husband! I have only briefly talked about our upcoming adventure of recruiting duty, but for those who don't know, it's a tough job and can be really hard on families and marriages. While they will try to put as close to the area where you would like, it's not always possible. We could truly end up anywhere! Because of Shaun's Autism, they are required to send us to an area where services are available, which is a plus, but whether those services are good or not, or comparable to what we have now, could be debatable. I am continually praying that we end up where we hope (around family- we've put in St. Louis as our top choice), I am trying to maintain a positive attitude that regardless of where we end up, it will all work out as it should, and it will ultimately be God's plan for us. On top of this uncertainty, with recruiting comes long, unpredictable hours and a lot of stress. It is likely that my husband will be working 6 days a week, early mornings and late nights. Thankfully, I think his previous unit with their crap hours and that yearlong deployment we just made it through will help to prepare us for that, but I'm sure it will still not be easy. And so this is why it is very important for me to remain positive through this year (which will be the hardest year from what I've heard), and to support Matt in this new adventure.

I am sure there are many more goals I have set for myself that I have missed, but I think I have at least covered most of the big ones. Honestly, surviving the year (more specifically these next few weeks/months as we find out where we will be for the next three years, and the actual move itself) will be enough for me!! This is going to be a big year for us, but hopefully a great year!