I Resolve...

I know, I know a few days ago I said I don't make resolutions anymore, but...it seems that without intending to I have made a few and I know there are more that I should make. So here I will publicly acknowledge them so that I have a record to look back at next year.

1. I resolve to declutter my house. This has been a HUGE benefit to us in the past week as we have started selling and giving away all those things we thought we NEEDED that really just sat around for no reason. So far in the past week Derek has cleaned out all three attics. The only thing left in one of them is our Christmas decorations which makes sense since there is really no where else to store those items. Granted, our garage is now completely full of junk that we have to go through. Today I took an entire carload (my SUV) full of items to Goodwill including toys, clothes, stereo equipment, books and household items. That felt really good (especially giving away the toys that just sit around).

2. I resolve to keep my house picked up (at least the public areas!). This is going to be a challenge for me, but I'm hoping that the few small changes we have made lately will help. The kids know that if they leave toys out before they go to bed, they will lose those toys for a week. I can't say that our bedroom and closet will always be neat because that seems to have turned into the dumping ground when company comes over. But as we declutter it will become simpler to keep things tidy.

3. I resolve to be conscious about the food and drinks I put into my body. I've noticed over the past few weeks that I am really not good at Weight Watchers, but I have still lost weight. The problem is that I don't keep track of my points and I have no desire to keep track of my points. But what I have found is that if I think about what I am eating and how I will feel a)right now, b)in an hour and c)tomorrow morning if I should step on the scale, that will usually help me make better choices about what is going into my mouth. There are some days when I just don't care or I am in a situation like last night where all there was to eat was pizza and beer, so I just have to make up for it the next day.

4. I resolve to use cash as much as possible. With the new year came a new budget for our household. We have set a few goals for ourselves this year and with that comes tightening up and saving as much as possible. That also means teaching myself not to pull out the debit card everytime I am at a check-out. I started to this afternoon at Target (yes, I have started shopping at Target again occasionally) and stopped myself before it slid all the way out of the pocket. Yea me!

5. I resolve to spend more quality time with my kids. I have neglected the simple things this past year - going to the park, taking them for walks, playing games at home.

So there it is. I think those are the types of resolutions I can keep...we'll have to wait and see about keeping the house picked up though!