Resolutions Old and New

I was reading a little blurb in the paper while on vacation last week about new years resolutions and how their success rate is typically around 8%. Pretty crazy huh? I know I have probably failed at new years resolutions more than I've succeeded but I still love them and I think the new year is a great time to take stock and make goals for the year ahead. I decided to take a look at last years list of goals and see how I did, here are the results:

1. Get caught up on all my doctors appointments that I have been putting off forever (such as dentist and eye doctor). Here's to a healthier 2013!Check! I passed this one with flying colors, go me!

2. Learn how to make my own broth from scratch. I've been wanting to try this and seriously can't believe it's taken me this long.Check again, I make my own broth pretty regularly now.

3. Bake regularly, at least once a week. I enjoy it and it's cheaper and better for me than store bought bread.I probably didn't do this once a week exactly but I came close. I have enjoyed baking and eating more home made bread all year long. 

4. Try new sewing projects and really improve my sewing skills.Definitely did this one too, looking forward to continuing the journey next year. 

5. Cut waaayyy back on sugar.I think i failed pretty badly at this one, Eric disagrees and says he has noticed me eating less sugar. He's not around when I do those day time Starbucks runs though ;-)

6. Walk a few miles at least 2 times a week. Eric, Echo and I have been walking to the grocery store fairly regularly. Not only is it good exercise but it's also good family bonding time.Eh, we did well at this for a while but when bad weather hits we tend to slack off, maybe we can do better next year. 

7. Read more and watch less TV. I've started this already. It makes feel better mentally :-)Definitely did this! Our tv broke this year and we didn't even notice for like a month. That's how little we watch tv now. I'm pretty happy about this. 

8. Eat more local meat and produce.Yep, our weekly farmers market visits help with this.

9. Learn to cut my own hair.I tried this once and pretty much decided it wasn't worth the effort (it's really hard to see the back of your own head). I still cut Eric's hair from time to time though.

10. Start trying for kid number two. This one is so much fun, I can't wait for her to have a little brother or sister :-)Haha, yes got this one covered. Can't wait to meet our new little someone in 2014!

Overall I think i did pretty well on last years list. Here is my list of goals for next year.

1. Cut back on sugar, again. I need to keep working at this until it sticks, it is my major downfall when it comes to eating right.

2. Cut back on red meat. We are trying to do more chicken and fish this year as a family for our overall health. 

3. Continue baking regularly and try new bread recipes. Eric got me some amazing bread cookbooks for Christmas and I can't wait to try out all the yummy recipes. Home made bread is just beyond compare. Baking is quickly becoming a passion for me, looking forward to perfecting my art even more in the year ahead.

4. Eat more veggies. We have already increased the amount of vegetables we eat a lot in the past year. Trying to up it even more. 

5. Take more walks. We need to get back in the habit of doing this. Hopefully it will stop being so rainy at some point.

6. Continue my sewing education. This is something I really enjoy and want to improve at. Plus I will have a new little baby to sew things for :-)

7. Play outside with Echo every day (weather permitting). We usually do this anyway, Echo loves to get out in nature. I think it is so important for both of us to get some fresh air and sunshine on a daily basis.

8. Get off facebook (mostly). This is something that I have tried to do many times and is so hard for me. I am a really nosy person by nature and I hate not knowing what is going on with people. However, I really do believe that people who aren't on facebook are happier and that it is good for my mental health to stay away. I don't think I can get off completely because so many people use it for planning events and communicating with me but I'd like to get down to checking maybe once a week or just when I have notifications. 

9. Try to take time to really appreciate Echo every day. She is at such a magical, wonderful age and she changes so quickly. I need to be very conscious to take time every day to notice and enjoy how special and wonderful she is. We get so busy that it's easy to overlook the everyday magic that happens all the time around here. I want to savor every minute because I will never get these days back with her. 

10. Lastly, I want to try to keep my sanity while having a toddler and baby at the same time, wish me luck ;-P