my 2012 resolutions

Have you made resolutions for 2012? Did you make resolutions for 2011? I'm not big on making them, maybe because I know I won't keep them.

BUT....I've been doing some thinking, and I have a few for this year.

Like many others, fitness, losing weight, and eating better are on my list.  I am always saying that I need to work on these areas, but this year I've got specifics - and I think that will help.

1.  I will do some kind of exercise at least 5 days a week. Back in the fall, I started the C25K program, but I did something to my knee and had to stop even walking.  I've given it a few months to heal. I'm going to start walking and see where that leads. I think it will be best if I don't do the same thing everyday - I get bored and stop.

2.  I MUST lose some weight. I always set my goals really high and get frustrated when I don't lose enough. This year my goal is to lose 5 pounds a month. That doesn't seem like such a big number - just a little more than a pound a week. But I would be so happy to be 60 pounds lighter next January.

3. I hate to get in a cooking rut. By the end of each season, I am sick of the food I am cooking. This year I will prevent that by cooking at least one new recipe per week. This one sounds easy, but I'm not much of a recipe follower, and that's part of the resolution - I have to follow the recipe (well, sorta follow the recipe).

4. I've been working on a craft/office room. I will finish it and use it often!

5. I will spend more time reading Scripture and in prayer.


So have you written or made resolutions? If so, let me know, and we can help one another to stay on track.

my jenga-is-like-life analogy

Our New Year's Eve was a simple celebration. It was bring-your-own-steak night at our house. I had plans to make a few niblets for the night, but you know my plans don't always work out. Saturday afternoon, I left the house to pick up LKN and Baby Jus's girlfriend, run by the store to get our steaks, and a quick stop at the pet store for dog food. The plan was that the girls would help with the niblets while I started things for supper. And we were right on schedule until I backed into a car while leaving the pet store. And then I had to find the owner, make my apologies, wait on the police to arrive, and file a report. My truck wasn't harmed at all. For the second time it was saved by my trailer hitch. And for the second time the other vehicle fell victim to said trailer hitch - it didn't just dent the bumper; it went all the way through it. (The first time, someone hit me from behind - totally not my fault.)

I got home just in time to unload the truck, put a bit of marinade on the steaks, and get the mushrooms and onions ready to cook before friends arrived. Carrie brought a black-eyed pea dip from The Pioneer Woman that was so yummy. And she helped with guacamole while I got the potatoes and bread ready ready for the oven. Clay and Lovey handled the steaks. It was a GREAT supper.

The kids played video games, watched movies, and played some cards while we played Jenga between the guys watching the moonshiner show on Discovery. Later, neighbors and friends joined us for the last few hours of 2011.

We played Jenga a few nights ago, and our record was 32 levels high.

Last night we got 36 levels, and it didn't fall - there were no more moves. It was wobbly, but it didn't fall. After admiring our accomplishment for a few minutes, we had no choice but to pull a block, let the pieces fall, pick them up, and start over. And there's my analogy. Sometimes we reach our goals, or we run out of moves. And what to do then?

Make a drastic, purposeful move.

Deal with the chaos that follows. And start to rebuild.

In 2012, may we all have the courage to make that drastic, purposeful move, even if means picking up the pieces and starting fresh.

Happy New Year to you and yours!
Mer