next year i'll....

planning morning. coffee. messy house. kids outside in the snow.

Do you do new year's resolutions?

I totally do. Some people - and I don't understand this - seem to think that its lame to do resolutions in the new year. Like, one should constantly by improving oneself, regardless of the day.

To this I say, yes, sure. However. I appreciate a fresh start. I appreciate being able to say, this year, I shall not yell at the kidlings, pending their possible death, or serious maiming (GET OUT OF THE ROAD, PUT DOWN THAT KNIFE, etc)

And I find myself, really, doing this at the start of each new season. This summer, I shall garden, and run, and write. Etc. This September I shall ORGANIZE the SHIT out of EVERYTHING.

So, how about you?

I saw this thing on Facebook. What is your one word for the new year? Lots of friends had clever one word answers, encapsulating their hopes and dreams for that year in one word.

I, however, clearly, am in too verbose a mood for this kind of cleverness.

Or, perhaps, my hopes for 2015 are so great that they simply cannot be captured in one word.

Maybe that could be my one word.

LOTS.

So, are you dying for my list, or what??? HA HA HA.

Here it is. And I have been thinking about this, really since before Christmas. Like, I love my family, our giant family celebration, but good lord I cant wait to pack up the Christmas balls my children keep on breaking (I did it Dec. 26, HA) and PLAN FOR A KICK ASS NEW YEAR.

So, categories...
1) ME
2) FAMILY
3) HOME
4) SCHOOL

I think that does it....

1) ME
Good grief. 2015 needs to be about getting my frigging act together. 2014 I was all over the place. HAWAII. BOOKS. TRAVEL. START A SCHOOL. RUN FOR OFFICE. ETC. ETC. I saw this thing on Pinterest the other day though that made me laugh, "Some people think of one step forward, one step back, as frustrating. Other people see it for what it is...THE CHA CHA."

HA HA HA.

I do not dance, at all, like truly badly, but I think that is my motto for the next few years. Lets Cha Cha our way to greatness! DO IT ALL! But, recognizing that, sometimes, great things in life truly need to percolate their way into being. You cannot rush good coffee folks. You gotta let it brew. Smell the richness. And just wait.

This is Hawaii and etc for me. And now there is talk of Hawaii, again, plus Mexico, Germany, the Dominican Republic. All these possibly amazing teaching opportunities. And to them I say, that pot of coffee smells amazing. I will wait for the brew to finish.

You know?

And then the writing.

SOOOO...I finished the one. I need to send it round to, you know, people, the agent-y type. This is scary. And I feel that "ITS NOT GOOD ENOUGH" but I gotta do it anyhow. And then there is the new one. The one that is pressing on me to finish. Because I love the little family I am writing about and they are so sad and lovely and...enough said. I can finish this one this year, and starting sending it round to those agent-y types too. Good Lord that is enough writerly goals for me. I wish I could find a writing group to be a part of. And I'd also love to work on some short stories and start sending those out too.

Other me stuff:
Running. Gotta do it. That scary age number is around the corner. I plan on meeting it at a full run. (Rather than running in terror away from it, see what I did there? HA.)

Painting: Maybe take a class

Get up before the kids. I am a grumpy riser. Better get up and be cranky alone before they appear, little sleepy faces, looking at me, waiting for me to set the tone of the day.

Also, I need to spend morning time alone, thinking, meditating on the day, reading inspiring stuff, etc. Working on me. Is it weird, I want to start reading Emerson and Thoreau and people from the Transcendentalism movement of New England, I feel like there is a lot of wisdom there to be gleaned.

Why yes, I am listening to Gregorian chants as I write. However did you guess???

2) FAMILY
We need to be more purposeful about modeling with the kids. Modeling patience and good humor and grace. Reading more like this with them. Character developing books and stories and etc.

And. I am trying to go yell-free. Its just not in the tool box anymore, as I told dada the other day, with the exception of possible death or serious maiming, as I said. But for serious. I can do this. And I need to. Take our interactions down a notch (we are ALL INTENSE PEOPLE) and in doing so, teach the kids the same. You know? More thoughts on this later, I think.

Also, more family adventures. TO FLORIDA! YURTS UP NORTH! etc. Being outside more together.

Also. Weekly dates with dada. Is such a thing even possible? We get out every six months at this point. Even to the grocery store. It must happen.

Also. I want to move to a mini-farm this year. I MUST. As I told dada. I have one I am in love with. A little more land, a little bigger house. A pond. A creek. A woods to play in. I WANT IT SO BAD. I may or may not have entire pinterest boards dedicated to remodeling and redecorating this house. Sweet Jesus. PLEASE.

Eating. We all need to eat more healthy like, paleo, or GAPS or something trendy and good like that. HA HA. No, but really. Not so much chicken nuggets and hot dogs. (As little miss eats a plate of barbecue chips for lunch and dada heats up Spaghettios) I need to do this too. I really need to get a grip on my health in 2015. Gluten free, sugar free, grain free... taste free. Maybe I'll just take up eating dust.

HA HA.

3) HOME

I need to simplify. Again. In anticipation of a move but also, clearing out stuff, stuff we haven't touched in years. Is there a real reason I need to keep a hoodie I wore in college?? Or plates that have been packed in newspaper for five years? Or kids toys that they no longer touch? Etc. Also, just to clear off shelves and such. Anything that has a layer of dust goes in a box. Good plan right???

Also. Organize. I'm thinking, organizing command center wall, a la Pinterest style. In our new farmhouse, of course. This is where I would insert a winky face, if I did such things.

On this wall will be a family calendar, homeschool charts, menu plan (GASP) etc. Maybe even a section for coupons. No just kidding. I need this wall. My life will be 100% more better if I have this wall. HA HA.

But seriously. Joking/not joking. As the kids say.

 4) SCHOOL

Good golly. I made one of those printout organizing the shit out of our school year/quarter/week.

FOR SERIOUS folks.

I may, in fact, put it up here, as a nifty download, because its so wicked awesome. I could not find a single planner downloadable or purchaseable (if that is a word) anywhere in the entire internets. And, yes, I looked. So. I made one up. Because that is what resourceful mamas who listen to Gregorian chants do.

HA.

Its going to help so much. I will do an entire post about it, no doubt, but I have great plans about how it will revolutionize our year. I'm also thinking about making one for little man too. So he can track his own school work too. Take responsibility. All that good stuff.

For school, along with the planner part, I came up with a ridiculous great plan. Just for Jan/Feb. I tend to plan only two months out at a time, with vague ideas for the future, but for me, two months is enough. I used to try to use excel spreadsheets but I have since found a rough bullet point note system works best, with overall goals for each kid and each subject and us as a family (trips etc.)


So.

This is it.

This is too much. No doubt. But I have faith in 2015. 2015 owes me. 2014 was sucky, in a lot of ways, good in a lot of ways too. But also sucky. And no, 2015 doesn't owe me. I owe me.

Make it happen.

Stop dreaming. Start doing.

We don't believe in dreams, so much. We believe in plans.

Right????

HAPPY NEW YEAR MAMAS. Happy planning. Happy Cha-Cha-ing into glory!!

apparently all it took to get these two to play outside in peace and harmony was NEW SLEDS FROM SANTA
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..........