{Resolution Time: Wrapping up 2010}

Happy New Year, everyone!

New year, new month, new day.

Clean slate. Fresh start.

New beginnings in another chapter

that's yet to be written.

It will be what we make of it.

That's a fairly rare and very special gift.

For me, the first of the month means it's time to look back and review how I did on my

final monthly and quarterly goals from 2010.

My New Years Resolution in '09 and '10 was to make three new goals each month. It's

worked really well for me. Some were for fun, others were important for me to accomplish.

The goals have pushed me to get some things done I wouldn't have otherwise gotten to,

and they've helped me find some of the balance I seem to be in constant search of. It beats

all the years of setting resolutions in January that I lose track of after a few weeks. :)

Using my blog as a way to establish and follow up with my goals hasn't made for the

most interesting reading, I'm sure, but it gives me a sense of accountability in my goal

making. I like need that. Hopefully it's inspired you with a few ideas along the way, too.

So, to wrap up my last month of 2010, I will ...

Evaluate how I did with my December goals (for the month and the fourth quarter).



December Resolution Review:

1.

Do my first December daily! That's going to mean creating a lot of holiday magic and

documenting all of it. I don't plan to finish it 100% by month end, but I expect to

have an

idea, some journaling and a photo(s) for each day.

* It's so not done. How do people make the album, have a fabulous December, prep all

the materials for each day, and make the pages as they go? I mean, I could do it ... if

that's all I did for the whole month.

* But I did buy the album itself from the fabulous and talented Sara Fehling. So, all that

work is done, thanks to her and some prior planning on my part.

* And I did what I had to do in December, which is to say, I had a great holiday that

focused on the people and the traditions. It was festive, indeed. I made a list of what

will go on each page, and I took photos along the way. I'm sitting good on materials to

fill the December Daily; although, I wish I would have done more real time journaling.

There's always next year for that. :)

2. Organize the garage.

* It's 95% DONE! Here's a recap of what we did ...

* It would've been a huge project for a busy holiday month, but we did a lot of work over

Thanksgiving. That's when we emptied it of all it's contents, painted the whole thing and

epoxied the floor. It was a really fun project to do with David -- a lot of work but very

rewarding. It felt good to get it done and work as a team.

* Starting in December, we got quotes on cabinetry, ordered it and had it installed.

* David caulked the joints in the floor. Now debris won't get stuck in the cracks.

* We cleaned off every single item as we moved it back into the garage, and we put it all

away in categories and nice order. Everything has a spot.

* We thinned out a lot of our things! I took two full loads to donation, a backseat full of

items to the City of Chandler Solid Waste to be recycled and repurposed and a few other

things to the dump. Thanks to the new cabinet space, we also got rid of two big shelving

units. David took those to work. They were nice, but they looked cluttered.

* All that's left to do is organize David's locker (in the new cabinet area) and sort through

a few more of his tools. I have room available to put things. So, it should only take an

hour or two out there to wrap up this project and find the final items a perfect spot.

* Photos coming soon.

3. Clean things that never get cleaned -- reuseable bags, light switches, doors, makeup
brushes, phones, computers, shoes, hair drier vents etc. And my car - ha!

* Ironically, my hair drier died. Didn't even have to clean it. :) I think it might have made

it longer if I cleaned the vents out a couple months ago when I should have. Oops.

* Took all D's shoes (dusty from job sites) to have them polished at his barbershop. They

looked brand new afterwards. He went from feeling like he needed new shoes to realizing

he's all set in that department for now. Very cool and totally worth four bucks a pair.

* My formerly very dirty car = totally spotless inside and out. Lovely.

* Makeup brushes. Check. I've never done this, but they say it's important to keep your

skin healthy. Cleaning the brushes removes natural oils, dust and bacteria. Your brushes

last longer that way, too. I used mild shampoo and my hand, followed by a complete air

dry. It took less than five minutes. Simple.

* Laptops. Check.

* Every light switch in the house. Check.

* Reuseable grocery bags. Check. Have you ever done this? I got the idea from a friend

(Jenny Bloyer). You use those over and over but probably never wash them, right? Me

too! It was simple, but it felt so clean afterwards. I shook each bag out over the trash.

Then, I took the bottom inserts out of each bag and hand washed those. Next, I turned

each bag inside out and put them in the washing machine on delicate. Finally, I air dried

the bags and put them all back together. I'd like to do this monthly or so.

* This goal motivated some mini, low-or-no-cost reorganization projects, too. I did ...

- the shelf at the top of our coat closet

- the buffet drawers where David keeps his stuff

- my bedroom end table drawer

- our shelf of extra personal supplies in the bathroom

- a kitchen cupboard

- started purging clothes for donation

It felt great!

For our combined resolution to go on at least one date a month, David and I ...

* Went to the Parade of Lights and the tree lighting ceremony in downtown City of Chandler.

* Had dinner with friends Johnny and Debbie at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Phoenix and

then swung by Arthur and Kate's holiday party for a bit.

* Went grocery shopping and ran a few errands together!! That's not technically a date, but

it meant so much to me that David asked to go with me. It was so unexpected and nice. And

I'll be damned, he did it again with me on New Years Eve. Such a sweet thing for him to offer.

* Had a lovely dinner at the Hendrick's house.

* We had a mini date, I'll call it, making chocolate dipped pretzels. Again, not really a date,

but I've seen David making an effort to do more with me and be more present when we're

together in the last two weeks, and I.LOVE.IT. It was a fun hour in the kitchen that meant

more than dinner out.

For the forth quarter of my 2010 goal to volunteer at least once a quarter, I ...

* Donated platelets and red blood cells (November 12th)

* Worked a food drive donation location from 7-9:30AM. (November 23rd)

And that officially wraps up the year of 2010. Wow.

I've started formulating my plan for 2011. I think it's going to look a lot like my 2010

plan (which was three monthly goals, at least one date a month with D and a quarterly

goal to volunteer). I want to make a few twists to my 2010 plan to make it work better

for me in 2011. David and I have modified our date resolution, and I have a short list of

things I want to work on throughout the year to help make me a better version of myself.

Those will be part of it.

We have company since the 22nd. It's been a busy weeks (plus). I haven't taken much

time to finalize my 2011 resolutions, and I'd like to take another day (or three) to think

about it. I'll be back soon to share what I'm resolving to do in 2011.

What are your resolutions for the New Year or goals for 2011?