{ Hello 2021 - My plans for this year }

 

January 1, 2021

A blank slate, 12 months, 365 days.  A mountain of possibilities and experiences before us.

I have never been one to do resolutions, and I still don't like doing them.  But I like to think that there are ways to set certain goals for myself, or my family and home, that don't put so much pressure on me to get them accomplished.

I guess as with everything else in life, it's how we deal with situations, that matter.  Do we allow those failures to consume us, or do we just accept them and move on.

For me, it was the thought of failure that bothered me.  If I didn't stick to every resolution I made, I felt like I had failed everyone around me, and myself.  So, I decided that I am going to make a list of certain things I would like to get done this year, or change or start and so on, but that if they for some reason don't happen, it is OK.

 

 

♥ Books ♥

I plan on setting myself a book challenge, 12 books to read this year.  I am starting with just one book a month, from my own bookshelf, because I do participate in book reviews throughout the year so never know how many I'll have coming in.

Just want to do more reading this year, spend more time with my nose in the books, and less on social media. 

I will be sharing my book list in an upcoming post, in the next few days.

♥ TV ♥

This is the year I am going back to my period dramas.  Not that I haven't watched any at all, but definitely not as many as I used to.  I have a huge running list of period shows and movies I want to watch, so plan on starting on those as soon as possible.

Just a few on my list:

 

The Last Czars

The Windermere Children

The Secret Garden (new version)

Becoming Elizabeth

The Luminaries

Miss Scarlet and the Duke

Malory Towers

Fatima

Hetty Feather

 

 

♥ Crochet ♥

 

Yes, bring back my crochet.  I don't know why I ever stopped crocheting, other than life getting so busy that I just never found time to sit and crochet in peace.

 

But that is something else that I've missed tremendously and plan on bringing back.  It's the year for many crochet projects, many warm crochet blankets and many hours of row after row turning from just a simple chain, to a gorgeous finished product.

 

Matter of fact, I started my first blanket of the year, last night.  A simple granny stripe blanket, using my stash up before I buy any new yarn.

 

 

 

 

♥ Bible reading, devotionals and bible studies ♥

 

I plan on continuing with my bible reading, and getting through the whole bible in the next few months.  I am almost done with the Old Testament, and I'm sure the New Testament will go by faster.  Once I am done, I plan on restarting from the very beginning, but using Vernon McGhees Commentary to go with it, to help me better understand what I'm reading.

 

For my devotionals, I used Charles Spurgeons Day and Night last year, but this year I plan on switching to Grace for Each Day. 

As for Bible Studies, I am going to go with Trustworthy by Lysa Terkeust.

♥ Home Cooked Meals ♥

 

I'm starting the year with a no spend January.  That means zero take out food, only essentials, groceries and so on.

 

I am making it a mission to cook every single day, including Saturday and Sunday.  Usually Saturdays we just snack around, and Sundays are leftover days.  But I've decided to cook those days as well.  With that in mind, I have started making a menu plan for the whole month of January.  I am still doing my two week grocery shopping and meal plan, but am planning ahead to make it easier for me.

My hope is to make more home cooked meals this year than last year.  Last year was all over the place for us, we had a lot going on as you know and spent a lot of time picking up food on the road.   Time to change that up and eat more healthy.

♥ Gardening and Back Yard ♥

Curt and I plan on kicking up our gardening, to the next level.  We did really well last year, planted quite a bit and got an amazing harvest in return.   We started a green house and then never ended it.  The structure is there but it needs to be finished and covered.  That is happening this Spring.

We also plan on building more garden beds and extending our gardening area to a full enclosed vegetable garden.

We are getting a few things done in the backyard too.  Would like to extend our patio out, but that will mean putting down more cement.  Also want to get the pool put back up, we need a new pump since the one that came with the pool is just not strong enough to keep it clean.   

And this is the year we plan on getting chickens too.  You know how long I have wanted chickens, so really excited for that dream to come true.

♥ Personal goals ♥

Oh boy.  We never like talking about these do we?  At least I don't, mainly because it usually means it involves exercise.  Hahah

Truth is, I used to be very good about taking care of my body, and then again, life got in the way and you know it just fell to the wayside.  But you know I am inching closer to 50 and I have Osteopenia, bad allergies and sciatica and going through perimenopause etc.  It feels like within the last 2 years, everything just came up and I think it's time for me to take back the reigns and get back on that horse.

I'm not going to start off too hard because that is just a recipe for disaster, for myself at least.  I'm going to start slow, adding more salad and vegetables to our meals, stepping back from junk, incorporate more smoothies that I used to love having.  I also want to get back into an exercise routine of some kind, I need to be careful with what I do since I do have Osteopenia and the doctor wants me to be careful with the exercise routine I pick.  

I also need to start taking my calcium and some vitamins on a daily basis.  I am so bad about taking them and often forget, but I really and I mean REALLY need to be better at that.

♥ Blogging ♥

My blog!!!  

 

I wish I could express to you how much I love this little corner of the world.  How much it has helped me organize my thoughts, share my love for homemaking and keep memories alive from my babies as little ones all the way to adulthood.  It's been such an incredible journey, some years filled to the brim with posts, some years quiet with just a little something here and there.

Huge moments in our lives recorded, others failed to be mentioned.  I don't want to go into the new year with a blog that is stalled in time, and as much as I love my Happy Homemaker Monday feature, I also don't want my blog to have just those posts up, month after month.

So here it goes.....here I go again with the "I want to blog more".  Usually when I say that it ends up working for a week then I stop.  Ugh!  

But, I feel that this year I want to go back to my roots, back to the things I love and the things that make me ME.  As I said above, crochet, period dramas, exercise and more cooking etc.  Basically, stepping away from the craziness and going back to Idaho and Arizona Sandra.  

 

Yes that is where I want to be, but with the knowledge and the relationship I have with God now.

 

 

And those, my friends, are my goals and plans and wants, for the new year ahead.  Will I succeed in every area?  I sure hope so, but if I don't, then at least I will have tried my best.

What about you?  Do you make resolutions or plans for the year ahead?