.cleaning.

Are your Christmas decorations put away yet? 

That's been my project this week. Putting things away well.

I like to put my Christmas things away so they'll be ready to move, anytime, anywhere. (Reality of being a military family.) Because the middle of packing for a cross-country move is not my preferred time to wrap Christmas ornaments in tissue paper.

This year, I am replacing my paper labels with fun chalkboard labels by Martha Stewart for Staples. I'm liking these "new" chalk pens that are available. They're very easy to work with and not so messy as conventional chalk.

It's so satisfying to be cleaning out my home to start a brand new year!

.resolutions.

I'm back! I hope you had a blessed Christmas season and a wonderful New Year celebration! 

I haven't ever been a big "New Year's Resolution" kind of girl. But I saw a little formula for resolutions on Pinterest (where else?) that I thought would be fun to do with my kiddos as they got older. So I decided to give it a whirl myself for 2014.

.This Year.

A bad habit I'm going to break:

I have lots of bad habits...but raising my voice is one that needs to stop, pronto

 A new skill I'd like to learn: 

I am going to teach myself to knit. I can crochet...knitting can't be too much harder, right?

 A good deed I'm going to do:

I'm going to work more on correspondence. I love getting something other than a bill in the mail, and assume others do as well. There is something so much more personal about a handwritten letter than a text or email. 

A place I'd like to visit:

Easy one: home...the good ol' Pacific Northwest

A book I'd like to read:

This one is a hard one to answer. I love to read, and read all the time. I just started Miranda Hart's book (hilarious, by the way!) but haven't decided what I am going to read after that...any suggestions?

A new food I'd like to try:

I feel like trying new foods isn't a challenge for me, but I'd like to learn to cook new foods at home! Including good Indian food and Mediterranean food. This week's menu includes me attempting lentil salad...we'll see how it goes!

I'm going to do better at:

Keeping myself well-kept. Better nutrition, better haircut, getting dressed in nice-looking clothes...when I feel better, I can be a much better wife, mother, and friend.

.2014.

Fun list, eh? (Adapted from this one, here)