Everyone else is doing it

I really don't want to recap 2012. Suffice to say the year was full of highs and lows. Both my sister in law and I gave birth to gorgeous babies (if I do say so myself.) But we suffered two unexpected losses, that of my uncle, followed a few months later by the loss of my husband's father. Everything in between seems rather sedate by comparison I think.

The sewing/crafting front saw its own share of highs and lows. I blew threw a bunch of projects around Mayish or so but succumbed to a frightening loss of mojo and turned out nothing of great importance for the rest of the year. The living room is littered with false starts and so so completes. So we're just going to call that a wash and move on.

On the domestic front, I actually feel I did pretty good. I've still not managed any semblance of organization, nor have I made great strides in the housekeeping sector. But I did institute some traditions that are officially part of our routine. Friday Movie Night has continued merrily along, Sunday dinner is nothing short of a success, and Saturday breakfast, peteybird's brain child, has been a fantastic way to compensate for Mr Man's 60 hour work week.

But enough about 2012. Let's talk the new year. I'm thinking five challenges and ten goals. I could probably come up with some fancy reasoning but let's just make it simple. I want to do better. That's really all there is to it. I made some strides last year. I won't bore you with the details. But there's always room for more. Just don't expect some kind of weight loss/exercise plan. I'm not even. We'll save that for 20dead.

So, let's start with the challenges and tomorrow, I'll share the goals. How's that?

Challenge #1: Daily Blogging

This is one is rather easy as I already mentioned it before. I will be blogging daily. I have promised Bear Allen and Bear Allen will shove me down a flight of stairs and lock me in a dog crate if I don't comply. At least this is what her husband says is the consequence of disappointing captain reading pants. I'm really not sure but I'm not in the mood to test her. Okay, really, I'm just not in the mood to throw down on pregnant ladies and I'm entirely too forgetful to remember to save my beatdowns for post partum.

Challenge #2: Knit/Crochet for an hour a day

Can I just share with you how much I adore sitting down at the end of the day, tucking my legs and my dog underneath a blanket on the couch and just chilling out with something soft on my needles? Oh yes, I do. It's very calming, reflective, and just a great way to clear your mind and settle for sleep. This will also help me carve out some time for all the knit projects that often fall by the wayside when I get a glimpse of a yummy fabric or lustworthy pattern.

Yeah, yeah, you wanna know about that advent scarf, don't you? Well here's a song for you.

Challenge #3: The Dreamstress's Historical Sew Fortnightly 

Did you notice my new bloggie button on the right hand side of the page? Well, there you go. Here's a link where you can read more about the challenge in general but I think you'll agree an announcement like that requires its own post. You should also be aware that I received my winnings the day after Christmas and will be blogging about that soon too.

Challenge #4: Sew simple each week

Look, I'm swimming in stash, okay? It really and truly is out of hand. I started and stopped an awful lot last year and have very few things to show for it. I also need more versatile, more grown up, more coordinated clothes in my wardrobe so yes, I'm going to work on it. We're not talking complicated outfits. Just something simple and easy either for myself or for the spawnlets. I think a cute knit tee in a blue, white, and silver stripe will be just the thing to get me started. But I won't lie. I think this one will be my most challenging one to stick with. I'm sure Bear Allen will be happy to add this to her list of things to pester a hot mess about.

Challenge #5: Budget, budget, budget

This one is also a humdinger. I won't be blogging much about it, however as I'm just not feeling the idea of sharing my entire financial picture with the whole wide internet. Suffice to say, we make enough to live on and live decently I might add *if* we pay attention to how we spend it. I'd like to get on the front end of our finances instead of feeling like I'm always falling behind or missing something.

But there are benefits to thee ol' humble blog. For one, I'll be resurrecting the weekly menu segment I was doing earlier this year. The budget is pretty much the same, $125/week for groceries. The menu will usually consist of Sunday dinner, Saturday breakfast, two crockpot meals for those extra curricular days, and Friday's junk food make over.

So there it is and it feels so very brave and yet completely possible, even, dare I say it? Likely.

But if you know me . . . . well, wish me luck anyway, okay?