My New Years Resolutions for 2014

Resolutions 2014

	Body	Mind	Spirit
January	Until birth: Include red raspberry leaf tea, homeopathic EZ birth & EPO. After birth: continue to include 3 meals, snacks & plenty of water daily even when busy.	Finish (or at least continue) reading I Know This Much is True. Set up a “memories” email address for the new baby, like Oliver’s.	Allow myself to transition from work and not need to fill the void with more work. Accept rest.
February	Sleep when needed. Practice stretching.	Find time to continue organizing toddler recipes online.	Be clear about how others can help when things are overwhelming. Say it plainly.
March	Make a meal plan and accompanying grocery list and try to stick to it.	Begin plans to participate in “secret TV project”, or, gracefully let the opportunity pass.	Make a realistic daily, weekly & monthly house-cleaning list.
April	Go for walks with the stroller a few times a week. Start the garden.	Check which open online courses are available. online.stanford.edu	Re-download the Bible app and begin reading suggested passages daily.
May	Drink a green smoothie for breakfast a few times a week. Share with Calvin & Ollie.	Get a book from the library on a friend’s recommendation.	Download or YouTube search short meditations to set intentions for the day.
June	Attend a yoga class. Or, rent a yoga DVD from the library. Begin making homemade baby food.	Re-evaluate the family budget.	Arrange child care for both children and take a “me” day. Bubble bath, a good book, cooking at a slow pace…
July	Faithfully purchase local produce for healthy eating & to begin making homemade baby food.	Create a plan for returning to work, while breast feeding and pumping. Connect with staff.	Write a “gratitude list” of the top things I’m thankful for this month. Re-read it often.
August	Attend a family swim.	Begin scheduling the transition back to work. Make an effort to re-learn the tasks.	Donate unneeded clothes to charity. Re-organize the closet.
September	Go dairy-free for one week. How did it affect me? The rest of the family?	Complete online quizzes from CSNM magazine for Continuing Education points.	Arrange a family photo shoot. Display a large print proudly in the home.
October	Do some canning of last season produce.	Speak at a conference. Record a Youtube. Teach someone.	Watch a feel good movie.
November	Attempt the “no shampoo method” (again).	Find a way to excel at work that I haven’t done before.	Re-evaluate sleeping patterns.
December	Find no sugar alternatives to typical holiday traditions.	Create a new “New Years Resolution” chart for 2015.	Buy a dozen fresh lemons and put the juice in my water.

A New Years Reflection (2013/2014)

Here is my 2012/2013 Reflection and my 2011/2012 Reflection.

What did you create?

•  A new baby!
• Some Ikea furniture
• More recipes for the blog
• A wonderful new career at the hospital

What challenges did you face with courage and strength?

• Driving on black ice
• Presenting a seminar at the Birth & Beyond Conference (so many people!)

What promises did you keep? 

• Don't text and drive
• Email Oliver's secret email address regularly so he can read them when he's older

What brave choices did you make?

• To wake up when I have to work at 6am

What are you proud of?

• Presenting at the Birth and Beyond Conference 

What was disappointing?

• Blowing a tire the weekend that Calvin was away with his band

What was scary?

• Driving to St. Thomas in the snow
• A television audition (secret!) 

What was hard?

• Being pregnant while breastfeeding a toddler
• Being pregnant even once your toddler is weaned

What can you forgive yourself for?

• Gaining 25 pounds? Ha ha. 

The next step is to say out loud, “I declare 2013 complete!”
How do you feel? If you don’t feel quite right, there might be one more thing to say…

Like a fraud because I didn't do it. (What? There are a bunch of people around!) 

The final step is to consider your primary focus for the year to come. What is your primary intention or theme for 2014?

“In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.”

A New Year's Reflection

I did this reflection last year - see here.

What did you create?

• A whole new extension of our family with the addition of international students into our home (Pedro, Ahmed, Mohammed, Aziz and soon Felipe)

What challenges did you face with courage and strength?

• Going back to work, part-time
• Taking a switch to full-time work
• Returning to the part-time position
• Other pretty significant, but private, matters 

What promises did you keep? 

• Like last year, to never text and drive
• To volunteer in the church nursery

What brave choices did you make?

• I presented at the YMCA's annual Fitness Jam

What are you proud of?

• My family
• My home
• My choices

What was disappointing?

• Well, just in the past five minutes: when Oliver threw his pasta all over the floor, when I bent down to clean it up and he threw a spoon at my head, when my pot boiled over on the stove
• When my blue pants ripped
• When our car's steering was the worst 

What was scary?

• Everytime Oliver chokes on food
• Driving on black ice
• Sleeping without Cal while his band was recording out of town 

What was hard?

• Cooking while carrying a toddler

What can you forgive yourself for?

• Ruining my Blackberry by letting Oliver play with it - and throw it in the toilet
• Ruining my digital camera by leaving it in my purse - and it turned on and broke the lens
• Ruining my Keurig by NOTHING - it's just programmed to die after the warantee is up 

The next step is to say out loud, “I declare 2012 complete!”
How do you feel? If you don’t feel quite right, there might be one more thing to say…

It doesn't even feel like a new year.

The final step is to consider your primary focus for the year to come. What is your primary intention or theme for 2013?

To better my career without sacrificing my family life/spiritual health.