New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year’s Eve! Today I am resolved to take down the Christmas decorations (even though traditions dictates this should not be done until New Year’s Day – what can I say? I’m such a rebel!) and reflect on some goals I’d like to accomplish in 2010. I’m not big on making resolutions, because keeping them hasn’t exactly worked out for me in the past, but I do like to stop every now and then and set some goals. So, in no particular order, here are a few of the things I’d like to accomplish in the coming year:

1. Re-organize the bookshelves. My very first blog post ever focused on reorganizing the shelves by grouping books by size. During the summer I added to this by making newspaper baskets to hold all our DVDs. But when I look at the shelves, they still bug me. They look more busy and cluttered than I’d like. So, one of the first things I’d like to do in the new year is tackle these shelves once again!

2. De-clutter the counter top and the office/craft room. I really have no idea how to accomplish the counter top clean up. I’ve already removed little used gadgets like the coffee grinder and can opener. Still, it feels like the counter top looks more like an appliance and jar police line up than a pleasant workspace. Any suggestions would be great! Just don’t ask me to store anything else in a cabinet, because it’s already more congested behind those doors than 95 on the day before Thanksgiving!

3. Save like insane people for our future house. I’d really like our dream house to be perched behind us in this picture. Unfortunately, while the low interest rates make it a great time to buy a house, they also make it a rough time to save money to build a house. Our “high interest” savings account has plummeted so much that pretty soon they will be making us pay them to hold our money. We really need wisdom in this area as we try to make the best financial decisions and have patience.

4. Have more people over. I really enjoy playing hostess. I like cooking, and setting the table, and fun game nights with friends, but we only had a couple of people over for dinner all of last year. To be perfectly honest, this is mostly because Brad and I have really struggled to find friends our age in our area. After college, most of our close friends scattered all over the state, and only a handful of people we know actually live within 30 minutes of our home. We would really like to meet other couples who think it is fun to discuss cabinet hardware and paint swatches, and enjoy competitive games of Apples to Apples, and would rather have dinner at someone’s home than go out on the town.

5. Learn to sew and complete a big project. I think my ultimate goal is to become a confidant seamstress and make a slipcover for our plaid sofa. I’ve had the slipcover tutorial from Pink and Polka Dot bookmarked for a year! Now that I have a machine, I hope to actually tackle this sucker.

6. Make fancy cupcakes. My mom gave me a Wilton kit for making filled cupcakes with swirly icing, so I’m hoping to make the ultimate cupcake.

Ok, that’s enough for now! I’m sure I’ll think of many more things to add to my list as the year goes on. How about you? Any big resolutions or goals for 2010? Do tell!

<3
Hattie