2012 Goals

I don't like New Year's Resolutions and never have. People make them every year, and I have even made them myself. I find it discouraging, though, that so many people, me included, fall away from the resolutions so quickly after the holidays are packed away and regular life returns. This year I'm going to do something different and set goals for every area of my life. I plan to come back mid-year and again at the end of the year to see how I did and modify, cross off, and hopefully rejoice in what I accomplished.

Faith-consistently spend time with God reading my Bible, doing Bible studies or reading Christian non-fiction, and praying throughout the day; learn to be content with what I have

Children-be in constant prayer for them;  instill a greater sense of responsibility in them; spend quality time with Samantha each day; consistently do a Bible study with Samantha

Husband-be in constant prayer for him; actively seek out ways to be a helpmeet; be more expressive in my love

Finances-find a new budget tracking program that works for us; stay within budget boundaries every month

Food-figure out the art of bread making (I would love to be able to consistently make yummy breads that everyone wants to eat); incorporate more fruits and vegetables into our diet; reduce the amount of bad carbs and sugar in our diet;  switch over to grass-fed beef, chicken and pork

Home-find a workable (for me) cleaning schedule; experiment with homemade cleaners; work on simplifying our belongings

Sewing/Crafts-work on at least one sewing or craft project per month in preparation for next Christmas and birthdays

Handywoman-become proficient with all of hubby's power tools; learn to be more self-reliant instead of relying on hubby to fix everything (he is going back out to sea so this is a must);

Garden-get raised beds made and hoop houses set up; get a compost bin made and compost started; make a gardening plan and actually remember to use it; get rain barrels made and some sort of irrigation system attached; research and find efficient and organic pest control; plant at least a winter crop (depending on when we are able to move into the new house); learn how to use a pressure canner and efficient ways of long-term storage for each crop; build a root cellar for potatoes, carrots, etc

Livestock-make at least one chicken tractor with run; make a brooding box to set up for new chicks; get connected in the local community for information and networking to market our products; get barn ready (or built) for horses and hay storage; prepare pastures so horses and other livestock can be primarily pastured; look into feasibility of owning a goat and marketability of goat milk and assorted products