Happy New Year!

Wow!  Hard to believe that the Christmas Season is over already.  Things around here have been busy, but fun.  We've been to lots of parties, hosted a few of our own, and had some really great quiet times too.  In all of this, my Little Rock Star decided that she had enough sleep most mornings between 6:00 and 6:30.  Since school is out, that leaves a whole lot of time before the rest of the world gets moving, so she gets some extra screen time and I get to retreat the craft room in the wee hours.  Surprisingly, this has produced some nice cards.  Who knew I was a morning crafter?

This card should have been posted on Christmas Day, however, life got on the way.  This is the card I made for BananaStamper.  I really am a tradition Christmas colours kind of girl, so this card just speaks to me.  Plus, it has soooo many layers! 

The card was created with an MFT Wednesday Stamp Club Sketch 103..and the darned cards are usually done in time but I forget to take pictures and get them up on my blog in time.  Heck, there are so many cards I forget to take pictures of, I'm just proud this made it on my blog, lol.  I went a little crazy with the MFT Dies, but every time I tried something new I just wanted to keep adding more.  It's much better in person, the flower is cut from felt and the texture of it just adds to the whole thing.

So...I have updated on my personal progress, but not on my goals as I said I would in September.  I have been diligently working away, just not posting about it.  Today, I finally got the kids to bed at a decent hour and so here goes.

1.  Eating at home - we are rocking this!  I have been doing almost all the cooking since I last updated.  Not only are we eating at home, but the kids are trying new foods too.  One thing I have discovered is that how I cook depends on my current state of mind.  For example, if I am feeling happy/satisfied/joyous I tend to want to cook hearty meals like Lasagna and Chili and Homemade Bread.  When I am feeling unsure/insecure/melancholy I tend towards baking things like muffins, cookies and squares.   No matter my mood, I find that cooking really does relax me.  I'm able to concentrate on the task at hand and just let my mind wander. 

2.  Exercise...well, that one has definitely fallen by the wayside.  Enough said.

3.  Simplify.  Mission accomplished, the goal now is to maintain.  We have our routine and we stick to it.  Everything seems to run smoother that way.  Christmas gifts this year were decided on and bought without any fuss, the baking was done a week ahead of schedule and New Years was a small gathering of family and friends. 

4.  Organize.  Ah, always a work in progress this one.  I am finding that as I simplify things I need to organize less.  My house has never been so clean of clutter and unnecessary items.  You can see my counters, my closets aren't overflowing and my storage area is half empty.  All that's left is to get into my craft room, but honestly, I don't see that happening in January so I'm making the organizing of the craft room a long term project.

5.  Learn Something New.  I think this is my favorite of all my goals for this year.  I have learned so much the past few months, not just skills but new things about me that I didn't know before.  I learned that I like to snuggle while watching a movie (who knew?!), that I can sing in public and not die of humiliation, that I can sit and just watch a movie without doing anything else and not feel guilty, I like hugs (was never really a hugger before).  As a family, we have learned to play Rock Band on the Xbox that Santa brought the kids, and we've learned how to work together to make Cake Pops without anyone poking an eye out.

6.Take Time for Me.  It's funny how my goals seem to have a trickle down effect.  As I make progress on one item, others seem to fall into place naturally.  By simplifying our lives and being more organized, I find that I am able to take time for me after the kids are in bed, and I'm not so exhausted that I can't enjoy it.  I've also learned that sometimes I like to share my "me time" with a friend, and that I often get more out of my shared time than when I am alone. 

7.  Make a dent in the debt.  I have to tell you, this one was getting me down.  Not because I wasn't making progress, but because of the configuration of the debt it wasn't looking like progress.  There was a line of credit I inherited in the separation, the lump sum payout to my ex and a small credit card.  So, to make things easier psychologically, I consolidated the debt...and thanks to my banker who I LOVE! I get a better rate overall and one static payment.  So, if I make all my payments as scheduled it will be paid off in 5 years.  I plan on making it 4 years though by pinching pennies and making extra payments every chance I get.

8. Keep track.  Here I am.

2012 was a crazy year.  I had a nervous breakdown near the end of 2011, didn't work for two months at the beginning of the year, left my husband, got my first boyfriend, finally succumbed to the pain in my back to discover 3 bulging discs, one of the verge of herniation, spent a week bedridden and on major pain killers, moved the boyfriend and his kid into my house in August, moved them out two weeks later, switched the little one from French Immersion to English School and lived on my own (with my kids) for the first time in my whole entire life!  I am constantly amazed at what a difference a year can make.  2013 is going to be a great year! 

And to keep things fun, I'm off to a Waterpark Hotel in Duluth, Minnesota with my girls and they're each bringing a friend.  We're just going for one night, but I think they'll have a great time.  There's only a few days left until we go back to work and school, so we're going to cram in as much fun as we can until then. 

Stamps:  MFT Christmas Ornaments Stamp Set
Paper:  MFT Jelly Bean Green, Red Hot, Sweet Tooth, Bo Bunny Mistletoe

Ink: CTMH Black

Accessories:  MFT Dies:  Looped Border, Sentimental Flourish, Small Scalloped Border, Bracket Tab (mini), Spellbinders Circle Dies, MFT Red Hot Ribbon, Stampin' Bella Dots - green