So it is another new year. Time for new plans, new goals, new blogs, right? I had a blog name already in my head, this great idea, but I realized that I have yet to follow through with these fabulous blog ideas. So instead, I will bring my idea here. Try once again to revive this one. I can do it if I put my mind to it, right?

I have quite a list this year. The bottom line is I want to just do better, be better. Let's see if I can put some things "on paper".

I will improve my body.

I will eat better.

I will run more.

I will build strength.

I will improve my mind.

I will read more books for leisure.

I will learn new things.

I will improve my home.

I will tackle the laundry monster once and for all.

I will learn to live with less stuff.

I will work on my spirit.

I will read the BoM.

I will pay a full tithe.

I will foster creativity.

I will do more with yarn.

I will do more with fabric.

5 categories. The same old suspects. Here is to a fresh start.

Menu Plan Monday

This area of my home has suffered horribly. I spent the end of 2010 and beginning of 2011 on bedrest. That means we had several meals brought in, and otherwise my darling husband did most of the cooking. Then the baby came, and shortly after, husband went out of town on business. I was back to cooking, but nothing was exciting or pretty. We cooked to eat, nothing more. Fast forward and that baby is going to be a year old this month. Where did the time go? I am thinking it is maybe time to start cooking for more than just sustenance.

So here we go, first post baby menu plan, only a year later.

Monday (today!)- Goulash. I had the hamburger frozen, and most of the other ingredients on hand.

Tuesday- Black Eyed Pea Soup My husband posed the challenge to learn to cook black eyed peas for him. Crazy that we have been married over 17 years and he still finds "favorites" that I don't know how to make.

Wednesday- Chili and Rice (easy meal on church/ scouts night)

Thursday- Brown Sugar Chicken Am I being too adventurous trying two new recipes in one week?

Friday- Pork Chops

Saturday- C.O.R.N. or sandwiches

Clearly I am rusty with this meal idea thing. I better go hit Pinterest!

Share your menu plan at orgjunkie.com

New concept?

I won't even bore you with my apologies about being a blogging slacker. As much as I WANT to blog, life seems to have other ideas. I am feeling the tug of having something to say again, so rather than start a new blog that I will soon abandon, I will just add to this one. I do have a lovely concept. I have set some goals for myself, and want a place to keep track and accountability. We'll see, maybe this one will stick.

My main areas of concentration are probably similar to yours. Declutter and organize my house. Exercise. Craft more. There are more but that is where I am choosing to start. For today, I created new chore charts for everyone last night. As an attempt to keep it simple and gain momentum, the lists are short. They do cover the basics of keeping the house functioning though, so I am hopeful.

Feeling crafty

Since having the baby, I haven't had much time for crafting. He is 5 months old and it seems the spark is back. I have been shopping Etsy like crazy, and pinning patterns and tutorials on Pinterest. A couple of days ago I rounded up some of my stained white things that I just didn't have the desire to soak the stains out of AGAIN and broke out my dye stash.

The main "victim" for this particular dye party was a white peasant style skirt. Cute skirt but every time I wore it, I seemed to pick up a new spot or stain. I envisioned this skirt with a nice gradation dye job, in what other color but PURPLE!

Here is my skirt now:

Never one to waste if I can help it, I took the dye after the skirt was done and practiced two more techniques, plain ol' tub dyeing, and low water immersion and got these:

A mama t-shirt and matching kid t-shirt, four prefolds and one flat. Much better than the colorless versions for sure.

Next up, dusting off the sewing machine! I have new patterns and an overflowing fabric stash calling my name.

New Start

So clearly I have been a blogging failure. So much happened in 2010-2011. Much of it is documented elsewhere so maybe I will manage to import it eventually. For now, I am giving myself permission to just start fresh from here.

Another year over

I have spent some time tonight reviewing my goals for 2009 and seeing where I measured up. While I did make progress, there is lots to carry forward to 2010, and I plan on documenting more of the journey. I will post more details in the coming week, along with some helpful websites that I found tonight while surfing.

Back to WAVE

Today was the first day of our homeschool co-op for the year. We are meeting in a new building this year, a nice brand new church. It is exciting to be in a new place, but a bit stressful too. We have many new families and all of us are learning our way around. I am teaching two classes, a preschool class about letters/ phonics, and a fiber arts class. The fiber arts class looks like it is going to be really fun. I have 11 very motivated students, 10 girls and 1 boy. Preschoolers are always fun.

Jayson is taking a Delaware history class, a running class and Spanish. Dalton is taking a class about habitats, the same running class as Jayson, and nutrition. Landon is taking three classes for the first time, my class, a class called Moving, Learning, and Growing with God, and another called All About Me. Maddox gets to spend three hours in the nursery. Today went well, no one had any problems beyond normal first day confusion. A few of the boys classes are going to require homework, so we have to fit that in with our school schedule.

The downside to WAVE in general, and specifically today, is it wears me out! I was exhausted before we even left to come home. I actually went to bed with Maddox at 9 pm. I am only up long enough to type this and then it is back to bed for me. It is well worth it though. The boys love to be with the other kids, and the teachers have great ideas and things to share.

I took my camera intending to get "first day of school" pictures, but was so busy it never came out of my bag. Instead, here is a picture to commemorate summer now that summer has started and the weather has already started to turn cool. Landon loves the ocean, no fear at all.