Happy New Year!

I am very excited for 2010! Last year was fabulous as you can see from my previous blog but this year is so full of many possibilities. Last year the whole year (except for that little bit of randomly buying a house) was mapped out and I knew exactly where I was going pretty much from January 1st to December 15th- After that was a mystery. It is a little scary to walk into the unknown and have a calendar full of blank slates but I'm so excited.

I decided to make my goals a little bit more fun this year. Last year there was a lot of big life changes and serious reflection and goals. This year I have a pretty major goal that I'm keeping to myself right now--not really ready to disclose that one (for fear of falling on my face) but some of the others I am just really looking forward to.

So in no particular order--

1) Celebrate the 21st of every month with some kind of mini party so that we can have something to look forward to for the next 12 months until Elder Marsden comes home! The 21st of January I'm having an Australian BBQ and inviting some of my non member friends over to celebrate (and maybe explain a little more about the church ;)

2) Be a little more creative--Ann Bardsley made some cake plates that I want to try and do next month so that during #3 I can have some decorative plates

3) Have more girls nights in or out. The first one will be in January and I'm planning on having a dessert party (my mom got me a Martha Stewart baking book for Graduation and I'll try a new recipe every month). I really want to cultivate friendships this year and forge those bonds that I've been slacking on.

4) Be more involved in church. This kind of goes along with #3 as well. I want to make more friends within my new ward and become a better visiting teacher.

5) Learn something new! I've been a student all my life and I want to continue to do so. This is a little dorky but I've downloaded a bunch of French podcasts that I want to listen to while I clean or in my down time for 15-30 minutes a day so I can have some more exposure to French. If I do well with this--maybe in a few years I can reward myself with a trip to France!

6) Read a greater variety of books. I love to read but usually the books I chose are fiction/fantasy books. I've decided I'm going to at least read realistic fiction and try to branch out on my genres.

7) Be more flexible. I think it is vital for me that as I learn to be a mom I become more flexible and that I go with the flow. That means I will spend at least a few hours a week of unproductive time with Hannah rather than structured time. This will be hard for me but I think I can do it!

8) Become a better writer. I will practice my writing with a few exercises I've learned and cultivate a talent =)

These are just a few of my goals and reflections for this year. Hopefully we'll have some fun!