goals, goodbyes, and good vibes

GOALS
I like January for the chance to reflect on my good life and for making plans to improve myself. I went without candy for 7 days and then said...WHY am I doing this? It doesn't really matter and it won't make me a better person to go without candy (which really means chocolate). So I decided to omit yelling from my life instead. That didn't last too much longer, but I think working toward that is a better improvement and will have more eternal rewards.

Another thing I want to work on this year is spending more time with people I love, including extended family. I have family in Alaska, Idaho and Utah. In January, my sister Trina moved from Florida to Utah so I am excited to add more visits with her family, too!

We spent Martin Luther King weekend with Dax's family and celebrated our niece's birthday. Chuck-A-Rama, Kangaroo Zoo, games, chats, and cousin time gave us some happy family memories to start the year out on a happy note.
This pic is of my nephew after a few hours going full-speed at Kangaroo Zoo. I love his red, tired face and how he's slumped over with his gut sticking out.

 

GOODBYES
Our dear neighbors/friends moved from our town and they will be sorely missed. My boys are best buddies with their boys and I taught the older two piano; there is already a void in our day-to-day life!

These pics were taken on the last night they were here.

I sent them home at dinner time and Mack was stomping around yelling that "They are STUPID for moving! Tell their Dad to quit his new job so they DON'T have to move!" If you know Mack, you know that mad is the emotion he shows for all other emotions. This is Mack's way of being super sad that his friends were moving. I sat my kids down for dinner and the next thing I know, Mack has his forehead down on his arm and is SOBBING. Like the saddest, real tears I've ever heard out if him. This sincere, raw emotion just burst out of that tough and gritty 6-year-old and it was the saddest and most beautiful thing I've seen him do. I went over and put my hand on his back and (he didn't elbow me away like I thought he'd do) I just said "it is SO hard when our dear friends move away. I'm sad too and it's ok to be sad. It is really hard." Then Hunter says, "Mom, just don't talk about it. It's making me cry." then Hunter teared up. We are planning to visit them this month and the boys are excited.

 GOOD VIBES
Paper clutter is my ultimate nemesis. My counters and kitchen table are constantly piled with papers and I can't stand it. Somedays I submit and let it win. One day last week I went on a rampage and was chucking things left and right when I saw one of Mack's school papers that he hadn't completed except for one part...

 I was as happy as a red hen when I saw that!

 A few friends and I organized a birthday lunch for my friend Jaclyn. It is so worth the effort to get together with good people. Most of these ladies are my neighbors. I love where I live!

Here is one room in my house that has not given me good vibes for a long time. My boys room has never received the attention it needs. It is super boring, no style, cluttery and blah. That is going to change.

I cleared it out and planned to paint it the end of November. Then this thing called Thanksgiving and Christmas happened and then it was January and so I called in 2 of my friends to help me and we painted it bright and clean white! I love it. I took the bunkbeds down. Making bunkbeds is awkward and annoying and I've been doing it for 8 years so I'm done. But I'm NOT done with this bedroom. Now that I have a beautiful blank canvas, I can begin to transform this room into something awesome for my boys (and me) to enjoy!

GRABBING LIFE
I feel like my main goal this year is to make life happen instead of letting life pass me by. I plan to take charge of my time and really do what I want to do. Spend time with loved ones, take my kids new places, make my house a place I love, reach out to people and serve, be a missionary, read the scriptures, visit the temple, choose the best things instead of just good things. I feel like I am a robot that is going through motions everyday but I want to live and soak it up and be in the moment. This life is temporary. Loved ones won't always be there. So hard to remember that. I love life; I want to spend more of it DOing.

I started writing in a little notebook ideas and things I want to accomplish and remember. In the back I write down gift ideas when they come to me, projects I want to do, etc. The first page, I wrote January at the top and as the month went on, I recorded things that I wanted to remember like what day I washed which sheets, payed the mortgage, and kicked the dog. But also what projects I wanted to accomplish that month. My January projects were: paint the boys room, decorate for Valentine's day, make a hairbow organizer, and organize my Christmas decor in my storage room. Well, I did all but the last one. My storage room is a bomb so I wrote that on the next page with my February goals. Writing things down has helped me stay focused on the projects I want to do most so I don't spend time spinning my wheels unsure of where to start.

Here is my bow organizer. Yes, it's a baby gate. I love my jewelry organizer I made out of a baby gate so when my friend was throwing this out, I grabbed it and it fits great on the wall behind my bathroom door. I have extra gate pieces if anyone needs one!

Here is my Valentine decor. Way cheap and easy.

Learn from me, don't put your candy jars up high like this. Mack was up on the counter grabbing some candy and he fell. The top rack of the dishwasher broke his fall. And it broke. It still works, but is a little crooked now. The candy jars got moved down to the counter and a pink feather heart wreath moved up onto the shelf. Dumb to make my decorations non-kid friendly! Learned my lesson.