Resolutions for 2009!

Yikes! January is almost over and my poor blog has been very neglected for this month. I have debated whether to post up any of my resolutions and I decided that since I didn't even bother to write them down...perhaps I may actually remember them better if I at least put a few of them down where I can see them. So here are a few ideas that have been floating in and out of my head this past month:

1. Give my blog a face-lift. This includes finding a beach or Hawaiian themed background, posting a family picture on the Header and maybe adding some fun stuff to the side bars. Oh and perhaps blogging a bit more (maybe 3x a month)!

2. Taking family pictures. The last family picture we had taken was when I was pregnant with Sophie...and she is almost 2...so I suppose these are long overdue.

3. Have FHE more often. I have plenty of excuses for why this is not a regular occurance at our house...but aren't you glad to know that I am far from perfect!

4. Eat fish at least 1-2 times every two weeks. I love fish but I never buy it because no one else really likes it. But I have decided that perhaps Sydney may start liking it after seeing or smelling it regularly. (It has taken her 5 years to eat chicken...and even now she still eats chicken very sparingly.) Plus Sophie had fish once for a Costco sample and loved it, so who knows, maybe the fish gene will be on her palate.

5. Remodel my bathroom. I know this sounds like a pretty big project, but I am beginning to feel a bit more confident about it the more research I do. I plan on tearing out the fiberglass shower and doing the shower part all tiled, plus I want to extend the shower and change out the fixtures and possibly move them to the adjacent wall! Hmmm...we'll see what happens when I start in on this one. I already asked Mark how he would feel about our whole family sharing the girls tiny bathroom for several months.

6. Work on the yard. Always a work in progress. I still have this picture in my head of a beautiful yard I want...but mine actually looks far from that picture, especially after the hot summers. I love Phoenix Home and Garden Magazine and I pore over the beautiful homes and yards trying to figure out how I could economically replicate the ideas on our own little place!

7. Spend more time with Mark, ie. maybe going on dates once in awhile! This one is tough since he is never here so I guess I'll have to get creative about this. I probably should start driving into Phoenix once in awhile and going to lunch with him or something.

8. Losing weight! Maybe you thought this one wouldn't show up on my list...but after the wonderful, yummy holidays...it is in the back of my mind. Actually I have my favorite pair of board shorts from college (I know, they are so old, but still super cute) that I want to be able to wear to the pool this summer. Partly because I have never been able to find any since then that I love as much as these shorts and partly because I love being at that weight. I'm pretty sure I could get this one accomplished if carmel popcorn had not been invented or Taco Bell closed at 8:00 pm!

9. Paying down our mortgage. Yup, I really don't want to live in this house for too many more years and because of the housing downturn, we would like to just pay down our mortgage enough to just rent out this place.

10. Last but not least, clean out and organize the garage. Garages in AZ are tiny. They consider anything that you can squeeze 2 cars into (even if you can't get out of those cars once they are in the garage) a 2 car garage. Also, since homes here are smaller and don't have basements, they severely lack neccesary storage. We actually only park one of our cars in the garage but the other side is full of stuff. Actually most of the stuff we need or use...otherwise (a few of you who know me well enough will understand this) I would have thrown it out or donated it long ago! So it just needs more shelving, LOTS more shelving...plus I am so tired of the stepping over boxes and bags, and all the lawn equipment and tools to find stuff when I need it.

So there you go. I am actually suprised that I was able to spit out 10 things to work on. I have enjoyed reading other peoples resolutions because its always fun to see what things others are trying to get done. Although, I admit that just making resolutions does not neccesarily translate to getting them done!

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Sydney and her bike.

I took some pictures of Sydney riding her bike last Sunday! She can ride the entire length of our street (and probably further, if we would let her). Of course, with the recent events in our neighborhood, she can only ride if Mark is with her and so we usually confine bike riding to our street. It is so cool to watch her ride! I still can't believe she can do it.
Here's Mark running along behind her....hmmm....a great way to get Mark to exercise!

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Happy New Year!

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I have to confess that this year I kind of ran out of motivation to finish all the Christmas preparations and traditions we normally do. I think right around the second week of December, I just sort of started to procrastinate...and then all of the sudden it was already Christmas...and I hadn't really finished everything. So I guess this was my slacker Christmas, and I apologize for not posting a family picture with an update or sending out as many Christmas cards to family and friends (like usual) or even finishing the Christmas shopping and baking. There's always next year!

We did start out 2009 with some exciting changes. We decided to move Sophie into a toddler bed yesterday and she loved it. She spent almost all of the day climbing in and out of her new bed and she did manage to sleep in it all night (with only minimal drama at bedtime). She is getting big so fast.

Sydney also had a major accomplishment. She finally started riding her bike by herself. She can only go several feet on her own...but she is getting better each day. We are so proud of her. Also in our defense...we really should have been better with teaching her, BUT who wants to practice any sort of bike skills in the summer here??? And then with Mark being in school and being gone just about every night and weekend, well we just didn't really get around to practicing consistently.

Mark finished his first tri-mester of school and is half-way through the second. Actually ASU is on winter break right now but he was able to get the last slot in an elective course he wanted so he heads back to school next week (including all day Saturdays). However, we were grateful for this small Christmas miracle because the class was full when it was Mark's turn to register. He kept checking back though every few days and right before Christmas one slot opened up. Hopefully, this year flys by. I am very excited for school to be done, history, finished, (oh and paid for as well :)...Mark will graduate when Sydney is finishing up 1st grade in 2010!

I don't really have any very exciting or important news about myself. Perhaps I will post a few New Year's resolutions. I am still serving as the enrichment counselor in Relief Society and I suppose between that and the girls and my long, long, to-do list...I stay pretty busy! Remember, most of the time Mark is really never around so it's just me and the girls. We have lots of fun though!

Have a Happy New Year!

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