Reflecting and Projecting

It's 2011. 2010 will be a hard year to top. As I posted on Facebook New Year's Eve, the number one event of the year was the birth of Chloe. That event ranks number two to the day I married her father. Mark is the pole that holds this freak show's tent up.

We had a low key evening. We stayed at the house, played Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii and enjoyed some vino. One thing Mark and I did this year was write out some resolutions. It's normally not my thing but we both wanted to make some changes this year.

I don't want to share Mark's list...that is for him to share. I will share some of mine. A few of these cross the line into our shared resolutions.

1. No more cursing. I developed some bad habits in college and choice explicit words are not the exception. As Jamie Lee Curtis put it, (paraphrasing here) a curse word here and there from an adult is one thing, but there is nothing endearing about a child using curse words. I would hate Chloe's first word to be dammit.
2. Read the Bible everyday. It lays by my bed but sometimes (a lot of times) I just don't pick it up.
3. Pray everyday. I'm pretty good about this. I pray periodically throughout the day. But what I really mean here is: I want to spend time everyday meditating in prayer.
4. Find a church home. We have been going to a Methodist church by our house. I like it but I don't think it's where we need to be. I want to put more effort in to finding a church home. It's hard to do it a city the size of Austin. And, as I learned in Amarillo...sometimes churches are not very accepting of outsiders. I learned this when our family switched to Paramount Baptist in Amarillo from our community church in Lake Tanglewood. We are going to push past this hurdle this year.
5. Lose 10 pounds. I'm already below my pre-pregnancy weight but the balance has shifted. I think 10 pounds will do the trick.
6. Run a 10k. It's time.
7. Run a 1/2 marathon. Marathon next year?
8. Make Chloe 1 outfit. The real goal here is to work on my sewing skills. I love how good my mom is at that stuff and I want to learn.
9. Travel more. 2010 is the first year we didn't take a vacation. Mark and I are thinking of taking a cruise this year but I want to take a family road trip, too.
10. Implement the 15 minute rule. I can't remember where I read this (Kelly's Korner?). Before Mark and I go to bed, we will take 15 minutes to tidy up the house. This should help us keep a more orderly house. Our house is clean but cluttered and it wears on me.

I leave you with this. My number one goal is to do one thing every week to make someone's day better, easier or happier. (i.e. roll the neighbors trash to up their driveway after pickup, pay for the meal for the person behind me, etc.). I want Chloe to have a good world to live in and I've become increasingly cynical since I had her. Nobody ever made a positive change with negative thoughts or actions.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

-Mahatma Gandhi