Goals for 2014

Amanda's Lofty Goals for 2014 (NOT resolutions!  Just goals!)

1.  Organization - I need it at home, at work, in my car, my closets, my pantry, my attic........I need to start with something as simple as getting my Tupperware organized in my kitchen cabinets!  The empty containers with missing lids are taking over my kitchen! My pantry, my craft-room, my back porch, my closet, my storage room, my attic.......my entire life sort of looks like Granny Clampet and Fred Sanford got together and threw a yard-sale.   I need to devote some quality time to figuring out how to get things and KEEP things organized!

2.  Fairy Garden - THIS is the year that I actually DO it!  I've been planning it for years!  I have purchased odds and ends here and there and I know that I want a wine barrel to plant it all in!   I just have to find/purchase that container and I'm ready to go come spring!

3.  Menus and planning with healthier fare - I usually make menus and grocery lists, but not in any sort of logical sequence or plan.....I want to have a more balanced approach to my meals - especially when Steve is traveling and I'm home alone.  I tend to default to a can of soup or whatever is in the pantry on those lonely nights.....and I need to plan better for these times.

4.  Craftiness - I have the dedicated craft room, I have tons of bottles, wads, stacks, stashes of crafting supplies, and I occasionally will go in there and browse through the stuff....taking stock of what I have and trying to envision finished hand-crafted goods.   I need to come up with actual projects and put some of these stockpiles of papers, yarn, paint, etc....to good use!

5.  Generosity - I need to be more generous.  I need to stop worrying, "What's in it for me?" and think more along the lines of, "How can I help someone else?"   I need to be more generous with my $$, my time, my love, my worldly goods, tipping, encouraging.........I just feel the need to give more.

6.  Mercy - I tend to judge harshly.  Even if I never share the thoughts I have with others, they still color the way I react to things, the way I interact with others and the way I think and act.   I have been forgiven SO MUCH....I pray for a way to find it within myself to forgive others.  Mercy and Grace when dealing with my own weaknesses would be nice as well.  I judge myself most harshly of all....and sometimes, it's not always fair.

7.  Water - I don't drink near enough water.  I usually down about 2 cups in the morning time when I exercise, and then it's an afterthought the rest of the day.  I need to drink less coffee, tea, and juice and reach for more water.   I will strive for at least 6 cups per day.  That should be attainable.......and the days when I have more = BONUS!

8.  Amusement Park - I didn't have a chance to go last year, but I really want to face down and conquer some of my fears concerning roller-coasters and other rides.  I'm tired of living my life in a state of being scared of things that probably won't hurt me. It's time to move out of my comfort zone and into the LIVING LIFE to the FULLEST zone!

9.  One thing a month that scares me - along the lines as #8, I want to experience all that life has to offer.  I want to try at least one thing a month that scares me! Whether that is a physical feat (such as river tubing in the rain forest!) or a mental feat (such as overcoming my fear of being seen in public in a swimsuit).....I want to do at least one thing that is outside my usual scope of practice! I want to push the envelope! I want to surpass my own expectations! I want to do things I never thought or dreamed I could do!!  I want to have a life of NO REGRETS this year!

10. Blessings - I have had so many, many blessings in my life!!  I so often tend to focus on the things I feel I have missed out on, the things I don't have or never had, the things I want but never got....the negative.  My glass is not only often half empty, it's also cracked and leaking.   I want to be more positive! I want to focus on the blessings and practice an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness. I take so much for granted. I need to be more mindful!!!

11. Travel - I still want to see the whole world!!  I want to see it and experience it, taste it, smell it, and LIVE it!  This year, we are planning a trip to New York City in April!  It's been a life-long dream to see the Big Apple!   In August, we are planning to fly out to Seattle for a week to meet up with Alyssa and we are taking Jaron.  I am looking forward to my family being whole again and enjoying our time together and I am looking forward to exploring another corner of the world that I haven't seen before!  We plan on visiting Washington and Oregon and possibly even Vancouver, Canada!!   I'd like to also fit in a few spontaneous weekend trips here and there along the way.

12.  Writing - I haven't written nearly as much as I had hoped this past year.  I had such great intentions and such poor follow-through!  I spent way more time on Facebook and Pinterest than I did trying to capture my own thoughts and ideas and transform them into written word.  I want to make sure I take more time for writing this year.  It's such a balm to my soul and it's very healing to pour my heart out and explore my psyche in this manner.   And it's so much cheaper than therapy and so less risky than swallowing antidepressant pills! 

13.  Classes/learning - I started a wine appreciate class, a writing class, and a photography class online, but I didn't finish any of them.  My goal for this year is to complete the classes I have started and possibly take a few more.....just for the sake of general knowledge and for growing my interest in other areas and making me a more well-rounded and fulfilled person.

14.  Horseback riding - I want to go horseback riding.  It was on my list last year, but I never actually made it....so it is a carry-over item.  Steve isn't interested in going.....so I either need to just get over my fear of doing things alone and just buy a Groupon adventure and go, or I can find someone else who wants to join me for the adventure and just go.  Either way, I just need to do it.

15.  House Cleaning - most of the time, my house isn't nasty or filthy......it's just cluttered.  I don't enjoy cleaning my bathrooms or scrubbing toilets or the bathtub or sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, or any other myriad of chores that need to be done on a regular basis. I need to come up with a systematic approach that doesn't leave me miserable and exhausted in a mad-dash to hide the mess and clean up every time we have friends over.

16.  Friends/Entertaining - And I do want to have friends over.  LOTS of friends!  I want my home to be welcoming and open to friends and family.  I'd love to meet/make new friends as well as keep in touch with the old ones.  The song my daughter used to sing in Brownies comes to mind, "Make new friends, but keep the old.....one is silver and the other gold!"  :)    One can never have too many friends!

17.  Adventures - I don't want to EVER pass up the chance for an adventure!  I want to try new things, experience everything there is to experience! Life life to the fullest, drink life to the lees!   Live a little!  So very much of my life was spent inside a box of my own fear and self-doubt.....I want OUTTA that box and I want to make the most of the rest of my life! Adventures, trips, outings, new foods, new people, new situations......Bring 'em on!!!

18.  Positivism - this one is a BIGGIE.  I may should have listed it first.   I complain and whine WAAAYYY too much.  I get on my OWN nerves with my endless pity-parties and wallowing.   I have a predisposition for depression.  I have struggled valiantly (and sometimes not so valiantly) with the deep dark pit of despair and gloom since I was a small child. I have to actively focus on the positive.  I have to dwell on the blessings.  I have to physically and literally put my hand over my mouth some days to keep from boring everybody around me with my misery.  This year, I am going to make that conscious effort to shut down the whine-machine before my friends and loved ones get that glazed-over, "not listening to this again" look on their faces. I want my glass to be half full for a change.  I want to be PollyAnna and emit glittering rays of sunshine from my face.  Or at least not complain.   It will probably be baby-steps.   I just wanted to dream big. :)

19. My Spirituality - This one is between me and God....it is so deeply personal, I can't really put it into words.   I have some work to do here.....and I don't really feel comfortable sharing most of the details, but essentially.....I'm not where I was.....I'm not where I should be.....and I'm not yet where I'm going.  In other words.....it's a journey and most of it is uphill and I need prayers for the faith I need to keep putting one foot in front of the other in this area.  I'm wrestling with some BIG spiritual issues and I know that the only peace I will find in these areas will come from trusting that God has everything in His hands.

20.  My Children/my Adult Parenting Role - another touchy area.....another topic where about the only thing I can do is just pray for understanding and some sort of peaceful acceptance.   It's been a tough year for this Mommy of two headstrong adult children......a lot of turbulent flood waters (mingled with tears) under the bridge of 2013.   It's hard to watch the ones you love the most make decisions that break your heart. I have to keep reminding myself that my job is to love them the best I can and to constantly lift them up in prayer.

This is a daunting list of goals!  I deliberately don't say resolutions.....I'm not resolving anything.....I'm just setting some goals that I want to focus on.  There is no deadline or timeline to adhere to.....no hard and fast rules.  Just 20 things that I want to work on, think on, pray on, and hopefully act on.  Here's to hoping that 2014 finds us all stronger, happier and healthier! :)   Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!