Out With the Aught's and In with the Teens!

This New Year's Eve day, reading about the rising of Charlotte's uptown crown* I am sitting and thinking of reflections and resolutions and what 2010 could bring. Here's my list:

1. Health - Healthier cooking in the form of less processed foods, more fresh. Growing more in our garden for use in our kitchen. 2009 was a wonderful start, producing watermelons, peppers, carrots and more. I am going to focus on less meat centered dishes and more produce in each meal. Also, no junk food and less eating out.


2. Wealth - Less spending, more frugal. We are already on the right track, with careful thermostat monitoring we've taken the coldest winter in years in stride, reducing our gas bill from $300 last year to $103! Also, sitting back and reflecting these last few weeks during the time to buy gifts and donate items made me realize that a few good quality items are much better than a bunch of cheap throw aways. Better for our pockets and better for the environment. Credit card debt has been a big stress in our marriage and we are hoping to clear that out soon. Can't wait to learn how to sew and use my sewing machine to make things vs. buy things. Ashton's already got a great idea using a bathroom rug to make a car mat and Kate wants a nap rug. And, of course, guess who will be crayons this Halloween (Angelique and Gavin are invited to join the crayon bunch if they would like to.) Wish me luck!


3. Family - Less yelling and more loving. I hope to continue to teach the children that good manners and good listening are what Mommy and Daddy are really asking them for. Dad wants more cleaning as we go and I would like to see the kids fight less and play more. And we both want the kids to enjoy each other instead of competing with each other. I can't wait to see my first born grow in a leap and boud to start kindergarten. While my heart will be both heavy and joyful on that day, I am looking forward to more one on one time with Kate while he's there.

The Aughts brought Paul and I together and Paul down South, a mortgage, a cat, a baby boy, marriage, an A.A. & B.A. degree, two career changes, a baby girl and so much more (all of which I am so thankful for). But as I now turn my focus forward, I am hoping for a less tumultuous decade where I am able to slow down and enjoy my husband and children, this house we've worked to build and fill with love, the simple pleasures in life and each and every precious day to the fullest. Happy 2010!

* FYI - Charlotte raises something for the New Year's Eve countdown, doesn't lower it. (From Charlotte Observer Mon. Dec. 28, 2009 article) "In many cities, whether it's the Times Square ball in New York City, or the giant lighted beach ball at Carolina Beach near Wilmington, some object will be dropped to lead the countdown to 2010. Not in uptown Charlotte. Here, the Queen's lighted crown will be hoisted 25 feet just before midnight Thursday to part the curtain on the new year. "We like the symbolism of hope's rising," said Moira Quinn, spokeswoman for Charlotte Center City Partners, the organization producing the festivities. "It's the rising of a new year, and shutting the door on a year that was tough on a lot of people."