The 2013 List

For the past couple years (2012 and 2011)  I have written about the goals I'd like to accomplish for the new year. This year I've noticed a trend. Instead of resolutions pick a word to live your whole year by.
A word of the year, that seems simple enough to do!
Since I find these two equally important, I am choosing two words.

Consistency

and

Calm

This year I resolve to be consistent. Keep with a routine. Knowing what to expect will keep me sane (especially with a new baby) and keep my children sane. I used to be very good about keeping everyone on some sort of a routine but I just got lazy about it. Now there is a bit of chaos in the house and it's stressing me out and I know it's stressing the kids out. The hardest part will be figuring out a balance between keeping a routine and also allowing time to be spontaneous. I suppose if we make sure to eat lunch at 12 everyday we can still be spontaneous and eat our lunch as a picnic at the park.

I must be consistent! Not just with routine though, I must be consistent about allowing a set amount of screen time for all of us, what the rules of the house are,  figuring out consequences for certain actions, etc. Consistency is the key word this year.

This year I resolve to be calm. Ah, my life used to be so calm when my babies were 1 and 3, even 2 and 4! Now that they are 3 and 5 they are starting to push the limits of what they can get away with. Yes, sometimes it makes me angry. Instead of wanting to blow up at the kids I need to take a step back and breathe through things that upset me. Walking away from a situation until I can think clearly enough to come back and make a decision, remembering my children are still young, understanding that even they might not know why they did something, sometimes "because" really is the answer! I think (and hope) that when consistency comes back into our lives then calm will naturally come with it. 

So there you have it, my two words to live by for 2013. Since I told you all, I'm expecting you to hold me accountable!!!!

Are you making a list of resolutions or choosing a word to live by this year?

August: 2012 Goals Review

For a while I was updating you all on how I was doing with my resolutions for 2012. I fell off the blogging wagon and now I'm back on, ready to update you again and make some changes.

So how have I been doing?

Visit more state parks: This one is in the easy section for a reason, because it's freakin' easy! We have been frequenting a few state parks but none on the list because we moved. Now we only live close enough to Lake Norman and Morrow Mountain and I'm pretty sure we'll make it to those by the end of the year. The other parks on the list are now obsolete so I'm replacing them with:

*Chimney Rock

*Gorges State Park

*Grandfather Mountain

*Lake James

*Mount Mitchell

All of these parks are within 2 hours of us, so nice easy drives and plenty of time to enjoy the parks. I just love living in North Carolina!

Get Charlotte involved in some sort of social setting: Char is on a waiting list for a Girl Scout troop this fall, we've joined a homeschool co-op that has a lot of children her age, and dance class is planned for fall. I think this one is covered for the year!

Explore more of Greensboro: This one is not going to happen now that we've moved so let's just change it to "Explore more of Charlotte"

Improve my photography: This one I've completely failed at, so far. I haven't read any books, done any photo shoots lately, I've gotten really lazy. *sigh*

Expand Dilly-Dali Art: I'm excited about this one. I'm in the process of creating a series for homeschoolers, planning on teaching a co-op class, and possibly being a contributor for a larger blog.

Set aside time for activities: I've already posted about our schedule spinner, it's been working wonders! We are a little less strict with it since it's summer but once school starts in September it will be doing its job perfectly once more! 

Maintaining a proper diet: For this goal we decided to watch our carb intake. It's really been working great for us. Reading food labels has really been eye opening as far as added sugar. There is sugar in everything!!! Now that we've been on the low carb diet for awhile it's hard to cheat, mostly because you feel absolutely horrible when you do, bloated, lethargic, and gross.

Eliminate internet distractions: Urm, this one is a work in progress...

So there you have it! I think I've been doing great so far!! I'm on track to finishing quite a few of my resolutions for 2012!

January: 2012 Goals Review

This is a post I've been meaning to write for some time, well...since the end of January at least.
I think writing an end of the month review of how much I've accomplished on my goals will help me to reach them better by looking at what has been working and what hasn't been working and making the appropriate adjustments.

In order to write this review, I will be referring back to my goals list and going through each goal one by one.

Visit more state parks: We haven't done much of this yet because though the weather has been mild, it hasn't been consistent, and there is nothing worse than getting to a state park and having the weather turn on you! We'll start heading out more once the weather starts staying nice for longer periods of time (which should be soon!)

Get Charlotte involved in something social: We haven't done this yet either, we have been taking her and Alexis to a new storytime so hopefully that will hold her over until the new semesters for classes begin or we find a more suitable social group for her.

Explore more of Greensboro: We have done this to some extent. We've discovered a few libraries in that area we really love. When we first moved down here we were heading in the opposite direction (Burlington) to go to the library but didn't feel like it was a good fit. The Greensboro library has been perfect. The storytime we found is wonderfully interactive, filled with lots of kids (the librarian knows all their names!), lots of stories, movement, singing, and even at the end they do a craft that goes along with the theme of the stories that were read. The girls just sat there on the ground while everyone was singing and dancing at first but they are slowly becoming more and more comfortable.

Improve my photography: I haven't taken the time to focus on this yet, but I have been doing the 365 project daily (even though I find it hard to post daily). Hopefully, now that we've found a new library we're happy with, I'll be able to explore the world of Adult Nonfiction.


Expand Dilly-Dali Art: I have launched a few new series on the blog that people are really responding to which is great, my FB page "likes" have jumped quite a bit which is also great. Still, I'm looking for more of a local community reach, which I am hesitant to get started on building. Mostly because I don't plan on staying in this area long so all my efforts would be wasted if we moved halfway through the year (which I'm hoping to) I did find a few new tips on helping to start an art group that I will definitely keep in mind when we do get settled in a new area.

Set aside specific times for activities: I'm surprised at how quickly we were able to adjust to this new goal. At first I was having trouble with keeping track of the time, I finally sat down and wrote a schedule for pretty much every hour the girls are awake (8-8). I made a "clock" that the girls can see so they help keep me on track, there are different colors for each type of activity so that it's easier for them to read. Of course, I'm not crazy strict with it and don't force the girls stick to it 100%, a couple of times we replaced a few of the morning activities with outdoor time and just did the morning things in the evening. Easy peasy! I will post more about how I made the "clock" in another post.

Maintaining a proper diet: Like I said in the original goals post, this is mainly Travis's goal because he has issues with putting on weight easily if he strays from the path. He was able to meet with a fitness nutritionist in the beginning of the year that told him pretty much everything he already knew, but felt like he had to hear it from a professional. That being said, he's done pretty well on the diet thing, and he's been keeping up with his daily working out. I, on the other hand, haven't ran in what feels like forever. I'm starting to feel doughy, so I guess I better get my butt on the treadmill!

Eliminate internet distractions: So this one has been pretty much a fail for me. It's so hard to keep off the internet during the day when I'm trying to build a fairly successful fan base on the Dilly-Dali Art page. I mostly only get on for networking with other bloggers, I haven't been on my personal page much. When I am on my personal page most of the stuff is posted automatically from other sources. All of my photos are posted automatically and links are easily shared when posted on another FB page. This goal will take more work than I thought!

So there you have it! I think I'm doing fairly well goal wise, especially considering there are still 10 months and some odd days left!

The 2012 List

Here are the goals I hope to accomplish in 2012, there is an easy section and a hard section.

The Easy Section
Visit More State Parks:  Since moving to NC in July we have visited 7 state parks (I have a lot of posts to catch up on about those parks!) We initially were considering including all parks within a 2.5 hour drive but figured that's quite a long drive to make with the girls, so we decided a 2 hour range would be more comfortable for all of us. Here is the list of state parks I hope to visit in 2012:

* Lake Norman

*Morrow Mountain

*Pilot Mountain

*Kerr Lake

*Mayo River

*Raven Rock

*William B. Umstead

I am not limiting the list to only these parks though, I'm sure if the urge hits us we will be willing to make the trip to a park that's farther away. I do have plans to also visit Grandfather Mountain State Park which is about 2.5hr away from us, there is an amazing bridge there (the swinging bridge) that is a mile above sea level and spans 228 feet across an 80 foot chasm.

Get Charlotte involved in some sort of social setting: Be it Girl Scouts, dance class, martial arts or something completely different we find (she'll make the final decision on what she wants to do) we've been noticing signs that a group setting is something that she needs to be a part of.

Explore More Of Greensboro: We've done plenty of exploring around Burlington, which is located to the east of us, now it's time to see what Greensboro, to the west, has to offer us. 

Improve My Photography: This one should be easy because it's something that I like to do, I just get lazy with it. So my goal is to read more about it, try not to just take as many pictures as I can (slow down), delete pictures on the camera before I upload them, start a 365 project, build a light box, and overall just try to capture how we feel and what we experience.

The Hard Section

Expand Dilly-Dali Art: I'm not 100% sure everything I want to do with the blog but I know I will be doing some organizing and adding a couple series. I am hoping to maybe get an art group running again if I'm able to find a location. I'm definitely hoping to start taking steps to turning it into a business instead of just a blog, I'm looking for a more local connection.

Set Aside Specific Times For Activities: Making a schedule of when things should happen during the day I think, will allow us to be more efficient with our time and help us to accomplish a lot more this year. This is in the hard section mostly because when unexpected things arise or if we're already in the middle of something else, we'll have to decide whether or not to stray from the schedule.

Maintaining A Proper Diet: This one is mainly Travis's goal. We are going to try our best to support him. He is definitely addicted to his Mountain Dew and chips and salsa, we're gonna nip that in the bud!

Eliminate Internet Distractions: Facebook is definitely the distraction. I will use will power to limit my time on Facebook and get more stuff (like blog posts) done on the Internet. This will be the hardest one I think. My plan is to only visit Facebook in the morning before the girls are awake and in the evening when they are asleep. Wish me luck!

I'm excited to get started on this list of goals. I'm ready to have a fun-filled, more organized, healthier 2012!

The Best Thing I've Ever Done For My Curls {Update}

This is a sort of kind of an update about my own personal life. This blog started out as a way to let friends and family know what we're up to and sometimes I tend to stray away from that. Sooo, here is what's been going on!

Remember when I went poo-free? Then, I gave a little update and was like, "Hey, I like this!" Then, I never gave another update after that. Well, I really loved being shampoo free, all was going great, until I bought a Groupon to get my hair colored. So I got my hair dyed (which I hated) and they washed my hair, all the months of being shampoo free ruined in one wash. After that I started washing my  hair again.
Now I'm back to my poo-free ways! I love it, so simple, I use baking soda and apple-cider vinegar to "wash" my hair about once a week. My curls have never looked better! They are actually curls! I don't even have to use product, they dry into ringlets instead of frizz.
If you've ever wanted to try going poo-free I think winter is the perfect time to try. There's a period when the oils in your hair are adjusting and your hair is greasy for awhile (lasted about a week for me), winter is perfect to just wear a beanie all the time. Nobody will even know.

In January,  I made a list of resolutions to accomplish by the end of this year. I am proud to say that I accomplished a lot of them! The most awesome one in my opinion is getting Alexis out of diapers. I knew she would be by the end of this year. She's only wearing diapers to bed, which I think is amazing. Another amazing thing that I didn't anticipate AT ALL is that Charlotte would be out of diapers completely. She has been going to bed in panties.
One night, Travis and I were in the living room after the girls had been put to bed and Charlotte came out dazed, went to the bathroom and went straight back to bed. Travis and I looked at each other, jaws dropped. She hasn't worn diapers since and she wakes up at night when she has to go. No more diapers for Char! WIN!

As far as an update for Travis, this is the suckiest one to write. He is a commercial Union plumber. A union can be awesome because he works out of one local but can work anywhere in the US through another local, that is what he was doing when he moved down here to NC. Since his local is based in VA he was considered a traveller. We discussed and decided, if traveling is what he wants to do then that's awesome. I'm okay with it, we agreed I could pick a home base for the girls and I to live where he can always travel back to. Still haven't decided where we want home base to be, somewhere beachy and south, I hope.
Either way, he's back to traveling. It was a bit sooner than we expected but you can't say no to a job in an economy where people are having a hard time getting jobs. So once again, right before the holidays he is away from his family. It's like an exact repeat of last year. It's only been a week so far and things are fine on both ends, we've been there, done that. We have until July (when our lease is up) to decide what our next step will be.
Just to make one thing clear, I refuse to move back to Virginia.

Things with me are going as they usually are. The art blog (Dilly-Dali Art) has taken off since starting in February and I've been throwing around options of an art group through the library and even offering private services. Travis being away again throws a little monkey wrench into the plan but once the holidays are done and I'm going over resolutions for the new year, I'll have better plans as to what I want to do with it.

Other than that we're doing everything you'll normally find us doing: playing outside, going to the library, learning new things, creating art and loving life!

The 2011 List

So here is my list of goals for 2011, there is an easy section and a hard section:

The Easy Section
Get back on track with going to the library:  We were doing really well with going to the library for storytime and to check out books twice a week but ended up dwindling down to not at all during the holidays. With all the birthdays, Travis being gone, festivities happening, medical issues going on, I just stopped going and that is not okay with me, so back to storytime (which starts again for the new year next week)

Get back on a sleep schedule:  This is another thing that happened after Travis left and the holidays hit. The load pretty much doubled on me so I was staying up trying to complete everything I used to accomplish in one day. While I was doing that I was pretty much ignoring the girl's sleeping schedule and everything was thrown out of whack. Now they are back to normal naptime, bedtime still needs work but we're almost there! Now all I have to do is force myself to go to bed at a normal time and wake up at a normal time and we'll be set, I've resorted to setting a bedtime alarm (which I ignore on Wednesdays for Top Chef...) and I think I'll start setting a wakeup alarm and that will help things run more smoothly in this house.

Go outside everyday:  Even if it is just for 5 minutes. There have been quite a few days when I've realized that I haven't even unlocked the door when I've gone to lock it at night. It's pretty amazing what a little fresh air can do to up your spirits too.

Start using my sewing machine:  I got a sewing machine for my birthday and I have ideas in my head and now 2011 is the time to start putting them into action. Look out for sewing posts because they are going to be popping up everywhere!

Potty train Alexis:  I hate using the word "train" but I'm sure you all understand what I mean. She already uses the potty a lot, she will be out of diapers by the end of the year.


The Hard Section
Have a vegetable garden:  Every year I say to myself, "I'm gonna grow veggies" blah blah blah, it never happens. This year is the year! Produce prices in the grocery store is motivation enough. I feel confident that I'll be successful, I've read the same book over and over again about square foot gardening and I've picked out the area I want to put the garden. The hardest part I think will be deciding exactly what I want and buying it (plant prices aren't cheap!).

Start a compost pile:  I have this under the hard section only because I don't know anything about composting. I suppose a little more research will help me out but it's still kind of intimidating, but honestly, how can you mess up a compost pile?

Curb appeal:  I really need to do something about the outward appearance of our house. It is so boring, dreary even. Since I'll be outside with the vegetable garden, I might as well be gardening in the front too! First thing to go, the rusted old chain link fence around the front.

Wean Alexis:  This is exactly what it says. I have been working on a post about breastfeeding but it's taking me longer than I thought to get my thoughts out exactly the way I want to. It's in the hard section not for me but for Lexi, so far she's down to about 4 times a day; sometime during the day, naptime, bedtime, and once during the night.  I think she'll have a hard time letting go of the very last one, but she may surprise me.


So there you have it. I think this list is manageable, looks like a lot but we're already halfway done with a few of them so it shouldn't be too hard to complete my goals for this year!

I Resolve...

I've been thinking about this quite a lot. I think it's important to set up goals that you want to accomplish for the new year and thought Travis and I should sit down and discuss what we want to achieve in 2011.

Of course he told me making resolutions was stupid and he didn't want to make any goals or plans.

So I've been thinking about it by myself...

I haven't actually completed my list yet, I don't want to make some easy to obtain goal that I would have done wether or not I resolved to do it, so I carry around a little notepad and write down whatever comes to mind. When I finally get my list together, which will hopefully be by the end of the first week of January,  I will be sure to post it for the world to see. Maybe that way I'll actually stay on track!

2009-2010: I resolved to take a "real" family vacation every year. We didn't take a vacation last year so I've already failed that one!

What are my lurkers resolving to do this year?