Happy New Year!

Happy 2014!  Our 2013 was so amazing that it will be hard to top it, but we are certainly going to try!  We didn't get off to the greatest start, as both Andy and I became violently ill shortly after the clock struck twelve.  (Yes, we actually and shockingly made it to midnight.)  Andy was in worse shape than I was, and we are thinking it must have been our dinner.  Ugh!   We are both feeling better as the day progresses.  It is (another!) snowy day and we have nowhere to be until later, so its a pajama day with my boys.  Heavenly!

Since Ben is finally taking a nap, I have some time to work on my new year's resolutions.  I love writing "to-do" lists, but I hesitate to write a thorough, detailed list of resolutions, as I just read something that said only 8% of people are able to stick to their goals.  Since I don't like to fail, I am going to try and make mine very concrete, because in my mind that will make it easier to keep them.  

The number one thing I am going to work on is being more thankful.  I know, I know, not very concrete.  Cue the cute new thank you cards.  :)  When reflecting back over the past year, there are literally millions of things that I am thankful for.  The first thing that comes to mind is obviously Ben's good health.  We are infinitely blessed that things have turned out as well as they have, and we know it could have been much worse.  Although I hope and pray that I never have to go through something like this again, we sure met some top-notch people along the way.  I'm not sure I came close to expressing my extreme gratitude to all of these caring people.  

But back to my goal.  One of my new year's resolution is to show my appreciation more for all of the wonderful people in my life.  Do I say thank you enough?  I want to send hand-written thank you notes to express my appreciation.  Maybe I'm just speaking for myself, but handwritten notes can go a long way.  I recently received a card from one of the higher-ups at the hospital after I organized a conference at work.  I'm sure it only took him a few minutes to write, but it had a positive impact on me.  (I later saw him at the gym and thanked him for the thank-you...kind of awkward, I suppose.)  

My trusty shopping buddy helped me pick out some cute thank-yous at Target.  I also have a stash of stamps ready to go, so really, this is a pretty fool-proof plan.  I have 30 to start with, but I am hoping I am able to thank more people than this.  Birthdays and other special occasions don't count towards the 30!  I am hoping to thank people at work, my family and friends, and even strangers who provide good service at a restaurant or a store.  There are no limits on who I can thank and for what I can thank them for...obviously. :)  Oh, and I want to be timely with these thank-yous too.

 And since I can't resist a good list, here are some other things, albeit generic, that I would like to work on:

• Being a better wife and mom (heck, might as well through in daughter, sister, friend, NP, etc)
• Getting back in to running again and exercising on a set schedule, at least 3 days a week
• Writing shorter, more frequent blog posts, and potentially expand my audience
• Eating better--eating breakfast regularly
• Being more organized
• Going to church more
• Volunteering
• Going to bed earlier, ideally by 10:00 at the latest
• Reading more, facebooking less

I'll add to it as I think of more and I hope to check in on this list every few months or so.   I better get to bed, so I can at least check off of few things on my resolution wish-list for today.  Happy New Year!  Wishing you good health and happiness in 2014!

NYE 2012/13 and New Year's Day 2014  (same restaurant, bigger boy, less tired parents)