1. Have a baby!

I’m hoping the little punkin has lots and lots of black hair. And blue eyes.

2. Finish college courses except last foreign language class.

3. Lose at least 30 of my pregnancy weight pounds

I’m currently only 10 pounds away from my lifetime heaviest weight, and since baby is currently at 2 lbs max, I know that most of that is f-a-t. I’m going to have a lot of work to do this year!

4. Book at least 10 weddings for Jenna Cole

I want more of this in my life.

5. Clean out my inbox by the end of January. Reply to Jenna Cole emails within 24 hours. Reply to personal emails within 72 hours. Reply to blog comments within one week.

6. Dream up a “concept shoot”. Find models. Find props. Make artwork I can be proud of.

I want something to hang on my wall, something that will leave me feeling inspired and proud of what I can do.

7. Attend the temple at least once/month after the baby comes.

I need the break from the craziness of life that comes when I prioritize going to the temple.

8. Read at least one non-fiction church related book each month.

For January I’ll be reading this. I’m about halfway through already, and I want to read it all over again as soon as I finish because there is no way I can absorb enough of it!

9. After baby is born, devote an entire day to myself (as I’ll likely miss my birthday due to labor/newborn time!). Get a facial/pedicure/massage, go to a museum, take pictures of whatever inspires me, do no laundry/no dishes/cook no meals.

10. Cook/bake one dish from the Polish cookbook TH’s aunt gifted us.

Achievable? I definitely think so!

What are your goals for 2010? How are you going to make them happen?

As soon as I heard seven-year-old Tarak McLain start to read his list on NPR I started to cry. By number 5 I was doing that little hiccuping thing I do when I know I am overreacting to something but I can’t help it. It took him 6 hours to compose and the words are all his own. It’s one of the most touching “This I Believe” segments I’ve ever heard.

I think we learned yesterday that we don’t all agree. But I know we all believe.

I believe life is good.

I believe God is in everything.

I believe we’re all equal.

I believe we can help people.

I believe everyone is weird in their own way.

I believe hate is a cause for love.

I believe that when I meditate I feel peaceful.

I believe we should be generous.

I believe brothers and sisters should be kind to each other.

I believe kids should respect their parents.

I believe I should not whine.

I believe people should wake up early.

I believe people should go outside more.

I believe in nature.

I believe people should use less trees.

I believe we should help the Arctic and rainforest animals.

I believe people shouldn’t throw litter on the ground.

I believe people should not smoke.

I believe God is in good and bad.

I believe in magic.

I believe people should not give up.

I believe love is everywhere.

I believe that God helps us to have a good time.

I believe we live best in a community.

I believe we can protect people in danger.

I believe we should help the poor.

I believe it’s OK to die but not to kill.

I believe war should not have started.

I believe war should stop.

I believe we can make peace.

Videos like this one I learned about from Abbie always make me cry. I think because they remind me I can change things if I try.

I visited the Girl Effect website but I still feel unsatisfied. I don’t have money to give, but I have plenty of time. I want to find a way to directly influence the life of someone in need.

How do you give?

This year I will (note I used the word “will”, not “want to” or “am thinking about” or “think I might”):

1. Post every day.
2. Never make my husband say I don’t pay enough attention to him (even with the daily posting).

How could I not want to pay enough attention to this cutie pie?



3. Finish my classes (everything except my foreign language credit).

I miss going to class with real people. Or, in the case of these girls, real really cool people. Don’t get married before you graduate. It’s not fun.



4. Make a baby.



5. Firm up my oven before That Husband inserts the bun (i.e. lose the last 20 lbs before the baby puts it right back on again).

I’m so proud of how far I have come with the weight loss. 50 lbs down in 3 years and not that much more to go!



6. Call someone I care about on the telephone at least once a week.
7. Set up a custom domain for my blog.
8. Read one article from the Ensign each week.
9. Make something adorable from the Bakerella blog.



10. Cook a Polish dish for That Husband (and get a rating higher than 3) from the new Polish cookbook we received from his Aunt for Christmas.

Krakow cake seems like a good place to start.

10 is a nice round number for now. Because you know what? You can set new goals for yourself anytime. Like tommorow. If you want to have a January 2nd goal instead of a January 1st goal, it’s okay. Or even a March 13th goal would work. But these are my official 10 for January 1st.

It’s the twelfth day of Christmas in the Coveiter giveaway and I’m drooling over the Layers Clothing dress they are featuring as one of the prizes. I’ve been doing lots of searching for modest dresses lately and I can’t believe this adorable place has escaped me thus far.

Don’t you just love that dress?

Head on over to Coveiter to enter the last day of the giveaway. Hurry hurry since you have to enter before noon today. Sorry I didn’t tell you about the daily prizes before this, I was greedy and wanted to keep my chances of winning a little bit higher. I won’t let it happen again.

Then visit Layers Clothing to see what else they have to offer. I’m drooling over the Jackie O, Rita, Jillian, and the Trixie.