Thursday, January 1, 2015

New Years Chatter About Pretty Much Everything

This picture really doesn't have anything to do with this post. But a pictureless post seems naked, so here it is.

The kidlets are tucked into their beds, dishes are washed, Braden's lunch packed for tomorrow, and the coffee set up. Finally, some time to blog!
I am so ready for this year of 2015 (side note: so ready that I don't have a calendar yet. Somehow I always forget to buy one. Always.), after the rough year 2014 was. I'm not for resolutions, but I do like to dream/plan, and think about what needs to change for the coming year.
High on that long list (and maybe repeated every so often) is finding or making a realistic housekeeping schedule. The girls got all of the American Girl movies from their aunt and cousins for Christmas and we watched Kit this evening. After that, I'm rarin' to make myself a new apron and go.
I printed out a bunch of schedules I found on line and I'm thinking we'll just give each one a few weeks go and see what we like.  A tidy house is a must. I see too many times in blogland where home keeping is looked down upon. That having a clean house means you're somehow depriving your children of your time, and you can clean when they've grown. My opinion is that having your children help with the house work means A. you're spending time with them while getting something done, B. you're teaching them the importance of order and keeping things clean, and C. that as part of the family, they are expected to do work, and parents are not servants. How will they learn if Mama blows it off or does it for them? The kids do the majority of dishwashing, sweeping and tidying, but we need some sort of plan of attack for the rest of the house that will fit in with homeschooling.
I'm wishing I could dump the house out onto the front lawn right now and put it all back together and start fresh that way.

Next on my list is getting my wardrobe in shape. It's pathetic. Really really pathetic. And I've noticed *I* get more done and feel happier when I've actually taken the time to dress nicely, throw on a little make-up and do something with my hair besides a ponytail. I've read through (and plan to re-read as well as take notes on) all of the FANTASTIC posts on femininity Emma at Charming the Birds From the Trees has written. And when I incorporated them, I felt pretty darn good. And then we got into holiday business and now we're back at the starting line.
Another reason is that I don't want my girls falling into the trap of frumpiness. They seem to be watching me closer everyday, and I'm seeing their own dressing follows what I'm wearing. I don't want them to be clothes horses, but I do want them to learn to dress nicely for their families. If we dress up for company and those we want to make a good impression on, why would we think our own families don't care that we dress as slobs for them?
I'm still trying to figure out my style. I know what I like, but it doesn't always like me, and then also, I will be 35 this year. Am I dressing age appropriate? Sigh.
Here's a list of links which *should*take you to Emma's posts:
From Frumpy to Fabulous
Commitment to Loveliness
General Femininity Posts
Feminine Dress Posts
Feminine Tips
Finishing School
One of my favorite things about Emma? She's not petite. She's a bit taller than I am and silly as it sounds, I feel like I can relate to her better. You can be tall and feminine!

Moving on with my list is eating and "health". We ate a LOT of crap last year. We just did. The good news is- I didn't gain too much weight from it. That said, I'm also NOT going to try to lose it. If I do, great, but I am tired of the merry go 'round of "Oh I can't eat this or that because I'm trying to lose weight, yada yada yada."  I am done with that. On the whole, (with a few exceptions) we eat a good healthy diet. My weight has pretty much stayed the same for the last year and I have decided to be fine with that. Too many times have I heard "So and so lost so much weight, don't they look great?" As if there was something horribly wrong with them before? No. My worth as a person is not found in what I weigh or how skinny I am, and I will not let my own vanity tell me otherwise. I will be happy and healthy where I am. I will not wait until I'm a certain weight to enjoy life. I do plan to get on the elliptical more, and I know I need to drink more water. I feel better when I do. I will change and adjust our regular food as I learn more about health, but I will do that for all of us, not as a weight thing.

Now I will talk about my house and farm plans. I have millions of them. I also have no money for decorating. Goals though are to do something with our bedroom which is full of hideously ugly furniture, black sheets covering the windows, no curtains and I HATE it. I am challenging myself to make it over before summer. Somehow and with no money. And I want to love it, not just be okay with it.
I also want to spruce up our porch, it just looks tired. And every room in this house because it's all shabby and needs it (except the living room, we got some hand me down furniture and it finally looks comfortable and inviting!) especially painting.
As much as I want to add more animals and some fruits to the farm, I'm scaling back and just planning on re-establishing the herb garden (it all got torn out last summer when we had to have our drainage worked on) and getting enough seedlings started to sell. (Maybe a roadside stand?) Anything else will be a great surprise.
Not related to any of the above is my hope to open an Etsy shop. I've got some ideas floating around the old noggin' and I would like to put them into action.

Rounding out this very long list is the most important: A regular Bible quiet time. I *know* a lot of the reason last year was so hard was because I bore the load by myself instead of making time to spend with God. I hate that desperately grasping feeling. My two biggest problems are finding the time to do it (My preferred time is first thing in the morning, but Sprout usually wakes up when I do and nothing gets done. Come evening, I generally forget.), and a good study. I have a very hard time just reading, I need some sort of plan, a goal so to speak. I've tried several, but nothing feels like "it".

Well then, congratulations if you read all of that drivel! And if you have any advice to offer on any of it PLEASE DO- introduce yourself and say hello! I'm not the best at replying to comments, but I do read them!

Signing off,
Bonnie

5 comments:

  1. Hi Bonnie! This is Emily, I was on pals with Anna for many years :). So fun to catch up on you on with your blog and her Facebook page! I am married now with 3 kiddos (5,4 &1), busy but fun! I don't blog but love to stalk those who do :). I'll have to check out Emma's blog, I've never heard of her. Happy new Year!!

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  2. Hi Bonnie, I am catching up here and enjoyed reading this post of your goals. They sound great and I am going to visit the links you have used. I often feel that my farm clothes are too frumpy, but I don't want to get my going out clothes dirty either... I have to work on balance. I agree with everything you wrote about a clean house. It's something I am convicted to work on as well. I also have to work on training my children to work along side me....
    Have a wonderful new year!
    Blessings
    Renata:)

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  3. What fun to read! Such admirable goals too. I am so with you on the whole clean house/children should participate thing. One area that this hasn't been true for me is in cooking. I'd like to have Corynn make dinners more often...it would give me a night off and it would be teaching her valuable and necessary skills for future life. A friend of mine who has 12 kids hasn't made meals in years because her girls have taken over that completely. ?!?!?! Awesomeness. Corynn is at that age but sometimes it is just easier to do it myself at those frantic pre-dinner moments.

    Good for you about the dressing too- glad you will be putting some effort into yourself. So often us Mama's make sure everyone else is taken care of and then forget about ourselves. A new wardrobe sounds enviable! What are you thinking?

    I look forward to checking out some of those links as I have time.

    For me, one of the things that I always do (that makes no sense) as I am packing away/switching out clothes for the seasons is to pack away the clothes that I never wore. Wehther they don't fit me anymore or I just don't like them-I continue to keep them so I have the APPEARANCE of selection, even though it is a false one. I am going to go through my clothes this year and get rid of those things- even if it leaves me with just a handful of things to wear. I am sick of packing/unpacking for nothing.

    Right on about the weight thing too. My head knows you are right but I have the hardest time actually BELIEVING it, you know? I wish it were as simple to tell yourself in the mirror or in a room full of gorgeous people as it is to write it down. argh.

    And I can't wait to see how things progress with your house. You are so talented and skilled, I know you'll be able to do a marvelous job even on a shoe string (or half of a shoe string.) Have any old quilts? At yard sales, sometimes people sell ripped ones for pennies....you could cut it in half and make curtains for your bedroom out of them. They are beautiful looking. I am planning to do this with the girls' room. I hope you share some of your projects throughout the year. It's funny, whenever you post pictures, looking in the backgrounds I have never once thought 'shabby'- your house has always looked lovely!

    And YES to the Etsy shop! Good for you! I hope you do it! You are so so talented- do it, do it, do it!

    As for the Bible, I wish I had advice for you but I am in the exact same spot. Mornings would be preferred- but children wake up faster than I hope and by the evenings, I am spent. But I am right there with you...and this is a goal of mine for the new year as well. I wonder, sometimes, if the reason it doesn't work out for me is because I build up in my mind what personal devotions ought to look like and they become unattainable. Like a GOOD personal time is 30 minutes of reading and prayer. When in actuality, even a few moments would do wonders at refocusing me and developing the HABIT. SO, I am going to shoot for 10 minutes- set a timer and then, be done. I don't know if it will work, but that is what I am going to try this year.

    Thanks for sharing all your 'drivel' and it was a pleasure to read all the way through- loved it. May God bless your endeavors this year!

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  4. Not drivel at all.
    I have no advice. All my dreams turned to dust. ;)

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  5. Hope all is well. You are missed!

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