(Our winter nature table, so far. We'll continue to add things as we progress along with our semester -- the table was quite full by the end of Autumn.)
I really enjoyed reviewing my goals for 2007 and seeing how far I've come with them in my post yesterday. So much so, that I thought I'd make another set of 5 goals for the coming year (seeing as this is the season for these sorts of things and all), then on December 31, 2008, we can take a peek and see how I did. So here goes, my New Year Resolutions, as it were:
1. Sustainability for our Homestead. This is my #1 farm priority for the coming year, to come up with a sound business type plan for making this place pay for itself. I think the potential is there, I just need to diversify my sheep flock a bit (right now they are great for training dogs and making dog food, but not much else) and tighten up some of my gaping holes of financial loss. I badly want to build a nice big new barn, but at the moment can't even come close to justifying that. Coming up with a way to make that doable is a big item on my table this year.
2. Jump-start my kids' Arts Curriculum. I apparently have some hidden fear of watercolor painting. I mean, how hard can it be, right? You soak the paper, you stroke some color on it, voila, art. But my paints are still sealed, my painting boards still on the shelf under the unopened package of watercolor paper. I'm paralyzed with uncertainty. I just need to DO IT.
3. Do something with our horses. I mean, other than letting them eat us out of house and home (which they are more than happy to do) and pick up after them (have I mentioned that 3 horses poop A LOT. Oh, I have? Hm.). It's very expensive to keep horses, especially a crew like ours with various and assorted medical problems. Which makes me think I really should be doing something with them. Although they do make attractive, warm and furry pasture ornaments. Still, I think, oh, like, RIDING them might be a good idea. Or training that fuzzy little Shetland to pull a cart. Or at least getting the kids up on them and walking them around once in awhile. I mean, you know, more often than once every month or two. If I actually got organized enough about it, I could even offer pony rides occasionally and maybe make a buck or two towards all those piles of feed bills.
4. Cook. And no, I don't mean throw pre-cut cookie dough onto a cookie sheet and toss it in the oven for 12 minutes. I mean the kind of cooking that requires cutting up vegetables and browning meats and simmering things. The kind of cooking that is actually edible, and good for you. The kind of cooking that might just convince my kids (and remind my husband) that meals don't just come out of boxes and paper sacks. And along with both number 1 and 4 on my list, getting back to growing our own foods more. We've got a bit of land and lots of sunshine, surely we can do better at filling our own freezer than we have the last half dozen years or so. We used to be pretty good at that sort of thing pre-kids.
5. Control my Computer habit. I'm off to a great start with that one already, eh?, having wasted a half hour of my life putting together this little compilation of New Year Resolutions. I don't want to stop blogging, or drop all of my Internet support/information lists, or stop emailing with friends (although really, that activity has sort of naturally curtailed itself anyway -- most of the folks I want to keep up with are either blogging, or I see in real life semi-regularly). I don't want to lose touch with my cyber-friends, I just want to stop reading things that suck me into sitting here for an hour or two at a time. Like this. And this. And this, this, and this. And I want to better control WHEN I use the computer. If only I could keep myself from turning it on first thing in the morning, I think my day would start off on more of the right foot. So, a little self control could go a long way towards helping me reach this goal. My biggest fear in life that my children's most profound memory of me will be with a keyboard in front of me.
Happy New Year, everyone! May we all reach our goals for the coming 12 months! And, more importantly, take time to enjoy the scenery along the way.
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