Resolutions schmolutions

As we approach the last month of the year, I figured it was time to stop. Smell the flowers. And do some analyzing: how has 2012 been so far? If it has been good, you still have four weeks to make it better.And if it wasn't, you have four weeks to start turning things around.

This has been my first year blogging. And in this sense, blogging has really helped me. You see, I am one of those people who tend to forget New Year's resolutions by mid January. Kid you not. But when you blog, it's all here. I could claim I forgot it, but all I have to do is search. No excuses.

I came up with my list at the end of February. That's when I finally sat down and took it seriously enough to make a list of things I wanted to change. To improve. 

I checked it in May because I tend to get all excited with new stuff and then simply forget it after a while. It was a good thing I did, because I was totally slacking in some of them.

I checked it again in July. It was officially the middle of the year, and it sounded like the right thing to do. Yay, meticulous, organized me.

And then? I never thought about it again. Not once. Oh well...

So today I am taking some time to ponder on it a last time. You see, I am moving on. I've had wonderful and scary things coming up in my mind about what I need to work on for 2013. Or as of today. Why wait for a January 1st anyway?

I won't go through my 2012 list with you guys. That would be boring for you and maybe too much information from me. But I leave you with the thought- how have you been doing with your resolutions this year?

Guest post for a lovely mamma

Today there is no Meat Free Monday, for a very special reason! My writing today is featured on Yes Teacher Crafts!

Sarah is a really sweet lady (from what I can tell through her blog, I've never really met her!) and she just had her first baby boy, William. Because she is busy with all things baby-related, she asked her readers to help her out with some guest posts, and I jumped at the opportunity. Hop on over to Yes Teacher Crafts to check out how Sarah is a wish-granter! I am so happy to check that out of my 12 things in 2012 list!

Happy Monday everyone. Have a blessed week!

12 things in 2012 review

Can you believe it? Half of the year is GONE. Seriously, gone. Sometimes I feel we all live in a Click-like movie, watching it all run by too fast. Soon I will turn 31, my nephew will be one, and at the end of the year it's Disney time! (Ok, for that alone I would be ok with my year whizzing by).

One thing I was never good at was keeping tab on my New Year's resolutions and self-made promises. Come April I was sure to drop it. Not this year, no sir! That's why my 12 things in 2012 was left up as a page and every so often I like to look through it. I am actually quite excited about it!

1-Deepen my relationship with Christ- YES! Although this is one of those 'never will be checked out of my list thing', I can honestly say I have been working hard, and HE has been working hard on me. We found a Godly church, have gotten involved, and I've learning to pass on love instead of judgment (which is HUGE for me!).

2-Lose weight- When I wrote these 12 things for the first time I was nearly ten pounds heavier. I still have a loong way to go, but I am taking baby steps to change my relationship with food.

3-Paint and do some at least five DYI projects around my house- Let's see, I made a knob hook project, a mural, some new shoes, my wall of inspiration, and have gone back to cross-stitching. If I learned my numbers right, that is five right there. Of course, I came up with an obvious low number in order to achieve it and feel good about myself. But now I can focus on working on five MORE!

4-Improve my cooking- Have been definitely slacking on this one. Yes, I've made a Summer Succotash, a Country Salad a Pumpkin and Bean Soup, soup, Tahine Brocoli and Soy Sauce Pasta and Barley Casserole. I’ve also learned to make pancakes, although they are easy peasy. Overall, this is still an area I lack, but I am trying to do it joyfully, which means going slowly.

5-Learn to sew- Not yet. I would love to get a sewing machine for my birthday, and I dream of patchwork and crochet goodness, but I am still on my cross-stitching 101. Someday….

6-Get my Education specialist degree (almost there!)- DONE! I turned my internship paperwork, now I just have to wait on my diploma. I heard it takes a couple of months to push the paperwork through, but I am officially no longer a student!

7-Submit my writing for a blog as a guest blogger- I certainly did. I wrote to (In)Courage once, which was never published, and that is ok. I also wrote a guest post for Yes Teacher Crafts which will be published this summer- I’ll let you know when! AND, I wrote a post for a Brazilian wine blog talking about veggie options in restaurants, which can be found here for all you Portuguese-speaking folks. Yay!

8-Cut off animal products- Hum…I still love me some ice-cream, eat eggs on almost a daily basis and can’t live without butter or cheese. I have, however, extended my veggie way of life onto purchases, avoiding leather and suede, and supporting green brands. Does that count?

9-Set a workout routine- and stick to it!- This one I was afraid of. I wrote it down because I knew I had to get it done, but I had no desire to tackle it. Until I went into a Curves gym one day and fell in love with the premise. It’s simple. It’s fast. It’s a bunch of women gossiping for 30 minutes while moving around. And although it’s not the best exercise to become a size 2, it’s a good start for me.

10-Take more pictures (of pretty much everything)- I still procrastinate on this one. My camera is not the best, and I tend to forget it in my drawer. Maybe when I take a week of work I’ll permanently strap it to my wrist to make up for the six months I didn’t focus on this.

11-Volunteer somewhere- Not only did I volunteer at a doggie rescue NGO, I took a doggie home! Next step is to get involved in church with the kids ministry, so I’ll be bringing this up with my pastor soon!

12-Learn to manage save money- My husband and I are definitely getting better at this. More importantly, we are learning to trust God in providing for us!

Seven out of ten, not bad at all!

I also pledged for Earth Day to buy more local produce. Yeah, totally forgot about this, as my South African fruit punch can attest (oops!). I promise to keep it in mind when shopping for fruits and vegetables next week! Baby steps!

How about you? Where are you in your 2012 resolutions?

12 things in review

I posted a list of goals for 2012 at the end of February, which you can see here, or simply access the 12 things in 2012 page. Since it's been a little over 2 months, I figured I should check how far I've gone, and what I'm slacking on. I don't know about you, but I tend to make long lists and big plans and they simply get forgotten. So drumroll, please:

1-Deepen my relationship with Christ- that's a huge one, and something I'll never be able to completely tick off my list. I have been working on listening, although sometimes I have failed miserably.

2-Lose weight- I have lost four pounds since I wrote this post. It is not much at all, but I've been taking the long, healthy route for that one. Yay!

3-Paint and do some at least five DYI projects around my house- I've managed three projects in two months! Cannot believe it! I finally have my wall of inspiration up, made my own note board with wallpaper and glass and finished my knob hanger!

4-Improve my cooking- Have been definetely slacking on this one. Yes, I've made a Summer Succotash, a Country Salad and a Zuchinni and Azuki soup, but I've maily been sticking to letting my husband cook. Oh, the shame!

5-Learn to sew- Say what? I haven't even tried to think about this one!

6-Get my Education specialist degree (almost there!)- I really HAVE been working hard on this one. Getting all my internship paperwork done so I can graduate!

7-Submit my writing for a blog as a guest blogger- I actually did, for a lovely Christian blog that shall remain nameless. Needless to say, my writing did not get posted- yet. I just need to keep trying!

8-Cut off animal products- Oh, but I do looove me some cheese. Haven't had the guts to do this yet. I did, however, manage to swap honey for Agave. Yum!

9-Set a workout routine- and stick to it!- Ok, now I am just embarassing myself. Next!

10-Take more pictures (of pretty much everything)- I have begun, especially since I discovered PicMonkey! Still have a long way to go, though!

11-Volunteer somewhere- I sorta did. I found a NGO that helps rescue dogs and place them in adoption. My husband and I became 'godparents' to a doggy by helping financially. I left my info with the NGO's director, now I am waiting on her to let me know how I can help!

12-Learn to manage save money- We are getting there. We radically cut down our eating out habits, and I've been learning to be a bit more frugal. We have managed to cut down the dent in our checking account, but we are not there yet...

So overall, I think I am on track! Yes, there are three items I have not yet dealt with, and most are still ongoing, but I can definetely say I am better off than I was two months ago! Yay!

How about you? Do you regularly check your goals to see if you are still on track?

12 things to do in 2012

I saw this post on Little Lucy Lu that got my attention. I am a list-maker and love the concept of checking things of as I go- nothing like that feeling of ‘Oh, yeah! I DID IT!’.

I really liked the list, but I know myself, and giving myself years to finish it off means it just won’t get done. Procrastinators Anonymous, that’s me. So I decided to make a list for this year.

Yeah, we’re two months in it already, but it ok because:
A- I only thought of it now,
B- I live in Brazil and everyone says our year only starts after Carnival(which means after Ash Wednesday!) and
C- who cares, as long as it motivates me, it should be all good and
D- Today is February 29th! And as much as I would rather spend my extra 2012 day at Walt Disney World Resort, I do have to work, so I can at least have fun list-making fun!

So without much further a-do, here is my list of 12 things to tackle in 2012. As you can see, it's an ongoing project, and I have indeed been thinking about it for a while!

1- Deepen my relationship with Christ

2- Lose weight

3- Paint and do some at least five DYI projects around my house

4- Improve my cooking

5- Learn to sew

6- Get my Education specialist degree (almost there!)

7- Submit my writing for a blog as a guest blogger

8- Cut off animal products

9- Set a workout routine- and stick to it!

10- Take more pictures (of pretty much everything)

11- Volunteer somewhere

12- Learn to manage save money

No, there is no ‘scuba-diving in Maui’, we are going for realistic things. No OCD-detail-oriented goals as well. Losing weight means closing the year with less than I weight today, and I refuse to feel bad if I don’t reach a number. Life is not about numbers.

To make sure I get on it, I am leaving this post onto a page, so it will literally haunt me every time I open my blog. You know the saying, away from the eyes...

What about you, do you have any goals set for the near future?