Angie, thanks for the puppy update. Is it ever a good time to get a puppy? ...every time I've gotten a puppy, I have to wonder, what  was I thinking??  

I'm an emotional eater, too.  When tempted to eat when not truly hungry,  I've gotten into the habit of asking myself, "If I don't eat this, what will nourish me? "  Asking the question is both helpful and terrifying ( ...ackk! what on earth do I really want? scary. LOL.)

Wishing you all the best for a successful year!

Resolution is a hard word and almost as bad as "budget"! lol. But every January (except the two times I have been pregnant), I start my annual training for the Lincoln Marathon. I have only ran one full marathon (training takes too much time) but I have done one or two 1/2 marathons every year since 2001. DH joined me for the first time last year and ran his first 1/2 marathon in May. He lost 25 lbs doing this!

We are meeting with a financial planner in January to get our finances in order. We are not buying any products--just getting advice on the savings/retirement/insurance plans we have. Sometimes you need an outside person to tell you you are on the right track, need to change, or are heading down a dangerous path. We are making sure our financial house is in order. Discussions on amounts of life insurance we have will be important and some talk on sufficiency of our retirement plans through our employers (since we can't count on social security to be around in 2048) is needed.

We are going to redo our wills to take into account the birth of our children. Should have been done 3 years ago!

Increase church/charitable giving in 2008. We are blessed and I need to return our blessings.

Dear Pam, Well, the best of luck to you.  The field which you are entering (writing how-to books) is insatiable BUT overcrowded.  (How can it be both at the same time? our non-writer friends would say.  Well, they are not aware of how many books there are on teh subject.)  I do hope that you target  one or both of the books to WRITER'S DIGEST BOOKS, to start at the top of the heap instead of with a non-specialist house ....  (Folks who have read my post of a few days ago [in the CAN YOU HELP? sub-Forum] on my book in progress with Anita Everett MD [of Johns Hopkins U] know that we are currently writing YOUR CHRISTIAN SPIRIT CAN HEAL YOUR BRAIN:  Recovery From Mental Illness, the 1st in a series.  [Anyone intrigued should send us his or her story/Statement, in line with the guidelines on that "Healing" post.  And thank you everyone!])

Yours in Him, Deb

resolutions, i agree, are often forgotten, even with the best intentions so i have creatd goal for the year

1) NOT  A SINGLE OVERDRAFT FEE IS TO HIT MYACCOUNT THIS YEAR (OR FRANKS --cause i manage his too).............this year between the 2 of us,both accounts added up, there was close to $500 in overdraft fees between the 2 accounts OUCH!!! so not in 2008 will this happen

2) goes with #1........to be more organized.............athough i have been puting that on my "resolutions" evry year, by making it a GOAL should be more feasable

3) continue to eat a variety of healthy foods AND DRINK MORE WATER (i think i only drink maye 3 glasses of water a day????)

4)to read 3 books a month (i feel like ive lost a part of me, with out reading a book every few days, but that seems to be unrealistic for me to JUMP into reading that much again) so i will settle for 3 books a month, i am thinkng that i should alter that jsut a bit, and say 1 fiction book, one self help book, and one classic novel each month.........this feels like a VERY GOOD goal for me:)

5)attempt (again) to quit smoking.........adriana, your with me on this one right???

well thats i......if i can do those things, life is starting to feel like 2008 is a good yearfor me, i feel as if i certainly deserve to have a good year, after all thats gone on the last few years

latte4me2day:

5)attempt (again) to quit smoking.........adriana, your with me on this one right???

Would it help if I point out that with all the savings from not buying cigarettes, you will be sure to succeed with your goal of avoiding overdrafts?

Brandy:

latte4me2day:

5)attempt (again) to quit smoking.........adriana, your with me on this one right???

 

Would it help if I point out that with all the savings from not buying cigarettes, you will be sure to succeed with your goal of avoiding overdrafts?

 

go one even farther for us brandy! point out what could be bought for roughly $5 a day andhow horrible it is for us as well (repeatedly suggesting the same thing over ad over and over again is good too!)

I agree with what others have mentioned....."Resolution" is kind of a scary word.  It almost sets you up for failure.  So I will call these my goals for 2008:

~Daily quiet time with God; more in-depth Bible study (I got a great commentary set for Christmas, Thru the Bible by J. Vernon McGee)

~Exercise (and by this I mean walking--it's the only kind of exercise I can handle!) at least 52 times this year.

~Save for a nice summer vacation (We're unusual people--We don't want Disney World--We want Ken Ham's Answers in Genesis Creation Museum in Kentucky!)

~Buy a new(er) car for me

~Keep track of financial things better; make a grocery notebook; NO overdraft fees!

~Clean out junk in closets and drawers

~Find a way to make a small income from home.  I am a writer and have written a contemporary Christian novel so I am praying to find a publisher.  I've taught some creative writing classes to homeschoolers and I will probably be tutoring next semester.

~Be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, and servant.

Happy New Year to everyone and good luck with all your goals!

In Christ,

Dolly

I plan to buy more locally grown produce and from more small locally owned businesses this year (hopefully I will not have to step foot in a Walmart store except to buy my dogs insulin and syringes). I also plan on growing a bigger garden and as I resolve to do EVERY year for the past 5 years to become a better organized person.

The beautiful weather here in Austin Tx,  makes me feel like I can do almost anything I put my mind to.  So I will not make resolutions for myself this year .  I will just remind myself of the areas I need to work on for the benefit of my family and myself.  I have lost almost 20 lbs over the last 4 months.  I have watched what I ate.  Drank more water and less soda.  Moved more,  walked, exercised and sat less.  I have found that just spending a few more minutes cleaning my house means a cleaner, less cluttered home, a less stressful life and fewer pounds on the scale.  I win in 5 areas of my life with just a little more effort than I used to use.  This leaves me with a home I can invite others into, which also lessons saddnes and depression which adds joy to my life.  So I guess that my goal for this next year is to just keep on keeping on and giving God all the glory for showing me such a simple way to improve my families lives and to put joy and peace back into mine.  I guess that the added bonus of spending so much time at home is that even our finances have trimmed, because I am at home and not shopping.   You guys have inspired me to find my way back home and to my family with your writings and encourgements.  Thanks a million and may your wildest dreams come true in 2008. 

sort and clear out unneeded things....and have a garage sale.....get more organized.....get back to the family history search, been letting it go several years.....paint the inside and outside of our house, been letting that go too.....redecorate some rooms....cook nutritious meals with less or no meat....