2015 Goals

I have a couple of friends whom I love dearly who are both firstborns who love to create lists and check things off said list.  Well these two friends enjoy being very productive with their time and I must say are quite successful.  There are times that as a youngest child I realize how very unproductive I can be since we last borns tend to enjoy our freedom, spontaneity, and well to put it bluntly--laziness. Anyway, I am feeling slightly inspired and a little envious of their apparent success in creating yearly goals and having something to write about on their blogs.  So I'm going to give them the highest form of flattery (imitation right?) and basically copy cat them.  (something last borns are pretty good at)

So without further ado, here are my 2015 Goals.

Hobby Goals
1.  Read 50 new books. (New being, new to me.  Last year I read 51  books, but several are ones that I adore and read almost yearly anyway. So the challenge is to choose 50 new books!)
2.  Watch 12 new movies.  (again--new being new to me!  I adore movies and watch them over and over again!)
3.  I have a secret photography project in my head that I would like to complete for a gift.  So I won't say anymore at this time, but I would like to complete this by Christmas this year.
4.  Spend one afternoon a month working on my photography skills by getting out and about and shooting away!
5.  Try 2 new recipes a month!

Health/Fitness Goals
1.  No more seconds!
2.  20 minutes of exercise at least 3 times a week.
3.  Add at least 2 servings of fruit a day.
4.  Lose 10 lbs. this year and keep it off permanently.

Focusing Outward Goals
1.  Call my friends once a month to say hello.  (seems simple, but being an introvert who projects as an extrovert I tend not to call or talk to people unless I need something :( I do think about them often, but my follow through stinks!)
2. Have 4 "girls" nights this year!
3. Throw 4 game nights!
4. Give blood at least once!  (I've never given before!)

Marriage Goals
1.  Continue our monthly date nights!
2.  Plan and go on the honeymoon we've pushed off for the last 20 years! ;)

Spiritual Goals
1.  Join or start a bible study.
2.  Do 1 individual study just for me.  Something that requires journaling.
3.  Share via social media what I'm learning and answered prayers!

Family Traditions
1.  Valentine's Dinner
2.  4th of July Cookout
3.  Get the Christmas Tree and Decorate
4.  New Year's Eve Bash

House Goals
1.  Repaint 2 dressers
2.  Repaint the TV stand
3.  Put up pictures in dining room and kitchen!
4.  Acquire a decent sofa for the game room.

Cereal Boxes for Haiti

For the last several years our family has collected Cereal Boxes for The Apparent Project in Haiti.  It has been a fun way to get our community involved in something global and also to help our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in Haiti to have a way to financially support themselves in a country where there are very few employment opportunities.

We have had great success in people jumping on board and saving cereal boxes all year long!  We are so thankful!  However, we now have need.  I would love for this ministry to continue to grow and to send more and more boxes to Haiti.  But as we are collecting more boxes, the shipping expenses are also climbing.  It costs approximately $40 per box to ship from Westfield to Michigan (where it is loaded on a container bound for Haiti).  It also costs approximately $20 per box to put it on the container to get to Haiti.  So that's $60 per box.  We collected 6 boxes so far this year, so it will cost approximately $360 to send the boxes.  As of right now I have $120.

What I would love to do is to partner with people who are interested in this ministry as well and form a committee of sorts to help with the collecting, sorting, and financial situation.  If there are people from multiple church bodies who would come together on the committee, we could have multiple congregations joining together and sending more and more cereal boxes to Haiti! 

Would you prayerfully consider how God might be asking you to get involved?  Perhaps you have a knack for organization, or networking, or you think your church might be interested in getting involved?  Maybe you have a few extra dollars you have been praying as to how God might want to use them?  Or God just might be making you aware of this need and you will join me in praying for the need to be filled?  I just ask that you ask God and see what He says!

I will also be having an Apparent Project Jewelry/Christmas Decor Party Open House in the middle of November.  I am waiting on my box of items to arrive so that I can set a date and time.  But I wanted to give you a heads up that I will have items soon!

Thanks so much for taking time to read this post and please feel free to contact me with your questions!!

Friday Five

1. What is the song/tune that keeps going thru your head today?

No song/tune was going through my head until I read this question.  So now the song "Rude" by Magic is--only there is this dad who wrote new lyrics for it and I like the new lyrics better.  You can check it out here:  "Rude"

2. What strange thing happened this week?

I am taking a digital photography class and last night during class one of the older ladies farted REALLY loud.  It was totally obvious, but everyone just pretended like it didn't happen. 

3. What good thing?

I got to Skype with my daughter!!

4. What happy thing?

I got to Skype with my daughter :)   And I got a phone call too!

5. Anything memorable happen this week? What was it?

Hmmm... Memorable....  Nope nothing I would say is "memorable"