new years eve 2012

we don’t always know where we are headed. our family, right now, particularly doesn’t know where we are headed. we have eighteen months invested in our boston adventure and can not decide what to do from here. we like it here. so, maybe we’ll stay indefinitely. we also like utah, and miss it very much. yet, when we think about living in utah again, soon, it doesn’t feel quite right either. not yet. but there are times when it’s painful how much we miss the people and culture in utah. we have always entertained the idea of living in southern california, and can easily see ourselves being there one day,  but as much as we adore this idea, it doesn’t feel quite right, yet. so, until we decide what to do and where to live, our family does have this focus for the year:

be your best self.

on the eve of the new year, before the festivities began, we had one of our “be nights.” this time focusing on our 2013 family motto. using these free printables from lovely lindsey, our family discussed the highlights and challenges of 2012, and what we each hope to accomplish in 2013. i strongly believe that if you share your goals with others, and vice-versa, you make a deeper commitment to reaching your goals.

after we discussed our ideas for each goal… bad habits to break, books to read, places to visit, etc., we hung our list in the dining room on our chalkboard:

i am going to keep these up on display for january to encourage support and focus. did you make resolutions for the new year? are you not a fan of resolutions?

here is my list, it’s still a work in progress:

a bad habit i’m going to break: staying up late. i’m going to attempt to make a new habit of early-morning yoga in february, to give myself more time during the day.
a new skill i’d like to learn: how-to edit/create videos.
a person i hope to be more like: stumped on this one. i have lots of qualities i’d like to improve, but can’t think of one person. ideas?
a good deed i’m going to do: not one good deed. i want to do more spontaneous good deeds. all the time.
a place i’d like to visit: Maine. {husband and i visited maine about twelve years ago, but we haven’t been as a family, yet…}
a book i’d like to read: CLEAN by Alejandro Junger, M.D.
a letter i’m going to write: i am changing this one to: essays. i am going to write my essays for college transfer applications. {because i’m currently doing everything in my power to avoid writing the essays.}
a new food i’d like to try: i can’t think of anything i haven’t tried! any ideas? suggestions?
i’m going to do better at: returning phone calls.

what would your list include?

{photos by me, Jane Rhodes}