{01.26.09} AT THE MOMENT

Right Now: I am sitting at my dinning room table.

I am wearing: Teal lace tank and heart printed pajama bottoms.

I am hearing: Noggin's "Maggie and the Furious Beast" on the tube and Orion babbling to his toys.

I am thinking: about making Gumbo for dinner.

I am thankful for: being able to work from home (in my pj's).

I am creating: my project 365.

I am going: to the store and bank today and hoping to get Orion's Birth Certificate (I'm such a slacker! He's almost a year old!!!)

I am hoping: that we can get out finances in order...soon!

I am reading: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling

One of my favorite things: sleeping in. Which I was able to do all weekend!

A few plans for the rest of the week: Make a Valentine Advent Calendar, Orion's Valentine Shirt and a Valentine's Banner. Also start designing a Valentine card.

We've got a walker!

Of course! He would have to show off for his godparents! OK so these are not the best pictures but you can tell he is taking tiny little steps. (Sorry for the blurriness! I took the photos using the sports setting.)

At the moment

Right Now: Out of my window: Snow everywhere (on the ground), blue sky's and the sun is shinning. Yahoo!

I am wearing: Black Yoga pants, White lace tank, Aqua long-sleeved V neck and sock.

I am hearing: Orion babble and the roar of the heater. (It's -17 degrees outside!)

I am thinking: About the work I need to complete for WB, my scrapbook room is big mess, the kitchen needs to be cleaned and what do I make for dinner.

I am thankful for: A warm home, a wonderful family, parents and in-laws and two great jobs.

I am creating: a recipe box. I will start working on my recipe cards, a Valentine Advent Calendar and Peter's "All About You" Album.

I am going: to finish updating my blog, clean up the kitchen, decide what to make for dinner and start taking down the Christmas decorations.

I am hoping: that my car will start.

I am reading: Nothing at the time, but I want to be reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling

One of my favorite things: cuddling on the couch with my husband.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Take down the Christmas Tree and decorations (I do have to wait until Russian Christmas, I promised my husband, but I can take a few down. He won't notice right?), clean up scrapbook room, go to Party Craft to take a peek at birthday themes for Orion's "First".

My Resolutions Defined

Be ‘Greener’
With all this hype about "Being Green" these days, I thought I would make my contributions. I have come up with my own list on how I can Be ‘Greener’. (I know that once my husband reads this he is going to think that I have turned all “Tree hugger” on him. Honey, I have not! Believe it or not but by doing these few things we will be saving money and I like the sound of that!)
*Add one meatless meal a week
*Shop the Saturday Market
*Using energy smart light bulbs
*Reusable shopping bags

When I was making my list I noticed that there are things I already do to Be ‘Green’!
*Using cold water to wash laundry
*Turning lights off when not in use
*Taking advantage of the sun and opening the curtains and shades during the day
*Turning the water off when not in use
*Washing full loads of laundry
*Wearing your clothes more than once (I know this one may sound gross but I have clothes that I wear just around the house and clothes when I have to go out. When I need to leave the house I change into something nicer and when I get back home I change back into my “house clothes”. The outfit that I wore out will get hung back up.)
*Running full loads in the dishwasher
*Using newspaper and cardboard as fire starters
*Turning the thermostat down when we are not at home or at night
*Using rechargeable batteries

Live Frugally
Dictionary.com defines frugal as “prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful.” With that being said here’s my list to work on this year.
*Eat out less
*Have cook ahead days – make batches of food and put them in the freezer for future use (I love this idea!)
*Homemade gifts for birthdays and Christmas
*Make brown bag lunches for my husband

And of course I already have a list of things I do to be frugal:
*I hardly ever buy name brands
*Batch my errands to save money on fuel and time
*I usually only buy new clothes for the family when they are on sale or on the clearance rack
*I buy inexpensive cuts of meat for crock pot meals
*Most of Orion’s clothes are secondhand
*All of our furniture was secondhand
*Always go to the grocery store with a shopping list
*Try to always eat leftovers
*Buying in Bulk
*Buying books from used book stores
*Re-using my baby food containers and other containers

Have a Clean and Organized Home
Those of you who know me know that I struggle with this but now that we have Orion and I work from home I am going to have a better handle on this.

Cook From Scratch More Often
I love being in the kitchen but over the last couple of years I have gotten lazy in this department. Well I am dusting off my cookbooks and diggin' right in!

Make a Point to Scrap Every Week
I've been scraping for 7 years and the only thing I have to show for it is our Engagement Album, Orion's Monthly Album, random pages and gifts for everyone else. I am so far behind, but yet with scrapbooking there is no such things as being caught up!

Loss weight
I am going to give myself a small goal of 15 lbs. I know that once I beat that I am going to want to go for 30 lbs!

Happy New Year!

Photo Taken New Year's Eve

Fireworks Courtesy of Nick Hunter

The last couple of weeks I have been thinking about what resolutions I want to tackle for 2009 and here's what I have come up with:

• Be ‘Greener’
• Live Frugally
• Have a clean home
• Cook from scratch more often
• Make a point to scrap every week
• Loss weight

I will elaborate more on my resolutions tomorrow.