To My 27th Year

I've been participating in the Oh Hey, Friday link-up from September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for about a month.  I assume that the purpose of a link-up is to find other blogs to read and relate to, so every week I make an effort to read and comment on a few of the submitted posts.  One I stumbled across last week was Amanda's blog Marry Mint.  She's adorable, has an adorable little lady and hosts a Monday link-up called Hopes and Plans.  I'm not sure if I'll participate every week, but anyone who knows me well knows I love lists.  A few possible blog posts came to mind right away and they are easy ones to be held accountable and updated on, so I thought I'd give it a try.  Check her out and check in here on Monday's for Hopes and Plans :)

I'm dedicating my first Hopes and Plans blog to my 27th year. I turned 27 last Wednesday, so I've got a full 52 weeks and 12 months to fill with love, laughter and happiness.  Bring it on 27!

1. Use Less Technology - Oddly enough I've been thinking about this for a while and our sermon on Saturday night touched on it.  After Kai is down for the night I've been known to be sitting in front of the TV, playing a game on my iPad and having a texting conversation.  Thinking about that makes me a little sick to my stomach.  I was on the front of the cell phone era, so I didn't even have one until I was off to college.  I'm honestly embarrassed to even write about some of the tangible ways I'm going to limit use because they show how much I really use it :( 
     I will not be using or bringing my cell phone into the bedroom at night.  I keep using the excuse that I only use it to tell the time, but I play games/read/check email and Instagram before I go to sleep.  I know it's not good for my sleep to do that and since Kai still refuses to sleep through the night I need all the help I can get.  I will make a charging station on our kitchen island and it will always be put there when I go to bed.  I will move my watch that has a light to my nightstand or walk to the kitchen so I can see what time it is when Kai wakes up.
     Since I should be savoring John and Kai when we're all home I will also put my phone in it's resting spot from 6pm on.  If I get a text I will allow myself to answer it, but I can't move it from there after 6pm.
     I don't plan to be quite as strict about this one because sometimes a girl just needs some mindless iPad games after Kai has gone to bed, but I will consciously decide that playing games is better than (or all I can handle) my other options like crafting, reading or just enjoying whatever TV show we're watching. 
     I'll see how these play out and possible add more as the year goes on...

2. Bake My Little Heart Out - I've baked a few times in the past few months and I've found that I enjoy it!  The main reason I don't bake is because I love sweets and they're not John's favorite so I end up eating them all, like them all.  I could eat cookies/ice cream/muffins until I'm sick.  One of the Instagram accounts I follow talked about baking and gifting her goods to neighbors, friends, her husband's coworkers and I got to thinking... hey I can do that!  I don't have a "how many times" I have to bake in the next year, but I do want to do it more.  Since last year there wasn't much baking going on over here, baking a couple times in the next year will be great! 

3. Take Advantage of Snail Mail - I love getting snail mail and I've never met anyone who doesn't, so I'm going to make sure I write one or two handwritten notes each month.  I have a list of people I know would like to get a letter, so I'll work from that.  Let me know if you need some snail mail :)

4. No Picking -I've had this goal about fifteen trillion million billion times and it has never stuck.  I've been a picker ever since high school.  I pick my face to the point that I have scabs and I know it's not healthy.  I pick "zits" that don't even exist.  I pick with I'm anxious, sad, upset and plain bored.  I don't want Kai to grow up thinking that it's ok to see flaws in him that don't exist.  I don't want him to think it's good to pick at existing acne or zits.  It's plain not good for my skin or his.  I have no idea how I'm going to battle this and honestly I've already broken it a bunch of times since last Wednesday, but maybe having it on my blog will hold me accountable.  I just want the habit to stick the other way - no picking.

5. Church - I love going to worship at church and during Kai's first year of life we didn't make it there often.  I was anxious about leaving him in the nursery and then when we did he cried the whole time.  My goal this year is to get there more often.  I feel so full after going and I'm so thankful for the blessings God has given me.  

6. See a Friend - My head and my heart are full after spending time with friends and I hope my friends feel the same.  I know that it's an integral part of taking care of myself so I need to make time for it.  It's a double plus when those friends have kiddos for Kai to play with.  He gets some socialization and I feel good about that too.  I know I need to do this at least once a week, if it happens more great and if I go a week here and there without that's ok.  I just want to remember that it is extremely important for me. I may also join a Moms Group at our church but I haven't decided about that yet.  I'm torn between building new relationships and cultivating the ones I already have.

7. Go Walking/Exploring - Kai and I need exercise and we need adventure.  I'm going to try and brainstorm a list of places we've never visited and knock them off one by one in the coming year.  The list will be it's own post!

8. Savor - I want to take time to savor life, take time to drink in the moment, time to truly experience the beauty in life and in my little family.  I want to fully embrace all of Kai, all of John and all life has.  I know some days won't be great, but I want to continually be taking everything in, not running for my camera to capture the moment.  I want to build memories without having something to remind me.  I don't want to give John or Kai any leftovers of myself instead live the hours I'm awake to the fullest. 

Here's to 27!