Simplify 2009

That is my word for the year. Simplify. The challenge is to choose a word that you think will represent your year. What you want from the year, what you think the year will be. I choose simplify.

I choose this because sometimes, I end up with too much stuff. Too much of stuff I don't need. I have all the good things in life, plus more. I am blessed and I know it. I have a happy family, a healthy family. I am loved and I love.

But there are lots of places in my life that could use, shall we say, simplification. For example, I hate clutter - yet I am surrounded by it. We "keep" too many things that are not needed, toys (dare I say old scrapbooking things), papers.....stuff. Stuff that doesn't need to be in my life.

I am also trying to organize the things that I do want to keep around. I will NEVER be Martha (nor do I have any real want to be anything like her, just want her craft supplies!). But I know that some organization around here would sure help.

Simplify also means to me to not do everything because everyone else is. I suffer from trying to be Super Mom and Super Employee and Super Wife and Super Daughter....and to be honest, I'm not super at any of them. Know what, that is good with me. Slowing down will probably help with simplicity.

While I am not a huge fan of resolutions (never keep them anyway) I do think that the start of anything new does allow time for reflection in what you may want to do differently this time around. So here are a few. And if you are reading this later in the year and know that I didn't do them, well I already wrote the disclaimer.

1) Be healthy. Inside and out. That had a lot to do why I choose simplify as my word.
2) Blog daily or close too. There will be days that I am not at a computer, or have nothing worthy to say, or just don't feel like doing it. But, I have really enjoyed this journey this past year, and finally found somewhere that I actually take the time to write down pieces of my world.
3) Take more one on one time. More for Chris and I, more for Braydon and I and more for Kaylee and I.
4) Take some more me time. I'm not trying to be selfish, but survivalish. I need to be alone sometimes, which for me is a newer realization. Always the social one, always the coordinator, always on the go. That almost broke me a couple times last year, but this year (through simplification) it may not happen. Okay, it will, but I will hopefully realize it earlier.

There will be more, but those four are fairly do-able. I think.

Simplify.
Do you have a word?