Happy New Year!

Yesterday I wrote my goodbyes to 2011 in part 1. Today I am anticipating what 2012 will hold.

We kicked 2012 off with a wonderful brunch with a few friends. I love brunch and would love to see this become a tradition. I’m not much for going out and getting crazy on NYE, especially now that I have three little ones to care for. So hosting a cozy brunch was the winning ticket.

Here are some of my goals for 2012:

Be a better menu planner -we ate out FAR too much the last half of 2011. I saw someone say she wants to go out for dinner because she wants to (for fun) instead of have to (lack of ingredients for dinner), this is exactly how I feel. Going out for/ordering dinner needs to return to being a special treat NOT a default.

Be active -I want to run a marathon some day but short term goal is to run some 5Ks and hopefully 10Ks this year. That means I need to start putting one foot in front of the other everyday.

Quiet time for Mom -as sleep deprived as I am I think I am going to start getting up a little earlier than rest of the family, so I can have time to myself. Just a quiet 30 minutes to sit, pray, reflect, read, write, whatever it may be, at the beginning of the day might just be what I need to recharge my soul.

Garden -I want to have a nice garden this year.

Be more feminine -I’m not sure what this means. I bought a great pair of high heels and I realized that I don’t really have anything to wear them with. I don’t want to fall into that stay at home mom yoga pants rut. I’m not a beauty queen nor do I intend on looking like I am competing for a crown. I just want to look nice, and lady like -feminine.

Entertain -I love hosting gatherings and I hope to do more dinner parties this year. Coupled with this is I want to be more organized so that I can entertain on a drop of a hat without worrying about piles of stuff (mainly laundry) sitting around my house.

Kitchen remodel -This may not be so much a goal as a hope. We’ve talked about the possibility of remodeling our kitchen in the spring, I hope it becomes a reality. I’ve been cooking off a range that has 1 large burner and 3 small burners and a teeny tiny oven. A full size oven would be so great!

Baby food chef extraordinaire -Kasper will be eating solid food soon and I want it to be food I’ve cooked. My sister did this with her youngest child so I have an expert living close by.

Learn how to use my camera -We have a nice camera with a new lens and flash, and I have no clue how to use it.

Food goals -Simply it would be bread baking (especially sour dough), cheese making, beer brewing, and canning.

What are your goals for 2012?