So, it's resolution making time again. There's a few on my list that are from last year, which I didn't get to because of a certain little diversion named Ciannon, but I look at it like this - now I have a little helper. Anyway, my old goals that are going back on the list are:

Lose weight. This actually is going to be a more general "take better care of myself" kind of thing, but the pleasant side effect of all my efforts will be weight loss. Anywho, I was 17 pounds from my goal when I found out about Ciannon, and she set me back another 10 after it was all said and done, so my weight-loss goal is 27 lbs overall. Considering that I lost 23 lbs over a 6-month period last time I put my mind to it, I think this is totally doable.

Finish painting my house. I only have two rooms and some trim to go.

Catch up on scrapbooking. This will be harder since I now have a million Ciannon pictures and am taking more by the day, but we'll get there.

My only two new goals for this year are:

Be more spiritual. I get so caught up in the everyday that I don't take time out for my faith or inner well-being. I'm hoping to change that.

Create a bird sanctuary in my backyard. I may even go so far as to apply the National Wildlife Federation to make it a certified wildlife habitat.

Wish me luck!

Good Luck. I'm sure you'll achieve all your goals.

So, how's it all going Leah?

K, here's an update on where I stand:

Weight loss not so good. I've been stuggling with the minor set back I had in July, but I'm staying positive that it will all go to plan.

Still not done painting my house. I finished one room, but I'm going to have to redo it because the paint is WAY darker than I was expecting. No biggie, but I'm waiting for fall so I can open the windows to help vent the paint fumes.

Catch up on scrapbooking? FAH! Haven't touched it. I've been pretty busy with the first two misadventures .

Be more spiritual - that's actually going alright. I pray more frequently than I used to. Eventually I want to come up with some "rituals" for myself to do at holidays and such, but for now I'm doing okay.

Create a bird sanctuary in my backyard - DONE! I did have some minor setbacks. The squirrels were being bullies (I used to not hate squirrels, but now I do). Also, for a while the neighborhood cats were treating my feeding station as a buffet, but now everything is great. At pretty much any point in the day you can look out my back window and see several gold finches on the feeders. I've even had one or two hummingbirds. I'm not going to send in for wildlife habitat certification, since things didn't turn out quite like I wanted, but overall I'm pleased.