THE LIST...OFFICIALLY

{Just a little disclosure here..this is long and really more about self-gratification, so consider yourself forewarned.}

It goes without fail. I start thinking about “resolutions” in December before the New Year.

In January, I’m ready to rock and roll, with all the resolve one could possibly muster up. By February/March-ish, rockin’ those resolutions becomes ahh, a “part-time job,” more or less.

April: it's a weekend thing.  May: once a month maybe?  June: What resolutions? Oh yeah, those. July: There's always next year...

And so goes the cycle - year in and year out. So here I am, Internet, thinking about resolutions again, and figuring that blogging them might keep me a little more accountable. Kinda like how “putting things in writing” makes those things official.

So I'm a little early, but I thought I better get a head start.  Without further ado, here we go (in absolutely no particular order of importance, by the way)...

1. Be a better BLOGGER. Of the two thousand and ten things that 2010 brought this year, I've blogged just a tiny fraction. I used to have a family blog - updated with the crazy happenings of two little toddler girls' lives, and I loved it. I started a photography blog when I started this business, and kept it - for the most part - photography-related, with a few personal anecdotes here and there. I just want to blog TO BLOG, whether I have a fabulous shoot to share or not. So look out for a slew of multiple appearances in the New Year. Maybe 3 times a week or more? Oh geez, do I even have anything interesting to say 3 times a week??

2. Be HEALTHY (and maybe shed 20 lbs doing it). Yep, I had to throw in the stereotypical LOSE WEIGHT resolution in there, even if it was as a side note. It’s not one I started thinking about til after the babies came; and granted, every pound gained was well worth it, I need to start setting a healthy lifestyle example for those three munchkins. Recently, I took my husband to an awesome naturopath, and she suggested a meatless diet for my extremely carnivorous man. So a vegetarian he became, and I heard very little about aches and pains and feeling crummy. Then he had several helpings of Thanksgiving lunch, still felt OK, and thought he must be all better – a few cheeseburgers and Taco Bell nacho plates later..he’s back at square one. Case in point - too much of a good, greasy thing isn't so good after all. While I may not make the leap to vegetarianism right away, I do want to change my family’s lifestyle habits and be healthier (and happier)– eating better, exercising often, keeping doctor visits to a minimum, and ENJOYING life!

3. STIMULATE MY MIND and resist the TV – Translation: READ MORE BOOKS. There was a year that my husband and I got completely consumed with reality TV trash. Embarrassingly – and I really can’t believe I’m admitting this on the World Wide Web – we got a kick out of Flavor Flav and his love escapades and laughed our butts off every episode we just “happened” to catch every week. Then we’d say we’d never watch another one...and before we knew it, we were watching the season finale. I know, I know. Save the judgments. Then, in the last year, we watched the last season of 24, and proclaimed it the best show of all time (and this, I still do believe deep in my heart – so don’t hate if you’re not a Jack Bauer fan). We slowly bought every other season in the series and watched it all in a few months time (thank you Hollywood Video for closing down and allowing me to score whole seasons for under $10). And there are others, believe me – frankly, it’s really just gotten out of hand. It’s another one of those set-a-better-example things, and so I’m back to being a book worm. Growing up, I always had my nose in a book – and I’d have no problem if my daughters adopted the same habit, considering their own addiction to Good Luck, Charlie. The hubs is an avid reader (although he could lay off the $25 hard-cover books and wait til the paperback versions come out...just sayin’), so at least this can easily be a joint effort. 2-3 books a month is what I’m pledging to myself for 2011. I think I read 2 books this entire year (and way too many magazines..ugh).

4. Go HOME. I don’t know how realistic this is, honestly, but a visit is long overdue. I’m SO sad I’ll miss my high school reunion next week. A quick trip to American Samoa with the whole fam-bam would be a whopping $8K in round-trip airfares alone. Maybe I’ll be lucky and win the lottery (or maybe someone will need a wedding photographer in Samoa? I can recommend a great venue too...lol!), but my goal is to go home once in 2011. By then, it’ll be 5 years since I was home last – which was for a short, and sad 3 days only, to lay my grandfather to rest. It was my husband and oldest daughter’s first times to Samoa ever, and Eden was only 2 months old, so it doesn’t really count for her. My immediate family ALL live in the mainland now (as of 2004), but my grandma is there, and no matter WHAT – it’ll always be home.

5. FOCUS on my “WHY.” I took an amazing workshop in July by Natalie Norton, and she talked about finding our “why.” Why do we get out of bed in the morning? Why do we try at anything? Why do we do what we do? Nothing on God’s green earth matters or means more to me than my family. I’ve said it before – my children simply drive me to DREAM and DO. I’ve discovered a type of selflessness I didn’t know existed in me, with each of their births – and it continues to grow as they do. Ultimately, everything I do and everything I strive for – is for them. Whether it’s to support and feed and clothe them, or it’s to show them that they CAN do whatever they put their minds to, they are my “WHY,” and I’m thankful every day for having 3 particularly good reasons to get out there and get it done. I truly believe that focusing on my WHY will help me accomplish a LOT of goals I’m setting for the New Year – that’s for another post.

6. DISNEYLAND, here we come. Gotta take the kids to Disneyland. The girls begged me all year, and in 2011, I’m giving in. Nuff said.

7. Love MORE, complain LESS, and face adversity with a SMILE. Junior will love this one, I’m sure. This is a bit of a spiritual goal for me, and maybe one of the more important ones. I am human – as much as I like to filter it out on the handy dandy blog here (and that will happen less next year..see #1) – and loving without bounds comes without thinking for me for only a select few in my life (see #5 for about 3 examples). It’ll take time and practice, and probably a lot of prayer to get through this one, but I’m gonna try. This year has come with its share of achievements and happy times, along with a good deal of challenges and bumps in the road. Trials are inevitable. We all have good days and bad days, and trials can either build us up or break us down. Resolve to live and learn – as much as that’s easier said and done – and grow from it. That’s the attitude I’m adopting for the New Year.

8. TRY something new. I’m not much of a risk-taker. I’ll never bungee jump or skydive, and I will always conservatively opt for the safest option. Even my 401(k) investing is low-risk when the stock market’s doing great, and I think I’m young enough to take a few chances without losing my entire retirement savings. lol With that said, I’d like to try something new this year. Speaking of Natalie Norton, she said something pretty smart on her blog the other day: “I BELIEVE in specificity when it comes to goals. Which packs more punch? ‘I’m going to take up running.’ VS ‘I’m going to run the Gunstock Half Marathon on October 30th 2010 at 7:00am.’” TRUE THAT, right? So this last resolution will need updating later, because I haven’t found out what new thing I’d specifically like to try. But stay tuned, because when I do, I'll be blogging about it.

There it is, Internet - my big list. All long-winded and drawn out, but more importantly - officially in “writing,” so I can start owning up to it. Come June, when I usually forget what my New Year resolutions even were, I'll revisit this and we'll see where I ended up at the half-way mark :).

So glad I already have a supportive FAN... :)

XOXO