New Year Again?

Another year come and gone... Here are my previously unfinished New Year's "goals" from previous years.

Long-term Goals for the year 2009:
Find some way of earning income. (I have 12 piano students now, which is providing enough for me to pay for my own piano lessons, voice lessons, and theatre and dance classes. But I would like to find something that I can do on my own time... I know, I'm too picky.)

One-time projects:
Get my bookcases organized and neat. (I got closer to done, but still not as thorough as I intended to.)

So, for 2010, my goals were:

Long-term:

Better sleep schedule (check!)
Improve cooking (check!)
Improve singing (check!)
Improve general house cleanliness (Um... not so much. Although it's pretty clean right now!)

One-time projects:
Clean off bookcase (getting there)
Make a layered cake (nope)
Make Regency dress (I cut out... some of it...)


Now for 2011 goals:
Long-term:
Seriously begin cookbook recipe collection and rating.
Improve my money-management and business skills.
Keep working on helping keep the house more neat.
Keep thinking and looking for other job possibilities.

One-time projects:
FINALLY FINISH the bookcase
Finish the Regency dress

Happy New Year!

The End of 2009

It is usually the practice at the end of a year to reflect on the past year, see what you wish you could change and then come up with appropriate "New Year's Resolutions" to help you towards that goal of a "better you." Or something like that. I have given up on New Years Resolutions because anything associated with New Years Resolutions is inevitably given up before the end of January.

I reflect on the past year, and look forward to the New Year. I also think of things that I hope to have accomplished by the END of the next year; rather than some repetitive task that I must do every day or fail, I come up with more long term goals, and strive to be as diligent as I can in completing or following them.

Last year, my list was:

Long-term Goals for the year:
Get on a better sleep schedule. (I kinda did... for a few months. It hasn't been successful since Thanksgiving, though. Something to continue in the next year!)

Improve my cooking skills, especially in areas that I don't enjoy. (This was definitely successful, especially since the goal was to "improve" not "become a world-famous chef" but also something I will continue to focus on)

Find some way of earning income. (I have 3 piano students, and it's earning me enough to cover some of my expenses. If I end up an old maid, I would likely make enough money to at least not be a burden to my parents, and hopefully enough to support them if necessary... still looking into other possibilities though.)

Improve my singing ability. (Um, no. Not really. I feel closer to confident in my ability to harmonize... a little.)

One-time projects:
Finish redecorating the bathroom. (No... not a good idea financially.)

Finish setting up my sewing area. (Yes!)

Finish sewing the shirts Kara, Jess and I began last year. (No... but that should be taken off, because it's not MY fault! I keep waiting for both of them to be available at the same time... I'm beginning to wonder how we found the time to start them in the first place! =P )

Get my bookcases organized and neat. (I did clean off several disgusting "inspirational" romance novels that I picked up at the library booksale - $5 for a huge box. My goodness, the stuff that passes for "Christian" fiction nowadays... but not the thorough organization and elimination I was hoping for. That will be continued.)

Begin the skirt I've been wanting to make. (No. I've made several other things with fabric that we already happened to have, so I think I'll wait on the skirt until I find just the right fabric on sale...)

So, for 2010, my goals are:

Long-term:

Better sleep schedule
Improve cooking
Improve singing
Improve general house cleanliness


One-time projects:
Clean off bookcase
Make a layered cake
Make Regency dress


I've also been thinking about unavoidable things coming up in 2010... such as the approach of my 19th birthday. I'm terrified of 19. Turning 16 felt like a milestone, but it was still young. One of my friends was convinced that we were "old" when we turned 17 in June 2008. 18 should be scary, as legal adulthood, but for some reason 19 is the age that I've been dreading.

I'll be graduating from highschool... FINALLY! And beginning my self-study "college" work. If I attend college, I will probably begin in the fall of 2011.

Also, it will be my last summer competing in swimming. I'm hoping to achieve some times that will be a good "end" to my swimming, even though I will, of course, continue to swim. The times I get this summer will probably be the fastest times I will ever get in my life, so I want to make them good ones!

Since turning 19 is definitely inescapable, I've decided to look forward to it, along with everything else the year will hold! I'm excited to see what God will do in the next year.

Well, I was going to call this....

something about the obligatory New Year post, but then I realized that that's Daddy's most recent title. So now I have the beginning of the sentence as my title, which is infinitely more boring, but whatever.

I was sincerely touched by all the tearful farewells on my leaving post. It's so nice to know I was missed. I must contribute so much with my half-unreadable posts and unnecessarily lengthy words. The people on Facebook were equally distressed by my absence. :P

I actually have a whole bunch of posts that I wrote while I was off, but I'm not sure if I'm going to post them or not. *glances expectantly over crowd of readers* *readers respond with thunderous silence* I guess I won't.

Well, if you're still reading, you're now going to get a summary of what I learned from 2008, so this is your chance to run. The exits are located to the top right, top left and top center of this page. They are not lit with bright red "Exit" signs, so proceed with caution. Beware the hole in the floor.

Okay, now I'll be serious. To be honest, 2008 wasn't a great year for me. I spent most of the year in chronic depression and confusion. My faith in God was challenged, everything that made my world secure seemed to crumble, and most of my memories have to do with the most complete sadness I've ever felt. And it seems silly for me to say this, because no one I knew died. Not even our little cat (who had kidney failure). There was really nothing awful; technically I should have had a great year.

It's hard for me to say if it was just my attitude, or if it was maybe some sort of spiritual attack, but whichever it was, I learned a lot of things that made this one of the most meaningful years of my life so far, even if it wasn't packed with fun and pleasure. My faith was challenged, but now it's stronger, I am closer to God for the loss of my worldly security, and through the sadness, God has given my His joy.

I guess I'm finally escaping the horrible teenage years. I'll be 18 this summer, legally an adult, but not able to drink, and older than I've ever been before. I'm going to graduate, but not legally... don't worry, I'll graduate legally next year. I just decided that since I'll finish out this school year 17, that I may as well do another year and graduate at 18 (but then I'll be almost 19...) Yes, it's confusing. If you don't get it, please don't read that paragraph again.

Happy New Year everyone!

~Lizzie