A fresh start

I love January, I really do.
After all the excitement, business, "must-do's", decorations, baking, parties, sending Christmas cards, & etc of December I welcome the serenity of January.
As much as I love to decorate & enjoy all the Christmas lovelies, I equally love to pack them up & declutter. I won't confess when I took my tree down-maybe more than you can bear-wink.
January brings the license to snuggle in & feather my nest~~ get things in order, read great books, enjoy new recipes.
Over the last several years I have made a marked decision to declutter my home. As a former packrat that saved everything & bought even more , this transition has changed my life, changed my thinking, & freed me up for sure. In the past if I saw something I liked my philosophy was " I'll find a place for it"...ugh....after years of that my home looked over cluttered without a focus & quite frankly, all that stuff made me nervous . So.....after many & I mean many trips to good will, a couple of garage sales, loads to a consignment shop things look much better and I feel a sense of peace.
Where I once used a variety of colors, now each room flows into the other. I no longer feel the need to have all my treasures out on display at all times. Now when I shop I really try to think if the item is something I really want-do I have a place for it or will it just be future clutter.
Ok, now if I could be this disciplined with my workouts & weight loss!

A couple of things I would love to do this year~~
I plan to read through the Bible in chronological order. I found a great plan on line. My desire is to understand the context in which many of the great stories & psalms occurred. I'm really excited about this!
I would love to read the Chronicles of Narnia ( the 2nd movie comes out in may) & finally begin the Harry Potter series (my older two are fanatics & doubt I'll accomplish that one).
Drink more H20!
Eat smaller portions.
Get to my gym twice a week & walk Brinkley daily.
Minor on the minors and major on the major issues with my girls.
Keep short accounts of the "wrongs" & encourage their strengths.
Forgive more.
Try to love my hubby as well as he loves me.
whew....
Wishing each of you a Happy New Year!
If you have a moment I'd love to be inspired by some of your new years desires.
xo

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.

Nothing can be done without hope & confidence.

Helen Keller