Dear 2010

Dear 2010,

You are only a few short hours away and you are crowding 2009 out of here like a relative that has overstayed a welcome. These last few weeks have passed quickly and frankly, 2010, you've slipped under the radar.

I only ask for a few things, 2010. I hope that as you pack up your things and leave when 2011 starts to crowd you out, you leave us all healthy and my family together. I've matured enough to learn that you couldn't give us a better gift. Yes, I want wealth, vacations, laughter, good times, and perhaps some 2,500 thread count linens...but I will consider those the icing on the cake.

365 days from today, I just want to look at the same three faces around the dinner table. I want them smiling, happy, healthy, and another year older without facing much turmoil. To be all together in my house with the people I love is all I need, 2010. Can you manage that? In return, I'll try to live in the moment, to be still and to appreciate what I find around me. I won't complain about turning 35 (as long as I can tell others that I'm 32). I won't cry when my babies turn another year older...I'll just be thankful for another year that I'm able to parent each of them.

I hope we have a deal, 2010. 2009 tried me in ways I wasn't quite prepared for...but I hope I came out calmer, stronger, and more resilient. Now that I've proven my skills, I hope, 2010, that you won't ask to see them again.

I'll be watching you, 2010. Don't disappoint.

Another Year

Tomorrow is the very last day of 2009. It seems hardly possible that the first decade of the 21st century has passed us by. Ten years ago, we were all partying like it was 1999. Because it was. And because I was 24 and had a sparkly engagement ring and felt the world was my oyster. I laughed in the face of Y2K. You know, I had a wedding dress to buy. And whether computers could convert their language from 99 to 00 was the least of my concerns.

And soon it will be 2010. Ten years has given me one wedding, one law degree, and two children. And that is a lot for the world to bestow on one person in one decade. But most of all, this decade has given me maturity. Maturity in major ways...growing, birthing, and raising children will change you in ways my wedding dress buying self couldn't have imagined. Maturity in minor ways...rinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher is a good idea, mom!

But most of all, when I think of my sparkly engagement ring 24 year old self, I think that I wish I would have enjoyed her and her sparkly life more. And when it is ten years from tonight and we contemplate 2020, what will I think about myself? Probably that I wished I enjoyed my children more when they were young. That I wished I were in the moment more, present to my life around me.

And so those are my goals for 2010. To be present in the moment more. A small sentence. A vast statement. An uphill battle for a brain that can't stop...busy, busy, busy with things to do, with things to worry about, with things to dislike. But a step in the right direction. No more resolutions to lose weight, eat healthier, not drink a bottle of wine on a weeknight. Because those aren't the things that stick in my mind. I want sparkle. I want happy. I want in the moment.

Ok...I'm back. And dedicated this time.

Long time, no post. As you get to know me, you'll see that I'm EXCELLENT on coming up with ideas. Totally suck on the follow through. As evidenced by four days of blog posts and then nothing for six months. Such as me. In 2009, anyway. Because in 2010, I turn over a new leaf as we turn over a new decade. I'll investigate a little thing called "follow through." I'm not that familiar yet.

That said, in the last few months, I've been reading A LOT of fabulous blogs. Some of the people I've met and the things I've read are astounding. And since I regularly read and contribute, I'd like to set up my own shop over here.

So, in the vein of blogging and follow through, I read that Money Saving Mom (http://www.moneysavingmom.com/) and Fishmama (www.lifeasamom) are hosting a "Eat From Your Pantry" challenge for January, 2010.

Whhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattt? Yeah, I know. Dubious sounding...but an excellent challenge. Our pantry and freezer are stocked with things that I regularly pass over in lieu of something "better." I've been couponing, but not sure I'm saving anything because I'm wrapped up in buying to see how much I save. (There's a mind boggling sentence for you.)

So, here are my ground rules:

1. I will make no more than three trips to the grocery store in January for fresh items, such as milk, eggs, and produce. I'll also need a few things for the kid's school lunches, as they both take their lunch, rather than buy their lunch.

2. The budget for groceries in January will be $100. Our regular budget is $450. If we can pull it off, the extra will go toward building up our emergency fund, which took a hit over the past few months.

3. We normally eat out for lunch on Saturday and this comes out of our "eating out" envelope and so this won't change.

4. And if anyone wants to invite us over for dinner, we'll obviously be taking you up on that offer.

5. By way of disclaimer, we purchased 1/4 of a cow in October, so our deep freeze is probably much more stocked than the average person. This will be a big help, as I have tons of ground beef and a cookbook dedicated to receipes using just ground beef.

I just forwarded the challenge premise to my husband with the note: "We are doing this. Eat up now." He replied with "Really?". It could get interesting around our house this month.

I'll update at the end of each week with what we ate and new menu ideas. So maybe I'll save $350 and earn some follow through in the early stages of 2010.