Another year has gone by...

Well 2009 was definitely a wonderful and blessed year for me! I met my idol, Martha Stewart, and made many new friends in the process. She's such an inspiration to my family and myself, and I can't wait to see what exciting products, publications, and ideas MSLO will bring to the world!

2009 marked a lot of smaller accomplishments for me; I learned about Twitter, and actually got a Twitter account! It's now my guilty pleasure and almost ONLY news source I reference to.

I also found and reconnected with a lot of friends from High School, College, and other social events that I've been privileged to attend via the powers of Facebook.

Also, this year brought us Apple's iPhone 3Gs... which I now own, and am convinced, I could NEVER live without!

On the home front, since this IS a blog about Homemaking, I finally constructed, started, and grew an Organic, edible vegetable and herb garden... right in my back yard! I had a great yield in my first year! This gives me promising motivation to continue growing, building, and harvesting my edible garden in years to come.

As a gardener, homemaker, cook, baker, and crafter... it's amazing to me how our skills in our areas of expertise are constantly building and improving while we continuously "Master" our trade.

And every Christmas season I evaluate my successes and accomplishments in the past year, and focus on what I want to bring with me in the new year. I rarely have a regret, but this is because of my ongoing and relentless optimism in life.

So I've constructed a list of things I want to improve on in the new decade... I think it's always fun and motivating creating resolutions! I don't make them too hard or inconceivable... I create resolutions that interest me in participating in, therefore, I'll have continuous motivation to continue on my new tasks!

So here goes:

1. Drink more Juice from locally grown, or organic produce as much as possible to start the day
2. Overcome fear of the public's germs and join a yoga class.
3. Start documenting birds that visit the homestead, and take pictures of the birds.
4. Continue Podcasting, Blogging, and tweeting
5. Build more raised beds in the vegetable garden and fence in area.
6. Plant 1200 MORE bulbs in the spring.
7. Create a cutting garden for Gladiolus.
8. Master the art of sewing
9. Learn how-to's on Knitting and Purling.
10. Read more books, instead of listening to them.
11. Become less dependent on Starbucks, and start relying on my Italian Saeco Espresso Machine for good quality, more affordable lattes and cappuccinos!
12. Extend my collection of Tinsel Feather Trees.
13. Go antiquing more, and become educated on the history and periods of American Furniture.
14. Visit nurseries and farms in search of alternatives to distance driven produce.
15. Use re-usable bags, and do away with plastic bags.
16. Visit historic homes.
17. Strive to cook more meals to take to work instead of going out for lunch.

This list are all things I WANT to change, and hopefully most or all of these items will be focused on more and accomplished in the new year!

Have the happiest new year!