How We Did in 2009

Before moving on to this years resolutions, I thought I'd go over last years and see how many we can actually cross off the list.

Goals for 2009 (in white)

1. Implement the pantry product replacement plan. Success! I had planned on replacing 12 item and tho I only posted 11, we replaced more like about 15. This is one I will do again this year.

2. Cook at least 75% of our Thanksgiving dinner 2009 from things produced by us. No, not even close....what was I thinking? I made sweet potatoes and apple and pumpkin pies with our home-grown produce. Next year we're shooting for 50%.

3. Expand my cooking skills to include more oddities (for me anyway) things like couscous, spelt flour, seaweed, and miso. Can't even FIND miso in the grocery stores.....don't particularily like couscous or seaweed....and what exactly is spelt flour? Not even sure what the point of this one was anyway ;)

4. Include our children in the process of getting food to the table. Brad has actually made an entire chicken dinner for us. Being on his own taught him that if he wanted to eat well, he needed to cook, tho he does go thru a LOT of Cheerios :) The 2 youngest are doing a bit more but usually that involves Duncan Hines and chocolate..... it's a start?

5. Purchase and read Seed to Seed so I can learn how to start saving seeds from our garden.

Saved lettuce, spinach, and pea seeds this year (the easy ones) and all are germinating nicely. Also saved tomato seeds from the summer garden, we'll keep you posted on how those do in the spring. Next year I would like to do much more in this area....including some that cross-pollinate and have to be 'caged'.

6. (Re-) learn how to knit. I made 3 scarves and 11 dishcloths....another good start.

7. Get off the bottled water craze. We've bought 13 bottles from various sources....and at any given time I can find 7.....sigh.

8. Help build our chicken coop by Spring '09 so we can move the chicks in as the weather starts to warm up. Done.

...and probably the 2 most important resolutions for the year....

9. Read thru the New Testament of the Bible. Total failure....won't go into the excuses and rationalizations but I am putting it on this years list.....hopefully by next year it will have success written after it.

10. Find Joy. Somewhere along the way I've lost it and I am determined to get it back. Jury is still out...some days are better than others and I feel I truly know the Joy of the Lord....other days, not so much. But (I think) I'm heading in the right direction :)