Happy New Year (what?? I'm a week late???)

Yikes!  The second week of January and I’m ALREADY behind?!?  Oh, it’s true, my friends, it’s true.

This should come as no surprise to you.  Am I not the one who sent a baby present a month after the baby was born?  Am I not the one who didn’t get the Christmas presents to FedEx until it cost me an arm and a leg just to get them to their destinations by December 28th??  Am I not the one throwing together the menu the morning of the big meal???  Or pushing snooze one too many times?  Or saving all the preparation for a big church lesson until the night before?  

Yes.  Resounding.

And so, while others have already posted their top ten from last year, their reflections on the past, their resolutions for the future, their thank yous and best wishes, and moved on to Valentine’s Day, here I am.  Finally reflecting on the coming year and this little blog of mine.

Actually, I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions.  I made one once.  It lasted approximately 45 minutes into the New Year.  And because I failed so tragically so immediately, I became depressed and despondent (not really) and decided that resolutions were for the birds and never made a single one again (really).  I’ve never liked New Year’s.  As a holiday I mean.  I don’t know why.  The count down at midnight ESPECIALLY makes me cringe.  It’s completely irrational.  mr suggested that perhaps I dread the anticlimactic-ness of the entire thing.  He’s probably right.

But then I started reading other blogs about reflection and goals and having a purpose for the new year (not as a holiday, but as a NEW year... a beginning) and it all made a whole lotta sense to me.  I should have some concrete goals.  I should give myself some direction.  But on the whole, I think I should be doing this on an ongoing basis, and not just once a year.  Right?  I may just have been inspired by the blog world in general.  We’ll see how long it lasts...

Quite frankly, I don’t think you want to hear about how I need to take this darned second baby weight off once and for all or the fact that I need to set myself a rigid schedule and stick to it, get more sleep, plan menus better, or actually clean my house once in a while.  So I’m not going to bore you with those details.

But I WILL tell you what I have planned for this blog.

No drastic changes, mind you.  But just so you know what to expect.

I believe life will continue much as normal in these parts.  I plan to pick up with the photo posts on Sunday nights again.  I haven’t done them for a few weeks and I miss it.  I’m always pretty selective with my photo link ups, and will most likely just stick to the Sunday Scavenger Hunt, at Ramblings and Photos, but will be sure to tell you of any others within the posts themselves.  I will still do my Monday Food Fest posts on Monday nights - but now they are "Yummy Mondays".  (I like the consonance.)   

(Read here to see what the year has in store as far as cooking.)  And I will still continue to craft and sew and offer tutorials on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays.  Maybe all three.  Maybe just one or two.  Maybe a hop skip and a jump.  We’ll see.  If I take a day off, it will most likely be a Wednesday, since mr is at church on Wednesday nights and it’s hard to find time to write and edit pictures and work out tutorials and stuff with the kids running around.  Fridays will be my somewhat “free day.”  Historically, Fridays were the day I wrote “Things My Two-Year-Old Taught Me” - a compilation of funnies and actual life lessons learned from my experiences with bug.  I love these little detours on my blog and missed them when I didn’t do them.  bug is not two anymore, though, and mini is getting big enough to teach me a thing or two herself.  So the title doesn’t fit quite as well.  Which is why I am introducing the latest version of this little series: I call it

 It will encompass all the little lessons I learn from my kids in everyday settings.  Like locking up my makeup.  And why “quiet” doesn’t mean “quiet.”  

Also new, I will be hosting some semi-regular guest bloggers.  Yea!  They are all related to me, so far, but that doesn’t make it any less cool.  The only official guest series on the docket is 

 mr is going to lead you in some awesome science-related experiments that you can do with your kids at home with some very common household items.  I’m pretty excited about this, because it incorporates science (his passion) and creativity (my passion) AND family togetherness (our passion).  It’s gonna be good, people.  It’s gonna be good.  

There will be more series’ (series’s?  Seriesssss??  Whatever...) the first of which is coming very soon (I’m excited about it!) 

AND because I have a new, rock-solid, immovable, tightened-belt kind of budget, there will be thriftiness and stashbusting galore!  

I know, it’s all too much to bear, isn’t it?

One more note of possible interest.  I love your comments.  I do.  Every blogger says that, right?  I’m actually a little sad when I don’t get any comments.  Not like I sit at the computer sobbing to mr, “why don’t they like me???  Why?  Why??”  I’d never do THAT.  Sheesh.  Why, who told you I did?  Anyway, I try really hard to respond to all of the comments, just because I love them so much.  And I can really only respond to you if your email address is linked to your profile or your blog.  If you want to do that and don’t know how, look at this fancy shmancy tutorial from House of Smiths.  (I’m so glad she did this, so I didn’t have to try and explain it).  If you don’t want to set it up, I totally get that, but I won’t be able to respond to you PERSONALLY and hope you understand.  I love hearing from all of you!

And that is just about all I have to say about that.  I promise to fill the new year with blogging goodness.  Isn’t that all you can really hope for?  Even if it is a bit late through the gate?