This is my year for sure...

Hello baby new year...what's that you have with you? Ah, I see...optimism, new starts, fresh expectations and a new set of 365 days to accompany them.

2009 was all about the wedding. Planning the wedding...having the wedding...recovering from the wedding...our honeymoon...and then came the holidays. It was a pretty awesome year and it went by really fast. It wasn't without it's stresses though. Both Sean and my dad got laid off. Sean was lucky enough to find a new job (or two) pretty quickly. My dad was not so lucky and still is looking for something new. I'm hoping that 2010 will bring those new opportunities to him and to other people who found themselves in the same boat this year. I also hope that at some point this year I might be faced with a new and improved employment situation for myself. I've been at my job for almost 4 years now and I often struggle with the fact that it's secure and pays well but I am so bored and I feel like I'm wasting away. I realize that opportunities don't often just show up on your door step, so I guess this leads me to my "to do" list for 2010. I don't like to make resolutions, but I think making a list of things I'd like to accomplish is a better idea.

1. As I mentioned above, I need to seek out a new and improved employment option. I don't really even know exactly what I want to do, but I know there has got to be something better out there!

2. Make improvements to our house in the kitchen, family room, and some various fixtures throughout. We've been here for 4 1/2 years now and with the way the market is currently, we will probably be here for a bit longer. I'd like to take the opportunity to make some enhancements to the house that will, by the time we do sell it, help it gain value. And at the same time make it a better living arrangement for us while we are still here.

3. Continue to knit and learn more advanced patterns and techniques. I really like knitting! It's become a fun hobby for me and it doesn't take up a lot of space at home. I'm going to start making a hat next week and I hope to learn more and more patterns this year!

4. Take a trip to the Pacific Northwest and down the California coast. This is the trip I most want to take this year. I've always wanted to go down the California coast and I've recently really become interested in the Pacific Northwest and I'd love to see Portland and Seattle.

5. Lose a few lbs and get back into the shape I was 4 or 5 years ago. I'm sick of not being able to fit into my pants. If I lost even 5 lbs and toned up, I would feel much better about myself.

6. Quit smoking for good. I don't smoke during the week, yet I can't seem to kick the weekend habit. It might take me the whole year to do, but I want to be totally smoke free by the end of 2010.

7. And I realize this is not 100 percent up to me (nature has to agree as well), but I'd like to start our family by the end of 2010 too...and by that I just mean to have a little bun in the oven by then.

8. The final thing is to start writing here again. I don't really have a fabulous idea for a blog, but for now I will just write what I want and see what happens.

So that's it. That's my wishlist for 2010. I hope this year brings everyone an easier time of it.

Cheers!

k.