New Year's Resolutions

2008 is gone and I am very proud that I have had about a 50% success rate on my resolutions. Here’s how they turned out:

I resolve to take more pictures! This resolution was too vague to truly measure if it was successful. I did try to keep my camera in my purse at all times, which helped.

I resolve to read the Bible in a year. Accomplished!

I resolve to read 12 Newbery Medal winners this year. Accomplished!

I resolve to lose 20 pounds. I lost about 5 pounds since the start of the new year.

Here are my resolutions for 2009:

I resolve to read 12 Children classic literature titles. I bought a copy of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame last week, so that will be my first selections. Here are the other eleven I plan to read (in no particular order):

Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

I resolve to exercise three times a week. I'm hoping that focusing on getting moving will help with the whole weight loss goal. Part of this goal is to start a walking program with Nikolas this spring so we are both conditioned to tackle all the walking at Disney World.

I resolve to get a tattoo. This is one of my "4 before 40"--four things I want to accomplish before I turn 40 in September. I have been talking about getting a butterfly tattoo since before I turned 30, so we will have to wait and see on this one.

I resolve to learn to ice skate. Another "4 before 40" item (the other two are read thru the Bible and lose 20 pounds) and the one I have the least faith in accomplishing. It is the pipe dream of the four.

I also have a challenge for myself. In 2008, I completed 65 scrapbook layouts and three mini books. I hope to meet or exceed that amount in 2009.