The Mossy Cottage

My main goal for 2013 is to live slowly and embrace life to the fullest.  We've managed to get lazy and lax around here about a few things that are really important.  Things are going to change. The great thing is that we don't have to give up if we don't stick to the resolution, but just start over. No need to wait until next year, every day should be viewed as "The New Year".

A few things I'd like to implement to make this happen:

Eat at the table - we have created a bad habit and eating in front of the tv, at the computer, or simply standing at the kitchen island. We used to have a  "sit down" dinner at least twice a week. This somehow got lost within our daily routine. Not any more.

Implement a "chip" system for screen time - we have "no screen days", but mostly during the summer when there are other things to do. We've been spending a lot of time watching movies, playing games on every available device, and basically just zoning out in front of a screen since it's been cold. I have some plastic chips from a game that I am going to pay out each week. They can be cashed in for screen time. This should teach some additional skills to my son such as saving up chips, making decisions on what is more important, ect. The only downfall of this is that he knows I work on the computer for 8 hrs a day, so he likes to point this out when I am trying to limit screen time. Oh the irony!

Stop Rushing - whether this means getting up earlier (God help me!) or saying "no" to invites in order to free up some tim I am going to try to be better about it.

Make something from scratch at least once a week - this is hard for me because my husband does all the cooking - and his meals taste soooo much better than mine.   I do really like to be in the kitchen getting my hands in the flour or just chopping some veggies.  I didn't realize how much I missed it until the holiday break. I made soup and buscuits, oatmeal, cookies, pies...there is something nice about standing my the stove, creating a meal for your family. 

Grow a better garden - we are beginner gardeners with limited sunlight and less than desired growing conditions, yet we did discover some things we can grow. My first seed catalog arrived in the mail this week. Let the planning begin.

I am sure there are some other things that I can do but this is a good start.  Any ideas or advice is welcome!