2010 New Year's Resolutions Revisit

It's October (in case you've been living calendarless under a rock somewhere, in which case you might want to stay there) and that means we're less than 90 days to 2011. Someone pinch me. I can't believe how fast this year has flown by. My babies will 4 in March, which will be here before I know it, and I'm not sure I'm OK with that. I'll be 24 in February and I'm not sure I'm OK with that either.

Anyhoo. This time of year I like to go over my New's Years Resolutions and see where I'm at, so I can sneak in some last minute progress if I need to. I wonder if suddenly remembering to do something at the end of the year defeats the purpose of a resolution?

1. Choose one thing to give up buying. For those who know me, you're aware that I'm horribly obsessed with knitting. However, with knitting comes yarn (you can't really knit without it). A product which I am even more obsessed with. If I were to give up knitting I would be perfectly content as long as I just had piles and piles of yarn around me. The problem is it is pricey. So I have resolved that this year I will not make a single purchase for yarn or knitting related thing with money that I or Ben make/receive (unless it is a gift certificate). I have a lot of stash yarn that I need to use up so that should keep me busy. However, I told my mom this and for Christmas she gave me a coupon stating she will get me $20 worth of yarn/supplies every month. So I won't be totally deprived. :) - I haven't bought anything knitting related at all this year with actual money. At least I don't think so. I bought a pair of Addi circs, but that was with a gift card so I'm still good. Woo! And I've acquired yarn, but they were gifts.

2. Become better at blogging. My biggest problem is remembering to take pictures. I will try to be better about this. Also, not just letting my mind wander and rambling away. To create posts that people would actually want to read. - Ugh. Maybe not so good with this one. I think I have been taking more pictures, but I'm not sure about the rambling. Does anyone besides the moms actually read my blog on a regular basis...? LOL!

3. Become a more self-sufficient family. This year we want to get chickens and plant a garden. This will hopefully mean we don't have to go to the store as often and can buy less since we can get food from our own backyard. This will mean building a chicken coop. I am hoping that we can use our tax return to do that. We are zoned for a maximum of 12 chickens or other small creatures for "food or fur-bearing purposes". So maybe I can finagle a goat as well. Ben's mom is also doing her garden again this year, so I am hoping that we can plant whatever she doesn't and we can trade. - Ok, the chicken idea got axed, for the sake of preserving my marriage. But I think my mom-in-love made up for it by  now housing a surplus of incredibly spoiled chickens.... Her, my sis-in-law and I have all had an abundance of eggs. The garden idea didn't go so well. Things just don't grow as well in pots... The slab where the garden will go is starting to come out though, so we'll see what happens in the spring. I'm still working on that goat...

4. Fix up the house so that it is more comfortable. This will not save us money, but in some areas is necessary.We have a very nice house, but it was in bad shape when we moved in. We need a new roof - it leaks. We also only have a fireplace insert and two room heaters to heat the whole house in the winter, and a swamp cooler for summer. While these do work and we can live fairly comfortably, the house is still very chilly some days, as well as very hot in the summer. I am hoping that this year we can at least replace the door in our room and the window in the boys room and get a new roof. This will help with less cold coming into the rooms during the night. We will be doing these ourselves, with the help of family, so it will be cheaper than hiring someone. - Well, the roof didn't happen this year. It's still on the to do list, but my husband decided that saving money was not worth doing it himself. Which I'm actually quite happy about. Now he won't have to kill himself trying to get it done. Some things are just worth paying the extra money for. We have fixed up the house to make it more comfortable, just not much more weather proof. But we made it through last winter and we can make it through another. Changes will come, but we have other goals for our money right now that are more important to us.

5. Work more on the grocery budget.  My goal is to lower the grocery bill by using less meat and moving toward produce that is in season. Making even more things than buying it as long as it is cost effective to do it at home. It doesn't make much sense to make something if it will be more expensive than buying, unless there is a severe health benefit. - I think this one has gone quite well this year. It was a little difficult still at the beginning of the year, but when we started our Official Budgeting in April, things just fell into place. While I do go a bit over budget every now and then, I am closer to the mark every month. I think this year I have gotten a lot smarter about our purchases, and more creative. We've found things that we enjoy greatly because we are on the budget, that we never really would have tried otherwise. I call this resolution a success.

Huzzah! Pretty good progress. I think the only one I really need to work on/have the time for/whatever by the end of the year is the Better Blogging one. But I have to remind myself I have 3 very hyper boys, and that makes for little computer time. Or maybe I'm doing OK by just writing what's in my head and heart.

So, what were your New Years Resolutions, and how are you coming along?