New Year's Resolutions

Now that I am pretty sure I have lost all of 50 of my followers, I guess it is time to start blogging again. Haha! Actually, I think that non-profit, non self-promoting, family type blogging has been officially killed off by Instagram and professional bloggers. I love Instagram. I love the fact that it is so easy and captures the little moments and then I can have it automatically sent off somewhere to be printed into a cute little book. I also don't have a desire to promote myself at all. I have no agenda. Well, I guess that is not true. I do have an agenda. I want to send positive things out there into the 'e' world. Heaven knows that there is just a ton of negative crap on the internet. I hope this can be a positive place to be, although I don't expect anyone to actually read it. It is just for me, really. And it is also for my kids. I do like to print up all of these blogs into a book every year, and my kids love to read about it.

Another thing that I need from this blog is a place to practice my writing. I have loftier goals this year, to get published somewhere 'big'. I started writing for a publication called 'Draper Lifestyle' and have had at least one article in every issue since August. But I would like to try for something a bit more ambitious this year and see where it leads me. I know that I just need to write, write, write and more ideas will flow. At least, that is what I hope.

I have so many things in my heart that I need to get down on this blog. It has been pent up and I don't even know where to begin. Hopefully I can retrieve it all from my insides and eventually equalize.

Since it is the beginning of a new year, I guess today I can talk about my New Year's resolutions. I do have some.

1. Go to bed early

2. Get published in a bigger venue

3. Quit sugar (again)

4. Study the classics

First, the most important goal is to go to bed early. This will really manifest itself in not indulging in nightly television watching in my basement.  I steal away after my kids go to bed and then don't emerge for another two hours. I know I am wasting my life away and then struggling to get up in the morning, which then sets me on my heels to which I am trying to play catch up for the rest of the day. If I just focus on early bed by not watching late night television, I know that everything else will course correct.  I am ready for the challenge.

Second, as I have already discussed, I am going to work on writing some really good stuff and then pitch it to bigger publications like Deseret News. I know that if I am successful in this endeavor, it will lead to greater opportunities. I think I can do it.

Third, sugar is a no-brainer. I successfully ditched the sweet stuff for three months and fell of the wagon a bit in December.  But I am ready to reconquer it and free myself from sugar. I know I can do it, and more importantly, I want to do it.

Fourth, since I will be significantly cutting my television consumption, I need to fill that with something. I would like to get smarter and be able to join the "Great Conversation". I know that I don't know a whole lot. So, with a lot of patience and a dedicated study time every day, I can chip away at my ignorance and open my mind to great new ideas, people, and places.

As for my family, the biggest news lately is my decision to have Zach go to high school. I need him to be somewhere else and I really think that he is ready. That does not mean that it will be a smooth transition, but we are going to work on preparing for high school these next 8 months so that he can be as successful as possible. He wants to go, I want him to go, and it is time.

It is always good to just write and post something, anything on the blog after a long hiatus. I hope to be here often.