Hello 2013.

 Good Riddance 2012! I'll be honest, 2012 wasn't the greatest year for our family there were lots of struggles, lots of downs and saying goodbye to a few family members as well. Not that there weren't good times, sometimes upheaval can just be a little overwhelming. Even so, it seems like 2012 went by in a flash. wasn't it just summer? Where does the time go?

I hope everyone out there in blogland had a great holiday season full of warmth and laughter as ours was. It was great to be able to slip away for a little while and surround ourselves with the family and friends we don't always get to see as much as perhaps we'd like.. but man, is it ever good to be home.

{Christmas table @ the Aitken homestead}

I'm not very good at New Years resolutions, so last year our goal (as far as the house goes) was to go with the flow a little more. To worry less and focus more/ on "us". I think, as far as those loose goals went we did pretty good, all things considered. This year we have a different set of goals in mind. 

It may seem pretty vague, but "do more" is really the best explanation. We want to tackle more projects as a duo, we want to travel more (even just weekend trips), get more involved with our handful of local friends, and be actively "doing" throughout 2013, rather than letting another year slink by while "not doing." 

Live Healthier: both Jesse and I want to make an honest attempt at getting more fit. 2012 was not a superb year for our health overall. Our son, by default, was more nutritionally healthy / active than either Jesse or myself and in comparison we both feel (and look) like slugs. So we're going to try our hand at meal planning (again) and daily exercise. Fingers crossed we don't flail around for a week and then give up by diving into a bag of cheetos. 

Get Organized: We're in the third year of living in our little house, and now that we almost have enough furniture to make it look like people (and not squatters) actually live here, I'm determined to get our living space under control. Though we did a junk purge a few months back, I'm inclined to keep moving in that direction to keep the house and our stuff orderly. Plus, my allergies will thank me. We're following along with Apartment Therapy's January Cure, and so far there have been some good tips and pointers.

Consolidate online presence: this is a bigger  project that will take a lot of work throughout the year, but I am hoping that by the end of the year we'll have a new website that will encompass the 3+ URLs I have in my keeping as well as social media stuff. It might mean a change of moniker, but that's something I've been toying with for a while. 

Take more pictures : after having over 8GB's of photos deleted/unrecoverable a few years back I've been nagged by the need to take more pictures. Not just of stuff, the dog, or pretty landscapes but of us, together, of the house, of our son. Memories are important, and I love photography as a hobby, so why not indulge?

How about you? Do you make, and keep New Years resolutions? Or do you just keep doing what you're doing?



***all images taken or created by me***