We’ve settled on some resolutions for this year, a few more than last year, because this time several of them revolve around the house.

1. Take a vacation that’s at least a long-weekend long. Either two short trips or one long trip. We already have some money set aside for this, so I’m already getting excited. Any suggestions for where to hit the road and head to? Our most recent trip was to see the Christmas lights in Branson.

2. Keep the kitchen counters clear by developing the habit to always put dirty dishes directly in the dishwasher. (Unless of course, the dishwasher is full or running.)

3. Replace the basement door and enlarge the storage shed back there. This is going to be a huge project. I’m kind of scared about it, but Hubs has a plan, and I have faith.

4. Organize the built-ins and vanity in the hall bathroom, the built-ins in the hallway, and even the kitchen cabinets. Currently, the “medicine cabinet” looks like this:

This should be easier with these…although I’ll probably need a few more.

5. Build the kitchen table and refinish the chairs and bench.

6. Buy a dresser for our master bedroom. We went shopping once and found one we sort of liked, but nothing enough to buy yet, so we’ll see. Still, I’m getting impatient to get that room more finished.

7. Visit a financial planner to set up maternity leave/retirement/tax savings plans for this self-employed writer. (No, we’re not expecting, we’re just trying to plan ahead!)

8. Plan how to best functionally use the basement. (Maybe make some progress down there with painting, but I don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves.)

9. Clean and organize the two basement storage rooms and the garage.

10. Find a home church where we can finally find a family of believers to really belong to.

11. Read 10 things that are already on the bookshelf. (This will be a combined effort, not 10 each!) There’s a lot to choose from!

12. Write five things that are just for me. I tried this one last year, too, but didn’t accomplish it. Here’s to second chances!

13. Speak each other’s love language in a big way at least once a week.

(Wanna get in on this too? We already feel like we do a pretty good job at showing our love, but there’s always room for improvement. Plus, it was a tough book to get all the way through (too long!) but we’re going to really try to see if we can be more intentional about meeting each other’s needs in this way.)

14. Have a real dinner party four times this year. Appetizers, games, sitting at the table… Friends or family guest lists yet to be determined.

15. And the last one’s from Wyatt, “Write one blog post every month.” (Woo hoo! Did you hear that, guys? Hubs is going to be writing more often!)

What about you? What are you resolving this year? I’d love to hear about it!