Wow, well 2010 came into the world here with fireworks, pots and pans and of course, gunfire. After all, this is America and we love any chance to shoot off a little firepower! It doesn’t bother me much here, it’s not nearly as bad as when we lived in Detroit!!! That was bad. My doggie girl was a little unsettled as she’s not a fan of loud boomy noises for no good doggie reason, but thankfully, it didn’t last too long.

Been checking out my fav blogs and of course, everyone is out there writing about the new year and plans and goals and all those fresh tidy brand spanking new year aspirations! Yeah, I’ll admit, I’ve been looking forward to the new year, but really, I’ve gotten past those lists and goal charts and such in my life. I had a couple little goals that I wanted to reach and I did it! Mostly getting my to-do card pack down to under 10 cards… (I’m officially at 9 right now!) and I wanted to get me a newer car… well, it’s still being worked on, but I do have picture of it and it’s coming… really…

My daughter got her car and though she still has yet to get her own license, she is driving much more confidently and I can even carry on a conversation on the phone or just enjoy the ride now with her and we are arriving to our destinations safely and without blood pressure issues! At one point I was worried that perhaps I wasn’t pushing her hard enough and all, and then after she failed the first attempt, I had that “get back on the horse” attitude and plans, but then I thought, why am I forcing and pushing her to do this? Will the world suddenly rear back and clap most heartedly that finally this kid has her license? Will there be parades? Will my life change drastically? No. Not really. She was faced with her hardest semester yet in school, was working hard, 15 credit hours and she came out with honors, all A’s… and that added stress of getting her driving would not have helped. As it was, she was pretty stressed and why in the world would I need to add to the pile? No, this next semester is a piece of cake, only 6 credits and all evening classes, just twice a week. It will be a perfect time for her to get her confidence and get that license and be safe.

I think the reason that I’m mentioning this, is that there is a time for all things. Just like the Bible tells us.. a season to grow, a season to cut down, and well, we all know the verses. There is a timing to life and sometimes all the pushing and shoving that we want to do, won’t make a hill of difference. Like my car. Sure, I could have been pushing and shoving and calling and all, but in the end, it would have made things harder, and would have made it surely more expensive. My friends are working on it in their spare time and it is saving me a ton of money. I’m happy that they are blessed with so much work that my little project is not a priority. And I currently still have the old van and well, it’s hardly getting driven, so I obviously don’t need another car. Especially now, as I teach and help Jessy gain her independence with her car. It’s clearly a season for me to be a passenger in cars!!!

So, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things the last week or two. Facing the new year and wondering what should be my goals for 2010… this new decade! It would be easy to start making all these usual claims of happiness and health and getting better at this and spending more time at that, but I’ve done those things year after year and well, they never seem to really get done.

Nope, this year my goals are simple. I’m going to use the advice of a great wise business mentor of mine, my SCORE counsler Mike and that’s going to be my goal for 2010.

Find what works and do more of it.

That’s it. Simply put. I think that pretty much wraps up all the ideas and goals and dreams I have at the moment. Figure out what works in my life and do more of it!!! More gardens, more rehab, more writing, more music, more friends, more family, more products, more business.

It works for me, and I think I’ll keep at it and do more of it!!!

Heck, it even works towards simple and green living. I’m going to make 2010 my NO PLASTIC BAG year! I am close, about 75% of the time, but now, I’m going to make it 100%. Yep. If I walk into a store without a bag, I’m going to walk right back out and get my dang bag outta the car. If they didn’t have bags and I HAD to bring my own, I would. So I’m just going to have to break my habit of forgetting and start remembering! If the 75% of the time feels good then 100% is gonna feel great!!!

If thinking positively and keeping a good and light heart and spirit has done wonders for me this past year, then doing more is going to really make things pop! Can’t wait!!!

And making things homemade and doing with our own hands and our own resources was good… more of it will be grand! I really want to make this year a year that I teach my daughters a lot more about cooking and baking, and making and sewing and all that. We love to do these things, so I am going to make much more time in our schedule to do these things.

Well, I hope that you are busy contemplating the new year and all the wonderful blessings and opportunities that will come to you as well as a little rain that must fall on our lives. I hope that you’ll stick around for this year and join myself and my family and friends as we take on the new year. I hope to bring you more and more interesting tidbits of our lives as well as some of the ideas and philosophy that I can sneak in here and there! It’s primarily my own clarification that I seek, but I figure with all the readers out there, it must be hitting a chord with others. I think that’s wonderful. I’ll make sure to do more of it this year!

I’ll leave you with this fun little list of farmer quotes… I love this email posting… there is a lot of good wisdom in these silly country quotes. I like the one about “Life is simpler when you plow around the stump” HAHAHA…. yep. I can think of a lot of stumps in my life that I spent way too much time and energy trying to get rid of and it would have been a much nicer ride if I would have just plowed around them!!! Enjoy!!!

By the way… this old farmer guy looks a LOT like my Grandpa Carl!!! Whaddya think Dad? (I love the fact that my Dad reads my blog… hahaha…. delightful!)

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

* Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

* Words that soak into your ears are whispered…not yelled.

* Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.

* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.

* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

* It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.

* You cannot unsay a cruel word.

* Every path has a few puddles.

* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

* The best sermons are lived, not preached.

* Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.

* Don’t judge folks by their relatives.

* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.

* Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.

* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain Dance.

* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.

* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

* The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with,
watches you from the mirror every mornin’.

* Always drink upstream from the herd.

* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

* Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.

* If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.

* If you catch yourself thinkin’ that you’ve got the world by the tail, you’re in pretty good standing with God and that people ought to be paying more attention to you……
try goin’ down to the creek and walkin’ on water.

*Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly, and Leave the rest to God.

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