The Purpose of This Blog

Why am I making another blog? Maybe because I'm crazy. Maybe because I'm trying to procrastinate doing the dishes. But mostly because I have so many things I wish to do that I need something to keep me accountable, some way to track my progress.

I have been reading 48 Days to the Work You Love by Dan Miller. It talks about your calling in life and how to reach your potential. I'll be honest, I wanted to know my calling in life so I could use it to create income. There have been times I wanted to start a bakery, because I've lately gotten into baking. There have been times when I wanted to be a Certified Financial Planner, because I enjoy helping others save money and helping them keep money from being a source of contention and stress. There have been times when I've thrown myself into learning about homeschooling, food storage, cloth diapering, child nutrition, film making, writing, cleaning, and probably a whole bunch of other things I can't remember right now.

Going through this book and thinking about my patriarchal blessing have led me to the conclusion that my calling in life is taking care of my family and creating the home I've always wanted. Though it won't bring in an income, it does save money and has a bigger reward than just money. Growing up, I dreamed of being a stay at home mom, with a beautiful clean house, pretty music playing in the background, cookies coming out of the oven, and a big family.

Now my reality is a messy house, the tv on in the background, nothing remotely appealing coming out of the oven, and two children seem like plenty to me. I am too disorganized and my life is too chaotic. John Maxwell said, "A budget is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went." I have found the truth of this statement in more areas than just money. Time, weight management, family, spiritual, etc. all require goals and planning and follow through. Success doesn't just happen, it requires goals, planning, determination, setbacks and failure, innovative thinking, and more determination.

Here are my goals:
1) A better relationship with God; daily scripture reading and devotional time.
2) A better relationship with DH and Crazy Boy (4) and Dinosaur Man (9 mos); more quality time together. Emphasis on more AND quality.
3) Clean and organized house, with systems in place to keep it this way with minimal effort.
4) Homeschooling Crazy Boy and Dinosaur Man (when he's old enough) and any future children. For Crazy Boy's Kindergarten curriculum I plan on doing scriptures, reading/phonics, handwriting, math, art, physical education (ie playing at the park, but hopefully adding in some martial arts), French and, when he seems ready for it, piano.
5) Cloth diapering; mostly to save money, but fewer chemicals and less waste make me happy too.
6) More food from scratch. Snacks-homemade yogurt, granola bars, hummus. (Eventually) grind my own wheat, make my own bread, pasta, muffins, etc. We've done a pretty good job at keeping junk food out of the house and eating more fruits and vegetables and whole grains, but I know we can still do better.
7) Help Corey in his pursuit of his calling: making a film.

I honestly and truly wish that I could wake up tomorrow and be perfect at all of these. But life is not about the destination, it is about the journey. Welcome to my journey.