Progress report: I resolve to...

Nearly seven months ago, I made a bunch of New Year's resolutions. Foolish me, I actually wrote them down instead of keeping them in my head, where I could twist and bend them to suit my needs as the year went on. That's the way everyone else does it. Just keep lowering the bar, lower, lower...until you're at status quo and can coast through the holiday season before making a new batch of resolutions on Jan. 1.

But no, I had to make a list (shocking!), and now I've got that whole accountability thing going on. Shoot.

So here it is, my official progress report on my 2008 Resolutions.

1) Lose this baby weight. I'm glad I started with this one. I actually achieved that goal in May. Hallelujah! But then in July I gained back five of those pounds. Hmm. So I guess I still have work to do on this one. Gotta keep this bar, at least, up high.

2) Spend more quality time with my husband. I think I've done moderately well with this one, given our lack of babysitters within a 40-mile radius (and the lack of money to hire one). In February, David and I went to a casino in Erie, Pa., as a little birthday getaway. Then in April we had a date night away at a Destroyers Game with our pals. In July we had another overnight for Deanna's brother's wedding, just the two of us! So, I think getting away, sans Noah, about every two months is definitely a sign I'm heading down the right path for this resolution.

3) FINISH some projects around the house. One of the ones in my "maybe" list was to finish the trim in the house. For the most part, this is done! David put back up the woodwork in May. All that's left are very minor details that I could take or leave in the grand scheme of things. And then there's the deck. That counts for three projects, in my opinion. Much more on this resolution to come as the year progresses...

4) Take a vacation. This might be my best effort! David, Noah and I took a cool vacation in Sandusky/Kalahari a few weeks ago, and this fall, David and I are heading back to Jamaica. Check and check!

5) Recycle! I'm making slow strides for this resolution too. I've been recycling all our glass, paper, aluminum and plastic (and that's REALLY challenging in the country!). In addition, I started my own version of composting (aka: throw contents of garbage bowl into woods) AND I've begun to replace all our light bulbs with those fancy eco-friendly squiggly bulbs. Since I can't give up my SUV and I'm dumping poopy diapers into landfills at an alarming rate, I figure it's the least I can do.

So there you have it. I give myself a "B+" so far. Lots of work to be done, but not too shabby overall. Hooray for me!