i heard on the radio this morning that writing down your goals and having people keep you accountable makes your odds of sticking with New Years resolutions better. well, since i will take all the accountability i can, I POST!
so here they go...in no specific order....
1... talk less. listen more! simple as that.
2... chill out when driving! especially with people that make complete stops when they don't need to, drive 30 when the speed limit is 50, and TAILGATE!! (i have a real problem with this cuz i'm usually the one doing the tailgating....heaven forbid people do it to me!) i also need to keep in check how i talk to fellow drivers since they can't hear me anyways. my children on the other hand, DO!! when your 7 year old is yelling at the person in front of you, saying "SOMETIME TODAY WOULD BE NICE", is not a good example. geez, they MUST have heard that from daddy. :)
3...get off my 'bee-hive' and exercise! plain and simple!
4... cut back on my 5 cans of diet coke a day. (ha, i switched to diet dr. pepper!)
5... take more time to let those around me know that i value them. i am blessed beyond what i deserve.
6... savor the little moments. play football,let them beat me in monoploy (which isn't hard), and have star wars light-saber sword fights with my kids. they are growing up too fast. if i wait too long, i'll be asking them to play and they'll be too busy.
7... be less particular about how clean my house is. if i die tomorrow, will my kids know they were loved and listened to OR will they remember how clean the house was? it's a no brainer.
8...forgive more.
9...get organized. pictures...game closet....the garage (again)....our office....and in all this, remember #7. keep a good balance.
10... the final, and most important one. become a woman who lives and breaths my faith. in everything, consult God's ways first. strive to be better and more diligent in my knowledge of HIM. do EVERYTHING with that in mind. teach my children that nothing else in this world is more important than that!
there you have it folks. i have no excuses now because it's OUT THERE for you to hold me to! in this new year,strive for goals that really make a difference in this life and most important, the next.
know you are loved!
1.09.2009
the likkel kitchen......
my dear friend, shanda,gave me a little something to ponder when asking in her blog,what are families eating/meal habits? that got me thinking of how our kitchen runs. so here you go....
what to make for meals????
it's the thorn in my side.
rye usually calls about 4, wondering what we're having for dinner. the answer is always the same....."i don't know, what are YOU cooking?" i know, i know, it's a sad, sad state of affairs when the husband is forced to choose the dinner menu. fyi....he loves to cook. i'm SSOOOO trying. last week however, i made a wonderful observation.....
i hate to cook because i never have all the right ingredients in my pantry!!! that's the honest truth. so rye and i went on monday night and bought all the 'staples'. could it be, i actually made dinner 2 nights in a row!???!!!!
so, here are the likkel household dinner time rules=
1.what you see is what you get. period. the short order cook is on vacation. oh ya, she's NEVER lived here.
2. you TRY what's on your plate. if you don't like it, you don't need to eat all of it but you do need to give it the 'old college try'!
3. we don't EVER criticize the cook. (it's just not everyone's gift to cook.) we are thankful that we have food. many go without. you criticize the cook, you'll be ONE of those people!!
4.no burping or other foul body sounds. if we hear it, you eat your dinner in the bathroom. no exceptions.
5.we sit with our food. not walk about the house with it. this is a hard one for the likkel boys.
6.you bring your dirty dishes to the sink. they've got this one down.they've been doing this since they have been walking. they have even been spotted doing it at their friends houses, or so i've been told. yea, they DO LISTEN! :)
7.we ALWAYS,ALWAYS thank God before putting a bit in our mouth!!! again, no exceptions. funny cuz when the boys sit down for a snack, they often ask if they 'need' to pray for this food? my answer is always "yes". there is no such thing as too much prayer.
there you have it. the 'in's and out's' of the likkel kitchen table, or the kitchen bar which is where we eat most our meals. i stand and deliver food, get drinks and refills, just like a good waitress should.
there you have it. i would LOVE to hear how it runs at your house!!!!
rumor has it people actually read this blog so i would have to ask....who ARE you and what's the BIG deal about leaving comments below?? just wondering! :)
12.31.2008
NEW YEAR.....
since SOMEONE, i won't mention her name (kathy) was sick of reading 'blah, blah, blah' on my title page, i'm here to change it!!!!!!
let's see. i wish i had some earth shattering news to share but unfortunately for you, and me, life has been pretty quiet here. the boys are still off school for Christmas break.while they would NEVER admit is, i think they're all ready to go back. i mean, how many games of the wii can one boy play in a day. (try 12!)
we are all a little stir crazy! the weather has been crappy so not much going on in the yard.......
tonight, new years eve, we are ringing in at home. we were invited to a party but decided to spend the evening with the boys. well, jack ended up going to his best buddy, kaidens for the night. the other two have spent the evening playing Lego, monopoly and watching, yup, you guessed it....SPONGE BOB. what an idiot.(sponge bob, not my children).we did have dinner out with friends. we hit the mexican restarant at 5. old people time. our time with them went too fast as time tends to do with great friends. rye and i spent the rest of our evening checking emails, eBay and face book. and of course, eating as much junk food as we can before the diets start in the morning.
3o more mins. i think we can hang on. i'm a night owl so this is all great and fine for me. some others in our house are hanging on by a thread....
we are wishing you all a great new year!
well, there you have it. i should have maybe titled this post.'BLAH, BLAH, BLAH'.
what do you have to say about that WUBBEN? :)
let's see. i wish i had some earth shattering news to share but unfortunately for you, and me, life has been pretty quiet here. the boys are still off school for Christmas break.while they would NEVER admit is, i think they're all ready to go back. i mean, how many games of the wii can one boy play in a day. (try 12!)
we are all a little stir crazy! the weather has been crappy so not much going on in the yard.......
tonight, new years eve, we are ringing in at home. we were invited to a party but decided to spend the evening with the boys. well, jack ended up going to his best buddy, kaidens for the night. the other two have spent the evening playing Lego, monopoly and watching, yup, you guessed it....SPONGE BOB. what an idiot.(sponge bob, not my children).we did have dinner out with friends. we hit the mexican restarant at 5. old people time. our time with them went too fast as time tends to do with great friends. rye and i spent the rest of our evening checking emails, eBay and face book. and of course, eating as much junk food as we can before the diets start in the morning.
3o more mins. i think we can hang on. i'm a night owl so this is all great and fine for me. some others in our house are hanging on by a thread....
we are wishing you all a great new year!
well, there you have it. i should have maybe titled this post.'BLAH, BLAH, BLAH'.
what do you have to say about that WUBBEN? :)
12.27.2008
blah, blah, blah from traci .......
i hope this finds you all well after the holiday rush. i am saddened and yet, somewhat relieved to be done with the hustle and bustle of it all. we had a fabulous time with family and the Best part of it all, SNOW!!! it's been years since we've had a white Christmas. growing up in Michigan, i think the love of the white stuff is in my blood. snow started falling a few days before Christmas and lucky for us, it never stopped! i spent MUCH time (is that proper english?) at my window, watching the flakes fall. there is something about being 'stuck' indoors. thankfully, we didn't have anything really pressing to get out for. church, however, was cancelled on Christmas eve which was a bummer. that is always a special service for us. Christmas eve night we had the likkel clan over. it was a special treat to be able to welcome the newest member to our family, elijah calvin grant black. our niece taya, husband ross and their kids(isaiah & elijah) were able to come from Arkansas. after almost a week on the road, blizzards galore, they made it to us safely. it's always a good time wherever the likkels are involved.
Christmas morning we spent opening gifts with the boys. they all got what they wanted. star wars Lego and webkinz. my husband was also, as usual, so good to me. i crabbed about my camera long enough. a new camera, simple point and shoot, for me. rye got the Bourne Trilogy. if you haven't seem the movies, GO RENT THEM. (or borrow ours). Christmas day, afternoon, my family came over. as always,a good time. we even had the privilege of 'skyping' with my sister and family. it was incredible. for those who don't know what skyp is, it's basically video conferencing. we can both see each and talk, LIVE. since they are not able to make it here during the holidays, it was almost as if they were here. so, once again, Christmas is here and gone, all too quickly. our prayer is that you,too,were able to slow down and remember the the true meaning of Christmas,celebrating our Saviors birth.
i uploaded a bunch of pictures. forgive me...they go on and on. not to mention the fact that i had to put TWO slideshows up because i couldn't remeber how to do it properly. (amy, i was totally paying attention but somehow it slipped my memory! AAHHH) i normally don't 'do' scenery pictures but let me tell you, that snow was prettier than i remember it ever being.
so, there you have it. blog updated. glad to have THAT checked of my list....
Christmas morning we spent opening gifts with the boys. they all got what they wanted. star wars Lego and webkinz. my husband was also, as usual, so good to me. i crabbed about my camera long enough. a new camera, simple point and shoot, for me. rye got the Bourne Trilogy. if you haven't seem the movies, GO RENT THEM. (or borrow ours). Christmas day, afternoon, my family came over. as always,a good time. we even had the privilege of 'skyping' with my sister and family. it was incredible. for those who don't know what skyp is, it's basically video conferencing. we can both see each and talk, LIVE. since they are not able to make it here during the holidays, it was almost as if they were here. so, once again, Christmas is here and gone, all too quickly. our prayer is that you,too,were able to slow down and remember the the true meaning of Christmas,celebrating our Saviors birth.
i uploaded a bunch of pictures. forgive me...they go on and on. not to mention the fact that i had to put TWO slideshows up because i couldn't remeber how to do it properly. (amy, i was totally paying attention but somehow it slipped my memory! AAHHH) i normally don't 'do' scenery pictures but let me tell you, that snow was prettier than i remember it ever being.
so, there you have it. blog updated. glad to have THAT checked of my list....