Name:
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Things my 2009 will include:
A new Bible, any day now. I have been using the IISB (NASB) as my primary Bible for ten years now, and for nearly fifteen years before that it was The Open Bible (NASB). I'm ready for a change. About five years ago I got a nice study Bible in NKJV and could never get used to it or feel like it was "my own," so I'm a little nervous about making a choice. I have narrowed it down and when I take the plunge (read: hit the "Buy Now" button) I'll let you know which one I'm getting...
A re-reading, after many years, of Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest. I have the 1963 hardcover edition from the library of my mother, printed when I was just nine years old. The book is copyrighted 1935 (18 years after Chambers' death) and has become almost the definition of a classic. It's already on my bedside table, ready for tonight's first reading.
Hopefully, another 50 books. I managed 51 in 2008, just short of one per week. About half were in audio form. This year will include Crime and Punishment and the next few #1 Ladies Detective Agency volumes, a biography of John Calvin in this 500th anniversary year of his birth, and several others already sitting in my left-hand sidebar.
A purging of our library. It's gotten messy, unwieldy, and therefore un-useful. I want it to continue to be valuable to us and our extended family and friends, and so I need to get it in shape.
Increased use of the public library for our school needs. We go through a massive amount of books in a school year, and because I'm no longer buying books for a stair-step line of younger kids, it's time to put the money elsewhere (college bookstore?) and use the library when I can.
Trimming of my blog feeder. I don't need to read all the ones I've subscribed to and don't need to feel guilty when I see at 11pm that I have "297 unread" blogs or news sites. About a third of what I have on the list is valuable; the rest is clutter.
So far, everything has to do with reading. So...
A purge of our files. They, like our library, are bloated, messy, and outdated. I mean, do we really need electric bills from 2002 and notice that my dental cleaning was paid for by insurance in '04?
Headway on planning, if not actually "building," a new kitchen. This must start, by virtue of a looming crisis, with the reshelving of the rest of our pantry that we started in January of '08. One wall down, two to go.
Revival of my sewing skills and my 27-year old sewing machine to make at least one piece of clothing or home decor item. I've been tempted a few times to replace the machine, but since it's only been used for mending and sewing on of Awana patches in the past few years, I need to determine if there's enough fire left in me to invest in a new one.
Increasing my knowledge of HTML, web design, and other helpful computer skills. This will include an expanded use of Google Docs, which my daughters and I have learned to rely on for multiple uses in the past year.
Scrapping and replacing of our fairly new but despised Dell printer/copier. If you have an extra, oh, $400 a month to waste on ink and would like our printer, sign up here. Or not.
A new vacuum cleaner. I did treat myself to a new Roomba with some gift money, but I haven't unpacked it yet and am not under any illusion that it will replace the human-powered version. As I've noted before, we are the world's unluckiest family when it comes to vacuum cleaners, and the last two were no exception. Not sure if it's the volume of vacuuming we do or some gigantic cosmic curse, but we can't run a machine for longer than two years and many times it's been six months. Oh wait, that was the one I tried to use to vacuum up live geckos. Never mind.
Repainting of the exterior trim of the house and replacing of all the porch railings. Don't even get me started.
Better control of meal planning and grocery buying. I have several tools at my disposal to accomplish this and just need to muster up the will to use them better!
Have you decided on any projects, personal or otherwise, for the new year?
A new Bible, any day now. I have been using the IISB (NASB) as my primary Bible for ten years now, and for nearly fifteen years before that it was The Open Bible (NASB). I'm ready for a change. About five years ago I got a nice study Bible in NKJV and could never get used to it or feel like it was "my own," so I'm a little nervous about making a choice. I have narrowed it down and when I take the plunge (read: hit the "Buy Now" button) I'll let you know which one I'm getting...
A re-reading, after many years, of Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest. I have the 1963 hardcover edition from the library of my mother, printed when I was just nine years old. The book is copyrighted 1935 (18 years after Chambers' death) and has become almost the definition of a classic. It's already on my bedside table, ready for tonight's first reading.
Hopefully, another 50 books. I managed 51 in 2008, just short of one per week. About half were in audio form. This year will include Crime and Punishment and the next few #1 Ladies Detective Agency volumes, a biography of John Calvin in this 500th anniversary year of his birth, and several others already sitting in my left-hand sidebar.
A purging of our library. It's gotten messy, unwieldy, and therefore un-useful. I want it to continue to be valuable to us and our extended family and friends, and so I need to get it in shape.
Increased use of the public library for our school needs. We go through a massive amount of books in a school year, and because I'm no longer buying books for a stair-step line of younger kids, it's time to put the money elsewhere (college bookstore?) and use the library when I can.
Trimming of my blog feeder. I don't need to read all the ones I've subscribed to and don't need to feel guilty when I see at 11pm that I have "297 unread" blogs or news sites. About a third of what I have on the list is valuable; the rest is clutter.
So far, everything has to do with reading. So...
A purge of our files. They, like our library, are bloated, messy, and outdated. I mean, do we really need electric bills from 2002 and notice that my dental cleaning was paid for by insurance in '04?
Headway on planning, if not actually "building," a new kitchen. This must start, by virtue of a looming crisis, with the reshelving of the rest of our pantry that we started in January of '08. One wall down, two to go.
Revival of my sewing skills and my 27-year old sewing machine to make at least one piece of clothing or home decor item. I've been tempted a few times to replace the machine, but since it's only been used for mending and sewing on of Awana patches in the past few years, I need to determine if there's enough fire left in me to invest in a new one.
Increasing my knowledge of HTML, web design, and other helpful computer skills. This will include an expanded use of Google Docs, which my daughters and I have learned to rely on for multiple uses in the past year.
Scrapping and replacing of our fairly new but despised Dell printer/copier. If you have an extra, oh, $400 a month to waste on ink and would like our printer, sign up here. Or not.
A new vacuum cleaner. I did treat myself to a new Roomba with some gift money, but I haven't unpacked it yet and am not under any illusion that it will replace the human-powered version. As I've noted before, we are the world's unluckiest family when it comes to vacuum cleaners, and the last two were no exception. Not sure if it's the volume of vacuuming we do or some gigantic cosmic curse, but we can't run a machine for longer than two years and many times it's been six months. Oh wait, that was the one I tried to use to vacuum up live geckos. Never mind.
Repainting of the exterior trim of the house and replacing of all the porch railings. Don't even get me started.
Better control of meal planning and grocery buying. I have several tools at my disposal to accomplish this and just need to muster up the will to use them better!
Have you decided on any projects, personal or otherwise, for the new year?
Labels: Books, Holidays, Homemaking, Technology
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