2015 New Year's Resolutions and Lampshade Reveal

I've always loved New Year's Eve; not just for the excuse to wear sparkly dresses and drink fancy drinks, but for the fresh start it brings. I see New Year's as a clean slate - what can I accomplish in the next year?  What can I change?  I also always get a little fearful. For the most part my years have been amazing, and as we roll into a new year I get scared thinking about all there is for me to lose, particularly family and health. I think that chance to start over and that fearfulness are what make me want to celebrate NYE year after year. This year will be pretty boring - I bet we won't even stay up past 10 or 11!  But I'll still find some way tomorrow to celebrate with Dominic. And maybe we'll even get dressed up!

A little trip down memory lane...

Vi and I, NYE 2005

Our first NYE, ringing in 2007

NYE 2007

Can't remember if this was 2009 or 2008

NYE 2010

NYE 2012

NYE 2013

In 2014, my resolutions were to:

- Have another child - Beat that! We're having two. I'm such an over-achiever.
- Get in shape - I had this through May. I still can't believe that I went from running my high school mile pace to barely being able to slog through a mile to just sitting on the couch with my feet up.
- Work less - I always fail at this one. It's hard not to when we're on the verge of something huge at work!
- Finish projects around the house - Thanks to my frantic nesting and the realization that life is going to be CRAZY in a few weeks time, we were able to check a lot off our list. What's left are odds and ends, like that pile of clothes missing buttons, fixing the screen on the garage door, and hanging the ruler growth chart we got for Christmas last year (whoops).

Speaking of projects, the lampshade for Chloe and William's room is DONE!!!!  I will never embroider a lampshade again because it took way too much time and totally tested my patience. But I'm in love with the finished project and will probably cut whomever ruins it (unless its one of my babies and I'll have to suck it up).

Remember this hanging in their room?

Well, here you go:

The lamp was originally in the guest room with a different, wider shade. Because the side table in the nursery is so small, I switched to the shade from my college dorm lamp (I'm a hoarder). I didn't like it and could not find something small enough that I liked so I decided to Anthropologize the shade.

I printed another copy of the picture, cut out the pieces and laid it on the lamp to position it. Once I had everything laid out, I taped all the pieces together, taped them to the inside of the shade, turned the lamp on, and then traced all the shapes on the front of the shade.

Next I cut some of the larger leaves and the flowers out of felt and used Tack-It Over and Over to attach them to the shade. I used an extremely thin layer, just enough to make it stick in their spots so I could sew them on. For each of the flowers, I stitched around the border; for the leaves, I just used the lighter green to add the veins.

Then came the tedious part - stitching all the little details. I hated working on it because my fingers hurt, the stupid thread kept tangling, and some spots on the inside of the shade cracked. Enter some folded paper to use as a thimble (because I was to lazy to go to the store), slower stitching to avoid tangling and cracking, and super glue to attach any of the little pieces that cracked off. A bajillion weeks later, it's done!

I love this little corner of the room!

Anyway, back to resolutions. For 2015, mine are:
- Lose weight (I feel like I have this one in the bag!).
- Let it go - be okay with things not exactly the way I like them around the house, with mass chaos, and with always feeling a little behind.
- Get back to running and working out, at least 20 min/day 3x a week by the end of the year.

 And the one resolution Brian and I share:
- Survive the year without killing each other, Dominic, the babies, or the kitties or burning down the house.

Happy New Year!  Wishing you a fresh start and happiness in 2015!