It's Tuesday - in case anyone is keeping track - so I'm a day late posting this. Joy was helping me cook dinner yesterday, and the pizza dough was having trouble rising in our amazingly cold kitchen, so everything took just a bit longer than anticipated. I do love that she's helpful but I'm constantly reminding her that things are hot. At least she can say that word!

So, my resolutions. Well, I haven't really do a lot of thinking about them. Meal Planning is still an issue so that goes back on the list. Income is still an issue so that goes back on the list. My writing has always been an issue but I've only just named it publicly so I'm finally going to put it on the list. Living Smart is part of who I am and who I want to continue to be so I'm moving it from 'resolutions' to 'goals'.

What does that leave:

1. Get serious about meal planning.

2. Continue to come up with creative solutions to add to my SAHM income.

3. I am a great writer. Whether it's non-fiction, blogging, birthday cards, or fiction. I need to make sure I give myself time to do what I enjoy.

There. That feels do-able and like a list I can continue to be accountable for throughout the year. I hope you'll stick around and see how it goes. Already I have a few ideas to get started. And if you have tips and tricks that work for you, I'd love to hear them. We all know I could use some help here and sharing what we know already works is always a Cool Idea!

Probably my first resolution for the New Year should be to do a better job of being accountable for my resolutions. I noticed that the last time I did a monthly Recap was in July. Not good. This time I'm going to put it on the calendar. Well, probably it was on the calendar last year but that laptop died in April.

Here are last year's Resolutions:

1. Do a better job with coupons and pantry stockpiling.
2. Continue to find creative ways to cut expenses
3. Meal planning/ smart planning
4. Increase my income as a stay-at-home parent
5. Find ways to live smarter in the balance between frugality and the environment
6. [not sure yet but I feel like there's something still there to be explored - so I'm leaving room for one more]

1. I think I did a good job here. I 'stuck to the list' - by which I mean - The Grocery Game so that I would be getting my items at the least possible cost to me. I love that the list also tells me where to find the coupon in my pile of coupons. Definitely worth the small cost, I think.

2. Cutting expenses continued to challenge us. One benefit I hadn't realized was that the school that Comfort and Joy attend serves breakfast everyday so theorectically I don't have to serve breakfast 5 days a week, 9 months a year. Bonus!

3. Meal Planning was my down fall and will be carried over into this year. Smart Planning is something I'm good at and I might pull them out and treat them as two different items. We'll see.

4. Creating income as a SAHParent is a challenge. I now have a couple more hours a day in which I can work but I still can't entirely rely on that time because I get called to get one of the girls from school at least once or twice a month. Surveys, mystery shopping, and online focus groups have been my main source and I've kept on top of this to try to maximize it.

5. Living smarter is definitely a strength and I hope I can continue to find additional ways in which we can blend frugality and our goal of being gentler on the environment.

6. This one never did get named but I think it probably had something to do with my fiction writing. I should just call it what it is and move on. I'm a Great Writer!

I'll post my Resolutions on Monday and I'm going to have Recaps set up for later each month.

How well did you do on your resolutions last year? Any that you'd like to reshuffle and try again this year?

What A Cool Idea! has been around for a year and here are a couple of things that I've learned:

• I'm perhaps the least successful Mommy Blogger [by page hits] on the internet
• I Am A Great Writer

So, for 2010 I'll be working on both my strenghts and my 'challenges'. I hope you'll be along for the ride with me. Heck, for nothing else, you'll at least want to see what this year's Resolutions might be and how well/ badly I do. It will definitely be a Cool Idea!

It's the end of the first decade of the 21st Century. Did you realize that? I didn't until someone else mentioned it. It reminded me that DH and I went to the millenium celebration on The Mall in DC as the new century rolled in and - well - sadly there's not much I remember except standing up all night and wondering if the Metro would in fact work for the ride home.

Remember that? Y2K and everything else. Seems like a long time ago doesn't it.

What I remember about that event was the intensely bright lights that they used to mimic the Sun dawning on the New Century. I kid you not - These Lights Were Bright.

We were standing at least half way down the Reflecting Pool and when the lights [which came up from behind the Lincoln Memorial] came on it was warmer and brighter than any sun I've ever actually seen. It was absolutely amazing.

I think the best part about it was that it helped remind us that the dawn always follows the night and the Light Shines in the Darkness.

So, it's the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010. Welcome to the new Decade.