15 things I will do differently in 2015

A pink pebble out, an orange rock in. But, wait what about this white stone?

I ended off the year with a sharing on my rocky life, how the rocks have helped me and some of the many rocks I would like to work on.

And now I am breaking down my goals into small achievable acts. I am glad to participate in this blog train hosted by Rachel from Catch 40 Winks as it motivates me to think and reflect deeply on how I actually take on my days. I'm sure that there will be more coming along but I shall challenge myself with these 15 "simple" changes first.

Daughter of God 

Here I am standing firm on my faith but I am not going to hide the truth that there are many times that God has lifted me up when I was down. I long to live a life that is God-centred and not just having him being part of my life. There is still a long journey to go and I need to continue to walk closely with him.

Lovely sunset at Ayana Bali that reminds of the song "from the rising of the sun".
-  From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. Psalms 113:3.

1. Read a chapter of the bible daily and pray throughout the day

It's never too late to figure out that I usually pick the pillow over the bible. Since the beginning of the year, I tried to squeeze in some 5-10 mins to read and say a quick prayer before hubby and Emma gets up on most days. On days when that doesn't happen, I would try to read a chapter and/or a devotion during small pockets of the day. There are also days when I can't put things together and skipped. Anyhow, I am coming to the end of Genesis and more to come! 

Things happen so fast that there are many times where I acted faster than I pray. I need to consistently remind myself that prayers is the act and not for the act! ASAP! Always say a prayer!

2. Attend Adult Sunday School

For the whole of last year, our family just attended the service on Sunday morning as it's logistically taxing to stay through till noon every sunday but this year, we will try to stay on for the Sunday school. 

3. Listen to sermons recording

Gone are the days when Emma could hang out at the main service area quietly and these days she attends the children school after the adult worship. I accompany her and Thomas will when I teach. So, I actually haven't listen to a proper sermon for quite some time. For this year, I like to set aside some time to listen to sermon recordings regularly.

Wife

4. Go on dates with hubby

Now, we are sounding so unromantic. Not counting those half days when we met for quick lunch before picking Emma, we went babyfree twice - 1 movie when Emma was 3 months old and a brunch just before 2014 ended. We are pretty happy hanging out with Emma as long as she (we) all have our little nap.

However, with the reflection going on, I asked Hubby why not we have some date nights? We chatted briefly about how we would need to trouble our parents as they would need to feed dinner, milk and put her to bed at night. Then the next day, he came back with a suggestion to leave Emma at the infant care playgroup on Saturday morning every 1-2 months. We could catch a movie or just a quick breakfast. Sounds like an idea?

Mummy

There are so many values and traits that I wish to teach, develop and influence Emma, here's 2 to kick start with:

5. Build up Emma's interest in learning

I can't repeat this enough, Emma is picking up things so much and we should make use of this peak period. I started A-Z learning boards and plan activities around the words.

6. Build up Emma's creativity

Do at least one art crafts or activity every week. The learning boards act as a guide for me to plan the topic for the week's learning. I enjoy crafting and I wish to expose her with more creative activities. For this year, I am hoping to do at least one art crafts or activity every week. It can be as simple as colouring or learning a new song!

Housewife

7. Clear clutters within 48 hours

Like I have shared in my previous post, I have a bad habits of consolidating my mess so that I could stand in front of that mess and say to myself: "aaahhh, my house still look neat!" So, I am pushing myself hard not to leave clutters around. 

It is especially so for laundry. I do laundry almost everyday and I always leave the folding to the last or probably the next day. It just builds up into a big pile and make it even more time consuming!

8. Learn to cook nicer and healthy dishes 

It's time to cook proper! Emma is getting a little sick of her porridge and the school has a wide variety of food for her. I'm still thinking how we can work things around the kitchen especially on work day.

Ashlyn

9. Be discipline to follow my beauty regime

I might not have looked like it, but I have certainly neglected my beauty regime - Bare nails, tired eyes and uncombed hair. Thank God for makeup and hair tong! I am throwing the idea of monthly facial and hair treatment as it's seriously not going to happen! I did a hair treatment during workday lunch time and it works! I just need to find a day when my boss doesn't need to look for me over the lunch. I should be go back to putting face masks for some quick fix.

10. Live healthier

It's hard as Hubby and I eat out every often. We need to be more hardworking in eating more fruits and supplements. We also started Emma on Scotts' cod liver oil. Exercising is almost out for us but I guess we could try some swimming over the weekends since Emma loves to play with water.

11. Fall in love with my shoes

I was crazy over those 3 inches heels and could fit in almost any painlessly before pregnant. After returning from maternity leave, I went on a mission to find the most comfortable shoes as I need to stand through the long train rides. I did managed to find a good one and settle on it for almost 1 year. 

Then I realised that I became lazy in getting good and pretty shoes. So this year, I am going to get back my love for shoes and try my best to fall in love with flats too. 

12. Work on inner self

There are still lots of areas for improvement but I like to highlight these few. I want to be more thankful and enjoy every moment. With more on the plates, I wish to be more effective, exercise better time management and be mindful of things around. I also like to have more patience and learn how to better manage Emma when she is throwing tantrums. Hubby is better than calming her down but she loves to cling to me when she is upset.

13. Pray more for those around me

I got to admit that I'm get consumed with my daily life that I'm usually left with little time and energy to pray for people and happenings around me. It's a good reminder to put these down on my prayer list. 

Family - Daughter/Daughter-in-law/Sister/Sister-in-law/Auntie

14. Go on outings together

We usually spend weekends at our parents' or our home as it is more relaxing. However, it can gets a little boring at times. I am thinking of arranging more outings throughout this year for the 3 of us as well as with our parents. Looking forward to create more memories together!

Friend

15. Connect with friends

Do you agree that it just get more difficult to meet up with friends once the baby comes along? It's especially so for me since hubby and I are the main caregivers. Besides, time spent with Emma as working parents always seems insufficient. However, thanks to whatapps and social media, we still get to be updated about each other's life. 

This year (a year long "project"), I wish to do something for every close friends of mine. In no order of importance, I will send them off to you in whichever way I could think of.

I'm missing a few rocks here but I shall work on these 15 first before coming out with more!

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Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labour in vain. - Philippians 2:16

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Though Feb is coming to an end, it's never too late to start planning for 2015! So, hesitate no more and plan some good changes for this new year! Click on the badge below to read more about what other 33 mummies are planning for 2015!

Next up on the blog train "15 things I will do differently in 2015" is Mei who blogs at Finally Mama (link to finallymama.wordpress.com). Mei juggles a full time job, a 3 year old boy, a social enterprise called CRIB (link to www.crib.com.sg), and a hubby of 10 years who travels just as much as she does! Read her reflections on what to do differently in 2015 as she seeks to give 100% in the areas that matter and not split 100% of her time to try to do everything everyday. Her post will be up on coming Mon, 23 Feb!