A new year begins.

Well, the first week of 2009 is over.
I'm not one for making new years resolutions, mainly because I either break them or forget them. Instead, I plan, I dream and I formulate goals.

Some of my goals for 2009:

• As always to reduce, reduce, reduce my family's impact on the planet. (This is the main goal I have and most of the other goals are related to this.)
• Reduce the amount of processed food my family eats. This means I will need to be more organised. I will have to make work and school lunches in advance and freeze up some home made "ready meals", for days when neither of us wants to cook. Sorry boys, no tuck-shop or take away.
  
• Complete a Permaculture design course. I have researched this and I am lucky to have Northey St City Farm just down the road from me. This is the website here. Somehow, I will fit this into my existing work, school and family schedule.
  
• Finish everything in my mending basket. Sigh. How does a grown man manage to rip so many pairs of shorts?
  
• Bake our own bread, biscuits, muffins etc. I love to cook, and my boys love to eat what I cook, but somehow I only manage to bake for special occasions. I need to make it part of my weekly routine. I really want to try this recipe I saw in Mother Earth Magazine.
  
• Make my own pasta. I have been promised a shiny pasta maker by my handsome husband. I know, I know, I could just roll it out and cut it, but when I do it this way, the texture is all wrong and my lasagne is too thick.
  
• Walk, ride or catch the bus to school.
• Be on time for school everyday. Last year, my son's teacher was so frustrated by my lack of punctuality, I think she was on the verge of giving me detention.
  
• Get my Driving license. I don't want, or need a car of my own, but for emergencies, it's probably a good idea to be legally allowed to drive one.
  
• Get the veggie patch up to scratch. The poor patch has suffered, due to storms, heat, humidity and general neglect.
  
• Make soap, at least once. I have relatives who own an olive business and they make their own olive oil soap, which is so luscious and creamy. I just don't see them enough to keep us supplied in free samples, lol. So I will try to make my own.

I will post through out the year about my attempts at achieving these goals, and keep you updated about my successes, or failures :1