Report card.

"They" say it takes 21 days to form a habit, and only one day to break it. Those same people say that we succeed 10% more when we make our goals public. Hence, I shared my New Year's "goals" with you all. 21 + days later, it's only fair to report my progress.

Full disclosure, y'all. I promise.

I WILL:

1. Talk less. D.

Ummm, doubtful.

2. Walk my dogs. F-.

Fail, miserably. Sorry, Murphy and Jackson.

3. Learn the names of all the tools on Josh's new work bench. C-.

Slowly, but surely I will do this. My super- duper handy man husband makes it easy to let him take the lead on teaching Josh how to do manly things.

4. Read more. A.

I am working on my forth book of the year. I've read James Patterson, David Sedaris, Meave Binchy, and I am in the midst of enjoying "50 in 50" by Dean Karnazes. He did 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. Really, don't you think he should have titled his book, "I am a Lunatic." by Dean Karnazes?

5. Pray first, think later. B-.

Happily, I am doing better at praying during the day. I try to silence negative or annoying thoughts with a nice little prayer. Seems to be working nicely for me.

6. Be patient. C+.

I'm trying to be patient with myself regarding this goal.

7. Loop the lake once a week. A.

I have met the mileage every week, but there have been many weeks of freezing/snowy/rainy weather, so I have ran on the treadmill 9 miles. I'm not a weenie, I run outside unless it is below 35 degrees, but it has been that for a long time it seems. I am ready for spring!

8. Try to get my crafty groove back. A.

(This pic is for you, Michelle!)

I am up to date on Josh's scrapbook, or "scratchbook" as Josh calls it. Yes!!! He LOVES looking at all his scrapbooks I've made since his birth. He will say things like, "Oh Wow! Mommy, this page is really very cute." This makes my day, month, year.

9. At work, show my patient's family God's love and comfort through caring for their baby, no matter how tired I am. B.

I certainly hope so. I try to do my best for them. Can you imagine not being able to hold your baby for the first month of his/her life??? It is heartbreaking to watch another mother going through that.

10. Download a new song every week. A.

Thanks to my dad's iTunes gift cards for Christmas, this has been very easy for me. My favorite downloads :

• Halfway Gone - Lifehouse
• Breakeven - The Script
• By Your Side- Tenth Avenue North

11. Learn to cook a really good steak. D+.

Not yet. But, I have tried a new recipe almost every week this year, so that should earn me some extra credit or something????

12. Take vitamins every day. A.

Done. I take two of Josh's gummy Flinstone vitamins everyday, because they are like having a little treat.

13. Give Chris a million reasons to be proud to call me his wife. B.

You will have to check with him on this one. It always makes me happy when I hear him tell people about what I do. I can hear the pride in his voice; this makes me smile.

14. Try a new hair style. A+.

I don't know if my hair style gets an A+, but I did get it cut, so I give myself an A+. FIVE inches cut off, long layers, and quasi-bangs! I was almost as nervous as the morning of the marathon. Okay, I actually think I was more nervous getting my hair cut. Seriously, sad but true. I went for the "Reese Witherspoon," but with longer bangs. (I'm the one on the right).

As you can see poor Josh got a wee hair cut as well. I know, I butchered it. He moved just as I went in for the first snip, so I had to even it out on the other side, then he moved again. You see where this is going. It wasn't pretty. I will now return to paying $15 to the kid's hair stylist. Darn it.

15. Be silly with Josh. A.

This is quite easy to achieve. Especially with a sombrero, robot glasses, and a scooter in the house.

16. Send people I love random notes telling them why they are important to me. B-.

I need to do this more. I have sent a few, but you can never tell too many people nice things, right?

I WON'T:

1. Be so lazy in the morning (notice I wrote "SO lazy," I'm still going to be lazy). F.

Fail. Ask Chris. Ask Josh. Ask Murphy. Ask Jackson. Definitely fail.

2. Blame myself for everything. C.

I blame myself for not meeting this goal.

3. Stop running. A.

I run 4x a week and I still love it. I was worried I would be burnt out, but it is still the best time of my day.

4. Let a day go by without telling my boys they make life worth living. A.

Done and done.

5. Hate. C.

Ugh, I hate new year's resolutions.

6. Be angry. C.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.

7. Buy Peanut Butter M&Ms. A.

Not one bag. Of course, I didn't include Kit Kat or Heath Bars in my goal, so I still get an A.

8. Tell Josh "I'm busy" when he asks me to play/read/sing with him. B+.

Not that he gives me a choice now that he is as strong as me and can pull me off the couch without too much effort.

9. Forget to give my dogs their Flea and Tick medicine every month. A+.

It's only been twice, so far so good.

10. Dwell on the past. C+.

I'll be better about this in the future.

11. Be pessimistic. B.

I try to wear my Life is Good T-shirt as often as possible.

12. Obsess about having my house tidy. D.

Yeah, I still can't stand a mess.

13. Wear scrub pants all day unless I am actually working. D.

Not fair... it's been perfect snuggle on the couch weather for the entire year of 2010!!!

14. Take people for granted. A.

I love living my life with people who make me smile.

15. Forget the little things. B.

I am quite forgetful, so I write the little things down on this blog. Is that cheating? I hope not, because if it is... I won't have anything to write about next week.