New Year, New Me!

Welcome to The Zombie Housewife version Two Thousand Elven point oh.  Doesn't seem much different, huh?

That's because it's not much different, at least not yet anyway.  That's because I haven't put the changes I have in store for this blog into effect yet.  While I've been on my semi-extended winter blogcation I've had a lot of time to think, and as much as that fact my scare my Husband, friends and those of you who truly know me, it's actually been a good thing.

I love the way the New Year turns me (and millions of other people) into reflective thinkers.  It makes you want to take a step back and think about the past year, life, where you are in your life, family, relationships and goals.  I love being able to think of the year as a clean slate, and a time for change and possibility. 

Now I will say this, I am not much for resolutions.  Mostly because after observing people a resolution has come to mean "An ill thought out wish that people make on New Years Eve or New Years Day, without thinking it through or making a plan to achieve the resolution.  Later to be discarded and rejected when the resolution maker realizes that it will actually take some amount of work to achieve this goal or change."  It's my opinion that most people really believe that the pounds are just going to melt away with sheer will and the power that it takes to think about losing weight, or that people believe that wanting to make a change or reach a goal will automatically get them there without working for it. 

This year I've actually sat down and set some goals though.  I prefer to think of them as goals but that's just me.  I also separated them into four categories, because I'm an anal, type A, list making OCD crazy person.  I know what you're thinking, "I hate people like that" well I hate people like that too.  Imagine how awkward that little bit of self loathing is for me, but it's okay, cause I can always make a pro and con list and feel better.

My categories are My Spiritual Life, Personal, Family/Relationships and Blogging.  Yes, I set goals for all of those things.  I plan to work toward them throughout the year as well, and I'm very excited to see the rewards of all my hard work!  There's nothing better than setting a goal and reaching it.  I'm going to be adding a section in my Nav Bar up there where my Goals for 2011 will be outlined, so look out for that!

I've got several new things planned for the blog, because I've been thinking for a while that maybe I should focus on the more personal side of the blog.  Try to show all aspects of my personality, instead of just letting a few aspects dominate the blog.  So I'm going to be reaching toward that on The Zombie Housewife as well.  I want to be able to open up more on here, but I'm pretty shy in general, so it's been a bit hard for me, but no more of that!  

I was going to announce something that I'm starting here, but now I think that I will make another short post about it after this.  There will also be a section on my Nav Bar for it as well.  I've just gotta get some things finished up, and it will be up today!  I hope you will all play along with me, that would make it so much more fun!

I hope you all had an amazing Holiday and had a great New Years Eve and New Years Day!!

Did you make any New Years Resolutions or Goals for 2011, if you did I wanna know what they are.  Perhaps we can hold each other accountable in this New Year!

It's an honorable goal

It would be fair to say that I am a bit more than a bit domestic.  I like domestic activities.  Truly, I do.  I even occasionally do my vacuuming in heels.  Which just automatically makes me way more of a dork awesome than everyone else I know.  It dawned on me a few weeks ago that while I have this freakish obsession love of all things domestic, I can not cook very many things from scratch.  What I mean by that is I can only cook one thing from scratch.  So I've been attempting to learn to cook, all on my own with no outside help.  It's been going really well, actually.  Except...for the whole baking thing.  I remember that my Granny made basically every baked good that she and her oven ever produced from scratch.  I want to do that.  First though, I should probably learn to not burn the boxed supposedly "super easy" version of baked goods from scratch.  This part, well...this part of my challenge has been a bit harder for me.  I have been successful twice though!  Chyeah!  *high fives to everyone who reads this*  Yep, I'm that excited about it!

I produced some totally tasty yellow cupcakes that managed to make it out of my oven looking like *gasp* yellow cupcakes instead of weird deformed hybrid yellow cake on the top funky rock hard chocolate cake/brownie on the bottom.   That means I did not burn them!  Not in the least!  I was so proud of myself that I tried something I have never been able to master.  The stupid rolled dough cinnamon rolls from Pillsbury, the first time the bottom was a tad browner than the top.  My husband and my 3 year old ate them like they were starving and told me they were good, bless their hearts.  The second time though, I mastered the premade cinnamon roll!  Yay!

These are some of my cupcakes by the way!  I put food coloring in the icing for my son.  I even used my Granny's plates to sit them on.  (=

So now I think I'm ready to actually try to bake something from scratch.  It's probably not going to be pretty.  Okay, my first attempt will more likely not be edible or pretty more realistically.  I somehow have gotten this very rare "skill" of being able to read a recipe, do everything it says exactly and have it still turn out tasting like...WTF.  Yeah, don't ask me how I do it.  It's a gift!  I'm determined though.  I don't know what my first attempt will be though.  I'm thinking that maybe I should go with the easiest thing I can find and work my way up to the harder stuff, so I've still got some research (read: googling) to do on that.  I would try peanut butter cookies, because  I used to help my aunt make them when I was little, and as I recall that is probably about as easy as it gets, but unfortunately the hubby and most likely my oldest son are allergic to peanuts.  (I only say most likely because we haven't had a formal allergy test yet, I'm about 99% sure he is allergic, we're awaiting a referral to get his tests done)

So wish me luck in my quest to be able to bake at least one thing from scratch and have it taste at least moderately good and not burn it into a state where it is unrecognizable. I'm probably going to need all the luck I can get.  No really, I burnt corn on the cob once a few years ago.  I am completely serious about that too.  *sigh*