The Compact

My first step toward my attempts at change (see previous post) is to commit to The Compact for one year. There is one simple (or not so) rule of The Compact: buy nothing new for a year. The Compact is an idea that started with a group of people in San Francisco. The group has several stated aims:
1) To go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of U.S. consumer culture, to resist global corporatism, and to support local businesses, farms, etc.
2) To reduce clutter and waste in our homes
3) To simplify our lives

There are two main principles of The Compact:
1) Don't buy new products of any kind (with some exceptions like food, toiletries, and underwear!).
2) Borrow, barter or buy used

This new way of looking at purchasing will also help Kenn and I stay on track financially (with the help of Dave Ramsey). The bummer is...no more things from Costco that I don't really need but are such good deals that I can't say no! ;)

One Little Word

I recently ran across a blog where the author encouraged everyone "to choose one word (or let it choose you) that has the potential to make an impact on your life" and let this word guide your choices throughout the year rather than make a bunch of resolutions you forget about in a few weeks. I loved this idea and my word for 2010 is change.

This year I'd like to make some major changes in a number of areas of my life (physically and mentally) and look forward to seeing what the new year will bring as I focus on change. What's your word going to be?

(To read the post that inspired this tanget click on the highlighted words in the first sentence)

Holiday Season 2009

A wonderful and exhausting holiday season is once again over :( With all of our family and friends in town, the holiday engagements can become overwhelming but I wouldn't trade it for anything. We are very blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people and cherish every moment. We love having four work parties, cookie exchanges, and five Christmases!! Well I should probably clarify that and say that I enjoy all this holiday hoopla, Kenn may have a different view -- but he's not blogging, so too bad for him! ;) I also wanted to thank everyone again for the wonderful presents and fun holiday letters/cards. I know that many have opted to do an online Christmas card to be green and save money, but I'm just not ready to jump on that bandwagon yet. I love plastering my walls with my friends and family and hearing about everyone's year. Hopefully you all had a wonderful holiday season too and have a Happy (and safe) New Years!

Formal Family Pics

We recently had Nikki Hoover take our yearly family pics and it was a great experience. Koen hadn't napped so he was a bit grumpy and he was distracted by all the planes flying overhead (as you can see by all the pics where he's pointing to the sky) but we ended up with some great pictures. A few of my favorites are below and for those of you that want to see all the pics you can sit through the slideshow ;)

BSU vs U of I Rivalry

It's that time of year again -- the BSU vs U of I football game rivalry! Poor Koen is going to end up with a split personality since Kenn insists that he wear Bronco gear and I insist on some Vandal attire. We compromised on a Bronco shirt and Vandal sweatshirt. Unfortunately for Kenn, that meant that when I took pictures of our darling on game day -- it's the Vandal colors that show! :) In the interest of being fair I also added a picture of Koen last September sporting the orange and blue. Wasn't he a cute little peanut?

Hardin Fall Family Pictures

The Hardin family hasn't had a family picture in decades so we all went to the river and had an informal photo shoot. It was a hoot as the kids did their own thing and the adults tried frantically to work around them! The results aren't half bad for a bunch of amateurs...

October 09

This month we enjoyed more visits to the park, playing in the leaves, BSU games (Kenn only of course as I am a VANDAL fan --- GO VANDALS) and Halloween. On Halloween Kenn went to the BSU game and Koen and I went to a party at my friend Laura's. Laura's son Cooper is 6 weeks older than Koen so they are a good pair. There were a ton of kids and fun games but most were for older kids so Koen entertained himself by crawling around stealing candy from everyone's abandoned bags! ;) To bad...so sad...You snooze...you lose!

And the biggest event of the month -- KOEN IS FINALLY WALKING!