Well, it’s my first post of the year and I’m going to try and start this one off right. I have had a wonderfully lazy week at home with my girls and now it’s time to return to the real world. I am about to clean house, balance the old checkbook and get myself organized for Monday morning.
I am notorious for abandoning New’s Years resolutions, but there are some definite things I want to change this year. I’m trying not to categorize them as resolutions, necessarily, but goals that I’d really like to accomplish this year. So, in an effort towards transparency and having lots of blog friends to hold me accountable, these are the things I’m shooting for this year.
Short Term Goals:
“BE” with my children more. Not necessarily in the same room with them, but on the ground with them: playing Barbies, running outside, riding bikes and snuggling. I want to make more of an effort to get to know them as little people, not just as little kids that live in my house.
Be more thoughtful with my finances. Spend less money on lunch dates and new shoes; have more purpose when tithing and sharing what God has given us. Focus less on accumulating things, learn to enjoy what we already have, and begin saving for important things we want to DO as a family together.
Re-organize my coupons, begin weekly meal planning, pack yummier lunches for the girls {and me} and try some new recipes. I really got off to a good start couponing last summer, but let it fall away during football and holiday season. I want to work on improving my stockpile, saving more on baby stuff and having a better plan when shopping.
Paint and redecorate our living and dining rooms. We’ve had the same color on the walls and furniture layout for almost six years and I’m ready for a change. We are already making some plans for later this month, so I’m hoping to have a pretty quick before/after to share with you soon.
Blog more, but spend less time at the computer each day. I want to do a better job of preserving our memories, but more time making those memories with my family. It will be a balancing act, but I’ve been really convicted about the amount of screen time I have each day.
Pay off remaining credit card bills and start chipping away at my car. Becoming a family with NO car payment will help us begin saving for a larger vehicle so we can talk about a larger family!
Make some home improvements we’ve been talking about for too long… add crown molding to our living areas and bedrooms, finish the back porch renovation, do some backyard landscaping, renovate our laundry room to make room for an additional bathroom and hope there is money left over for a minor kitchen renovation towards the end of the year.
Scrapbook for the girls on a regular basis. I am so far behind on Ella’s books and haven’t started on Sophie’s yet {aside from her baby book}. I think instead of spending money on physical scrapbooks, I’m going to start working on digital ones that I can design a few pages at a time and then have printed at the end of each year. Buying a new external hard-drive to organize my photographs and graphic design work will help me get organized and use the time I have for this project more efficiently.
Read the Bible in 90 days. I got off to a good start last year and made it most of the way through, but adding a little person to my life at the half-way point kind of disrupted my plans. I want to spend more time in Bible study this year and continue working with Ella on Scripture memorization.
What are your goals for this year?
