Tuesday, February 19, 2013

2013 Goals

I know...

It's almost the end of February and I'm just now making my goals for this year.  Most people have already tried and failed at their goals/resolutions and I'm just starting.  It's not that I procrastinated.  I actually spent the past month and a half reading blogs and articles about goals.  What were other woman/mothers setting as goals for this year?  What steps were they trying to take to accomplish their goals?  What did I want to change about myself this year as compared to past years?





source

 

 


I spent a lot of time thinking about this. Probably too much, I tend to over analyze things.  I am always trying to improve myself and my family life.  I love my life and my family, but I can see so many things about myself and my family that could be better.

I broke my goals down to four groups- home, marriage,family, and personal.  Then I wrote a list under each group of the things I want to improve upon.  I tried not to make to detailed or long of a list as I knew it would be too overwhelming.  I want to make changes that stick.  I don't want to burn myself out or make things so difficult that I give up. 

Here is what I've come up with:

            Home:

                      -declutter and organize
                      -return to meal planning
                      -develop a simple and achievable 
                       cleaning schedule
                      -develop a simple and achievable laundry
                       schedule
                      -complete unfinished home projects
                      -decorate          



             Marriage:

                     -date again
                     -create and work on goals together
                     -stop expecting him to read my mind



              Family:

                     -spend more time together
                     -attend church more consistently
                     -eat healthy dinners/snacks


              Personal:

                      -read Bible
                      -exercise again
                      -eat healthy
                      -work on my patience,attitude, and tone


It's a lot.  I don't expect to work on all these goals at the same time or I think I will definitely fail. 

What I have already done is to pick one or two goals to focus on at a time.  For example, in January, I began a Bible reading program.  So far I've done very good at keeping on schedule with the plan.  It's beginning to become a habit for me to read my Bible right before I go to sleep. 

I also experimented with a laundry schedule.  The school year is especially trying when it comes to laundry as my kids wear uniforms and the winter brings out heavy sweatshirts and sweatpants.  I have tons of laundry to do each week.  I used to save most of it for the weekend, but really hated spending so much of the day doing laundry.  Now, I commit to doing 2 loads a day/evening during the week. It's easy and quick and there are less late night "I need my _________ shirt/pants/etc for tomorrow" surprises.

Some goals are more important to me than others and so I will probably work harder on those.  I don't expect to change overnight and I am also quite certain I will slip up.  It's not a contest.  I'm not competing with anyone else. I'm not going to beat myself up over this either.  If I decide to spend all day Saturday watching tv or wasting time reading blogs/magazines, so be it.  Who cares?  Do I want to do that every day? NO. It's not what I want for myself or my family, but sometimes it's ok to take a break.  I think that's where I've gone wrong.  Thinking that I've failed because I wasn't always working on my goals. 

Last Wednesday also began the Lenten season.  I've always used Lent as a time for personal growth and working on my goals, especially reading the Bible and church, and so it's fitting that I am starting so late this year.

I guess this year my overall goal is to have a smoother running household and better family time. 

I've written out my goals and now I've got to work on my game plan. 

Wish me luck!








Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day 2013

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Hope everyone is spending time with those they love.  We're just hanging out at home tonight.  I'm going to cook dinner. I left the kids cards and mugs full of chocolate treats for them after school.  I also put post-it notes in their rooms telling them some of the reasons why I love them.

I'm sure they'll love the candy more than the notes!!

Jeff bought me three 1 lb Hershey bars.  Yah, I love chocolate!
And he bought me the perfect Valentine's card.  I will have to upload pictures.  Describes our family perfectly!!

Happy Valentines Day!!

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Happy Ground Hog Day 2013

Great job Punxsutawney Phil for predicting an early spring!






Just wish it would stop snowing today!  It's getting bad out and we have a weather advisory until tomorrow night, so I think I will spend the weekend at home.  There are lots of things to do around this house and I can use the time to finalize some goals I've been working on in January.

Stay warm everyone!