New Years Resolutions!

They say the best way to make sure that you fulfill your new years resolutions is to write them down. So, here we go!

This year, without sounding super selfish, a few of my goals just revolve around me and becoming a better me. But, rather than just listing them..I'm trying to also include an action plan to make sure it's going to be done! 

1. To get into better shape. I know that's so cliche. But, really, I need to buckle down and get serious. I don't want to put a specific # of pounds on here that I want to lose, or, a specific date to have it done. But, I know I need to lose the weight that's leftover from being pregnant with Noah (and a little bit left from my pregnancy with Jacob!). It's time to drop the excuses and get it done.

I already have a new gym membership. Lucky for me, my family is very active and healthy, too. The reason this hasn't worked in the past is because I don't have any time to work out. I watch the boys all day and don't want to burden anyone with watching them every day while I work out. I don't want to do it at night, because then I won't see Badi as much. So, only solution is for me to suck it up and wake up at 5am and hit the gym to be home before Badi leaves for work and the boys are still sleeping. This week, I worked out 6 out of the 7 days!!!! Thankfully, my Dad is really supportive and works out with me at 5am...even picks me up from my house. I don't think I would be as diligent if he wasn't helping me. Thanks, Dad aka Jillian Michaels!!  :)

2. Meal planning. To go along with #1, I'm going to try meal planning. It will help with our budgeting, eating better, going to the grocery store less frequently and eating out less. I used to be religious with coupon clipping and matching sale ads with coupons for the best deals. I'm going to get back into that and tie it in with meal planning. Can't wait! 

I've already organized all of my coupons and started a list of meal ideas for the month!

3. Read 25 books this year. I got into reading again toward the middle of last year and read some really great books. ('The Help', 'Something Borrowed', 'Something Blue', 'Baby Proof', 'Facts of Life', etc) But, this year, I want to read even more. It's so nice to read when both boys are down for a nap and before I go to sleep at night. It's so relaxing! 

This year, I've already finished 'The Notebook' and I'm almost done with 'Heaven is for Real'!  

 

4. Making more time for myself. Being a stay-at-home Mom is the best thing ever. I'm so fortunate to be able to do that and so thankful that Badi works hard every day for this to be able to happen. But, as much as I love spending all of my time with the boys, I still need to make some time every now and then for me. When I was working, I wasn't seeing my friends as much as I would have wanted. But, now that I'm at home...it's even less because I don't see my work friends either. 

So, I started a Mom group! Unlike play dates or family dates....this is only for the Moms!! Last week was our first get-together and it was a blast! Everyone kept thanking me for coming up with the idea and said they couldn't wait for the next one. I'll write more about that later. :)

5. Along with #4, I want to stay in better touch with people. I love getting mail and emails from friends. But, with Facebook and texting...that very rarely happens anymore. 

My goal for this year is to actually sit down and write 12 letters to a friend or family member and put it in the good ol' fashion snail mail box. With a stamp and everything! Who knows, this may prompt some writing back and forth with the people I choose to send a letter to. I'll shoot to get one done a month. I'm excited about this one, too! :)

6. I want to be more cognizant and aware of others. In that, I want to be more attentive and appreciative. For example, the other night we had an outstanding waiter. He was really working his butt off and very genuine. He was an older guy and something just told me that he probably didn't hear compliments very often. So, before we left, I made sure to ask for the manager and really go out of my way to explain what an excellent job out waiter had done. You could tell immediately how relieved and grateful she was to be hearing praise and not complaints. 

So, I'm going to make sure I try and let others know when they're going above and beyond and stick out in a good way to me. So, complaining less and complimenting more....(when it's deserved.) :)

7. Lastly, making more time for my marriage and my husband. It's SO easy for us to get into our routines and do the same things every day. But, I want to make more of an effort to have time alone with him, just the two of us. 

Not necessarily going out to dinner or the movies, etc all the time. But, making more time for us to watch movies together at home, cuddle, etc. I love him so much and am so grateful to have him as my husband!

Glad I have this written down so I can keep myself in check and look back at the end of the year and see how things went. 

Do any of you have resolutions?