2013: New Year, New Goals

I don't know about you, but I cannot believe that it is already January 10th! The holidays were extra special this year with Ellie and we cannot wait for the new little one that will join our family this new year! We are so BLESSED!!!!!

Every new year I work on creating a list of goals for myself and my family. I also take the opportunity to reflect on God's blessings of the previous year! Remember last year's post?

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2013: New Year, New Goals

Family

Family Night: Set aside one night a week to spend some quality time with our immediate family (Jon, Ellie, baby, and me).

Date Night: Set aside one night every other week for just Jon and I. (Ideas: go out to eat, go to a movie, go to a coffee shop, etc.)

Holidays: Plan ahead for this year's holidays/birthdays. 

Family Vacation: Plan at least one family vacation for just Jon, Ellie, baby, and I. We love vacationing with our extended families but have recently realized that because we do so much with them we have not even taken "our own" family vacation. (Ideas: I am thinking this year we will try to go to a beach resort since we will have a 2 yr old and an infant)

Finances

New budget work sheet: this is Jon's job to work on every year (since he is the accountant in the family).

Finish paying off our debt: self explanatory :)

Plan for future healthcare costs: last year we finished paying off medical/hospital bills for Ellie's birth and since we are having a new little one this year we are anticipating a big hospital bill (at least twice as big as Ellie's since all of the changes in healthcare recently) and our goal is to save up enough to pay most of it off by the time of the new baby's birth or shortly thereafter.

Home

Cleaning schedule: maintain last year's cleaning schedule for daily, weekly, and deep cleaning click here for free printable

Home Improvement Projects: our house is almost 10 years old now (we have been in it for 3.5 years) and it needs a lot of "updating"

-New carpet upstairs

-Kitchen remodel-- new countertops, appliances, etc.

-Painting-- Ellie's new room, the girls' bathroom, and general touchup throughout the house

-Update the master bathroom

-Organize and Declutter-- my goal is to be a minimalist this year. I hate junk! My goal is to have less and invest in high quality items.

Meal Planning: Our goal this year is to eat at home more (and eat out less). Continue using EMealz. Click here for easy family dinner plans -EMEALZ Easy Meals for Busy and Frugal Families

Personal

Reading: my new goal is to read at least 20 books in 12 months

Professional Life: currently I am working as an RN on a PRN basis (as needed) however I would still like to enhance my career by working towards a new certification (which will benefit my paycheck and myself personally as a nurse). I'm not sure yet which one to work towards but I am going to spend the rest of this month researching my options.

Fitness: currently, I am pregnant (and have horrible sciatica while pregnant) so my fitness goals will change throughout the year after the baby is born. Right now my goal is to walk for at least 30 minutes every day and to only gain the required 1 lb a week during the rest of this pregnancy. After the baby is born, my goal is going to be to train for a couch-to-5K and to begin training for a 1/2 marathon (my family is planning to run the Princess 1/2 marathon at Disney in Feb 2014).

Be Present & Be Thankful:
-to live in the moment and to be focused on my God and my family. My goal this year is to chose to not focus on the errors of the past or carry anxiety about the future.

-to take note of the blessings that God has given me each and every second of the day. This year I am starting a "journal" just for this purpose-- to document the blessings of today. 

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Anyways, those are just a few of my new goals for this new year! I do not promise to blog regularly or frequently this year but I will try to keep you updated on some of the blessings that God gives our family in this new year-- especially all about our new little princess who is due in April! :)

Hope your new year is off to a great start!