I love the beginning of the year for the fresh start it brings. Out with the old, in with the new. I typically make a huge list of very specific resolutions and get so overwhelmed with sticking to all of them that I fail miserably to stick with even one.
There are several things I want to accomplish this year, but I'm cutting myself some slack and picking more realistic goals so I don't set myself up for failure :) Ironically, one of my goals this year is to let go of the need for perfection, so this will be a good exercise for that.
Here's some things I'd like to see happen this year:
- Get Oliver (mostly) potty trained. We started the potty training process last June and he is 100% potty trained at home when he's naked. He runs right to the bathroom when he has to go and never has a problem. But apparently letting your kid run around in public naked is a no-no, so we still have some work to do :)
- Set up a little photo studio in our house. Oregon is too cold and/or wet a good portion of the year to do outdoor photos, so we're finally bringing the photos indoors. We're drawing up plans right now and hope to have something set up later this month in time for Valentine's Day mini sessions :)
- Pay off my student loans this year. I think I have until the end of 2016 to pay them off, but I've been paying extra as often as possible and hope to be totally done by October of this year.
- Explore Oregon more. We rarely leave the city (or even our house) anymore, but there is so much beauty to see in this state and I am eager to expose the kids to it. I'm aiming for 1 day-trip each month, even if it's super close (but it has to be a new-to-us place).
- Eat less sugar. I have a sweet tooth like none other and have noticed that Oliver asks for sugary stuff a lot more often now :( So it's time to cut back and lead by example with what I eat.
- Do one small house project a month. Our tentative plan is to put our house up for sale Spring 2016, so we need to start doing a little at a time so its ready by then. We need new carpet, new tile in the bathrooms, a new fence in the backyard, new grass/landscaping and minor repairs inside & outside. We also need to pare our belongings down as we go along, but I'm married to a hoarder (i.e.: I finally convinced him to get rid of his floppy disc collection just a few years back) so it will be tough. lol
- Be in more photos. I'm always the one behind the camera and it bums me out to look through my photos and only have a handful of shots with me & the kids in them :( So that is definitely something to work on for this year!
These are the main ones. Of course I am always looking to improve in all areas of my life (exercise more! watch less tv! read to the kids more! spend less!), but the items above are ones that I feel are not only very important, but also attainable. So wish me luck and hopefully I will have a chance to check back in in the next few months to share my progress :)
Best wishes for 2015 to you & yours :)
