There are various areas of my life in which I'd like to do things a little differently. I know that January 1 is just a date but there is something about the start of the new year that is motivating. Here are some of the things I'd like to do differently/change:
1. Weight Loss/Exercise - Obviously, while I am pregnant, there won't be any weight loss, but after the baby is born, I want to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight as soon as possible. Hopefully, I can be back to that weight by the end of summer, if not before. Instead of trying to do some unreasonable exercise plan, I think it is best if I just shoot to get some kind of exercise in twice a week, whether it's an exercise class, a video, walking on the treadmill, or just taking a walk. I'd like to focus on getting some movement in rather than what that movement is.
2. Reading - Last year, I read A LOT, but it was all mostly books for fun, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This year, I want to expand a little, so I'm hoping to read at least 16 books for fun, at least 2 books that are music/music therapy related (last year I only read one), and at least 2 nonfiction books about a topic I'm interested in, such as home organization, living simply, parenting, couponing, etc. This is a total of 20 books and last year I read 32, so hopefully I can make this happen. Now that I have a kindle, I have been downloading a ton of nonfiction books for free so I think there will be plenty to choose from for nonfiction. I also have some music-related books picked out, and I have a long, long list of fiction including finishing the Tudor series by Philippa Gregory, starting The Cousin's War series by the same author, maybe attempting to finish the Harry Potter series (not my favorite but okay once I get about halfway into the books), the Divergent series, the Delirium series (both young adult dystopian trilogies), and I've heard good things about the Game of Thrones series, so I may look into that as well.
3. Writing - This is the area that always gets pushed aside for some reason. This year, my goal is to just write something at least once a week. This could be a blog post (for my personal or professional blog), a writing exercise from one of my many books, or working on a creative writing project (poem, story, etc.).
4. My Business Goals - There are a couple of things I want to add this year:
A. Write at least 10 blog posts (last year I wrote like 2 of them).
B. Offer my Music and Wellness course in the 5-week format as well as at least one shorter mini-workshop about using music for relaxation. I have already started on getting this set up but still have to work on the details.
C. Add at least 1 more stable contract. I may also add a few more piano students.
5. House Projects - There are also several areas under this category as well:
A. Keeping the house clean - This past year, we hired someone to help with the housecleaning every other week. Now that I am not working as much, I have taken back all of those responsibilities. I know that people say the housework will be there tomorrow (and there is some truth to that), but keeping a clean and somewhat organized house has always been important to me, so I am going to do my best to keep up with the cleaning schedule I've given myself every week and to recognize that some weeks, I may have to postpone the cleaning if things come up.
B. Paint the fence - This may be a long shot with having two kids to take care of this year, but it definitely needs to be done.
C. Wash the windows - Somehow this didn't happen this year, so I know they need it.
D. Organization - This is a never-ending battle because it seems as soon as I organize something, it becomes organized. I have some ebooks about this very topic, so I'm hoping they will help make this task a little simpler this year.
6. Finances - Now that I am working less and we will have another child in 3 short months, I want to be better about our finances. We have dropped to part time daycare and have made a few other minor changes to soften the blow a little.
A. Eating Out - We spend so much money eating out that I don't even want to know how much it actually ends up being. We have agreed on an amount that we would like to stay under each week/weekend. I know this won't always happen when things come up (unexpected power outages, birthdays, etc.), but I'd like to at least be more mindful of what we spend eating out. We plan to bring Anya's food with us more often (she hardly ever eats much of anything we order her anyway) and rely more on coupons, groupons, and other deals to cut down on cost so we can still enjoy some dinners out.
B.Yard Sale - Our neighborhood has a yard sale each spring and we are hoping to take part in that this year. After being here for 4 years, we have replaced enough things and accumulated enough stuff that we are ready to part with some of it and hopefully make a little cash. We also have some bigger items (2 comforter sets, a girl comforter set along with a lamp, wall decals, etc., a ceiling fan, etc.,) that we are hoping we can sell on craigslist, as these are a bigger items that we might be able to make a little more by selling.
C. Saving Money - We typically save a fair amount of money each year to spend on things around the house, trips, bigger purchases, etc. I would like to continue doing this, thought we may not be able to save as fast as before with my workload being smaller. However, I would still like to be able to set aside a fair amount so that we can still enjoy these things.
7. Baby-Related Goals - These are all things that will obviously need to happen sooner rather than later!
A. Make a final decision about circumcision.
B. Get Baby Brother's nursery finished.
C. Schedule his baptism at our church.
D. Make casseroles, soups, etc., to freeze for after he is born.
There is no doubt that 2013 will be a busy one, with or without all the above. We have at least 4 weddings and lots of showers to attend coming up. We also hope to take a smaller vacation as a family either over my maternity leave or sometime in the summer. We're not sure where, though we are thinking maybe Gatlinburg/Asheville/Chattanooga. It definitely won't be as big of a trip as our European trip in May, but we want to do something. We will probably do our annual weekend anniversary trip and maybe one or two other weekend trips just to get away. Our plans are to stay in the US in 2013 but hopefully we can do something a little more adventurous in 2014!
These are just a few things on my mind regarding resolutions, though I'm sure they will have to be adjusted as I go. I just like to use this time to reflect on the past year and where I would like to be at this time next year.
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