My New Year’s Goals

Hey Ho, folks!  Or should I say Ho Hey?  I love that song by the Lumineers, have you heard it? 

I am not the type of person to make New Years Resolutions.  They never stick and I forget about them before NY Day is here.  But this year I am feeling like I need to make a few changes in my life so I am making some goals for myself and our family.

First, I think we spend way too much money on eating out and I always feel like we don’t save enough money so to get us out of this spending and eating funk I am going to make a very bold goal and it is to not eat out at all for the entire month of January.  No lunches out, no suppers out.  I want to see how much money we can save and then put that money into our savings or my retirement account (which has been a bit neglected since I started staying home with the boys – scary!!!).  From there I want to limit the number of times we eat out each month.  I think 2 times out as a family per month is where I’m headed, maybe meeting Andy for lunch just 2 times per month. 

Next, I want to focus more on family time.  QUALITY family time.  We are together all the time but that time is usually focused around the tv at night.  So my goal is to shut the tv off one night a week.  On that night we will play games, play with Legos, maybe color or do a fun project.  Once it warms up and stays light out longer we will go outside and play ball and play in our garden.  Take walks, ride bikes.  Anything that focuses on us being together and actually being present with one another.

Another thing I want to change is about myself.  I want to be a better friend.  I am good about sending an email or quick text to friends to say hello but I don’t feel like I do enough for my friends.  I’d like to make an effort to call them up to actually chat and find out what’s going on in their life.  To make plans to get together.  Maybe drop off a small ‘this made me think of you’ gift.  I want to be a friend to others that I’d like to have. 

I hope that by posting these goals I will be held more accountable to them and actually follow through with them.  Keep me on track, friends!

One more thing – as much as I don’t like NYE I really like New Years Day.  It’s full of fresh beginnings.  One of my favorite things to do every December is take my old calendar down and fill out my new calendar with all of the important ‘carry over’ dates (birthdays, anniversaries).  It also gives me a chance to see all of the fun things we did over the past year (I write everything on the calendar or I forget to do it).  The new calendar looks so fresh and clean with just a few things written on it. It doesn’t take long to fill it up with our busy life again. 

To all of you NYE partiers, have fun and be safe!  See you in the new year!  Wishing all of you many blessings in the New Year.

Erin