2012...

I almost forgot how to long into this thing. It's been awhile!

Here it is. The beginning of a new year. A time to reflect on all that has happened the past year and what your hoping for in the next year.

I'm not a resolution maker. However, this year, I've got a few goals for myself as well as for my family.
For some reason, if I throw them out there for the public, I feel a bit more obligated to stick to them. Wrong or right, it is what it is.

The family goal for 2012 is to focus on needs vs. wants. This goal is two-fold. The first is to focus on all that we've been blessed with and to be thankful for all that we have. This message was loud and clear to me when we were all watching The Blind Side over Christmas break and in the movie, Big Mike shares with LeAnn that he's never had a bed before. Colton just couldn't believe it ~ that this truly happens in today's world. It was an eye opener to me that we need to spend some time in 2012 helping/encouraging/supporting those that aren't as fortunate as we are. The second is to not spend money just to spend it. We do alright for ourselves, but aren't swimming in Benjamin's in our indoor pool (no we don't really have an indoor pool). I'm great at going to Target to get a few things like toilet paper and lettuce, but then walking out with 2 books, some new pens (when I've already got 36 in the drawer) and some things for the boys because I know they will love it. My husband on the other hand does really well avoiding the day to day purchases, but is more of an impulse buyer on big ticket items. Thankfully we're both on the same page for this goal.

I have a couple of personal goals for 2012.

My first is the standard goal that 99.9% of females have; eat less and move more. I have some great girlfriends that are all on the same page as me and we've got our own little program that kicks off tomorrow. Yee-haw! If you are interested, I strongly suggest the iphone app - Myfitnesspal. It helps you track your daily calorie intake and exercise.

My second is to get and stay organized in 2012. I spent a majority of this weekend clearing out closest. I went through my bathrooms and realized that I had 7 bottles of sunscreen. Seriously?!! I also cleaned out my spices and have to admit that I had many duplicates and containers that expired in 2008. Oops.

My third goal, which is a combination of goal 1 and goal 2, is planning out meals. This helps avoid any last minutes take-out orders or pizza calls (helps save $ for family goal and helps with lbs for personal goal). I've got the first week of meals planned out. Our schedules are crazy with basketball for the oldest 3-5 times/week plus wrestling practice for the youngest and school work on top of that.

And last, but not least is to facebook less and blog more.

Here's to an AWESOME 2012!