My Goals for Twenty Twelve

Call them what you want...goals, resolutions, aspirations, whatever. It all means the same. And frankly it is important to have them. I have stated this statistic before but it is worth repeating....

80% of all Americans have no goals, 16% do have goals, 4% have goals and write them down, 1% have goals, write them down, and read them on a regular basis. That 1% will make nine times more income in their lifetime than the other 99%.

Clearly it is important to set goals. And despite my failure to accomplish even one of my goals from last year, I still think it is important to set them for this year. After all, even though I did not technically save more money last year, I did start using cloth diapers, began making my own laundry detergent and got rid of cable tv. No, I did not learn to sew, but I did start learning to crochet. Also, I didn't manage to lose weight, but instead decided to add a third baby to our house. So I wouldn't call the year a total loss.

So here goes...my goals for Twenty Twelve.

1. Don't get pregnant. Seriously. I don't want to get pregnant this year. However, I want to take some time to clear up some things. Are we done? Umm....I don't know. (also for the record...it takes two people to conceive a baby....I am not doing this on my own people...let me know if you want Jason's email address) But I am so confused by why so many people take such an interest in how many kids we are planning to have. We are prayerfully considering how many kids to have. And I guess, if you think we should be done, or if you think we should have 20 more, you should start praying that the LORD Himself would speak to us, because that is who we are listening to. Regardless, I am saying right now that unless we hear directly from the LORD that we are to get pregnant this year, my goal is to avoid it.

2. Lose weight. This baby will be here on or before January 19th and it is my personal goal to lose a significant amount of weight after he gets here. I am in a wedding on March 24th, so it would be nice to lose quite a bit before then. In order to help this goal along, I am pretty sure I am joining Weight Watchers online. I need some motivation and some accountability and hopefully that will help.

3. Commit to daily quiet time. Whether that means I am reading my Bible, listening to a sermon CD, reading a Christian book (that contains scripture) or spending time in prayer, I must make this a priority in 2012. I am pretty good about prayer, but the rest is falling behind. In order to make this happen I have pulled out my Bible in a Year and have found some good Christian books I want to read. Also, I have some podcasts downloaded for my listening pleasure.

4. Be more purposeful and present with the girls. Specifically, I would like to have some time each day devoted to working with Isabelle and Molly on educational material. Not rocket science or anything, but just spending time specifically working on learning something new. I don't know how I am going to find a lot of one on one time with them, but I am making it a priority.

5. Establish and stick to a blog schedule. I want to post three times a week, and I don't want to be rushing to get them done. This means writing when I have time and not on the day I want to post. There is a wonderful tool that lets me write and then schedule my blogs. I need to be doing this more. I figure that is a good start to gaining new readers. Also, I want to be a better blogger by reading and commenting on more blogs....so if you know of a really good blog I should be reading, let me know!

6. Continue to cook new and different meals. I don't think I am going to stay as committed to two new things a week, so maybe just one. After all...I will have three kids. However, cooking healthy and cooking a variety of foods is something that is important to me, so I want to continue to do this, even if it is hard to find the time.

7. Get a clear plan for my Mary Kay business. Kind of a lame goal, I know. Since there really is no goal other than 'think of a goal.' However, this past year, despite having a resolution to double my sales, I didn't really have a plan. That is important for accomplishing goals, yaknow. So this year, I want to take some serious time to think and plan and figure out what I want to accomplish and how I am going to do it and WHEN I am going to do it...but I don't really want to get started until after this baby gets here.

So there they are, my goals for 2012. I am pretty sure I could think of about 100 more things I actually want to achieve during the next year, but these are the ones I am writing down. Hopefully around this time next year I will actually be able to say I accomplished some of these things! What are your goals for the new year?