Welcome 2012

photo via pinterest

This year, I am setting some goals. I don't do "resolutions", never have, because I will only break them. This year I feel like I need to make some changes, so I set some goals...

• Be healthy. My goal is not to "lose weight" or "get in shape", those are resolutions. My goal is to eat more fruits and veggies and whole, unprocessed foods and to find some type of exercise that I enjoy and want to do a few times a week. This goal also includes getting enough sleep at night and finding better ways to cope with stress than drinking wine. I want to take better care of my body, but I want to still have dessert if I want to.
• Speak more kindly to others. And about others. Be less judgmental - keep in mind that Plato quote (at least Pinterest says it's Plato...haha) "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." You never know what people are going through under the surface.
• Be more accepting of myself. And accept myself for who I am not. I might not be able to be the best at everything. I might never be the mother who can have a rewarding career, keep up with my scrapbooking, make beautiful crafts, homeschool, keep a sparkling clean house and have gourmet meals on the table for dinner all while looking like a lingerie model. Accept that some of the things I really, really wanted in life might not be possible, but I can still make things pretty darn good.
• Give more. We are blessed in what we have. My son has more toys than he needs. I don't need $200 jeans. There are mothers out there that can't get their children CLEAN WATER and don't have a way to provide FOOD for their children. We can give up some things (that we don't need anyway) to help others that are in need. And even if we can't donate a lot of money, we can donate our time to a good cause. This is a lesson I truly want to teach Aiden.
• Unplug. Less time with the TV on, the laptop on, the apps on my phone on, etc. etc. More time outdoors playing and exploring. More time just talking to my husband and playing with Aiden. Make lasting family memories that do not involve technology in any way. Spend more time together and work on making our little family as close as can be.

Now that they are written down, I'm thinking maybe I should have stuck to things like "lose weight" and "take more pictures"...haha. I guess I just feel with the new year, I need a new, more positive outlook on things and really want to make some changes. 2011 was a tough year for us, we had some dissapointments and we have new challenges to face, but I am convinced that 2012 is going to be a great year!

Happy New Year to all our family and friends!