HAPPY NEW YEARS!

Here I sit on New Year’s Eve writing this at 9:30pm.  I could be at a party with friends, but since my hubby is out of town, I opted to just stay in this year.  I think we did the same thing last year too.  That’s what happens the older you get.  My daughter who just turned 16 is here with me…but not by choice.  She really wanted to go out and do something tonight but it just seemed like there wasn’t much going on.  I’m nut too keen on her just finding the fun either.  I’m that mean mom that won’t just let my kids joyride around town with no real purpose.  There’s just too much down time in which things can happen.

Tomorrow starts a new year!!  I am sooo glad for that!  I am more than ready to put 2010 behind me!  We had a lot of things happen over the past year, some good, some bad.

As you know, with the new year brings changes or dare I say….resolutions!

I don’t usually make resolutions.  To me they are just things to keep you busy and miserable the first two weeks of January and then you are back to your old routine.  I am going to attempt to make some changes to my life this year though.  I am REALLY hoping that they last more than the week or two that statistics show, but it’s going to take some hard work on my part.  Here are my “ambitions” in no particular order.

1.  Get our finances in order!  I don’t know about you but moving a little over a year ago and tackling a bigger mortgage really whacked us harder than I thought.  It could be that we never really “tightened” things up like we said we would and now we’re paying for it.  Add to that the wedding that we paid for in December.  It was beautiful, but I’m glad it’s over!  Yeah…we’re also that family that needs to pay down debt BIG TIME!  The good thing is that with my hubby’s yearly bonus we can hopefully knock that out the window really soon!  Freeing up that money and being able to SAVE it will be sooooo nice.  My hubby and I both like to spend money but this year we are going to re-implement Dave Ramsey’s plan and “SAVE”.  Along with this would obviously be creating a budget and STICKING TO IT!  I need an accountability partner though.  Anyone up for that?!?!

2.  Focus on our marriage!  My dear hubby and I have taken the back seat to everything lately and it’s really starting to show in our marriage.  We are still each other’s best friends, BUT we nag and pick on each other ALL OF THE TIME!  I’m home all day with kids and need a break and he works all the time and needs a break.  We both need a break with each other.  It is my goal to take at least one day a month to focus on just us!  I’m thinking it’s going to move mountains and make a big difference.  Think about it…I think we went on two dates this year {my memory is bad, but I seriously think that’s all it was}.  This year my goal is to have 12 DATES!!  I don’t know if I can fathom the thought of that!  I’m sure going to enjoy every minute of it though!

3.  Spend quality family time together.  This kind of goes hand in hand with my marriage.  It’s the same thing…we get so busy trying to run a house that we forget to spend quality time with each other.  I am not here to entertain my kids, but I can promise that we are going to do more than just sit at home all of the time.  I think we take boredom to a new level sometimes.  Don’t get me wrong…I don’t want to run all of the time and always have to have something for my kids to do.  My goal is for once a month {just like with my hubby} that we will have an intentional family day!  I’m open to suggestions that will fit into our “saving” frame of mind financially.

4.  Cutting sugar out of our diet!  This is going to be a REALLY HARD one for me {and James}.  I am addicted to sugar.  NO SERIOUSLY….I have loved sugar since I can remember and it’s in everything that I put in my mouth it seems.  It’s not hard for me to finish a case of pop in a few days.  And coffee…yeah we have a loving relationship.  Do I need to mention all of the junk food….probably not.  Me saying, “I have a sweet tooth” is an understatement.  There should seriously be a support group for people like me.  I’m going to go into some major withdrawals I think.  I have to do it though!  For my health and the health of my family!  I could go on and on about why we ALL need to give up sugar but I’ll let you Google that on your own.  You’ll be reading for days.

5.  Refocus with God.  I stopped going to church a few years ago when our Pastor moved and just haven’t been back.  I am glad to say that two weeks ago I visited a new church and am anxious to get into it.  I don’t feel that I can do any of the above if I don’t focus on putting God first.  He will give our family the strength to take care of our finances, go on those dates when we just want to stay home and “veg”, and conquer my cravings for anything sugar and ultimately bad for my body.  All of those things I can only accomplish through him.  I will make it a priority to lean on him and go to him for all of my strength.  This will be a process but it is one that I am greatly looking forward to!

There you have it.  My list of resolutions, goals, ambitions, whatever you want to call it.  What’s on your list?

Until next time, I hope that you are staying safe and *warm* tonight!