My Goals for 2009

I've haven't ever really sat down and written out bonafide goals for the New Year before, so this is a real first for me. Of course I've made "resolutions" before…resolutions that lasted a week, tops.

But resolutions aren't quite the same as goals. To me resolutions are more like wishes — you want something to happen, but you don't really have any real plans to get there. I know this may not hold true for others, but when I've made resolutions in the past, that's generally how it went for me. And that's why I always failed miserably.

So this year I'm going to set some goals, with specific steps to achieve those goals. I won't beat myself up if I don't accomplish these goals in 2009, but at the same time I will make every effort to take these goals seriously. My list of goals fall short in number to Toni's goals, but I figure that I'd better start small this year, my first year of goal-setting. And I can always add more goals throughout the year; there's no rule that says you can only make goals on New Years, is there?

So without further ado, here are the goals I have for 2009.

1. Get my files more organized…or really, get them organized at all. Right now when I get a bill in the mail that I need to keep, it just goes into a stack. When the stack gets too big, the stack gets moved to another stack, usually under my bed in a sack. So now I have a stack of stack-filled sacks under my bed — not the greatest filing system in the world. And really, the solution to this stacking problem is so simple. I have everything I need to get organized, I just need to take a few hours to do it!

2. Blog daily. I really enjoy blogging, but I too often feel I have nothing important to say. My goal in 2009 is to blog every day, even if it's just a summary of our school day. Blogging is cathartic for me, but I just need to sit down and actually do it. My goal is also to start planning blog posts ahead of time, something I'm not too great at yet.

3. Lose 20 pounds. A couple years ago I lost 23 pounds, getting down to my pre-pregnancy weight with my first child. Since then, I've gained 20 of those 23 pounds back, and I feel absolutely horrible. But I know the reasons why I've gained the weight back. Number 1, I'm getting older, and my metabolism is finally realizing it. Number 2, I don't exercise enough…okay, I don't exercise at all. And number 3, I eat way too much! So, to lose weight, I'm going to try to do a few things:

1. Cut down on my portions, probably in half.
2. Keep a food diary. (If I know I'll be writing it down, those five chocolate chip cookies will be less likely to make it into my mouth!)
3. Exercise at least 3 times a week, hopefully with the help of a Wii Fit, which we are getting this weekend as a Christmas gift.
4. Blog about my progress since accountability really motivates me!
5. Lose weight alongside my good friend, Kate. Whenever I've lost weight before, it's been with friends losing weight right along with me. Hopefully Kate's support will really help keep me on track. I officially give her permission to nag!

4. Drink more water, and whole lot less milk. I've mentioned before that I have a nearly-hopeless addiction to drinking milk. While I do drink skim milk, I drink so much that I might as well just inject an extra 1000 calories intravenously every day. I'll be aiming for an intake of at least 64 ounces of water a day, which is about 64 ounces more than I usually get. Other than milk, I'm not a big drinker (of anything), so it's going to be a challenge for me to drink that much water. I'll be recording my water intake in my food diary.

5. Attend BlissDom in February and finally meet my friends Toni and Kate, and hopefully a lot of other wonderful ladies. I've already registered, and my hotel room is already reserved, but now I've just got to figure out how to get there — fly or carpool?

6. Do a few basic chores before we start school every day. Right now I do house work in more of a hit-or-miss fasion (and it usually ends up more miss than hit), so starting this Monday, when we start school again, the kids and I will be doing a few basic chores before we begin the day — make our beds, do the dishes, take out the trash, and straighten our bedrooms, the living room, and the bathrooms.

7. Focus 100% on homeschooling while we're "doing school." This is going to be really tough, but I really need to stay away from the computer until our schooling is done for the day. I've already started letting the answering machine answer the phone during the school day, but focusing 100% on school might mean I also need to turn off my email until school is done…or at least until lunch time.

8. Meal plan every week. Even if I don't end up getting to all the meals I plan, I have the goal of menu planning every week.

9. Learn how to cook freezer meals, and then actually do it! I've never cooked a meal and then frozen it to use later. I'll be relying a lot on Kate, the Queen of Freezer Cooking, to help me in this area. This should also help me institute my meal plan if all I have to do is pop a frozen meal into the oven for dinner.

10. Help my children become more proficient on their instruments of choice. My girls have chosen the piano, and my son has chosen the guitar. So far I haven't really stayed on top of the girls to practice, which is pretty pathetic considering I'm a piano teacher. My goal is to schedule regular lesson times for my girls, just as I do for my other students. As for Jaden and his guitar, I just need to get with my husband (who teaches Jaden guitar) and work on a practice/lesson schedule for him.

11. Last, but definitely not least, is my goal to read my Bible daily. To make sure this is accomplished daily, I'll definitely need to schedule it into my day, before the chores and schooling begin. I'm not a big morning person, so this is going to be a challenge. But if I don't do it first thing, other activities will undoubtedly push it aside and I won't get to it. I have a good Bible study book with daily readings that I will probably use to help guide me in my reading and studying.

So what are your goals for 2009? Leave a comment and let me know, or leave a link to your blog if you've written a post about it.