New year, new plans

I am choosing to bypass the whole "Ohhh it was such a great Christmas" post (although, it REALLY was...love our families!) and head straight into talk of the new year!

I love New Years, and not for festivities the night before..but for the opportunity to make a New Years resolutions list! 

I love love love all things list making. In fact, I love the act of making the list maybe more than the things on the list. What better list to make, than one of self improvement plans? I have a hard time narrowing them down, because while I love my life, their is always room for change and areas to challenge myself. 

So, without further ado, here is my New Years resolution list, for 2011.

1. Work out

Okay, I promise that not ALL of my resolutions will be so cliche, but I burned myself out on P90X and just stopped completely. That was at least six months ago. Needless to say, my muscles need to see some action. Also, I need to drink a lot more water. 

2. Quiet time

What good is taking care of my outside if I don't take care of my inside? No bueno. I make it a point to read my devotional daily, but I need to carve out some extra time to really dwell on it and spend some time just hanging out with my Lord. No better medicine than that.

3. Break in these babies

My dear husband got these for me for Christmas and I am in love. (with him...and the shoes too...) However, they are really rubbing the top of my feet. Ouch. So I need to make it a point to break them in so I can wear them every single day. I mean seriously, what doesn't go with silver glitter shoes?

4. Drop and go

I want to be laid back enough to just drop and go on a whim. Drop what I'm doing, that's probably not that important anyway, and make memories with my kids. This is an ongoing quest that I wrestle my perfectionism over on a daily basis. And this leads me to number 5...

5. Stick to my routines

I promise I'm not contradicting my last statement, hear me out. If I stick to my morning and night cleaning/straightening routines, that really don't take that long, I will have so much more freedom both time-wise and guilt-wise to just drop and go and play with the kiddos.

 Clean house = happy mommy = happy family

6. Take more family pictures

We only have one...ONE...picture of the four of us. This is just completely unacceptable. It is very difficult to find a time that Michael is off, Abbie is out of school, I am having a good hair day, the kids aren't sick or suffering from post junk food syndrome (MUCH worse than the whining that comes with any sickness...much louder too) and a day that is sunny and not windy in West Texas. How do other families do this? Any thoughts or helpful hints would be appreciated.

7. Eat at home

There are so many great recipes that I want to try, and I know I WOULD if I would think about them before 4:55p.m. I need to be more on top of it, which will mean less of these

   and more healthy family meals. If I think about it ahead of time, I can put my awesome black Friday scored crock pot to use more often!

8. More quality girl time

Nothing makes me a better mommy, than a few hours of talking/laughing/food/wine with my girlfriends. It's nearly the best therapy there is. I need more of it, because as of right now, it's been a couple of months and that is way too long. I need my fix, and fast.

9. Get my Wednesday night's back

Speaking of girl time, I need my Wednesday night Journey girls small group back ASAP!! I love those ladies and have MISSED THEM TERRIBLY since we've taken a break for the Holiday's. I can't wait to get back in the groove of things, and I want it to go back to being part of my weekly routine.

10. Shop smart

I have a pretty strong tendency to buy things just because Abbie and I decide that they are "cute" or just because I think it's pretty. I want to be more purposeful about what I buy, and have a plan for it. I really use shopping as an activity, which is fun, but maybe I need to replace my fun shopping time with some fun feeding the ducks at Nelson time. Honestly, this one is at the very bottom of my list, but on the list never the less. I won't be holding my breath to follow through on this one.

Okay, the list is made, and I feel ready to start the new year! I've already got the garage cleaned out, (most of) the house organized and recovered from holiday madness, and I'm ready to get this 2011 party started. Can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us this upcoming year!