Here comes the cheese: I can’t believe it’s 2014 already! 2013 flew by and I’m not sure where most of it went. I’m planning a reflections post to look back and celebrate everything that went down in 2013 (personally).
But this post is meant to look forward. I really want to be intentional in 2014 to make sure I make the most of every day. 2014 will be full of firsts for our family and I don’t want them to fly by unnoticed. With all the changes (new house, new babes, new-new-new!) I feel like it’s time to get things in order so we can focus on those special moments. Shane and I sat down and talked about our goals for the year (for the first time ever) and I’m officially excited.
We made a bunch of specific goals- mostly practices that we’ve lost with the craziness of the year. Plus, some new habits to build! These are all things I’m excited to do… not a chore at all, so I’m hoping that will lead to success. I thought I’d share a few here.
The Hit List:
Faith:
– Read the whole Bible by 2015 (Shane and I dusted off our One Year Bibles for this)
– Pray together each night
Get Fit:
– Buy a proper jogging stroller (dang, those things are pricy!)
– Run a 10K (the SunRun in April)
– Run a 1/2 Marathon (Sea Wheeze in August)
– Exercise 3x a week
Eat Well:
– Meal Plan! (to save, make sure we eat in, and save time puzzling over what the heck to eat!)
– Try 1 new recipe a month (I pretty much already do this, but it’s a good reminder to keep things fresh)
– Limit night-time snacking (my weakness!)
– Strive for real breakfasts
Finances:
– Buy a new home (Yes! We’re still looking for the right one)
– Start RESPs for the babes (already in the works)
– Continue to stick to our budget and Re-evaluate every 3 months (avoid the awkward: we need to have a budget chat-chat)
Family Fun:
– Date each week (I’d love to hear your in-home date ideas for after the babes are in bed!)
– Have one date out of the house without the babes once a month
– Have one fun family date each month (I’m thinking beach, zoo or orchard!)
– Use our home to celebrate (This is a big one for us. We’re so excited that we will soon have a house to call our own. We didn’t host as much at our apartment as we would have liked to because of space. We want our home to be full of friends and family, partied in, and even when it’s just our family- a place to celebrate.)
Personal:
– Snail-Mail every two weeks (My poor pen pals haven’t seen a thing since the babies were born!)
– Apply for my Masters (Read more about my academic adventures here)
– Better my blog (I think this is a whole other list… and I’m working on pinning down those goals this month!)
– Think positively (I’m a cynic and pretty sarcastic by nature. I’m making an effort this year to talk about all the good that’s going on in my life instead of making jokes of the crappy. There’s so much that is good, I don’t want to waste my time with the rest. I also want my kids to have this attitude, so better now to start modeling it than never!)
Whew! That’s a long post. I’ve had this sitting in my drafts for a few days and considered not posting it- because it’s long and super dry. But I have enjoyed seeing all the goals of other bloggers in the last couple days that I decided it is definitely worth posting.
There’s something about publishing your goals for other people to see that make them that much more real. What are some of your goals for 2014? Do we have some of the same… will I see you at Sea Wheeze?
XO -C
apartment-wife.com
ohmygoodness, train for a 10k and limit snacking? you’re ambitious!! i’m excited for you to get that house, and i think weekly date nights sounds like a perfect way to spend 2014 :)
Colleen
Thanks Jen!
I was signed up and training for a 10K last year when I found out I was pregnant… by the time the race hit I was so big I couldn’t possibly run it, so I stood on the sidelines and cheered Shane on. I’m so excited to be able to do it this year!
Leslie Ward
Be international in 2014? This is really exciting, particularly the plan to buy a new home! Once the important things are accomplished on your list, I’m pretty sure that everything else will follow. Good luck.
Leslie @ The Bolton Home Team
Colleen
Intentional, spending time meaningfully. Thank you for the encouragement! We’re having fun looking at homes, I’m sure the perfect one is just around the corner.