Saturday, January 1, 2011
Goals for 2011
This time last year we were reeling from the shock of losing a loved one. This was the second death during the holidays for my family in as many years. I have been left wondering if this was going to be the same outcome for my Great Grandmother whose health took a very serious turn right before Christmas. I am happy to say that she is on the mend...slowly but surely eating and drinking more to regain some of her strength.During this time of the year everyone starts looking toward the new year with resolutions but I'm starting off the first day of the new year looking back at the accomplishments that we have made and coming up with a few new goals.
Personal Goals:
I'm going to focus more on taking care of myself. I am going to make sure to go to bed every night at a decent hour, remove all make-up, tone and moisturize, and do weekly facials or masques. I will continue to spend my $100.00 budget on updating my wardrobe and try to feel more at ease with my body and clothing. When I start thinking that I feel like I am playing dress up I'll remind myself that I am in my 30's not 13. That it is not only acceptable for me to care about how I look but expected and appreciated.
I want to step outside of my comfort zone this year. The more time that I spend with Mother and hear all of her stories I think about what I will have to tell my great grandchildren and whether I will be able to encourage my children to try new things/explore their world. So this year I would like to do that on a small scale (hoping this will inspire me to try bigger and better things.) I will try sushi and Thai food. I would love to take my kids on a few road trips and maybe this year will finally be the year that we all get to see an ocean.
I am going to cut myself some slack. I take myself way to seriously sometimes. I want to have fun and let loose this year. I want to share my excitement over little things with my readers this year. I am going to share more of myself (than the things that I love to eat and cook) through twitter and facebook.
Home Goals:
This time last year I wasn't certain that home ownership would be something that would be an option, but with time, effort and determination - we made it a reality in 2010. This year I would like to focus on making MY home a place that I love. I want to do some renovations and updates. This year I would like to bring my kitchen and bathrooms up to date. I would also like to have the interior of the house professionally painted, carpet replaced and buy new TV's and a dishwasher.
I want to get rid of a lot of the junk that clutters my life and home. I think by getting rid of a lot of it - I could have a much happier and cleaner home.
I want to remind myself what a big help it is to spend 15 minutes a day just putting things back where they go - it makes cleaning so much easier and quicker.
Money Goals:
While the last few years there has been a huge focus on improving our credit score - this year I would love to make it a goal to make our money work for us. We have been in touch with out insurance agent about life insurance policies for each of our kids and a couple of policies for Hubby and I. On 6 policies we will be paying extra that will increase the value over time - this can be used in the future to help pay for the cost of college, weddings or help down payments for the houses of our children. We are setting up 2 IRA's to help with retirement and 2 term policies for Hubby and I to make sure that if something were to happen to either of us during this child rearing stage in our life were to happen the other will have a cushion to make sure that they are taken care of.
We are making it our goal to pay extra each month on our mortgage. By sending an extra payment one week after the payment is due (making sure to add pay to principle) we are hoping to save some money on the interest that we will be charged over the next 30 years.
Family Goals:
I'm through with the drama that has infiltrated my life in the last year. I am going to concentrate on the things that I know that I can affect and change. I'm going to spend this year teaching my kids about the value of family, respect and love. I want to make time for them in new and interesting ways. One of my kids suggested a family game night - I think this is a great way to get more face time with my kids.
Blog Goals:
This past year I took a leap of faith and got rid of the MeMe's that made me feel comfortable and brought guaranteed comments. I didn't think that I would have enough ideas, time and focus to really make my blog a resource for other Mother's but I am drawn more and more to sharing my past experiences, everyday life and knowledge of raising 4 children.
I want to focus more on content, writing and editing. There have been many times that I have re-read a post that I wrote a week or two before only to find myself editing for spelling errors or weird phrases. Am I the only one that fixes things like this on older posts? I want to really take the time to think out my posts - sometimes I get an idea - type it out and then because it's almost 9:30 - I press publish. Then I spend the rest of the day thinking of better ways to say it or about the things that I didn't say.
One of the most wonderful things about blogging is the not only the connection that you make with your readers but the connection that you make with other bloggers. There are so many blog's that I found myself checking in with on a daily basis. With the end of the year holidays I found less and less time to spend on my computer and have lost touch with so many of them. I want to get back to that in the New Year.
I am going to try and get sponsors to the 2 blog conferences that I am going to try and attend this year. I am hoping to go to Boston for SITS Blogging BootCamp and San Diego for BlogHer.
Social Media Goals:
If you asked me this time last year if I would care anything about twitter or facebook for anything other than more entries on my giveaways - I would have laughed and said no. But over the course of the year I have discovered that it's like a miniature blogging platform. You really can develop a relationship with others in 140 characters or less.
2 greatest lessons I learned this year:
Use tweet deck to schedule tweets so that you don't take over the twitter stream. This also insures a steady flow of traffic to your blog through out the day.
Spend 15 minutes day retweeting, sharing and replying - nothing of your own. This insures that you really get to know those that you follow.
Photo Credit
Link up your end of the year posts below...I'd love to check them out!
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Those are great goals! I'll probably post about my goals in 2011 soon, but I linked up my Happy New Year post for now. Oh, and you commented about the spider man ski mask--do you have Dollar Generals where you are? That's where it came from!
ReplyDeletesuchakingdom.blogspot.com
As usual, you've inspired me! What a wonderful list of things you want to do and accomplish.
ReplyDeleteHope your New Year is a good one!
First, I am happy to hear your great grandmother is doing better, that is a wonderful praise to start the new year out with. Second, I love your goal list for 2011, especially your personal goals and financial goals. You are a very inspring woman, mom, and blogger, thanks for sharing. I will try to link up later.
ReplyDeleteMy goal is to not eat my young.
ReplyDeleteHurrah for sushi and Thai food!!!!!! Yum yum yum, can't wait for you to try them out! So wish I could be there to eat with you tho :)
ReplyDeleteChrissy and I could recommend an ocean to come and visit ;)
ReplyDeleteMy themes this year are simplicity and purging.
I LOVED reading your goals. Loved even more that they are so specific. Good luck. I know you'll accomplish them!
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