New Year, New Start: Resolutions for 2012

At the end of each year I come up with resolutions/goals for myself for the next year. Sometimes I keep them, and sometimes I fail miserably at keeping them. This year's resolutions are different- these are goals I have been thinking about for quite some time and changes I am determined to make. Plus, I'll have a little help with them.


Without further ado- my 2012 New Years Resolutions:

1. Have a Date Night at least once a month with my husband.
With 3 kids and all of their activities it can be really hard to make time for just the two of us. But it is so important for us to go out on our own, without the kids. We spend so much time being parents, that sometimes we forget that we need to be a couple too. And that's what we were first, before the kids came along. Don't get me wrong- we are definitely happy! We love to spend time together, we just have a hard time finding the time to do that. After all, we really are just big kids ourselves! So this year we are determined to have at least one night a month to ourselves. Ultimately we would like to do 2 nights a month- one nice dinner out, and one fun night out. But for now, we will start with one date night a month.

2. Join a Church.
Last summer the girls attended our local Methodist Church's Vacation Bible School and loved it. They have both asked us to sign them up for Sunday school classes. It happens to be at the same church my husband and I were married in, the same church my daughters attended preschool at, the same church I have my Brownie meetings at. We have tried a couple of churches over recent years, but they never felt "right" to us. I'm Catholic, my husband is Methodist so we need to find a church that fits our needs and our beliefs. We also want to attend one that gives back to the community through it's programs, and has good quality children's programs. This one seems to be it.

3. Practice a Clean Eating diet.
We pretty much already follow a clean eating diet with a couple of exceptions. Last year's resolution was to cook most of our meals from scratch- and I accomplished that goal. Now we have just a couple more things to eliminate from our diet. We want to do this simply to eat healthier. It's so easy to fall in to a junk food rut-even with a dairy issue. But with a little effort, we can eat just a little healthier than we already do. I have already tried two recipes from The Gracious Pantry and my husband and kids loved them both so this goal should be easy.

4. Read More.
I got a Kindle for Christmas last year, and an iPad for Valentine's Day with the Kindle App. I have yet to read 2 complete books on either of them. The sad thing is I absolutely LOVE to read, and when I can't find the time to, I really miss it. I have several books downloaded on my Kindle and I am determined to get through them all. I am not going to pick a certain number of books to read this year, but I know I would like to try and get through about 1 book every 2 weeks. I am a very fast reader and can typically read a book in about a day and a half, but I have to find the time to devote to reading.

5. Learn to Sew. Again.
My Mom got a brand new sewing machine for her birthday so she is giving me the one she had. It's pretty new, in great condition, and easy to use. My MIL taught me to sew several years ago- we made curtains and a matching table cloth for my kitchen in our townhouse. But I haven't done anything since. Projects I have in mind: a baby blanket, matching aprons for the girls, sundresses for me and the girls, and apron for myself, a tote bag.

6. Run a 5K.
I want to run a 5K this year. I have one in mind that I have been wanting to do for a while. A friend of mine and I have chatted about getting together in the mornings to walk/jog. It's time we really do this. Besides, I have an awesome pair of Merrell Barefoot running shoes that need to get used properly.

7.Knit more regularly.
I started knitting a scarf for my Sammie... ummmm... a while ago. Then two little girls got into my knitting basket and cut the yarn for something else, so I had to start over. It's time to finally finish that scarf. Among other projects. Luckily, one of the Girl Scout leaders in my service unit owns the yarn shop just down the road and I've already chatted with her about some lessons.

8.Start my day with a Smoothie.
I don't eat breakfast when I get up- unless coffee counts. And that's horrible, I know. I make breakfast for the girls and my husband but I normally don't stop to make anything for myself until around 11am or so, after the middle one is off to school and the oldest one is working on her schoolwork. Because I don't eat until later, I eat lunch around 2pm- after Cat is done with school and while the little one naps. My eating schedule is a bit off lately and that needs to be fixed. I love smoothies, so my goal is to start my day with one from now on.

9. Have more coffee nights with my best friend.
I have known my best friend since our freshman year of high school. Between us we have 6 kids, so coordinating our schedules is a bit of a challenge. We make sure to call each other several times a week to keep up with each other, but we love to meet up at our local Starbucks and chat away for a few hours. It's a sort of therapy for the both of us I think, it helps us keep our sanity. This past year we've only met up a handful of times. We chatted about this the other day and we are both determined to change that. So, somehow we WILL fit in more coffee nights.

So there you have it, my resolutions for 2012.

Do you make New Year's Resolutions?