New Years Goals

I'm excited to start the new year. Upon the new year comes reflections of the year past.
Life should slow down a bit now and it's a good time to reflect on the person I am, the person I WANT to be, and the goals I have set for myself. I refuse to call them "resolutions", because that seems to make them so fleeting, but I think it's a good time to reflect and renew my goals.
I reviewed my goals for this past year, and I actually held up pretty well on them. The eating less sweets thing was a struggle, and towards the end of the year it went out the window. :/
I added a goal for myself last March that I wanted to go back to school and finish getting my degree. I think I talked about it in another post. Anyway, I went back and I just got my final grades for the fall semester... I got 3 A's! I'm really happy about that! It was not easy to balance being a stay-at-home mom of two toddlers with going to school, but I worked hard at it and it paid off! My mom and my mother-in-law took turns watching the kids while I was in class, and I couldn't have done it without their support. So, that leads me to my first goal:

1) Get my Associate's Degree

I never cared about school in the past, never tried, never worked hard at it. I didn't see the benefits, I was young and just didn't care. And if it was hard I just gave up. In fact I think it's safe to say I hated school. Well, time goes by and you change and grow up and learn what you really want in life. Well at least that's what happened for me. Now, I actually really enjoy school. I'm in a whole new mindset about learning and working towards a goal, so school is easier for me than it ever was before. I completely determined and that really helps. I registered for Spring classes, and I'll be taking 4 classes this time, so I really hope it all goes well. I should have about two more semesters and then I'll have my degree!

As for my second goal... For Christmas, I gave out a lot of sugar scrubs that I made (I did a post about one) and they were a HUGE hit, so I'm thinking of selling them on Etsy! A new venture for a new year? Possibly. I really love making hair flowers and hair bows, but it's really hard to sell them and get them out there with SO many being sold on Etsy. I'm just one in hundreds of thousands that sell hair bows on Etsy. I'll probably still make them for facebook and for friends and family though, since they seem to be selling well that way. So my next goal is:

2) Broaden my hobbies

Things like selling sugar scrubs and hair bows gives me something to do in my free time (which isn't much, but still) and like I said, it's fun for me.
I'd also like to possibly learn how to knit or crochet, but I'm not sure if I'll ever get the time to actually sit and learn.
I've gotten back into reading. I'm reading the Hunger Games right now and it's awesome! I'd like to read at least 10 books this year. Which may not be much to most people, but for me it's a lot!
(Geek alert!!!) My recent Astronomy class has reignited my love flame for Astronomy. I have always loved all things space for as long as I can remember. When I was like 6 I put stars and planets all over my ceiling in my bedroom which I kept up until I moved out at 18, lol. Anytime anything about space or the universe comes on TV I'm glued. So, I'd like to get further into it just by learning more about it. I just got a telescope so I'd like to learn more about the constellations and where things are just by naked eye observation.

My third goal is basically ALWAYS a goal of mine...

3) Be Healthy!

I was doing SO well for so long and then come October I got really, really lax on exercising and eating healthy. It caught up to me, I think I gained about 6 lbs. Which isn't much really, but I hate it. I hate feeling tired and worn down from not eating right. And when I don't exercise I feel the effects. My jeans are too tight, which is completely unacceptable for me. I refuse to buy clothes in bigger sizes. Someone said it so well once, I can't remember who, but she said "I don't alter clothes to fit my body. I alter my body to fit the clothes I want." That's so how I feel, lol. So, I really have to get back into the swing of things. I need to get back on my treadmill and start doing runs again everyday. And I have to watch the sweets. I get carried away snacking on candy and cookies.

My fourth goal is a new one for me, lol...

4) Less "party-time" girl.

With all the holiday and birthday parties, I tend to get into party mode. Times have slowed down and I'd like to spend less time in party (drinking) mode and more time in quiet/spiritual reflection mode. We had been consistently going to church every week, and then the colds started, and then the parties started, and one thing led to the next and we missed like 5 or 6 weeks in a row. I start to lose focus and tend to forget who I am and who I want to be. I do not want to be the girl that parties too hard or drinks too much and tries to act 21 when I'm not. Cleary I'm not. I'm thrity freaking three now!! I can't hang with the big dogs like I used to be able to still function well the next day. Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT above a glass of wine every now and then. Mama's got to have her Moscato!! :)

And finally...

5) Spend more time teaching and doing activities with London and Lyla.

When LL were babies I spent a lot of time on flash cards, books, and other teaching tools because they would just kind of sit there fully attentive so I felt like it was a good time to do so. Along with playing with them of course. Now that they're toddlers, they are totally their own little people with their own little schedules and agendas. They are so good at playing independently that I have to wiggle my way in sometimes to be included. Since they're not going to preschool this year (maybe next year? I'm not sure yet), I'd like to get in more activities and teaching tools. Thanks to pinterest, and various other toddler activity websites, I've found a lot of fun, creative activities to do with them and I'd like to put those to action. Lyla is SO smart and longs for challenges and learning new things. London is SO active and practically a music genius that I know he'd benefit from a lot of new activities also, especially involving music or lights.

Well, that's about it for now. It's nice to have my goals written out so that I will see them and hopefully stick to them! I hope everyone has a FANTASTIC 2012!! May all your wishes and dreams come true this year!! XOXO