My Goals for 2010

With a new year comes my new batch of goals. Let's see if I do better this year than I did last year!

1. To be a better blogger. I really love blogging and reading the comments from readers. However, I tended to slack off a lot last year. I have so many posts that I planned on writing and never did. Now it just seems pointless. With a new baby due in the Spring, this may get a little challenging. Please check in at least once a week to see if I can keep up with my end of the bargain!

2. To grow an herb garden. Random, I know. But here's what happened. When we were in Sidney, we ate dinner in a local cafe. I wanted a really good salad and asked the waitress if they had "good" Ranch Dressing (I know, I'm a little obsessed about this Ranch business). She said they did and that the owner made it using fresh herbs from her personal herb garden. True to her word, it was delicious! And I immediately had visions of me in an apron bending over my cute herb garden with a quaint watering can in my hand. Homemade ranch dressing with fresh herbs, here I come!

3. To call my mom more often. I am a horrible human being. This should not have to be a goal. But it is. I'm absolutely horrible about picking up the phone and calling my mom. Seriously, I'm pretty sure there have been times when maybe two months have gone by before I'll hear her voice on the other line. My parents are very old fashioned and are the typical folks who don't like "making long distance phone calls". So basically my mom never calls anyone unless she has too. Luckily, my mom is awesome enough to never give me a guilt trip about my lack of phone calls. Now that I'm about to become a mommy myself, I already tear up at the thought of the first time Parker won't be home for Christmas. I'm hoping it's just all my crazy hormones that are making me think this way already. Now that I've moved and settled into a home in a different state, and my sister and her family are about to move to a foreign country, and my brother and his family live in a different state as well, I just feel like it's up to me to make more of an effort.

4. To complete Parker's baby book. You may be wondering why I'm making this a goal. Let me explain. When I got married, I received a wedding book from two of my friends. I didn't even take it out of the box until we had been married for about two years. That was when I learned my mistake. Apparently I should have had a newspaper clipping from our wedding day, wrote down the number one movie at the box office, etc, etc. Luckily I was able to find out most of the questions courtesy of the world wide web! However, I want to be better prepared with Parker. I've already bought his baby book, and I've already opened it! I'm thinking at least an hour a month and I can have it up to date and completed! Wish me luck!

5. To host a Christmas Cookie/Ornament Exchange party. I read about this in a book a few years ago and thought it sounded like so much fun! This may be a little daunting with an eight month old, but I'm determined to host what I hope will be an annual event!

6. To be a good Mommy. I have no idea how I'm going to gage this one at the end of the year. There are so many parents out there that think they are "good" parents, when I think to myself that I would never raise my kid that way. I suppose to each his own.

7. To print, label, and organize all the photos that are on my laptop and place them in photo albums. I know this one is left over from last year, but it really needs to be done!!! And then once I'm "caught up" I can spend one day a month adding the new pictures from that month. Sounds easy enough, but we all know what happened last year!

8. To pay off the hospital bill after having the baby. Yes, we have insurance, but of course the only OB/GYN in this town is not in my network. Luckily I have already called our insurance and have a rough estimate of how much money we will be out of pocket. It's a small price to pay to have our very own little angel, but it's also a price I don't want looming over our heads in 2011.

9. To be a MILF. Yup. I said it. And don't tell me that it's un-lady-like to speak that way. I didn't make up the expression. My reasoning is that it will be so easy to focus all of my attention on the baby that I'll quit taking care of myself. I'm already more comfortable than I should be running errands in sweat pants looking like I just rolled out of bed. Really it's no more effort to put on some decent clothes than comfy ones. And as Parker grows older I want him to be proud of his mama, and not embarrassed by what I'm wearing when I pick him up from school in. I'm sure Greg will appreciate this, too!

10. To bring the balance of our Harley down to a certain amount I have in my head. I'd love to pay it off, but I'm trying to set some realistic goals here!

11. Not to be such a control freak. You know the expression, "Don't cry over spilt milk"? Well, I'm sure it's about to happen when by this time next year I'll have a (hopefully) walking little boy. And when he does throw food, or a bottle, or whatever on my favorite rug, I need to remind myself that a little spilt milk is nothing to cry over.

12. To breast feed Parker for his first year. If a good full time job comes open, I'm not sure how feasible this will be. However, I would really like to try for him to make it one full year. I just think breast feeding is so much healthier, not to mention....it's FREE!!!

13. To be more frugal. As in shopping online for better deals on items we regularly purchase, to use coupons more, to buy in bulk to save money, you get the idea!


What are your goals for 2010?