For the third year in a row, it's time for my yearly goal list! (I can't believe I've been blogging this long!) Here we go!
1. To print, label, and organize all the photos that are on my laptop and place them in photo albums. Yup, it's appearing on my list for the third year in a row. I think I'm starting to get on every one's nerves about this now...but putting this out there really is helping me! Let's see if this is the year I can finally mark this one off the list!
2. To learn and use baby sign language with Parker. I probably should have started this months ago since he's almost nine months old, but I don't really know where to start with this. I'm hoping the library will have a book or two that I can borrow to learn some basic signs.
3. To use coupons. I was so inspired by the "Extreme Couponing" special that TLC did last week that I decided it was worth the time and effort to begin clipping coupons again. I actually went to the store yesterday and used coupons so I'm hoping I can make this a habit. I'm going to Wal-Mart today and will be buying the supplies I need to make my own coupon book to take with me on shopping trips!
4. To paint all the closet and bedroom doors in our house. When we first began remodeling our house our plan was to replace all the closet and bedroom doors with raised panel doors and to paint them white. Currently they are all the brown stained wood flat slat doors. My husband recently decided that since we won't be living in this house very long anyway, it really isn't going to pay us back to replace perfectly good doors. However, thinking about all the priming and painting I'll be sneaking in while Parker is napping already makes me want to pull my hair out!
5. To bake a pie. Two pies to be more specific. I actually love pies but have always been too intimidated to bake one. I have two favorites in mind: my mom's lemon meringue pie and my grandma's chocolate cream pie. Did I mention I plan on making the crust from scratch?
6. To contribute more to my family financially. Greg would love for me to find a well paying full time job. I would love to find a stay at home job so I don't have to put Parker in day care. I'm open to any suggestions!
7. To learn how to make spoon and fork jewelry. I have to say, I've been obsessed with spoon jewelry for a long time now. My mom can vouch for me! The other day I was doing some browsing through etsy and I was curious if anyone had a spoon jewelry store. Guess what else popped up. Fork rings! I was hooked. The next day I told my husband what he could buy me for my birthday (which is all the way in August). He asked what it was and when I said a fork ring and that it cost $150.00 he looked at me like I had lost my mind. But I promised him that it wasn't just a piece of jewelry....it was a piece of art! They are absolutely stunning!
I pulled up the rings and my husband said that he thought I should try my hand at making them myself. He even did a little research for me! I love it when my husband seems supportive of what could be a new jobby (job + hobby) for me!! I think it helps that since I would have to use some pretty heavy duty tools I would be working in the garage and my husband loves any excuse to hang out in the garage!
8. To begin working on my book again. Notice I didn't say specifically how much I would work on it! The only thing that is somewhat motivating me is when I occasionally overhear my husband talking on the phone to someone about my blog. He always tells them that I started writing a book and he doesn't know why I quit. Again, it's nice to know I have his support!
9. To host a few more Bling On A String trunk shows. I think this one is pretty self explanatory! To visit my store click here!
10. To finish The Harry Potter series. This one was on my very first goal list. And, sadly I still haven't finished the series. However, this is one goal that I'm cheating a little bit on. That's because I'm reading book 7 (the last one) right now! Sneaky, aren't I?
There you have it! What are your goals this year?
Showing posts with label finances. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finances. Show all posts
Friday, January 7, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
A Review of my 2010 Goals
Last year around this time I posted (what has become an almost "annual" blog tradition) my goals for 2010. Thankfully I did post them, because knowing that I would have to give my readers my year-end review is sometimes the only thing that kept me on track! So, here we go:
1. To be a better blogger. Well, if you're one of my faithful readers, you probably know that goal went right out the window. In fact, you're probably not even reading this because you pretty much gave up on logging in each week to see a new post by yours truly. Sorry! It's safe to say that taking care of the baby, keeping a clean and tidy house (my husband will laugh if he reads that), and making jewelry pretty much consumes most of my free time. Don't get me wrong! I still love blogging and reading all the comments, so have no fear, you can still read my "thoughts" from time to time!
2. To grow an herb garden. Hmmm....apparently when I made these goals I forgot that I would be giving birth in the spring, which I'm sure was the ideal time for me to plant that cute herb garden I daydreamed about. It's safe to say that idea went right out the window as well!
3. To call my mom more often. I do feel like I'm a lot better at this. However, that came at a price. I think I was calling her once a month until around August. Then, my step-dad was involved in a bad accident that left him being hospitalized for over two months, and eventually landed him in a nursing home. During that time, my phone calls increased to a few times a week. Now, I'm trying to call once a week. Sadly, sometimes an unexpected accident is what it takes for one to realize what's important in life.
4. To complete Parker's baby book. Thank God I posted this as a goal for the whole world to see! Do you want to know what I obsessively worked on last week? You guessed it! Parker's baby book. In fact, one evening I was working on it and my husband asked what I was doing and when I said, "working on Parker's baby book" his response was, "Why?" I didn't bother to tell him it was because I had exactly twenty-seven hours to get caught up because I knew he would think I had gone off the deep end!
Luckily, I did do a pretty decent job of updating a few things here and there each month. But the biggest thing I was dreading involved all those pages about the gifts he received after he was born, along with the gifts I received for him at my baby showers. I have been extremely blessed with awesome family and amazing friends who showered their generosity on our family. Which, meant I didn't want to write all those wonderful items down because I knew it would be time consuming. Luckily for gifts I got in the mail I would write down on a piece of paper and so that really helped! Now, I know what you're thinking; why didn't I just write them down in the baby book as I received them instead of on a piece of paper. Here's why: I want the baby book to be filled out using the same pen. I don't want blue ink mixed with black ink or ball point mixed with uniball gel. Yes, I am a freak of nature. One thing that really helped me whenever I did make time to add to the book was the awesome "baby's first year" calendar that one of my aunts sent me. It came with all kinds of stickers for things such as "clapped hands", "rolled over", "gave kisses", "doctor's appointment", you get the idea. That calendar has been so great in allowing me to keep track of things! And, in case you're wondering why I've been so diligent about my monthly Parker posts, it's because I am supposed to add a picture of him each month. (Yes, I am also a little bit anal about the calendar as well. I always use the same blue pen to fill out his monthly stats!)
There are a few parts of Parker's baby book that make me sad. One of which is the section where I'm supposed to clip a newspaper clipping announcing his birth. The hospital was pretty on top of things, having me fill out a form that they submit to the newspaper for the announcement. Now, this may sound silly, but after I brought Parker home from the hospital, I had anxiety about leaving the house. The idea of having to go to the gas station to buy a paper completely stressed me out. In the town I live in, the newspaper is only printed three times a week. I asked my husband numerous times to stop by the gas station to buy a paper in case Parker's birth announcement was in it, but apparently that was not high on his priority list. I also asked friends to let me know if they saw it in the paper. Sadly, no one told me. I even called the newspaper to see if it had been printed two months after he had been born, but no one could tell me a concrete answer. Our library doesn't keep newspapers on file. The newspaper website is of no help. Needless to say, there is no newspaper clipping in Parker's baby book announcing his birth and that breaks my heart.
5. To host a Christmas Cookie/Ornament Exchange party.Instead, I had my first Bling On A String trunk show at the beginning of December. I figured hosting two parties back to back would be a little too much to handle. But, I would love to do this next year!
6. To be a good Mommy. This is a tough one. I try really hard to be a good mom. And some days I really feel like I am doing a pretty good job at parenting. I read books and websites about parenting. I take care of Parker's essential needs. I make an effort to play with him each day. I give him lots of kisses. But, then I have a moment. And at those moments, I always think, "Oh gosh, I am the worst parent in the world. How could I have done ______. Like the time we were out and about and I suddenly realized I hadn't changed his diaper in five hours. Or the time we were at The Elks and it dawned on me that (duh!) I had forgot to feed him his dinner! (Just so you don't call DHS on me, I had nursed him...just forgot to feed him his solids an hour later. And, he was in such a happy mood I had no reason to think that there was something "wrong" with him). Or like last night when I placed him in the bath tub and the water was too hot (first time that happened in eight months, so I guess I shouldn't be beating myself up. Parker paid me back by peeing all over me as soon as I lifted him out of the water). All I can say is; I try. But, I don't think I'll be winning a "Mom of the Year" award any time soon.
7. To print, label, and organize all the photos that are on my laptop and place them in photo albums.I have a really good excuse as to why this goal wasn't accomplished for the second year in a row: it takes money to print off pictures. For some reason when I made these goals I forgot about the teeny tiny fact that we have a whole house to remodel, along with another person to feed, clothe, and diaper. However, I did make a lot of progress this year! I did get two whole photo albums filled! One of which has all of the photos labeled (It's the type of album where you label to the side of the picture). I even printed off a lot more of the pictures that were taking up space on my laptop. However, I haven't quite got everything printed off. On the bright side, ever since Parker has been born, I've been printing off pictures at Wal-Mart once a month. And, up until November, I was great about immediately labeling and dating the back of the pictures. See: Progress!!!
8. To pay off the hospital bill after having the baby. Well, this didn't happen either, because of the reason listed on #7. Luckily, the hospital gave us an interest free payment plan which allows the balance to be paid off in a year. Trust me, we will be doing a happy dance once it's paid off!
9. To be a MILF. I actually think I've done pretty well about keeping up with this goal! Being a mommy proved to be the best diet for me. Along with finally having a "normal" lifestyle and not living in a fifth wheel where I basically sat around all day. I'm happy to say that I am finally back down to the size I was trying to achieve by dieting. However, my new found look does come with a price. Most of my friends are dieting, so when they see me, they say things like, "gosh, you're looking too skinny" or "I can't wait until I have a baby so I can loose weight", all of which are said with a tone of disgust. As if how dare I be skinny after becoming a mother. Although I would love to whip out a copy of the charts that show what a normal, healthy weight is for someone who is 5'2" (I fall right in the middle, thankyouverymuch) I just smile and hold my tongue. At least one person is truly happy for me: my husband! Along the same lines, I also have limited myself to wearing sweat pants twice a week. It honestly doesn't take any more effort to put on jeans and a cute top than to walk around all week looking like I rolled out of bed. I may not wear make up every day, but I do feel like I've been pretty good about trying to be a MILF! ;)
10. To bring the balance of our Harley down to a certain amount I have in my head. Refer to #7. Sadly, I was the queen of minimum payments this year.
11. Not to be such a control freak. That depends. According to #4, I guess some reading would take that to mean a big, fat, NO! However, I am pretty lax about other things. I made reference to spilt milk in my original goal list. And, since Parker spits up ALL THE TIME, it's pretty safe to say that I'm completely over having clean carpets. If he spits up, I pretty much just dab the spot with a burp cloth and call it good. Unless it's green. Or orange. Gross, I know. I'm sure if I had nice, brand new carpet, I would be signing a different tune!
12. To breast feed Parker for his first year. So far, so good!!!
13. To be more frugal. Well, this didn't happen. I would love to say we bought a membership to Sams Club, but we didn't (in our defense, it is two hours away), and I tried scouring the internet for coupons, but it was so time consuming and always for products that I didn't necessarily use to begin with. Luckily, Huggies and Pampers occasionally sends coupons for diapers and wipes, and I happily use those!
How did all of you do with your 2010 goals?
1. To be a better blogger. Well, if you're one of my faithful readers, you probably know that goal went right out the window. In fact, you're probably not even reading this because you pretty much gave up on logging in each week to see a new post by yours truly. Sorry! It's safe to say that taking care of the baby, keeping a clean and tidy house (my husband will laugh if he reads that), and making jewelry pretty much consumes most of my free time. Don't get me wrong! I still love blogging and reading all the comments, so have no fear, you can still read my "thoughts" from time to time!
2. To grow an herb garden. Hmmm....apparently when I made these goals I forgot that I would be giving birth in the spring, which I'm sure was the ideal time for me to plant that cute herb garden I daydreamed about. It's safe to say that idea went right out the window as well!
3. To call my mom more often. I do feel like I'm a lot better at this. However, that came at a price. I think I was calling her once a month until around August. Then, my step-dad was involved in a bad accident that left him being hospitalized for over two months, and eventually landed him in a nursing home. During that time, my phone calls increased to a few times a week. Now, I'm trying to call once a week. Sadly, sometimes an unexpected accident is what it takes for one to realize what's important in life.
4. To complete Parker's baby book. Thank God I posted this as a goal for the whole world to see! Do you want to know what I obsessively worked on last week? You guessed it! Parker's baby book. In fact, one evening I was working on it and my husband asked what I was doing and when I said, "working on Parker's baby book" his response was, "Why?" I didn't bother to tell him it was because I had exactly twenty-seven hours to get caught up because I knew he would think I had gone off the deep end!
Luckily, I did do a pretty decent job of updating a few things here and there each month. But the biggest thing I was dreading involved all those pages about the gifts he received after he was born, along with the gifts I received for him at my baby showers. I have been extremely blessed with awesome family and amazing friends who showered their generosity on our family. Which, meant I didn't want to write all those wonderful items down because I knew it would be time consuming. Luckily for gifts I got in the mail I would write down on a piece of paper and so that really helped! Now, I know what you're thinking; why didn't I just write them down in the baby book as I received them instead of on a piece of paper. Here's why: I want the baby book to be filled out using the same pen. I don't want blue ink mixed with black ink or ball point mixed with uniball gel. Yes, I am a freak of nature. One thing that really helped me whenever I did make time to add to the book was the awesome "baby's first year" calendar that one of my aunts sent me. It came with all kinds of stickers for things such as "clapped hands", "rolled over", "gave kisses", "doctor's appointment", you get the idea. That calendar has been so great in allowing me to keep track of things! And, in case you're wondering why I've been so diligent about my monthly Parker posts, it's because I am supposed to add a picture of him each month. (Yes, I am also a little bit anal about the calendar as well. I always use the same blue pen to fill out his monthly stats!)
There are a few parts of Parker's baby book that make me sad. One of which is the section where I'm supposed to clip a newspaper clipping announcing his birth. The hospital was pretty on top of things, having me fill out a form that they submit to the newspaper for the announcement. Now, this may sound silly, but after I brought Parker home from the hospital, I had anxiety about leaving the house. The idea of having to go to the gas station to buy a paper completely stressed me out. In the town I live in, the newspaper is only printed three times a week. I asked my husband numerous times to stop by the gas station to buy a paper in case Parker's birth announcement was in it, but apparently that was not high on his priority list. I also asked friends to let me know if they saw it in the paper. Sadly, no one told me. I even called the newspaper to see if it had been printed two months after he had been born, but no one could tell me a concrete answer. Our library doesn't keep newspapers on file. The newspaper website is of no help. Needless to say, there is no newspaper clipping in Parker's baby book announcing his birth and that breaks my heart.
5. To host a Christmas Cookie/Ornament Exchange party.Instead, I had my first Bling On A String trunk show at the beginning of December. I figured hosting two parties back to back would be a little too much to handle. But, I would love to do this next year!
6. To be a good Mommy. This is a tough one. I try really hard to be a good mom. And some days I really feel like I am doing a pretty good job at parenting. I read books and websites about parenting. I take care of Parker's essential needs. I make an effort to play with him each day. I give him lots of kisses. But, then I have a moment. And at those moments, I always think, "Oh gosh, I am the worst parent in the world. How could I have done ______. Like the time we were out and about and I suddenly realized I hadn't changed his diaper in five hours. Or the time we were at The Elks and it dawned on me that (duh!) I had forgot to feed him his dinner! (Just so you don't call DHS on me, I had nursed him...just forgot to feed him his solids an hour later. And, he was in such a happy mood I had no reason to think that there was something "wrong" with him). Or like last night when I placed him in the bath tub and the water was too hot (first time that happened in eight months, so I guess I shouldn't be beating myself up. Parker paid me back by peeing all over me as soon as I lifted him out of the water). All I can say is; I try. But, I don't think I'll be winning a "Mom of the Year" award any time soon.
7. To print, label, and organize all the photos that are on my laptop and place them in photo albums.I have a really good excuse as to why this goal wasn't accomplished for the second year in a row: it takes money to print off pictures. For some reason when I made these goals I forgot about the teeny tiny fact that we have a whole house to remodel, along with another person to feed, clothe, and diaper. However, I did make a lot of progress this year! I did get two whole photo albums filled! One of which has all of the photos labeled (It's the type of album where you label to the side of the picture). I even printed off a lot more of the pictures that were taking up space on my laptop. However, I haven't quite got everything printed off. On the bright side, ever since Parker has been born, I've been printing off pictures at Wal-Mart once a month. And, up until November, I was great about immediately labeling and dating the back of the pictures. See: Progress!!!
8. To pay off the hospital bill after having the baby. Well, this didn't happen either, because of the reason listed on #7. Luckily, the hospital gave us an interest free payment plan which allows the balance to be paid off in a year. Trust me, we will be doing a happy dance once it's paid off!
9. To be a MILF. I actually think I've done pretty well about keeping up with this goal! Being a mommy proved to be the best diet for me. Along with finally having a "normal" lifestyle and not living in a fifth wheel where I basically sat around all day. I'm happy to say that I am finally back down to the size I was trying to achieve by dieting. However, my new found look does come with a price. Most of my friends are dieting, so when they see me, they say things like, "gosh, you're looking too skinny" or "I can't wait until I have a baby so I can loose weight", all of which are said with a tone of disgust. As if how dare I be skinny after becoming a mother. Although I would love to whip out a copy of the charts that show what a normal, healthy weight is for someone who is 5'2" (I fall right in the middle, thankyouverymuch) I just smile and hold my tongue. At least one person is truly happy for me: my husband! Along the same lines, I also have limited myself to wearing sweat pants twice a week. It honestly doesn't take any more effort to put on jeans and a cute top than to walk around all week looking like I rolled out of bed. I may not wear make up every day, but I do feel like I've been pretty good about trying to be a MILF! ;)
10. To bring the balance of our Harley down to a certain amount I have in my head. Refer to #7. Sadly, I was the queen of minimum payments this year.
11. Not to be such a control freak. That depends. According to #4, I guess some reading would take that to mean a big, fat, NO! However, I am pretty lax about other things. I made reference to spilt milk in my original goal list. And, since Parker spits up ALL THE TIME, it's pretty safe to say that I'm completely over having clean carpets. If he spits up, I pretty much just dab the spot with a burp cloth and call it good. Unless it's green. Or orange. Gross, I know. I'm sure if I had nice, brand new carpet, I would be signing a different tune!
12. To breast feed Parker for his first year. So far, so good!!!
13. To be more frugal. Well, this didn't happen. I would love to say we bought a membership to Sams Club, but we didn't (in our defense, it is two hours away), and I tried scouring the internet for coupons, but it was so time consuming and always for products that I didn't necessarily use to begin with. Luckily, Huggies and Pampers occasionally sends coupons for diapers and wipes, and I happily use those!
How did all of you do with your 2010 goals?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
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?
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?
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