2010 Goals - How Am I Doing?

A little over a month ago, I shared with you my personal goals for 2010. Now that January is behind us, I thought it would be a good idea to sit down and take stock of how well I am progressing towards those goals.

Goal: To deepen my relationship with Christ.

• Develop the habit of a daily quiet time. - In January, I started a study on the book of Provers. I did well finding time to devote to my quiet time during the week. However, I was often remiss and I did not have a quiet time on Saturdays/Sundays. I find this ironic as I have more time on the weekends. I will need to re-evaluate how I use Saturday/Sunday mornings going forward.
• Devote more time to preparing my Sunday School Lesson. - Major Fail on this. I am still flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to my Sunday school lesson. I have asked my MIL to hold more accountable for preparation.
• Find opportunities to serve others - both in my church and in the community at large. For January, I am working on collecting donations of non-perishable items for our community food bank. - Success!

Goal: Deepen my relationship with Mikey

• Devote at least 1 night per week to "hiding out" with M. - M and I have become quite good at setting boundaries with our families and saying "Tonight we are staying home." I find those our the nights where we feel less rushed and more refreshed.
• Have "date night" each week. - Our date nights have included shopping for Joycelen's nursery, double dates with friends, and cooking dinner and watching a movie at home. I am loving date nights.

Goal: Develop stronger relationships with our nieces/nephews.

• Between now and the end of February, M and I will take our oldest two nephews out for pizza (their favorite meal) and our two oldest nieces out for Mexican. Baby niece Kaitlynn will get a few hours with Aunt Kim and Uncle M all by her lonesome. - Check
• We will try and have each of the four oldest spend the night with us at least once prior to baby's arrival. - Two down and two to go

Goal: Reconnect with old friends. - This is the goal that I am really struggling with the most. I find myself blaming fatigue and baby preparations on my lack of effort. I am still resorting to e-mails and texts as a primary means of communication. I need to start reaching out in more personal ways.

Goal: Spend more time with our parents - We are enjoying spending time with our parents. My parents came over the other week to have dinner and see the progress on the nursery. Last night, M and I had dinner with his parents.

Goal: Complete a minimum of 20 minutes of cardio at least 5 times per week. - I am meeting and often exceeding this goal.

Goal: Complete 3 weight lifting workouts per week - specific focus lower body - Again this goal is going well.

Goal: Eat less junk food - I have cut my junk food consumption in half during January. I am still eating more than 1 junk food item per day but it is significantly less that I was consuming.

Goal: Eat more fruits/veggies - I am getting quite creative in sneaking fruits and veggies into my diet. I have managed to hit my target 28 out of 31 days.

Goal: Drink at least 8 glasses of water per day. - Check.

Goal: Reduce the amount of "meals out" that M and I consume each week. - Another check mark. Our tummies and our budget thank us.

Goal: Take more pride in my appearance even as pregnancy progresses:

• It would be very easy to fall into a rut of sweats/scrub pants and oversized sweaters as the last 8 weeks of my pregnancy come and go....but that's not what I want to do.
  To combat the temptation of being a "slob" - I am going to plan out my daily outfits each evening, using inspiration from You Look Fab and Fab Finds Under $50. . Wake up 10 minutes earlier each morning, to ensure that I have enough time to style my hair (I don't need to default to a bun every day) and put on my make-up (more than just lip gloss.) - Once I started making this a priority, it quickly became a habit. M has even commented on how I have managed to look pulled together while getting more and more pregnant.

Goal: Read more. - I read Tuesdays with Morrie and The Time Traveler's Wife in February.

Goal: Finish Joycelen's nursery. - Almost done, just a few finishing details.

Goal: With M's help, make a list of those "home improvement" projects that we would like to accomplish in the coming year. Figure out how they will impact our monthly budget and "schedule" them over the course of 2010. - Completed!

If you made New Year's resolutions or goals, how are things going?

Goals for 2010 - Everything Else

Goal: Take more pride in my appearance even as pregnancy progresses:

• It would be very easy to fall into a rut of sweats/scrub pants and oversized sweaters as the last 8 weeks of my pregnancy come and go....but that's not what I want to do.
• To combat the temptation of being a "slob" - I am going to plan out my daily outfits each evening, using inspiration from You Look Fab and Fab Finds Under $50. .
• Wake up 10 minutes earlier each morning, to ensure that I have enough time to style my hair (I don't need to default to a bun every day) and put on my make-up (more than just lip gloss.)

Goal: Read more.

• I use to average 2-3 books per month. These days, I am doing good to finish 1 book every 3 months. My goal is to finish at least 2 books in January and 1 in February. I will devote 15-20 minutes every night to reading, prior to bed, to help me relax.
• I will also bring a book to read on my lunch break!

Goal: Finish Joycelen's nursery.

Goal: With M's help, make a list of those "home improvement" projects that we would like to accomplish in the coming year. Figure out how they will impact our monthly budget and "schedule" them over the course of 2010.

Goals for 2010 - Food/Healthy Eating

Goal: Eat less junk food

• I want to limit myself to a single "junk food" item per day. However, if I find I have an overwhelming craving for something, then I will indulge but within reason.

Goal: Eat more fruits/veggies

• I have not been getting the recommended servings of fruits/veggies per day. I will eat the recommended servings each day. To accomplish this - I intend on making a green monster (fruit, yogurt and spinach) smoothie for breakfast, eating veggies with my lunch, and incorporate more veggies into my dinner.

Goal: Drink at least 8 glasses of water per day

Goal: Reduce the amount of "meals out" that M and I consume each week.

• M and I have very crammed schedules on Wednesdays and have resorted to eating out that night each week (and then again on Friday/Saturday). I am going to research and find healthy recipes that can be prepared in the crock pot, so that there is good food waiting on M and I when we find the time to eat.
• M and I are also going to share cooking responsiblities with our SIL and M's parents. Each Sunday, my SIL, MIL and I will meet to "plan" our meals for the week. Then each party is responsible for obtaining the ingredients that need to prepare their respective meal on their assigned night. My hope is that this will allow us to eat healthier and cheaper.
  

Goals for 2010 - Fitness

Goal: Complete a minimum of 20 minutes of cardio at least 5 times per week.

• The cardio will help me to keep my pregnancy weight gain under control, promote circulation which will aid in reducing swelling, and help me sleep better (always a plus at nearly 8 months pregnant).
• I will alternate between walking on the treadmill, using the elliptical trainer and utilizing the various low-impact workout DVD's that I own.

Goal: Complete 3 weight lifting workouts per week - specific focus lower body

• Weight training is something that I love to do and I know it provides great benefits to my body. As delivery grows nearer, I will focus more on exercises that strengthen the lower body area as it will be needed more in the coming months.

Goals for 2010 - Family

Goal: Deepen my relationship with Mikey

• Devote at least 1 night per week to "hiding out" with M. - Between work, church, family, and friends, M and I often spend little to no time at home during the week. This often leaves us feeling frazzled. Over the next two months, I want to have a least one evening per week where M and I are at home....alone....just taking care of ourselves and the chores that often accumulate at home.
• Have "date night" each week. - Date night is different from "hiding out". Date night is a night reserved for nothing more than spending time together. No chores allowed on date night!

Goal: Develop stronger relationships with our nieces/nephews.

• For so long, M and I have been cast in the role of "cool Aunt and Uncle" we are a little nervous that our nieces/nephews will feel neglected upon Joycelen's arrival. In the new year, we want to show them that our love for them does not change just because we now have a daughter.
• Between now and the end of February, M and I will take our oldest two nephews out for pizza (their favorite meal) and our two oldest nieces out for Mexican. Baby niece Kaitlynn will get a few hours with Aunt Kim and Uncle M all by her lonesome.
• We will try and have each of the four oldest spend the night with us at least once prior to baby's arrival.

Goal: Reconnect with old friends.

• In 2009, I was the world's worst at keeping in touch with my friends who lived in other cities. This year I want to do more to keep up with them - and not just via Facebook. I am going to set myself reminders on my calendar to e-mail them each week, and time permitting schedule Skype sessions with each of them.

Goal: Spend more time with our parents

• This will include lunch dates with my Daddy, shopping trips with my Mama and MIL, and at least two "parents" dinners at our home.

Next up, Fitness....

Goals for 2010 - Faith

Four days into the New Year and the blogsphere is filled with countless posts detailing each author's resolutions/goals/plans for 2010. I have never been a big fan of New Year's resolutions - as I tend to quit/forget about them after the "newness" wears off. However, this year I took several days to examine my life over the last year - things I loved, things I disliked, things I wanted to do more of, things I wanted to do less of - and came up with a few goals that I would like to accomplish.

In a little over 8 weeks, my life will forever change with the birth of my daughter. Recongizing that a newborn brings a whole level of unpredictablity to life, I have decided to narrow my goals to just January and February. I will re-evaluate and make new goals for myself after Joycelen's arrival.

I am going to post my goals over a few entries....based on the sub-categories that they fall into.

First up, faith:

Goal: To deepen my relationship with Christ.

• Develop the habit of a daily quiet time. For the month of January, I am studying the book of Proverbs. I will read a chapter each morning, journal my thoughts/questions/impression, and then discuss with M each evening.
• Devote more time to preparing my Sunday School Lesson. In September, I became the Sunday school teacher for our Youth class. I started off strong - reading the scriptures one day, the commentary in the teaching guide the next, and making a "lesson plan". But somewhere along the way I got off track and have just been throwing the lessons together. Starting with this week's lesson - I will read the Scriptures on Monday, study the commentary on Tuesday, develop the lesson plan on Wednesday/Thursday, and review everything on Saturday afternoon.
• Find opportunities to serve others - both in my church and in the community at large. For January, I am working on collecting donations of non-perishable items for our community food bank.

Up next....Family!