Becoming the best!

Welcome 2009! I am so excited that it is now the new year. 2008 was an awesome year altogether, but I have to admit I could have been better. I decided to check back on my blog post of my new year's "resolutions" for 2008 to see how I did and I was pleasantly surprised that I had met most of them; however, I could have done a lot better. My goal this year is simple: be the best! Alright, I know what you are thinking, what a lofty goal, but hey I am aiming high:) Here is my game plan and review of 2008:

Be the Best Wife: I need to learn to have patience and to listen. I find myself jumping to conclusions and assuming things too much. I know that I know my husband a lot better than most people, but I don't know everything. (Did I seriously just admit that?) This year I plan to listen to what my husband has to say, completely, before I cut in. I will try to be supportive of his decisions and find ways to serve him each day. In no way do I think of myself as his servant, but I have a strong belief that you learn to love those you serve. So, by serving more each day I can grow to love him more.

Be the Best Mom: Wow, this one is heavy. Everyday I freak out a little more at the responsibility I feel in this role. It is so helpful to have friends who are also moms that I can learn from and share with, but so many of us live so far apart! In my efforts to be better I have started a new blog. My goal is to learn as much as I can from other mothers and to share any little bit I can with them in return. One way I plan on doing this is with a blog for moms. I have a personal goal to always respond with "yes dear" instead of "what?" That way may kids hear me saying "yes" sometimes! I have a goal to focus on the positive. Whenever I have something negative to address with Adrian or Luke I want to give them compliments on the positive first. The way I learned this was that we should think of our kids as having a water bucket that we can either add to or take away from. The love we give/share fills that bucket and when we mess up or have to discipline we take away. As long as we fill it more than take away from it we will never be sucking the love out of our kids. This one will require a lot of PATIENCE! and a lot of listening. (Hmmm, could one of my weaknesses be not thinking before I respond?)

Be the Best Homemaker: I made myself "schedules" and "chore charts" before Jonathan was born to help myself stay focused and on task. I have fallen off the wagon and my house is suffering! My goal for this year is to make my house a house of order. I will try to get back to following the schedule that I set up for myself so that I have less overall stress in this area and my home is clean!

Be the Best "Breadwinner": (For lack of a better term!) It was a tough decision to make for us in having me not go back to work full-time after the baby was born. It sure was nice having 2 incomes! Now I am no longer a full-time "breadwinner", but there is still much that can be done to help out financially. My primary goal is to make a budget and actually stick to it this year! While we had 2 incomes we weren't rich by any means, but we had money for "extras" and now...not so much. But, I get to be the one raising my kids which is priceless. In February I will be returning to work 4 days a month to supplement Andrew's income so that we can pay the bills, but that still doesn't leave money for "extras" like before so here are my goals to help out: last year I started a vinyl lettering company, but I didn't do much to get the word out. This year I will continue with that by figuring out the best way to market my product and build up a supply of items to sell at bazaars in the fall. I will continue with Close To My Heart, mostly to pay for my habit, but also to make a little extra. My goal with this is to do one home gathering a month (possibly more, but at least one). And, I am strongly considering teaching piano again, but I am still thinking about this one...

Be the Best Student: No, not going back to school, but I can always learn! Spiritually my goal is pretty basic/standard: study the scriptures daily. We have been pretty good about family study this year, but I have been totally lame about my personal study time. I did meet my goal last year to complete my CE for re-licensure, but I will have to do more this year too. I have to have 24 credits every 2 years, so my goal is to do at least 12 this year.

Be the Best Physically: I didn't make my goal of wearing my "skinny" clothes on the cruise last summer...for obvious reasons! But, I am making that my goal again this year. I gained 35 pounds with the pregnancy which I have lost 32 of, but I was 20 pounds over my ideal weight when I got pregnant. So my goal this year is to lose 25 pounds. I know that I can do it, I just have to stop eating those candybars and baking so many dang treats! Oh yeah, I have to work out too. My goal is to go walking at least 5 times a week and start doing either weights or pilates everyday (put that home gym to use!) and to cut out the sugar treats I have been indulging on lately.

This is chalking up to be a pretty hefty set of goals, but I have faith that I can do it. Here is to becoming the best me I can be for 2009!