Looking Ahead...

Two posts in two days.  I am on a roll. :)

Here we are, the first month of 2015 is over.  All month long I have been posting goals for the year on Facebook. I thought it would be a good idea to share them all here, partially for me so I can remember what I am working on this year and partially for you to hold me accountable. Some are on-time goals while others are long-term. I know I won't do them perfectly (I have already missed or messed up some) but my hope is that I will continue to strive to do these things.  And when I fail (and I will), I will pick myself up and dust myself off and try again.

In 2015, I will try to...

• treasure each day. Time is precious (and fleeting). I want to live without regret, live in the here and now (even the messy parts), and treasure the days given to me.
• be strong enough to do real push-ups. (I am still working on this one. I can do a few but then have to switch back to "girlie" push-ups.)
• get back to blogging regularly. (I am off to a good start; let's see if I can keep it up)
• cut our weekly grocery bill in half. (I did fairly well in January. We will see if I can continue.)
• spend 15 minutes a day organizing my classroom. (Some days I get to this, others I don't. But I will continue to work on it.)
• make time for my family. (As in parents, sibling, grandmother)  Time is so stretched many days with the "busyness" of life but I MUST carve out time whether it is grabbing lunch with my mom or sending a text to my sister...
• declutter/simplify/organize our house.  I am by decluttering 15 minutes a day thanks to declutter 365 (I have done well until this last week but should get back on track this week)
• work out at least 200 minutes a week.
• make time for my God every day. I am trying for mornings but on days like today when that doesn't happen, we meet in the afternoon/evening...
• finish the common area upstairs. (Cheap but cute is the style I am going for...)
• truly make Sunday a day of rest. I am still working on what that looks like for me, but so far, I have truly dedicated it to a day of rest for me. More on that later.
• put my phone down more often. I can't totally disregard it but I have got to pay more attention to life than my screen!
• keep a gratitude journal all year. (I have really enjoyed doing this and look forward to sitting down with my journal each night.  I also have found that I look at the world a little differently when I search for "gratitudes".)
• walk 1250 miles this year.
• simplify my life through decluttering. (I am taking a hard look at things as I organize each day, and if I don't need them now or some time in the future, they are out of here!)
• listen. Really listen. To God, my husband, my kids, my friends, my students.
• involve my kids more in the planning and cooking of meals. (Starting in February)
• be more intentional in what I say and write.
• get my garage cleaned out and organized!
• take more pictures of everyday life (but not so many that I forget to LIVE that life...).
• start saying thank you more often. Not just to friends and family but to servers, store clerks, teachers, kind strangers.
• read more (for pleasure and for personal growth). I have a stack next to my bed, and I have four started right now with more to come. I just need to work on making time for it...
• learn how to make flour tortillas.
• declutter my e-mail inboxes (delete, unsubscribe, whatever is necessary).
• learn how to make good biscuits.
• start using a coupon or two. It isn't easy finding coupons for things we actually eat but there are some out there and I rarely ever use them!
• stop driving back by my house to make sure I put the garage door down. Not ONE time has it not been down.
• clean out our unused computer armoire to sell. (My husband will be SO happy when we actually do that...)
• continue my weekly dates with my main man.
• laugh more than I cry.
• forgive. Others and myself. Because they are going to fail over and over. And much to my chagrin, so will I.

So, what are your goals, dreams, hopes for the year?

Reba