Goals for 2009

I am not one to make New Year's resolutions. I don't think I've ever actually done it in my life. But I have thought about making goals for this year. Much better sounding then resolutions don't you think? :) I hate the pressure of not failing! But I would like to be able to measure my progress. So I'm gonna write them down for the first time ever and look back in a year and see how I did. Believe me - this is a first!

1- Wanna stay out of credit card debt! Mark and I tried this last year and we did really well until our fridge broke and we had to replace it (not so sad about getting a new fridge but sad we couldn't pay out of our account for it). We started off the year with no C.C. debt and resolved not to use them at all unless it was an emergency (medical bill, car repair that couldn't wait etc...). Like I said, we did great! Then the fridge and then the roof and then Christmas...So we'll use a portion of our tax return again this year to pay off last year and start over. Maybe next year at this time we'll be able to use our tax return for a fabulous trip or something! It's definitely progress though.

2-Wanna be a better hostess. This does not come naturally to me at all. I love hanging out with friends. Love it love it. But I get nervous having people over. Nervous about making enough food, hoping it tastes good and not like cardboard, hoping my kids will share their toys, catching up on cleaning so I can pretend my house looks good all the time... It's stressful! But I also realize I'm missing out on great friend time because of my own issues. So I want to make it a goal to have people over at least twice a month. I'd love to say every week but I need to be realistic here. Some weeks just work better than others.

3-Wanna do a little each day. I discovered Flylady several years ago and have made numerous attempts to live with those principles. I am so the lady she talks about. Lives in CHAOS, gets behind, is a perfectionist etc... So my goal this year is to just do a little each day and see where I go. Not beat myself up and quit when I fail but just keep going.

4-Wanna read more. I love reading but I fill my time up with so many other things. Some good and some wasteful. I want to stop and read and enjoy learning.

5-Wanna give myself a break. I have a lot of things on my plate and I can easily get overwhelmed. I need to step back, organize the things on my plate, and do them. Relax if it doesn't happen exactly how I had planned. I'm not perfect - why do I expect to be? Give me a break! Exactly!

Thanks for reading my goals. I now have at least 13 accountability partners :) We'll have to check back and see how I did.