Focusing On Time and Other Things

Well hello there, 2014! Glad to see you!

2013 was a very "meh" year for us. Aside from moving in with the in-laws, there wasn't anything terribly exciting about those 365 days. Many people I know had a really, really shitty year, so for them, I'm happy to see it go.

I'm feeling optimistic about the year ahead. I'm not making any official resolutions because it seems to me, as soon as you attach that word to it, you fail. But I do have a few goals in mind and I'm pretty optimistic that I will be able to see them through.

Focus On Time - More specifically, what I'm doing with it. There will always be a few major areas of my life that demand my time and energy: being a wife and mother, work, school. But I feel like I've not really been putting a lot of valuable energy into them. I mean, things get done, but I've just kind of been going through the motions and vegging out a lot. I want to be more actively involved in those areas.

School - I recently switched programs from Elementary Education to Human Resource Management. Truthfully, at this point it doesn't matter what words are on that little piece of paper - I just need the degree. Going into the HRM program is a much more efficient (and therefore cost-effective) choice. My goal is to finish the 22 courses I have left by the end of the year. It's a very lofty goal, but if I manage my time more effectively (see goal number 1) I think I can totally do it.

House - I want to be living in our own home by Christmas. The hardest part about this goal is that whole, "you can't change people" thing. I can only do MY part toward getting us to this goal, which is watching my spending and not encouraging or suggesting The Hubs' spending. However, a large part of this goal is on his shoulders - the finding of a new, closer, better-paying, career-type job. Without that, we're living with his parents indefinitely. So part of this goal is me remembering to focus on what I am able to do to get there, not what I wish HE were doing.

Health - Not just weight and lap-band related stuff, but I would like to work on improving my general health overall. Which means finally filling out/mailing in the paperwork needed to get myself another steroid injection for my lower back problems, finally going in for the diabetes blood work I was supposed to do back in October, finally finding a new, closer dentist and scheduling a check-up since it will soon be a year since I've had one. And also, of course, getting a fill to try and figure out where I need to be with Tim Gunn, eating better and moving more. This whole working from home thing is HELL on my exercise levels. I (very literally) am in my bed 95% of the time between waking up and 5:30 pm. This needs to change.

So that's where I am with the whole new year, new beginnings thing. I'm feeling pretty good about things and motivated to work. What I really need is to figure out a way to keep the motivation up, because when I'm motivated, things happen.

Happy 2014 all! I hope you have a tremendous year ahead!