Planning for 2012…

Crystal, has really motivated me to set some realistic goals for myself, and my family in 2012.

This time of year always makes me feel this urge to be more organized, but this year (followed by some successful goal-planning last year), has me really excited to jump in and make some plans for our family.

The first thing I did, was set a goal (for myself), of reading two books per month. Courtney, set me up with a GoodReads account. (Good Reads is AWESOME, by the way!)

I went through my home and chose 24 books (on my own shelves), that I have purchased but not yet made time to read.

I started January with Bold Love (which is actually on loan from a friend), and Loving the Little Years (a Christmas gift from one of my very thoughtful daughters!).

I must be super motivated. I actually picked up Loving the Little Years a few days ago and became so absorbed, I finished it yesterday.

I guess my goal will be a little more obtainable now. *smile*

Loving the Little Years was a sweet book, filled with stories and advice for moms in the trenches of motherhood.

Though I didn’t agree with everything she shared, I enjoyed the book very much.

My next goal is to have our menu planning better organized in 2012.

At the moment, I’m experimenting with Living Cookbook.

Supposedly, I can enter my recipes (or use pre-entered recipes), set a menu based on these recipes, print them in a variety of sizes, and categorize them into my own cookbooks that can also be easily printed and bound, should I choose to do so.

It also boasts the ability to basically “drag and drop” recipes found on the internet. So far, I’m finding this feature a little buggy, but it may just be that I’m new to this software.

Once you’ve created your menu, the software will generate your grocery list and give you an approximate cost.

I’ve just started playing with the program. I’ll let you know what I learn! If you use this, or something similar, I would love to hear your experience!

The third goal is to work on two sewing projects per month. This will obviously cease when our newest Lambert is born, but hopefully, this year will end with us having finished some long-lingering projects.

I’ve decided to keep my patterns and fabric in this box as I work so I won’t repeat this last year’s experience, when I lost the slip pieces that I had been embroidering for Darby. *sigh*

We’re also focusing more on memory-keeping. I’ll share more on this later this week, but I’m pretty excited about this little project!

Of course, I have my normal health-related goals.

I am expecting, so dieting is pretty much out, but I’m planning to continue my regular exercise (something Courtney and I have been doing together for some time).

I would love to add more raw foods to my diet, but I’m a little unsure how to do this on a budget. This spring, things will be a little easier, since we grow an enormous amount of carrots each year. I’m thinking of designating these exclusively for juicing, but we’ll see. I’m praying that the Lord would lead in this area.

Paul and I have been praying about financial goals. We have several. Though I won’t share detailed information, I will tell you in the immediate, we are planning on saving for a new piano, and a much-needed deep freeze. I’ll let you know how things progress in the coming months.

So what are you planning for the new year? Have you made new goals for yourself or your family? How do you decide on goals?

I would love to hear!!

Wishing you well in this New Year!

With my love,