Sunday, January 1, 2012

Why Hello There 2012...

You snuck up on me just a tad, but I am sure as heck glad you are here, every year I look forward to a fresh start, I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing, it just is what it is...in 2011 my theme was "being better", I had several areas of my life that I wanted to be better in, and several people I wanted to be better for, and I am not sure I knocked any of them out of the park, so for fun I am going to go through my 2011 "Resolutions" and grade myself...and then we'll get cracking on the 2012 Resolutions...

Being a better wife...making Brad feel special and loved everyday, even when he snores in my ear and I want to throttle him - Final Grade: B-, I made some progress, but it was a fourth quarter push, 3/4 of the year could have used some serious improvement...this one will be a do-over for 2012 for sure.

Being a better mother
...showing the girls every single day how they make my heart soar and world go round - Final Grade: C, this one tears at my heart strings, because I really did try, and I gave and still give almost all of me to being a good Mom, but this motherhood thing threw some curve-balls my way in 2011, ones that I hadn't had enough time to practice on, and without extra time to practice, or extra sleep/patience, I wasn't prepared to take on a new pitch...another repeat for the 2012 Season.

Being a better daughter
...just flat out being nicer and more patient with my parents. Final Grade: this one might as well just be pass/fail, and I would go with fail...good gracious.  My Parents and I are similar in some ways, yet very, very different in others, and its hard to tell what causes the strain, the similarities or the differences, but I happen to be in the "its both" camp these days, so more work needs to be done in 2012 to show them that despite the fact that I lose my patience I am very thankful and grateful for who they are and everything they do for me and for my family, my girls would be lost without them.

Being a better friend.
..picking up the phone and actually hearing my friends voices instead of relying on modern technology to keep the friendship alive. Final Grade: B-, some progress was made, more phone calls in 2011 than in 2010, but still far from the target. I told my BFF in a card (yes I still hand write cards, and I don't think she has even received it yet, so this will likely beat the card to her) that we need to schedule a phone date 2X a month and put it on the calendar, there is no excuse why that can't happen. When we do catch up on the phone we can go on and on for hours, like we are sitting in the same room just chatting away, its the best feeling...

Being a better steward with our family money.
..knowing where our money goes and using that to inform a budget that will hopefully set up our savings for success. Final Grade: B, progress was made here, but probably a second half type of progress, I think that we were more conscious that in years past, I think that my new found ability to coupon helped a little, and I think the budget we put in place late in the year will set us up for success in 2012.

Being a better role model for my girls.
..eating healthy and getting in shape. I want to be here for years to come and I want to feel good and getting healthy is where it starts. Final Grade: B+, for the better part of the year I was knocking this one out of the park, but last quarter I lost some steam, but 2012 is a clean start, and we are all focused on reducing the # of snacks the girls eat and saving those calories for well balanced meals at the table, rather than snacks on the run.

Being better about work-life balance
...I need to set boundaries for myself and stick to them, I need to be as productive as I can be while I am at work and be as present as I can be while I am at home. I need to separate the work from my life as much as possible. Final Grade: B+, progress made here, most nights if given the choice I left my computer in my bag, never even turned it on. I wish I could have truly unplugged from the BB a little more, but it was nice to leave the computer in the bag several nights a week.  There were a few times during the year where I was working in the early morning hours, but I never started work until the girls went to bed, so that made me feel better about the time I spent with them.

On Friday January 6th I will share my 5 Goals for 2012 in the Five on Friday post....

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