So long, 2012!

Time to revisit my 2012 goals and see how I did. Some of them went well, others....well, you'll see.

My hopes for this year:

• I hope J gets a permanent teaching job that he absolutely loves.
• I hope C continues to make progress and completely catch up with kids his age.
• I hope for many less sick baby days this year!
• I hope to see my family more now that we live closer.
• I hope 2012 is one for the books.

While J didn't get a permanent teaching job, he did get transferred to a new school that he enjoys a LOT more than than where he was last year. C has completely caught up and was discharged from PT just before turning two. After getting tubes in his ears in June, he's been much healthier than in the past. Living closer has been wonderful and we've seen so much more of our family than before! Add in a new addition on the way and I'd say 2012 was pretty great to us!

My family goals for this year:

• Spend more quality time outside the apartment (the park, going for a walk, etc.).
• Start three new family traditions.
• Find a church community we really like.
• Have at least one "date night" per month, even if its at home.
• Give J a really great 30th birthday. 
• Dedicate a week to West River this summer 

We spent a lot more time this year outside grilling, gardening, playing, going to the pool, and for walks. It was a nice change of pace. As C gets older family traditions have become easier to establish and keep up. One thing I've noticed is that even if its as simple as eating breakfast in your pajamas together - traditions come in all shapes and sizes.

We still haven't found a church community to join, but I'll be honest - we haven't done a great job of looking. Date nights have been less frequent than we'd like, but we focus on us more and that's what is important. J's birthday was a good one and though we ended up not being able to afford a big trip, he did get some quality time with his friends. Finally, we spent a wonderful week at West River volunteering and spending time with some of our favorite people.

My home goals for this year:

• Hang all of our picture frames
• Plan out meals on Sunday, shop accordingly, and stick to the plan.
• Utilize freezer and crock pot meals more.
• Never buy cleaners - make at home from natural ingredients.
• Create a cleaning schedule and stick to it. 
• Start a garden and grow our own vegetables and herbs.

All of our pictures finally got hung, we didn't buy a single store bought cleaner, and while we don't exactly have a cleaning schedule we do a lot better at clutter busting than in the past. We've also been doing a much better job planning and shopping for meals, saving over $2,000 with sales and coupons this year! We ate like kings from our garden this summer even though it was mostly squash and tomatoes and can't wait to do it again next summer.

My personal goals for this year:

• Get back into knitting/crocheting.
• Make and donate at least 3 blankets to Project Linus.
• Get 100 more blog followers! (Ended 2011 with 67)
• Read at least 3 books (that's a lot for me, people)
• Have a handmade Christmas (make all of my gifts)
• Take the Two Peas photography tutorial course.
• Organize our pictures and back them up once a month

I think its very interesting and telling that this is the area that I did the worst this year. I really need to figure out how to take more time for myself, but with another kid on the way I'm not quite sure how that's going to happen! I did start crocheting again, but haven't made much of anything. I have hardly touched my sewing machine all year and haven't had time to do much reading. I did take the Two Peas photography course and really enjoyed that. I did more blogging outreach....and then didn't post most of the summer. Our pictures are completely organized though!! I guess that counts for something! Next year, I need to do better at this stuff...

My financial goals for this year:

• Pay off our current car.
• Buy a second (inexpensive) car. 
• Pay off said second car.
• End the year with no consumer debt (credit cards, cars, etc.)
• Pay off at least 20% of my student loans. 
• Bring lunch to work and never buy. 

So this area is going to be interesting to report on. We paid off the Versa, bought another car, paid it off....and then bought another car. Kind of threw a wrench in the "no consumer debt" thing. While we're in fabulous shape credit card wise, we are back in the car loan hole for the next few years. Truth be told, it was a good investment that needed to be made for our growing family, so what can you do. Our student loans are still in normal repayment, but we will get to them in time. I did, however, do great bringing lunch to work instead of buying all the time! There were a few times, for one reason or another, that I needed to buy, but when ever possible I kept the wallet closed. 


Well, you win some, you lose some and that's okay. If anything, revisiting this year's list has given me a lot of inspiration for 2013 - especially in the personal goals area. Once I'm done putting together the new list, I'll post it.

How did you do in 2012? What are you going to change in 2013?