Fresh Start

New Year's felt a little anti-climactic for me this year. Possibly because it was on a Sunday. Possibly because I was sick. Or maybe it was because I couldn't seem to find the Rose Parade being broadcast anywhere on my network television here in Utah on Jan. 2nd. In any case, I haven't formally sat down and written any sort of list of resolutions or goals.

I always look forward to New Year's and the fresh start feeling it gives me. I know a lot of people don't like the idea of New Year's resolutions because they think it's silly to wait for a certain day to start doing something you want to do. I only somewhat agree with that. Even though there are lots of things I want to do, they often fall by the wayside when life gets busy or stressful. New Year's gives me a good reason to re-commit myself to working harder on certain things in my life. What's so bad about that?

The problem I am having at this point in my life is that my goals/resolutions each year look an awful lot alike. There are some things that I am ALWAYS going to be trying to be better at. For example, I still want to work on eating healthier this year, be more committed to a daily scripture study program, get up earlier in the morning and go to bed earlier at night, spend more quality time with my little ones, exercise more, etc.

The point is that I enjoy the feeling of getting a fresh start on living my ideal life. So far January has been a great month and I'm feeling very optimistic about 2012. Now don't consider this a formal list of resolutions, but here is what I am doing to be better.

Health:
Everyone always has health goals at the start of the new year. I am no exception. I gained my fair share of poundage over the holidays, and add to that the residual weight of having three babies, I am really trying to focus on this one. I am exercising a manageable three times a week. Monday and Friday I get up early and swim a mile with my friend, Lori. It's fun and motivating to do it when a friend. Wednesdays are my free day. So far I have been getting up and going to the rec center gym to use the elliptical for 45 minutes. If it gets too cold or snowy to want to leave the house at 6am then I always have Jillian Michaels or Denise Austin to fall back on.

As far as food goes . . . sigh . . . that one's harder for me. I just really like delicious comfort food and sweets. I am not doing any particular diet because I just don't think I would stick to it and I'm not willing to spend tons of extra money on special food for me. I am, however, tracking my food and calories with My Fitness Pal on my phone. It's kind of a pain, but as I add my typical breakfasts and lunches to the favorites tab it will be easier. It does hold me a little more accountable and helps me see how some foods are just not worth the calories.

Wish me luck here and hopefully I will be close to my goal weight/size in time for my sister's wedding in June (aka motivation!).

Spiritual:
I won't go into too much detail here since it's a rather private matter, but I feel like my scripture study has been lacking. I am starting the year off with a brief 10 day "Walk With Christ" study program that was given to me by our stake Young Women Presidency. It has been perfect. It doesn't take me too long (15-20 minutes), it tells me which scriptures to read, then it includes a quote or story relevant to the material. I especially like that each days study ends with a question to think about throughout the day. I really wish I had more of this to use. I love the structure. Any suggestions of a more guided scripture study would be appreciated!

The other thing I am trying to work on here is being a better planner in my calling. I'm rather Type A, so I do plan, but I really want to have everything in place for YW activities and lessons so I don't have to scramble. I am also going to work on delegating more to my counselors and advisor.

Personal:
Sleep is my friend. We like to see a lot of each other. If I want my other goals to succeed I am going to need to take better charge of my sleep. This means going to bed earlier instead of staying up watching TV shows or playing Words With Friends on my phone. I'm aiming to go to bed at 10 or earlier every night. I am a morning person, so I am trying to get up early even on my "off" exercising days. The goal here is to be showered and dressed in time to take Weston to school at 8:45am. So far I have only taken him to school in my pj's twice. This is an improvement. Trust me.

I want my time to be more meaningful at home. I want to read to Davin and Talia more. I want to schedule special time to spend with my kindergartner, who I feel like I never see. And I want to spend less time stressing out about the state of my floors or bathtub and more time on the floor playing rolly ball with Talia.

Certainly there are more things I want to be better at and do more of, but these are the main ones I am focusing on right now. Here's to a shiny new year!