12 goals of 2012

I've never really made a new years resolution and don't really plan on it.  I do, however, feel like making attainable goals is both constructive and motivational.  So here are my 2012 goals.

1. Cook more - having Caleb gone has made me not really feel like cooking much.  I love to cook, especially when it is for a hungry man, but without him around to eat and appreciate a hot meal, cereal just seems like a quicker better alternative to cooking.

2. Go to bed before midnight - right now it is 0032... Goal #2 - 1  Me - 0  I think this might be easier once I start working more (boo!) and Caleb is actually living with me.

3. Count my blessings - This is a continuation from 2011.  So often we complain about what we don't have, but don't see what we do have right in front of us.  I may not have brand new furniture (or even a house for that matter), or designer jeans, or a three carat diamond on my left hand, but I have a husband that I am super proud of and that loves me *almost perfectly, I have a healthy daughter that lights up my life every day, friends that I can laugh and cry with, and most importantly I a savior that is sovereign and loves me despite my ugly sin.  I want to be happy with just that.  I don't need anything else, but so often I get caught up in the envy of others instead of what really matters.

4. Get out of debt - this one may not completely happen this year, but we are working hard toward it!  It kind of gives me a rush seeing the credit balance decrease.  I love knowing that more and more of our hard earned money is going in the bank account instead of to someone else because of interest.  

5. Not use so many exclamation points in my typing! <---------- ha ha!

6. Be less concerned about the mess and focus more on the memories - if any of you know me at all, I'm a clean freak.  I actually really love to clean (most of the time).  But Caleb gets on to me often about being so focused on how our house looks or cleaning up that I miss out on fun.

7. Dig more in depth into my faith - I'm a christian.  I know the basics.  But I want to know more.  I want to be able to defend this man that gave me life and was put threw torture so that I may live as a sinner and still sit with Him in heaven.  I'm excited and a little apprehensive at the same time.  I have some books lined up to read and some sermons to listen to that will give it to me straight an in words I can understand : )

8. Actually make the things I pin on pintrest instead of just pinning them - I have found so many awesome things to do from pintrest.  However, not having my own home to live in, kind of limits what I can do at the moment.  I guess I should start small and work my way up to the big stuff like turning an old dresser into a bookshelf!

9. Get outside more - I love being outside... when the conditions are perfect.  This doesn't happy often.  So I need to just bare it and get out there.  I'd love to start a very small garden and purchase a couple adirondack chairs for Caleb and I to relax in with our new fire pit.

10. Coupon more - I'm starting with my all time favorite store, Target.  I got their debit card as get 5% off every purchase (which really does add up because I go there for EVERYTHING).  I also get weekly emails with their specials and coupons, but would like to venture out more and see if there are better ways to save money.  With our income declining substantially when Caleb returns, I think this would be beneficial to us!

11. Grow my hair out - I did like the short haircut I got after Caleb left, but I was going through old photos the other day and I really think I look more youthful and also more like a woman at the same time (if that's possible) with longer hair.  Caleb also like long, dark hair.  With my mom who owns a salon and does hair for a living, it is sometimes hard not to want to just experiment, but I'm going to try to refrain from any other than the periodic trim.  **** I still reserve the right to color or highlight as I please!

12. Be a better wife - honestly, I think it is going to take me a little while to get back in the groove of being a wife when Caleb returns home.  I haven't cooked a meal in over two weeks and obviously haven't been doing wifely bedroom duties (TMI? - you'll get over it).  There is so much that comes with Caleb's return.  Just thinking/writing about it makes my heart beat faster.
When I was in middle school, I use to think "how in the world could you stay with someone for a lifetime and still love them more than you did the day before?"
I know now that it all comes from Christ, and that it is possible.
That doesn't mean I'll be good at it, especially after not having him around for a year and not knowing when I'll get to talk to him next.  Being the wife of a deployed soldier is very strange.  There is a lot of trust that is given to me by him and even more so now that we have a daughter that I'm raising while he is away (he often jokes that if she is "messed up" it is all my fault because he wasn't around! : ).

With this goal, I hope to be more encouraging instead of nagging like a dripping faucet.  I hope to be more submissive and allow Caleb to take his stand as the leader of our home (this could be challenging after not having him around for so long).  I hope to serve him the way Jesus served/s his people (cooking, rubbing his feet, holding down the home front so he can concentrate on bringing home the bacon : ).  I hope to love him in his love language more instead of my own.  I hope to continue to keep myself up kept (getting out of my pajamas before 2pm and staying fit) so he has a wife he is proud of.

 I love my husband, and I am so blessed that he loves me, but it does take work and I'm so ready for the work!


So there's my 2012 goals.  I'll try to give an update on how I'm doing with them periodically.  This may have been the most boring post to you, but it helps me to write it out!