Goals 2011

I have been looking at several blogs, and I notice a theme: GOALS. I am not a stranger to these motivating ideas that we as people so naturally concoct, especially at the beginning of the year. In college I spent at least 15 minutes at the end of the each night making a to-do list for the next day. And when I was bored in class, I would make lists of the things I needed to finish within the week/month/semester, what have you. It was a little bit of an OCD tendency, but it worked for me.

Lately however, I have not been in the goal oriented mindset. I mean, it is not like I didn't get anything done last year. I did finish my thesis, and that did require several lists, and goalish type things. Jimmy and I successfully moved to VA and have established ourselves in a new community. I have worked hard to help Jimmy in Law school by being supportive emotionally and financially. I am very grateful for all of these things, so believe you me, I am not complaining.

However in all of that I didn't really do anything personally satisfying, like running some races, or making more efforts spiritually. I want to make some goals that will make me more efficient, healthy (emotionally, spiritually, and mentally), productive, and self-sufficient.

So this year I am going to write some of my goals down here, publicly encouraging you to comment on and question my progress. I really want to make some personal strides in the right direction.

Here goes:
Establish a daily routine (before and after the baby is born)
Maintain a healthy diet (Multi-colored meals)
Attend the Temple at least once a month
Study the scriptures daily (with a topic in mind-choose a topic for the week)
Run a half marathon (this should force me to get back in shape after the baby is born)
Recreate a family budget and stick to it (Manageable and easy to maintain--only spend within our means)
Use my sewing machine (clothes, blankets, etc...)
Try at least 30 new recipes (keep them organized)
Write in my journal/blog at least 2 times a week

Oh gosh, I could keep going, but that could get a little overwhelming. I will stop here. There is no obligation to my readers to become my personal motivators, I am just asking for any advice/ideas on how I can motivate myself to do all of these things.

Happy 2011 and happy goal-setting!