Now that I have reflected on last year, time to look forward to a new one!

One of the big things I wanted to do last year was for us to get out more with the kids and to get more pictures of them, plus family pictures.

Success!

This year the Money Tree is going to be a bit on the short side due to putting a big chunk of money into a retirement plan.  This means we need to save money and maybe actually stick to a budget.  Otherwise there will be too much month left over after the money.  That is never good.  Last year I was able to pay off our credit card(s) at the end of each month.  I want that to be my goal this year.  In order to do that…

  • Meal plans…eat what we buy so minimal amounts go to waste.  We have freezers full of food.  Need to utilize that.  The only thing I really want to have to buy at the grocery store is veggies and dairy.  I plan on trying to get everyone to eat healthier, too.
  • I plan to go on a “fabric diet”.  I don’t want to buy much in the way of new fabric in 2013, as I seem to have plenty in my overflowing closet.  I need to plan better on what I make for the kids.  Both have grown out of their summer clothes, and Anya is not into dresses anymore, really.  I want to make things ahead of time, so this isn’t stressful to me.  I hate it when it feels like I HAVE to sew instead of sewing because I want to sew.
  • Less buying of “stuff”.  I need to stay out of Target, the mall in general and Homegoods.  I bought a lot from Zulily near the end of the year and that will be stopping, as well.  I now have a full closet with a bunch of new sweaters (that I did need), so I should be good to go for a while.

Other than those moola related goals…

  • FITNESS!  Yes, as usual, I want to work out more.  I need to figure out how to get up in the mornings to do that, though.  First off, I need to…
  • Go to the chiropractor.  My back has been hurting more and more lately.   The thought of lifting weights puts a cringe on my face.  I don’t think I can hold myself up.  I have been putting weight on my left foot to compensate for the fact that my right leg is in pain from my lower back down.  I can’t hardly bend over anymore without a searing pain in my lower back.  It’s great.  Really.
  • I want to get back to my gratitude posts that I did for part of 2012.  It gets me to take pictures during the week and journaling for our annual photobook.
  • I want to post more (some??) healthy recipes in 2013.
  • Sew at least one thing a week.  This will be towards making a plan and getting things done ahead of time.  I want to have a good start on the kids’ summer clothes before it warms up.

Now to make it happen!

As I cannot post without a picture, here is the kids opening up their main gift from us this year.  We normally don’t spend much on the kids, so this was a big extravagance.  Brian found a really good deal on a laptop for them.  It is lime green, so they shouldn’t lose it.

We got big, excited hugs.

Now they will have to flip a coin to see which one of them gets to take it to college.

I jest.

Sort of. 😉

Happy New Year, Everyone!