Resolutions

I love goals.  Mack probably gets sick of me trying to make goals for us/me/him all the time.  I don't need a new year to make a new goal.  But I still like to take advantage of the fresh slate that is a new year and make some goals.
The universal 'they' say that if you tell people your goals, you are more likely to follow through.  So here we go.  I try to make a spiritual goal, a physical goal, an educational goal, and a social goal each year.  That makes for a lot of goals, but some of them are pretty fun, so it's ok.
1.  Read the entire Standard Works in 2013.  For those of you who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints the Standard Works refers to all of the books of scripture that the LDS church uses.  This includes the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price.  It's a bit of a lofty goal, I realize.  I attempted this goal back in 2011 and made it through the Book of Mormon in a month and a half and was trucking through the Doctrine and Covenants when Brisbane was born in March.  That put a screeching halt to this goal.  But I still want to see if I can do it.  When I told Mack I was making goals he guessed this would be one of them.  It's a tough challenge but also a great experience to read the scriptures each day and ponder those powerful words.  And for those who are wondering, you need to read about 7 and a half pages a day to complete this.  I am already behind.  But instead of viewing being behind as a sign of certain failure, I am thinking it is only January...so I have 11 months to catch up.  Easy Peasy!
2.  Play with my kids for 30 minutes two days a week.  That sounds super lame.  I do activities with my kids almost every day.  We just started practicing a letter a week to prepare Reese for kindergarten.  We do a science experiment one day a week.  We try to conquer an art project each week.  And Brisbane and I create massive chaos while Reese and Jessenia are at school.  But I rarely sit down and play with the kids and their toys.  I want to do more of that.  I think it will help them play if I model for them each week.  And hopefully for those 30 minutes, we will have less fights.  My goal is just for two days because we are so busy with so many things that I thought this was reasonable.
3.  Take Zippy for a walk three days a week.  Poor Zippy.  She spends a lot of time outside but she doesn't get too many walks.  Brisbane and I are going to try to incorporate this into our schedule while the other two are at school.  I just thought it would be nice.
4.  Get together with my friends.  I feel like I have lots of friends.  But we never hang out.  I think it is a curse of motherhood.  So many different schedules, millions of errands, nap times, lunch times, houses to clean, meals to make.  It just makes it hard to get together.  Mack and I have couples that are our friends but evenings are so busy that we rarely get together.  I feel like we have already been better about social time this year.  I re-started a playgroup.  And some of my girlfriends and I are getting together once a month for lunch.  (If you live near me and think that you would enjoy either of these things...let me know... I am still working on getting the word out, but nobody is excluded).  This goal isn't really measurable.  Just something I want to work on.
5.  Support Mack with his new eating habits.  I hesitate to call this a diet, since it really is a lifestyle change.  Mack's family has a history of heart disease and when Mack had his cholesterol tested a few months ago he learned that it was pretty high (at least higher than he wanted it to be).  So Mack is taking extreme measures.  He is on a plant based diet.  Basically it is vegan (no meat, eggs, dairy) except that he can eat honey and he does not eat anything with added fat.  So if oil is listed as an ingredient on an item, he doesn't eat it.  It's a pretty strict diet but he is doing really well.  I only follow the diet for breakfast and lunch.  Mack's goal is to follow the diet 98% of the time (so he can cheat about 20 meals a year).  I cheat way more than he does and negatively influence him to have a treat when he is at a party or something.  Moderation, right?  I am really proud of him and hope that he gets the results he wants.  I have an invested interest in Mack living a long time and so I am trying to be 200% supportive.
I have other minor goals.  I want to always be working on a project.  I want to read more.  I need an exercise goal (other than walking Zippy) but I sprained my ankle right before Christmas and it was hard for me to come up with a goal when I could barely even walk.  So that is just kind of vague.  Exercise.... sometime....eventually....when you can.  We also have financial goals (that Mack's new 'eating habits' are blowing out of the water).  I have goals for my calling at church.  And goals for my relationships with family near and far.  I am already so excited about this year and all the things I want to do.  And the beauty of it is, I really feel like I can.
Here's to a great 2013!