Goals For 2012 In No Particular Order

I'm looking at 2012 a little bit differently than I have in previous years. Usually I go for a full on list of things I'd like to get done by the end of the year, not ever looking at the overall picture. This year I want to attack it a little differently. Who knows, by being a little more focussed I may have a bit more luck in crossing things off my list!

For 2012 my overall goal is to try & find calm in my life. 2011 really threw me, never before in my life had I felt so lost & weird(there's a better word for it, I know, but that's all I'm getting at the moment!). I want calm for myself & for my family. I want us to feel content & secure in our little world. Maybe I should say that Calm will be my 'theme' for the year.

So here they are, my goals for 2012 in no particular order, let's hope that they help me get to where I want to be:

• Get organised - I find nothing worse than rushing around like a maniac in the morning, yelling &carrying on, trying to get the girls organised so that we can get to kinder/swimming/dancing/etc on time. And yet I do it time & time again. I get so angry at myself because if only I had put things away properly/got things ready earlier/didn't waste time on the internet/wasn't such a bad housewife, etc we would all be a lot calmer.
• Continue to de-clutter - I think having less 'stuff' will help us to be more organised & more relaxed because there will be less stuff to clean, put away, misplace.
• Try a 'buy nothing new month' - I was inspired by Punky & Me to try this. She is a braver soul than I & is attempting a 'buy nothing new year'. I know that will only leave me more stressed! So I'm going to try one month & if that goes ok, maybe after another month or so I might try it again. Again, this will help with my first two goals, as well as help my bank balance!
• Be kinder - To myself, my family & all those around me. I'm not a meanie, but I'm a little harder on myself & my family than I am on others. And sometimes when I get down/moody I can get a bit judgey & I hate that.
• Be positive - I find it hilarous that my blood group is B+, it's like God's little joke. I can be a bit of a pessimist, but I'm chipping away at it!
• Cook with brown rice instead of white - I want to eat better. I fell off the wagon a little this year. I've put on a heap of weight since we came back from overseas & I didn't lose the weight I had already put on with the pregnancy before my miscarriage. But this isn't about weight, it's about health - the less processed the better!
• Maintain our veggie garden - I dream of making meals that have been made mostly from produce that's come out of our own garden. We let our veggie patch turn to crap in 2011, but we're back onto it. My Dad came over with his contraption & turned our hard soil into lovely loose soil, planted some of his own tomato seedlings & we are on our way! We already have some tomatoes growing!
• Make time to hang out with my friends - It's always way too long between catch ups & when we finally find some time to hang out with eachother we wonder why on Earth we didn't get together sooner!
• Stop swearing - I swear like a sailor. It's bad. Words that begin with 'C' &'F' are included. It's that bad that when I did my Writing & Editing course we had to do a presentation & assignment on an area of grammar. I chose to do mine on 'The Etemology of the Words S***, F*** & C***'. I got a High Distinction for both my talk & written assignment. Bad. It is not cool. All swearing does is prove your ignorance &I don't like it. Plus, I don't want my girls getting that habit. I'm not going to kid myself, this one will be HARD.
• Leave more comments on the blogs I love - I've harped on before about how much I love reading blogs. I leave comments but not nearly as much as I should. I love when I get comments on my blog, it's not a popularity thing but more of a connection thing. I really like having that & I want to do that for others.
• Finish the granny square blanket I started for Piper - I'm going to make an effort to finish what I start. Maybe making a ginormous blanket for her bed just as I learned how to make a granny was a bit ambitious. I've started it now so all I can do is finish it!
• Finish Piper's room re-do - As above!
• Have more date nights with the Man of the House - When we had the girls we neglected our relationshgip. We hardly spent any time alone & took each other for granted. This did not help us one bit & led us down a bumpy, prickly path last year. I love hanging out with the Man of the House. It's nice to spend time alone, talking(more me than him! Isn't that always the way!) & just being together. All I want is to order in some pizza, play pool, listen to music, laugh, watch a poxy film & just enjoy each other's company!

Phew!That is a long list! Longer than I had planned. I wrote the list before I decided to have a theme. Funny thing is all these things will lead me to my big, fluffy goal.

Have you decided on your goals for this year? How did you go last year? Or, do you give this kind of thing a miss?