Top Ten Tuesday: 2010 Goals

Today was my first “real” day of 2010. As in, up before the family to make sure lunches were made and breakfast started. Froze my fanny off taking the Princess to the bus stop. Climbed in the mini-van and headed to the office. Left the office (after several meetings) in time to make it home to freeze my fanny while getting the Princess off the bus. Snack and homework. TV cuddle time. Dinner (with homemade hot dog bun/rolls). Book reading. Bed time. Laundry. Finish working. Now relaxing on the couch. Wow! That’s what a “real” day looks like – never written it out before. No wonder I’m tired at the end of the day.

Well, as today truly starts my 2010, I wanted to actually write down my goals for this year. This is a big step for me. I don’t usually write down goals. I let them simmer in my head. Just a hint – they don’t get accomplished all that well when they stay in your head. Sometimes they do, but not often. So this year I’m writing them down. Here are my top ten goals for 2010 (in no particular order).

1. Save money on groceries! Whenever we look at the numbers, the grocery total is ALWAYS too heavy. Part of this is because I like to cook for others. A LOT. I always have a meal in my freezer for a neighbor having a bad day, someone who is sick, or a new mom. ALWAYS! And, we, as a family, feel like it’s important for those meals to be in the freezer. That means I need to get smarter about how I’m making those meals. More coupons and watching the deals. I am currently doing the Eat From the Pantry Challenge in order to save some money this month.

2. Use cash envelopes for budgeting. We have a budget. It’s a good one. However, it’s hard to keep to it, when you don’t use the cash envelopes. We were doing this awhile back, but I got lazy. I need to get un-lazy. I need to use the cash envelopes.

3. Plan at least 3 couples getaways for the year. We just went on one. You can read about our cupcake fun here. I hope to tell you more about the trip tomorrow. Gotta get the pictures together. Anyway, it was GREAT to be just us for 48 hours. We need to do it more often. The Princess understands. In her words, “It helps you not get divorced.” So sad how many friends she has whose parents are going through rough times. We want to be proactive and never be one of those couples.

4. Read more leadership books. I want to make sure I’m growing as a leader both in my job and volunteer roles. So, I want to read at least 6 leadership books this year. So far on my list I’ve got 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (I’ve actually never read it – CRAZY), StrengthsFinder 2.0 (I know my strengths, but have never read about them.), and Good to Great by Jim Collins. I’m looking for three more. If you’ve got any ideas, please share!!!

5. Read more personal development books. Are you seeing a theme here? I am sadly lacking in my non-fiction, challenging myself, reading. I tend to read (and I read VERY fast) fiction to escape. I’m not using my powers for good – to learn more and be better. Two that are for sures in this category are The Principal of the Path by Andy Stanley and Parenting By the Book by John Rosemond. The rest I haven’t determined yet. If you have some suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I’m wanting to push myself, making me think of ways to be a better person, wife, mom, and Christian.

6. More focused Mommy time. The Princess and I have several hours together each day – just us. I need to savor those and really focus on parenting during those. I don’t need to be worrying about getting that last email out or getting the last socks sorted. I need to take time to listen and hold and cuddle and just be. I won’t have these afternoons for many more years, and I need to count them as precious. Patterns we create now are the ones that will follow her into her teens. We need strong, bonding patterns now to survive the storms to come.

7. More focused time overall. I feel like I waste too much time flitting from place to place. And checking Twitter and Facebook. A goal this year is to accomplish tasks in short increments of time, take a tiny break, and then move on to the next increment. Working on a better list system to help me know what needs to be done and then get it done.

8. Healthy Lifestyle. I need a better one. That’s all.

9. Continue blogging. I’ve just recently became a blogger. I wouldn’t even say I’m a “real” blogger. I’m just getting the hang of it. But, I’m really enjoying it, and have lots of ideas of things to write about. And I love reading what everyone else has to say. So much fun!

10. Be the best I can be for my God, my husband, and my daughter. They deserve the best I’ve got to give.

It’s interesting to look at them all typed out. Lots of self-improvement on the list and better discipline. Maybe it’s because I’m heading towards forty….

To seem more Top Ten Tuesday lists pop over to Ohamanda.com. She’s got a carnival going on!

8 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: 2010 Goals

  1. Okay. My most favorite book that I’ve read in a looooooong time is “Same Kind of Different As Me”. It’s non-fiction, but it’s a memoir as opposed to a self-help book. Unreal. Powerful. Moving. Challenging. I’ve been telling everyone I know about it. 🙂

  2. Okay, hmm…have you read The Help? It’s fiction, but it’s another really great book. I also just finished Have a Little Faith by the guy who wrote Tuesdays with Morrie. It was really good too. I like memoirs, can ya tell? 🙂 Also, just read this post about making your envelopes pretty for the envelope system and thought of you. Just in case you haven’t seen it…
    http://www.moneysavingmom.com/money_saving_mom/2010/01/the-envelope-system-prettified.html

    We love the envelope system around here. Made a huge difference in our budget and our marriage! 🙂

    • Read The Help with the same book club. We picked some good ones this year. Have you read The Book Thief – that’s a good one too. I saw Have a Little Faith the other day, but haven’t read that one.

      Thanks for the link on the envelopes. They’re pretty!

  3. Pingback: I’m Booking It in 2010 « h o u s e o f h i l l s

  4. Pingback: 2011 Goals | House of Hills

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