Welcome 2011

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a nice time with family/friends during the holidays. My date night on NYE was perfect (well except for the distance between me and my date). Pat and I both really LOVED the movie. I heard from Pat, and we were actually on the phone for the new year. Unfortunately I had been asleep when he called and it always takes me a little bit to wake up and really start talking. But anyway, it was the best night I could ask for given the circumstances.

In a previous post I said that I was going to make new "deployment goals" after R & R. I've been thinking about it for a while, and I know what I want to work on. I'm calling them deployment goals, but I think after homecoming they'll just shift to my goals for 2011. They may be rather general, but maybe that will help me accomplish them ;)

Learn to clean and organize. I am not a good housekeeper by any means. I've learned to do some things better over the past few years, but I still have a LOT to learn. I'm not delusional enough to think I'll ever keep a really clean and organized house, but if I could make improvements that would be really nice. I'm going to try to find easier/quicker/better ways to get some stuff done around the house and hopefully will share what I learn on my blog.

Cook better meals more often. During the deployment I never get dinner takeout at all. I make all our dinners (or sometimes we eat leftovers). But lately I've just been lacking the motivation to make the usual full meals. I've been slacking. So I really want to focus on cooking more often and trying some new dishes. When the deployment is over my goal is to always have dinner planned for the week and hot meals on the table when Pat arrives home. My biggest challenge with this goal will be not getting lazy, but a benefit of the goal will be trying some new dishes. Another benefit that will come from my success at this one will be helping me and Pat eat healthier to set a good example for the kids.

Take time to cultivate my hobbies. This isn't a new one, but I've changed my outlook on it. I always wanted to find something that I was great at. I haven't found it, and in my pursuit I find I'm not enjoying the me time the hobbies should provide. One hobby I am getting back into is knitting. I don't really know how to knit anything (other than a scarf) and I'm not good at it, but I find it relaxing. I am also starting to read again, although I find it challenging because by the end of the night when I pick up the book my eye lids start to droop. This year I really want to focus on doing what I enjoy with no pressure.

Workout/run. For Christmas, Pat bought us a treadmill. (He did this without checking with me or doing any research, which annoyed me at the time, but that is another story.) Although I was annoyed that he didn't include me in this at first, I'm really happy with his purchase. I've never been into running, but I love the idea of enjoying a run. I am really hoping that I'll be able to work up to enjoying a few miles on the treadmill at least a few times a week. I want to get my body into shape. As you saw with my old goals, I met my weight loss goal, but now I want to actually get myself feeling fit. I'm probably going to need a lot of encouragement with this one.

What are your goals for the new year? I'd love to hear them. Maybe we can encourage each other.