Is it really resolutions time already?

I love making goals and I love the fresh start of a new year. But in the past, I've tried to make too many big changes all at once and I end up doing nothing. Hopefully this won't happen last year. I'm happy how I did this year with the goals I made 1 year ago today:

1. Gain less weight in my second pregnancy than I lost after Hannah was born. The day I delivered Ben, I weighed the exact same as I did when Hannah was 8 months old. I'm happy about that.

2. Visit all 8 temples within an hour drive of my house. We didn't quite make this one. We ended the year still needing to visit Timpanogos and Provo. I wanted to do this so that I could remember how hard it is for people to in other areas to make it to the temple when they're so far away. It was a good experience, but this year I'm going to be glad I don't have to travel far and stick to the four that are within a 20 minute drive from home.

3. Deliver in a birth center. I did and it was great. The experience of Ben's birth was the highlight of my year and one of the best days of my life. I hate to say that because meeting Hannah was also one of the most wonderful moments of my life, but her delivery was just so traumatizing. Being able to give birth to Ben the way I wanted to healed me the pain of my first birth and I think has ultimately made me a better wife and mother. I don't get as worried or afraid of things now that I know that I can do things that are really, really hard.

I'm having a hard time making goals for this year. I have lots of "normal" goals for what I'd like to have happen this year. I'd like to be able to live within our means without student loans and lose those annoying 20 pounds, but I don't know that a year is enough time for that, and that's alright with me. I just want to keep trying and even if I'm making slow progress on my dreams, I feel like I am making progress.

So, this is what I'm working on right now to make my life better:

1. Watch less TV. I never go a day without watching a movie or shows on the computer. Devan and I have been talking a lot about it and hours of television a day just don't fit into our goals for our family. There are so many good things we should be doing, but we never feel like we have time. Cutting out television will free up at least a couple hours of each day. I'm going to start by trying to go 1 week without TV. We're going to replace it with good habits in the evening, like making sure our house is clean before bed, establishing a good night-time routine for the kids, playing games, reading or listening to books on tape, and studying the scriptures. Last night was our first day without TV and it made our home peaceful. We were all happier and Hannah was better behaved because we were actually spending time with her.

2. Spend less money. When we have less cash flow, I feel like I do a pretty good job of not buying unnecessary things, but I still spend way too much money on food. We have a good food storage here and we're not using it when money gets tight like we should. Our goal for the month is to spend $50 on food. That will ensure that we can get necessities like milk, and eggs and ice cream if I have a meltdown halfway through the month.

3. Increase my knowledge. While Devan is in school right now and I'm not I get so jealous when he talks about the things that he's learning. He knows all these things that I don't know and I feel like I'm sitting at home getting stupider and stupider. I want to read more this year. Instead of watching TV before bed I want to read good books and study the scriptures. My children deserve to grow up in a home with an intelligent mother who can teach them the things they need. This is is a hard goal to measure, so I'll say that my goal is to read at least 4 books this year that are worthwhile and read and study the entire New Testament and Book of Mormon.

Welcome 2011!