2009 Goals

First things first...a recap of 2008 Goals:

1.) Be debt free by 30. I want to owe no one by August and then I want to start saving for Italy and who knows, maybe a house.

2009 Update: Okay, well, no Italy obviously and no house, but I'm only about 6 months off being debt free by 30. Plus, my goal kinda got updated when we got pregnant....so now it's be debt free by March 2009 and with the exception of a small student loan, we made it!

2.) Focus 100% on my health and appearance.

2009 Update: So this might be a goal for 2009 as well. The beginning of 2008 I photographed everything I ate, did Weight Watchers, lost 10 lbs., got sidetracked by alcohol and summer and well...then got knocked up. HOWEVER, part of this goal was to focus on my appearance too and that is definitely something I did. I try to wear make-up often now, I buy clothes that are flattering and have rarely just worn my standard 1996 jeans and t-shirt out. I even accessorize to go to the grocery store. Never felt better that way, just am not digging the "in shape" part of the goal.

On to 2009!!

I'm a little hesitant to list a ton of goals because I feel like my old life stops around March and a new Kitten's adventure will begin. I'm not bold enough to say I'm going to be back in my jeans by April 1st or anything crazy, or even how our finances will be...but here are some rough plans:

1.) Be a good wife. (Our lives are going to expand with our new roommate coming and I want to make sure my marriage is still a priority. Sure, I'll give myself a few months to get into routines, figure out this new person and our new life, etc. but I've always wanted our children to see their parents in a healthy, loving, respectful relationship and I want to keep it up. Plus, theMan is going to need my support to be a stay-at-home dad and I'm going to need his being a full-time working mother.)

2.) Take one artistic, thoughtful photograph weekly and post to Flickr. (No longer will I just take belly shots in the mirror, I long for holding a camera and actually thinking up shots. I imagine our new model in the house will lend itself to some photos. :) )

3.) Refocus on my health and fitness by year end. (I'm a HUGE believer in 9 months on/9 months off so I'm not setting a number, but I am going to spend time on my health. My plan: theMan has promised to take over making dinners to help me eat healthy. And regarding exercise, my only plan for my maternity leave is to take an hour walk a day or an hour of yoga a day (even ordered the slings/strollers to help with this). Other than that I'm laying in my bed with my baby and doing the best I can.)

4.) Remain debt free and increase our retirement funding by 5%. (I have a plan for adding to savings and I will be increasing my 401k and IRA contributions this year. Regardless if we are eating Ramen noodles and living in this shitbox, it's happening.)

5.) Take a family vacation. (Somewhere, anywhere, because I have such wanderlust right now...I would be excited to drive to Iowa at this point.)

Let's see yours!