The Goals

We're 10 days in to 2011...I guess it's time for my goals!
1. Pay off debt! We have lots of student loans (thanks to both of us attending a private undergrad college, John's dental school, and my time spent in law school) and our mortgage. We are currently trying to refinance our mortgage which will save us A TON, and we're knocking out the student loans one by one. Last year we paid off quite a bit of loans, but I hope we can do more this year. My student loan is just a few months from being paid off, and John just received a sizable chunk of loan repayment money - he'll get more in about 1.5 years if he decides to sign on for another year of public health. We're on a plan to be completely debt free (including our mortgage!) by the end of 2016. It's attainable assuming we don't have any major setbacks, but it means a tight budget.

2. Work out. I started the 30 Day Shred which is only 20 minutes long - definitely within my time constraints. I can handle getting up 20 minutes earlier every day (well, okay, 5 days a week anyway). It is practically impossible for me to work out any other time because by the end of the day I'm too tired, and during the day I'm chasing little boys. Too bad that doesn't count as a workout! I don't really have any weight loss goals because I think my weight is okay (I wouldn't complain about an extra 5 lbs off though!), but I would LOVE to get my abs back since I'm finished with pregnancies! A size down in clothes would be a nice bonus.

3. Try to be less crazy about the state of the house. This is difficult for me since I REALLY like a clean house, but it can be a source of tension between me and the rest of my family (since they don't really mind a messy house!). So my plan is to try to ignore the little things, but keep it clean enough so that I don't feel like I'm living in disaster. Don't sweat the small stuff, right? Easy for me to say, not so easy for me to do.

4. Simplify! I love to simplify, so this will be easy for me in theory, but the difficult part will be finding TIME to simplify. I am currently working in the closets of our house. 2 down. 4 to go. After the closets, I'll move on to my sewing room (SCARY). I also have plans to tackle the gigantic bookshelf and the playroom. Yikes, I better not over-commit myself, I only have a year. :)

5. And probably the most important: patience. In every way.