Fail to plan, plan to fail - Welcome 2015 :)

I hate the idea of New Year’s resolutions, simply because there is an expectation that they won’t be kept. Lose 10kgs? Quit smoking? Learn French? Climb Mount Kilimanjaro??? If I were to make a resolution on New Year’s Eve, I guarantee that it'd be broken within a month.

Welcome 2015

However, I love setting goals. Goals can be set at any time of year, can be short or long term, and can have a sliding scale of success. Goals are forgiving, are fluid, and can be reassessed to accommodate changes in your situation. If you’re not on track to reach one of your goals, you can just change things slightly so you’re still heading in the right direction, albeit on a slower trajectory. Resolutions are finite – once broken, that’s it, you’re likely to drop everything and revert to your old behaviour. But goals… goals are golden.

So with that in mind, here are my 2015 goals ( I aimed for 10 and got 11 - exceeding my goals already!). In no order of importance...

1. Wean the Stuntman. I’m ready, he’s not. We’re at an impasse at the moment – I think once I go back to work next week things will get easier. Currently if he can see me, he wants my boobies in his mouth. I’m over it, and he knows it, which makes him want it more. Tricky situation!

2. Make one night a week ‘me night’. Join a class (Dance? Choir? Writing workshop? Mahjong??) where I get out of the house and do something just for me. This will be much easier once the Stuntman is fully weaned!

3. Exercise. I haven’t done any ‘formal’ exercise since my kids were born, apart from a few half-hearted Kanga Training classes after the Stuntman was born. I’m only a few years off 40, I need to get back into shape before it gets too hard to do so. If I can incorporate exercise into my 'me night' each week then all the better.

4. Be more organised. This year both kids will be at daycare 3 days a week while I work, so 3 mornings a week I need to get them and myself up, dressed, fed and out of the house by 7:30am. And then, at the other end of the day, fed, bathed and in bed within an hour and a half of us all getting home. We need a good schedule to make this work! Meal planning will play a big role I think. And lists. I love lists.

5. Be frugal. Having 2 kids in daycare for 3 days a week will eat into my salary significantly. To actually make it worth my while working, I need to think of clever ways to cut costs. Stop my impulse purchase habit. Rein in the grocery budget a bit. Cask wine? Hopefully things aren’t that desperate ;)

6. Get back into a Paleo lifestyle for the whole family. I’ve done a lot of research and I really feel that the Paleo way of life is the way to go for my family. D and I had a hardcore Paleo month in September and, while it was difficult, I found it really rewarding. Unfortunately, breaking the habits of a lifetime is really hard! We’re going to start slow, but persevere. White carb obsessed Little Miss will probably struggle most of all.

7. Cut back on the booze. This will help me be more frugal, more organised and probably help me feel more inclined to exercise as well. A glass of red wine with dinner is one thing, a half a bottle a night is another.

8. Write more. I write for work, but that’s no fun really. I love writing for this blog, so in 2015 I plan to put aside more time each week to concentrate on the blog. Let me know in the comments if there's something you'd like me to write a post on :).

9. Enjoy my kids. I love my kids. I love them to death. But some days I just get so frustrated with their behaviour that I stop having fun with them. This year, my goal is to just accept them for who they are; tiny, imperfect little humans who are learning and growing and changing and trying hard to figure out what the fuck they're doing here. I brought these little people into the world, so the least I can do is help them to find their place in it.

10. Appreciate my husband. I love my husband; he’s my best friend, and a really amazing father. I’m incredibly lucky, but I don’t always appreciate him. It is so easy to become complacent in a relationship, especially with little kids involved. So this year, I will appreciate how lucky I am to have such an incredibly supportive partner on this crazy life journey, and make an effort to tell him how much I love him and appreciate him. Every day.

11. Follow through. I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to make grand plans, or even little plans, and then do nothing about them. No follow through. This year, if I say I’m going to do something, I’m bloody well going to do it. Whether it’s attending my 20 year high school reunion (OMG!!!), or just calling my friend back when I said I would, I’m going to follow through.

So that’s it for me, what are your goals for the new year?

Happy New Year!