Resolutions for the New Year

With the turn of the calendar page, the slate is wiped clean and with the beginning of a new year we are all granted a fresh start. A new year brings with it the chance to make changes, fulfill promises, and exceed expectations. You won't find any lofty resolutions on my list, as I don't want to set myself up for failure. With a predilection toward perfection, I'm tough enough on myself as it is. I've chosen resolutions that I feel are both realistic and attainable.


Resolutions

1. Make healthy choices. This is a resolution that will benefit our entire family. I will modify my lifestyle now so I can lead Gillian Grace by example. I'm thinking it would be difficult to explain to my daughter why carrots are better for her than cookies after she just watched me finish off a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

2. Work out/run at least four times a week. This will not only help me reach my pre-pregnancy weight faster, but it will also improve my mood. "A happy wife means a happy life." Gosh, I can't believe I just quoted Teresa's husband from the Real Housewives of New Jersey.

3. Spend more time on myself. Now, I know what you are thinking...this is a selfish resolution. And, yes it sort of is. However, it has a lot to do with resolution #2. I will make myself a priority once again. I want to remember what it is like to look in the mirror and see a well-dressed and put together woman staring back at me. I want my husband to look at me and see the woman he married, not the woman I've become in the months following Gillian's birth. After all, I'm growing a bit weary of trying to pass off a ponytail as a hairstyle.

4. Be less critical and more accepting. This is a biggie! Being critical and judgmental are not characteristics I want to pass along to my daughter.

5. Become a better daughter, wife, and mother. I will listen more, complain less, and do more for the people in my life most important to me, my family.

6. Be more spontaneous. I will learn to go with the flow and not be so regimented.

7. Prepare dinner each night. It's the least I can do for a husband that does so much.

8. Get organized. I will organize every drawer, every closet, every nook in each room of our home. Then I will purge our home of items we no longer use or need and donate them to a charity.

9. Aggressively pursue my passion. I will explore the possibilities of getting some of my writings published.

10. Get back into the mix. I will put myself out there, initiate lunch dates and dinners with friends, and finally accept my friends invitation to join the Junior League.

What are your resolutions for the New Year?