Goals For the New Year

So I'm not really one to make New Years resolutions, but I did make my "Deployment Goals" a few weeks back, so I'll go into those a little more. There is definitely the potential that I could be miserable all year long with Nick gone, but I don't want to be that person. I don't want people to pity me, and I don't want to feel like this was a wasted year of my life. Thus, the deployment goals! I do much better when I'm busy, so these are a few things that will help motivate me and keep me striving for something. I don't want to merely survive and "get through" this year; I want to live; I want to thrive. So, here are the goals in more detail (I've added a few since last time):

1-Be consistent with a Bible Study- I just bought a new book by one of my favorite Christian authors, Stormie Omartian. Its called Praying Through the Bible. I've already done a few days of it and I looove it so far. Obviously the hopeful outcome of this goal is that I'll get stronger in my faith and grow closer to God while Nick is gone. I did another bible study by Beth Moore when Nick was at NTC (pre-deployment training) and it helped immensely.

2- Get in shape: Pretty self-explainatory. I'm going to continue to walk the dogs every day (not that they'd let me stop anyway. They will go rain or shine or 17 degree weather!) and I'm planning on getting a Wii Fit as soon as I get home.

3- Cook 2 new meals per month- I'm an ok cook (I'm probably actually better at baking), but I'd love to learn more recipes and get even better! And it would be nice to have a little more variety than my few staples.

4- Go to church every week and get more involved- This was a little difficult since I've been on vacation, but shouldn't be too much of a problem once I get back home. I don't like going alone, but thats be even more of a reason to get more involved. My church has a group for spouses of deployed soldiers that I'm going to start going to, so that should be a big help.

5- Read a new book every month- I haven't been very good with this one, but I'm planning on reading a bunch on vacation. I definitely need some good book suggestions if anybody has any! The reasoning behind this one is that I watch a lot of TV, so my brain could use a little more stimulation.

6- Work on the house- There is some ugggly wallpaper that needs to be taken down and the backyard could use a bit of work. And we definitely need to get a little more organized.

7- Get on a budget- So far, so good. My sister recommended Mint.com and I already started a budget on there. They even have an application for the iPhone (yay!). Now I just have to stick to it...

8- Be more crafty- I put Real Simple magazine on my birthday list and I'm also planning on doing some candlemaking and making a t-shirt quilt at some point. More of a time-killer than anything.