2008 - Here I Come!!

OK... checklist...

2007 stuffs. Let's see.... got married - check. Made it to the end of the year - check. Identified and began to work on major self changes - check. Changed blog stuff for new beginnings - check.

Get goal list for 2008 ready - completing now. No, these aren't resolutions. Statistics show that something like 70% of New Year's Resolutions end up failing, and these are too important to me for that. So - I call them goals.

We all go through transitions and set goals for ourselves and recognize areas that we want to grow in. Last year, a lot of my goals were more things I wanted to do and tasks I wanted to complete. This year, my goals are going to focus more on the improvement of self and the continuing growth of our new marriage. So... here we go with our list of what's in store for Danielle in 2008:

- Set aside at least one night per week as sacred time with husband, not to be interrupted by other plans.
This is a huge one. Often times we have a tendency to get so caught up in everything else that three or four weeks will go by and we'll realize we haven't spent much quality time together. Or, we'll get so busy that our apartment will become a disaster (that's a different goal) and we'll end up spending our free time just cleaning. That said, as the keeper of the calendar in our marriage it's a goal of mine this year to make sure that we don't lose sight of the importance of quality time together as we continue to grow in our marriage.

- Make sure I spend at least 4 hours per week at the gym.
I have this amazing gym membership that I haven't put to good use. I want to get myself in shape for myself and my future family, and so it's important that I try to stick to this one. That's 4 days a week going to the gym (the trainer at Planet Fitness gave me a 1-hour workout plan). I really want to make a concerted effort to get there more often in 2008.

- Be a more organized housewife.
I really feel like my role as a wife is supposed to be the steerhead of the home and the comfort level of our environment. I can get so laid back when it comes to keeping the actual day-to-day functioning of the household. Simple things like keeping us on task with chores, setting healthy menus for the week, and making sure that things stay in order. A couple of people have recommended the Flylady website to me as a tool to use to become more organized, and I'm going to look into that. This is important to me to become more on task in this area, because I really want to be able to be a good role model for our kids when it comes to home-making.

- Spend at least one hour per week reading the Bible.
I am really invested in becoming a better Christian and living the life that Christ wants us to. That said, I don't entirely have my hands around all of the things that He taught us and I don't feel like I have a good enough understanding of the Bible to move ahead 100%. Confession time - I haven't spent a ton of time reading outside of our assignments for our Journey Group. I think it could be really beneficial to me as a Christian to spend some personal time reflecting on His word and incorporating that into my living. I got a great new study Bible for Christmas that I think will really be a help in this area, especially as far as understanding the text.

- Be sure that the people I love are aware of what they mean to me.
After losing my Nana this year, it occurred to me that the people I love on any level might not necessarily know how much I love and appreciate them. I've already started to make this effort, but I think it's important that people know. It's just a matter of figuring out a way to tell them in their own "love language".

There are some random other things that I want to do too. These are more along the lines of tasks and fun things than the serious things above. In 2008, I want to:
- Put our scrapbook together for the time period from our engagement through our wedding (I swear, for real this time)
- Attempt to learn how to knit
- Read at least 20 books (I did 11 last year with a wedding planned, so this is very possible)
- Make sure I start early for my homemade Christmas gifts

I think that's everything.

I wish all of you out there in the Blogosphere a wonderful, happy, and healthy 2008. It's going to be a good and exciting year, I can feel it.