my 10 resolutions for 2011

i am not usually one to do New Years resolutions but this year i thought about it and there are some things that i would love to work on in my life.

So here goes it :)

1. BUDGET. josh and i have never really set up a budget. i would love to do this. we know that since we are about to be a family of four this will be much needed. So, we are going to come up with a plan. i am thinking the envelope/money system but if you have any advice on this please share. i am excited about this...believe it or not. i think it will really help me out.

2. MEAL PLAN MONDAYS. i have seen some blogs on this and i think it is a great idea. You basically plan out your meal plan for the week over the weekend. You plan it using what you have in your pantry or according to what is on sale or what you have coupons for at that time. Then when you figure out your Monday meal, you might use some of those same ingredients that were left over in your Tuesday meal...and so on. i think this will help out a ton because the amount of food we throw out every couple of weeks is crazy and sad-- i don't like wasting food.

and that brings me to my number 3...

3. COUPON, COUPON, AND COUPON. i have stopped doing this and i need to start it up again. it saved us a ton of money but just took up too much time. but i can get over that because it is totally worth it. so starting tomorrow we are starting it back up!

4. A BIBLE STUDY/SPEND TIME IN THE WORD DAILY. this past year i was involved in two women's bible studies and LOVED them and LOVED the women and LOVED how much i grew in my faith. they are offering them again this year and i am going to find one that is perfect for me and perfect for my schedule. josh and i are also joining a couples group and i am excited about that and what the Lord does with it! i love watching the Lord work in our lives...He is so GOOD!

5. RUN A HALF MARATHON. after this sweet baby comes and get the "ok" to start running again i am going to find another race to complete. i did this with jakson and it helped me get back in shape quick~! so this is also a must after this baby!

6. GET ORGANIZED. no explanation needed. i just need to get organized and stay organized, period.

7. SELL OUR HOUSE. josh and i LOVE our house but the amount we drive is pretty crazy. josh's work and our friends all live at least 30 minutes or more away from us. if we could cut our gas bills down that would help a lot. so that is our plan this year. plus, once this baby comes we would have no "extra" room. with all of the junk we have...it really would be nice to have this-- we shall see what the Lord has planned for us. I am trusting that it is all in his perfect timing.

8. SEW, SEW, SEW. I got an AMAZING sewing machine from my mom and dad for my birthday. i want to start doing more homemade projects and save us some money! So far I have done some appliques, an apron, and nursing covers. I love it!

9. WORK ON MY PHOTOGRAPHY. i love taking pictures. i have a nice camera and just got an awesome lens for my birthday from the hubs. so i want to better my photography skills for sure!

10. CHOOSE HAPPINESS in all circumstances. don't forget-- happiness is a choice...so choose happiness. Life is too short. I have to quit letting silly things bother me and stressing over pointless things. JUST BE HAPPY!!