life changes....

this time of year is full of resolutions and goals and wishes and dreams that never come true for many of their creators. i've stayed away from resolutions in the past because i know me. this year, i didn't make resolutions. i made twelve mini-goals to build on each one before each month. i made it a point to not tie any of these to weight loss or direct money numbers because i'm really bad about getting discouraged. i'm taking on an "every little bit counts" standpoint this year. and it's big for me to write something down and stick to it. i'm actually excited. the following things are things that i've struggled with the past year personally.

i'm addicted to soda. i've kicked the habit in the past but i rationalize new beginnings with it by telling myself "you didn't get much sleep last night. you need the caffeine." or, it's friday. or, you had a bad week. no more rationalizing. no more buts. i need less soda in my life. it's toxic. my plan is to stick to water and tea, and, if need be, coffee once in a while.

i'm terrible at saving. i'm bad about coming across something unexpected and pulling from my savings account to cover it. better planning and budgeting an alotted savings amount has already been implemented. i. must. not. touch. it.

junk. whether it's food, attitude or clutter around my house, my life is full of junk. i need a makeover. i grab junk food when i've had a bad day. i grab junk to snack on. i need it out of my house and out of my life. my attitude gets junky most weeks at least once. i need to let things go. this will help my junky attitude. there's too much junk in my house - stuff i don't use or need and i need to slough it off in order to bring structure to the chaos that is my life.

i wrote a book and have three in progress. i need to finish those. and i need to share more. writing things down keeps me sane.

i'm addicted to spending. i can nickle and dime what's left of my paycheck to death! i will be working on a weekly "allowance" system and sticking to a list when grocery shopping.

more music. my life used to be FULL of music. i haven't played my guitar in a really long time. there's a show coming up that my mom wrote and she wants me to play guitar in it. this is my inspiration *make time. heart-deep.* i want my daughter to develop a love of music like i had/have. i also want to create more, meaning my crafties and sewing and such.

less stuff. i plan on purging the crap in my home and having a garage sale and putting that money into savings. i have things i need to let go of.

we eat out or at my in-laws a LOT. i need to cook more. i need to teach my girls that family is important, and that dinner time is family time. i had this growing up and it was special time for us to talk about our days.

less media time. this means that instead of retreating to my room and turning on the tv when i get home, that i will play with my daughter or spend time with my husband. instead of turning on my computer or playing on my phone for the hours that i'm home, i will be spending time with baby jayne and her daddy. i can facebook about how much i love her and blog about how much i love her until i'm blue in the face, but she can't read. she only sees action now. i need to be active.

i love to read. i rarely find time to do it. i will read more.

i've always been more on the negative side of the spectrum personality wise than on the positive. i need to be thankful for what i have. i need to be less negative. my whole life feeds off of my attitude and when that attitude sucks, so does my life. (i will, however, continue with my sarcastic antics. :))

i want to do something to help another person. i want to be more selfless. i want to turn negative energy into positive energy and my heart is in a better place when i'm showing kindness to others. it doesn't happen as often as it should.

so, there it is. there's my plan for 2013. making a better person. making family more of a family and less of a network and job. and cutting the negative and increasing the positive.

TAMS 12 STEPS to BEING A BETTER PERSON

Jan – less soda
Feb – more savings
March – less junk (food, attitude, clutter)
April – write more
May – less spending
June – more music (guitar, creating)
July – less stuff (purge the crap that we never use)
August – eat at home more (learn to cook goodJ)
September – less media time (spend more time with FAMILY than on phone/computer/tv)
October – more reading
November – less negativity (being more thankful)
December – do something to help others.

do something to improve yourself this year. doesn't have to be big. just do it.

happy new year guys.