2010 will forever be remembered as the year I started working out. It is definitely the biggest lifestyle change that took place in our home. And what a blessing exercising and eating healthy has been. I will hold myself accountable for going to the gym three times per week,lately I am lucky if I make it once. I will allow myself to substitute intentional outdoor fitness(ex: running, biking, swimming,yoga) for one of these gym visits.This year I want to explore fitness as stress relief. As I age I find that stress occurs less often but is more difficult to manage. I guess I got out of practice from all the aforementioned peace. Also on the health front I need to drink as much water as Dr. Pepper. I was careful not to say drink less Dr. Pepper as that would be a miserable existence.
2011 is going to be the year I take on my finances head on. Hopefully Devin will finish his assigned reading and we can move forward in our journey to financial freedom. I intend to put a big dent in my student loan debt by generally spending more cautiously and applying savings to that.I just wanna plan better and spend "more purposefully" as my good friend Dave Ramsey would say. I also plan on increasing my income and putting those additional funds towards that debt.
There are several big events that I want to attend. I want to watch the Celtics play when they come to Texas in March. If there is a benefit in Dallas when the New Kids on the Block perform I would like to be there for that. Christy, Melissa and I had so much fun at the Susan G. Komen party in 2009.In October I want to take Cameron to see Taylor Swift to even things up since Carson got to see Shrek the Musical. And,let's be honest-I love me some Taylor Swift. This one is a stretch but I want to take our first big family vacation to Mexico and go zip lining. It won't be easy to save for this with everything else I have planned but it is certainly attainable.
I really want to start painting and I have put a tabletop easel in my amazon shopping cart a couple of times but never completed the transaction. In 2011 I WILL PAINT. I have this vision of all of us(Devin, Cameron, Carson and myself) painting the same still image and framing all the canvases in a square on the wall. I think it would be neat to see each individual's interpretation of the same thing. Or each one of us painting one letter from H-I-L-L on an 8x10 canvas and hanging them all together. Like these parts make our whole. I don't know what fabulous artwork I will produce this year but I will make a masterpiece for shizzle.
I want to read more,blog more, and clean more. Guess I'll be sleeping less.
Ultimately none of this matters beyond increasing my day to day joy factor. I must for my own eternity and sanity improve my relationship with God. I do the occasional independent Bible study and pray at length every night before bed. I need to start praying and seeking him in the morning. I cannot think of a better way to bookend a day than with prayer.
I almost forgot to mention doing for others! Excuse me, I'm an only child. In all seriousness, I have initiated a small and private crusade with a few close friends that officially begins in January and I haven't been this excited about philanthropy since I served with the Salvation Army. Sometimes we have to stop trying to help everybody and actually help somebody. We all have a different ministry. If you can commit to calling an elderly friend just once a week, you could change their world. As far as big ticket giving, I want to participate in an Alzheimer's memory walk and raise funds for research on this toxic and underfunded disease.
Summary for my own reference and accountability
- work out 3 times per week
- pay down student loans
- see Celtics play
- take family vacation to Mexico
- attend Taylor Swift concert
- paint
- habitual morning prayer
- gesture giving, Memory Walk
