New Year, New Start

The last two years I have set some "suggestions for improvement" for the new year. I use that phrase instead of "goals" because I've found I'm much too hard on myself when I set a goal in stone and don't achieve it. So, a couple of years ago I decided to be easy on myself and loosely evaluate certain areas of my life that needed improvement and which I thought I could handle changing. I used the idea that if you shoot for the moon but land in the stars, are the stars really something to be disappointed with? This approach has worked beautifully for me, and so I once again start a new year with some new ideas and areas to improve.

Now, mind you, I won't be publishing ALL my ideas to you (do you really want to know the nitty-gritty, ugly details of my life that need improvement?) but here are a few I'm excited about:

1) Take a photography class.

2) Finish window treatments in all the rooms of the house.

3) Stick to my weekly house cleaning routine--religiously.

4) Get the whole family to the dentist.

5) Less talk--more action. (When it comes to the kids.)

6) Take a Wilton cake decorating class.

7) Exercise at least 3 times per week.

We'll see how I do. I've been pleased with my progress over these last couple of years, although I still have many areas of my life that could use some tweaking. It seems when I excel in one area it causes me to lack in another. The trick is to find the balance and keep it--the ever-elusive goal.