My New Year's Resolutions and Goals

I know, I've swiped this idea from Gary. He's listed his goals for 2005 on his blog, and I thought, "Wow, that's a great idea!" I make resolutions and set goals every year. Every year I forget about them. At least if I post them here, I can check back and give progress reports! So thanks, Gary, for giving me an idea I can use! My own ideas tend to be a bit rubbish.

1. Get on top of the debt. I don't have a lot of debt, really, but it's X pounds here and Y pounds there. It all adds up, and I want to get rid of all of it, especially Shop-A-Check! The interest rate is extortionate! It all sounds so good when they're signing you up, but then when you get the final total with the interest included, it's enough to enduce shock! I want to pay off Shop-A-Check in particular. Not that I don't dearly love the collection lady. She's one of Simon's relatives that I really do like.

2. Make payments on time. I am so absent minded at times that I forget to do things like go pay the rent, post a cheque when I need to, etc. The worse thing is Simon is exactly the same. Tuesday I'm going to go pay off all the rent arrears and then stay on top of the payments.

3. Start the ball rolling to buy this house. It's cheaper to buy this house than to rent it, and since Simon has lived in council properties since he was 16, we can get it very cheap. With the other debts paid off and in control, we should be able to purchase the house. I've never owned my own home, and a major goal of mine is to do so before I reach 40.

4. Make the shop run at a profit. All new businesses need time before they are making a profit. I need to be sure our advertising and websites are doing the job! I do quite well on ebay, but I can do better.

5. Stop procrastinating with my studies. I think that because I already have a degree and did very well when I was in university the first time, I don't work as hard as I could. This year counts 25% of my final degree, and next year counts 75%. I want to get a first class if possible, or at least a 2:1.

6. Keep in better touch with family and friends. I need to do a better job of writing letters to my grandmothers especially. And I need to spend more time with my best mate Shell. She doesn't live far, but I never seem to have the energy to go see her, and I should. I need to see my godson more, too. Since he's Shell's son, those two goals can be combined! I also want to stay in better touch with my friends in the States, like Laura, Carolyn, Sheila and Doyle. Since I quit the North Garland forum, I've been very lax in emailing them, though Doyle makes sure I hear from him frequently and I always try to reply. I've been pretty slow at emailing Pete recently. I used to send him emails every day, and he said he loved reading them just because it showed someone cared. I feel bad that I haven't had much of a chance to send him more recently, but I will do better. That's what friends are for.

7. Finish decorating the places in the house I've started. Granted, I can't do this one on my own. I would have painted the stairway and landing a long time ago if Simon had filled in all the holes and torn down the old wall paper I can't reach, but I could have pushed him a bit. Not nag, push.

8. Keep the house tidier. With the shop, school, kids, etc. I tend to come in, throw down my books and collapse. I need to stay on top of things so I don't pull my hair out when it starts looking like Hurricane Melinda hit!

9. Have the occasional day off to do something frivilous. This might sound selfish, but if I don't start having a day to do something just for pleasure, I'm going to go insane. I'm already on medication from the doctor because I've bitten off more than I can chew. I call them my "Super Woman Tablets". They do help without making me feel out of it. But having a day off to go out sightseeing or have my hair done or something like that will work wonders as well. Simon and I used to go for days out once a month, but it's been almost impossible to do it since I started university. We need to find a way to do it, or a way for me to go off on my own.

10. Get back into photography. I took the first step yesterday by getting my new digital camera. (A note: as per goal number 1, I saved up and paid cash for it so as not to increase my debt. I also waited for it to go on sale, and I saved £80.) I used to love photography, especially when I was a journalism major and took photography at ETSU. I think I was pretty good at it, too. I know I won't make a career of it, but I like the idea of printing off some of my best shots and selling them in the shop -- framed, of course. I also love taking pics when we go to testing at Silverstone. This camera will be a lot better at capturing the moving cars. The zoom is a lot better. I wish the weather were nice today. I would go out and take some practice shots. It's just a shame my memory card only holds 33 pics on the lowest quality setting right now. I've found a cheap one that holds 1101 on ebay and ordered it. Hopefully it should be here before my trip to Brussels.

11. Lose weight! Just on the off chance I can make it to my high school's 20 year reunion, I want to lose at least a stone (14 pounds to those outside the UK) if not more. A stone is a good and obtainable goal though. I'd like to tone up my abdomen and thighs as well. I think it will help if I start cooking more from fresh ingredients rather than serving convenience meals.

12. Have a real holiday! It will mean some saving up, but maybe we can do it. We've never had a proper holiday before. We've gone away in the caravan for a few days, but that's about it. I was thinking about maybe going to the Maldives. If I were to take a holiday on a beach somewhere, I would prefer to go where I am doing some good as well. It sounds like that's one place that could not only use the money I spend there, but would absolutely welcome any tourists who come. Simon kind of liked the idea, too.

13. Spend more mother-daughter time with Malorie. (Unlucky 13! I'll have to come up with a 14th goal to make up for it.) I could have included this under goals 6 or 9, but I want to make a special effort to spend more time with Malorie. We need to do more stuff away from the mass of males in this house. Now that she'll be 16 next month (OH MY GOD DO I FEEL OLD OR WHAT?), I think it's going to be even more important. I'm lucky in having such good kids, but that doesn't mean that there's no chance I'll end up with a teenage mum on my hands if she feels isolated or doesn't feel she can turn to me when she needs me.

14. Encourage my children to read more. This is no problem with Malorie and Daniel. They both seem to enjoy reading. Ricky is fairly enthusiastic about books, but I need to encourage him to do more. Jack and Braden are my "action men". They'd rather do something than read about it. That's good in one way, but in another way it means they're missing out on a lot of adventures and ideas that they may not be able to experience. Or it may give them inspiration to do and see things. I love reading. I spent most of my childhood (and adulthood, come to think of it) with my nose stuck into books.

I can't say what Simon says he wishes I would add as a resolution. I would be too embarrassed if my family read it.

Now I just need to find the time and energy to do all of the above!