Goals for 2015

Resolution time!  Oh boy, first ... accountability for 2014.  Here are links to last year's resolutions in case you really care to see (post 1 and post 2).  Um, it was lousy.  At least if we are going by a strict, did I do these to 100% standard of accountability.  In my defense, this past year involved a new baby, a failed adoption, a job change, selling a house, buying a new house, and remodeling.  So, yeah, it was a crazy year.  So here is what I want to say about accountability for my 2014 resolutions:  they helped me do better than I otherwise would have.  No, I didn't read scriptures every single day.  But I did read the entire Book of Mormon this year and quite a lot of the Old Testament, too.  And while we didn't do FHE every week, we did it WAY more than ever before and on a pretty consistent basis to the point here I honestly think we can achieve a goal of weekly FHE for 2015.  I read quite a few really excellent books but I didn't keep track very well so I can't say for sure whether I met my 2-books-a-month goal.  My guess is that I was close but not quite there.  We did lots of date nights and special family outings so I'm going to say that we accomplished those goals.  Anyhoosier, enough about 2014.  Let's move on to 2015 resolutions.

So, first off, I want to say that these resolutions are not about overhauling my life.  I don't want a life-makeover at this point or anything.  Most of these are more about tweaking and refining some practices that I am already working on.  Not that I am saying I am so great or anything:  I just don't think making unrealistic goals that I have very little hope of achieving is going to do me a heck of a lot of good at this point in my life.

Spiritual:

* Go the temple quarterly.  I would love to say monthly, but, well, let's just say I'm hoping to take an underpromise and overdeliver approach to this goal.
* Daily scripture study.  Yes, daily.  I really, really want to get that one down. 
* Weekly FHE.

Physical:

* I think I've got the exercising 3+ times a week thing down pretty well.  But it is always in the gym.  So I want to set a resolution to get some exercise outdoors at least once a week.  It doesn't even have to be a workout.  I want to do Saturday morning runs outside some weekend or going for family walks in the evenings now that Clara has got some speed under her using her scooter or go hiking or play tennis or something.
* Lose weight.  I'm not going to be more specific about this on the blog.   
* Look into braces.  If I could change one thing about myself, it would be my smile.  Its super embarrassing to admit, but totally true.  This has a significant financial aspect to it that might make it a non-starter from the get-go, but I'm hoping 2015 is the year to get going on this.

Family:

* Date night with Paul 2x/month (or more - hopefully more, since we love date nights).  We are hoping to do more of these in SF and try out some of the amazing restaurants there.  We have had a bunch of recommendations from friends and are excited about this one.  It is so easy to get so caught up with parenting and work and life and forget to set time aside for each other without any distractions (not that I think of the girls as distractions, but you know what I mean) and it is important to us to maintain and nurture our marriage by taking time for the two of us to connect in a meaningful way. 
* Travel outside the U.S. with the girls.  This has been on my resolutions list for years, really, and hasn't happened yet.  But because of that we have got some decent travel rewards accrued AND if we are going to do this it would be nice to do before Rose turns 2 and we have to pay for her airfare also, so maybe 2015 is the year to make this happen. 
* Remodel the kitchen, living, and family rooms. 

Personal:

* Read at least one book each month, maybe two.  And read a variety of literature - something classic, some non-fiction, a play, YA, etc. 
* Find other avenues to expand my mind and talents - practice the piano more, listen to podcasts, try something new (I learned to do handstands in 2014 and LOVED it), learn to make panna cotta, go skiing, see  play, swim in the ocean, etc.  I know this goal is way underdeveloped and loosey-goosey, but I want to keep it flexible while I am figuring it out and seeing what I can do while maintaining other priorities and taking care of my little family. I like how this approach worked in 2014 because it opened me up to new possibilities of things that I otherwise might now have done, like performing in the Nutcracker. 
* Get more sleep.  Seriously, I need to focus on this goal.  I need start going to bed before 11:00 on a regular basis (10:00 is the goal). In order to do this, I have a couple of other sub-goals that need to happen - watch less tv, do dishes, laundry, living room clean up earlier in the evening so I don't end up staying up late to clean the kitchen/laundry/living room because it is driving me bonkers.