Happy New Year!

I love the new year. It is always a chance to start fresh. Whether it's by giving last year's resolutions another shot or by just deciding that resolutions are overrated anyways and not making any at all! For me, I always make some kind of resolution and generally fail at it. I think because I tend to make them too specific and I don't really care enough to follow through. I think I actually used to think of them as wishes! (I WISH to lose weight this year...really I have little intentions on doing much about it!)

This year is different somehow. I don't really know what specifically happened but I can just tell that it is different. Hubs and I have actually made a plan and I have learned a lot and grown a lot in the Lord in 2011 that I just know that this year is different. That 2012 is a fresh start and a year to really make a change in my life/our lives.

So, here are my resolutions:

1. Simplify life. Pretty vague and general, I know. But this is just what I need. This is the phrase that has been ringing in my ears for months now and it is what I am going to hear as I get through this next year.  I don't really know what it means or how to make it more specific. It will mean most likely saying no to a lot more things. It will mean getting rid of a lot of clutter in our home. It will mean getting rid of a lot of clutter in my body. It will mean a lot of things so that in the end, life will be a lot more...simple.

2. Lose 60 pounds. Actually 59 (that sounds so much better!). Weight loss has been a wish resolution of mine for many, many years now but this is the year. God has really got ahold of me and shown me so much about myself. It is time for the weight to go. December 25th is my goal date. This is going to be a tough goal that I cannot slack on or leave for a few months to start. I have approximately 50 weeks to accomplish this, which means I have to lose just over 1 pound a week. Completely do-able, but I must stay on track. To hold me accountable, my weight as of this morning was 184 pounds. My goal is about 125 pounds. (Whenever you are reading this, please ask me how I'm doing!)

3. Grow with God. Another one that is pretty vague and general. I'll go into this subject further in future blog posts but as I mentioned above, God has done a huge work on my heart this past year and I am really looking forward to what is going to happen in 2012. My desire is just to really let God into my life. I feel like I have spent a lot of time getting to know Him, but not a lot of time letting Him get to know me. (Again, more on this in the future.) I am really just excited to be in the Lord this year. :)

Hubs and I also have given ourselves as a family a challenge. We are committing 2012 as a No Spend Year. *GASP* I know! I have this weird "I'm so excited yet so very afraid" feeling about it. (But mostly excited :) Basically what this challenge entitles is just no excess spending. What have a very specific budget laid out for us that will include the necessities only. Ok. The basics only. The only excessive thing we had to cut from our budget was the Netflix. (Hey, $8 a month is still $8!) We considered the cell phones and the long distance plan on our land line to be a necessity since majority of our phone calls are long distance and the cell phones enable us to communicate when hubby's at work. The main purposes of this challenge are 1. To develop self-control in our spending, and 2. To really kick off our debt snowball. (Yup, we are reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover...and loving it!)

(I also have some goals for the year that I would like to accomplish but that will be another day :)

What are your resolutions for 2012?