11 Goals for 2011

I thought it would be fun to whip up a few quick goals for the new year. Kidding, these have been on our minds for a while but it's always good to make a list - who doesn't love lists?! These are absolutely in no particular order and have been kept general (read: no hard #s) to keep at least a little bit of our personal life off my blog ;-)

1. Go to church most Sundays out of the year 
• Let's be honest, we can't make every Sunday, what with the 27 weddings we have this year and traveling and such. God understands. :)
2. Continue to build our savings to a predetermined goal
• We can only hope and pray that 2011 will be relatively drama free. I try not to be negative Nancy on my blog but I watch the news. I hear people's stories. Sad and scary things happen to good people and I worry. A lot.  
3. Strive to be a fun, active family 
• We want to be creative with our family activities and want Grayson to have lots of fond, fun memories of his childhood. So working on this now rather than waiting for him to be older is key so we don't get into a rut with couch time. I know this is easier said than done but I never want movies and pizza to be the norm or the default, I want it to also be a special family event that doesn't happen all the time.
4. Save for and purchase the much-desired Nikon D700 with lens/flash/battery/bag 
• Beau has been dreaming about, talking about, planning for, threatening to sell the house and/or his soul, etc. for this amazing camera. I must admit it makes everyone a professional and I need all the help I can get. I'm on board.
5. Replace the fence
• The downside to a big yard is A LOT of fence that needs replacing. This needs to be a priority as it is the only thing keeping us from the neighbor's 5 daughters and 3 standard poodles - ahhhhh!! ;-)
6. Beau - work predetermined hours of contract work
• Beau has had two great opportunities from executives at his former company to work contract. He typically wouldn't have considered this but as he said, "The work is just so easy." I can't blame him - he won't have to travel, he can do it anywhere on his own time and the pay is sick. Where were my guidance counselors in school when I wanted to go into Marketing?! On the account service side?! TECHNOLOGY & COMPUTERS, PEOPLE! Oh well, I wouldn't have listened anyway since I still can't even tell you what my husband does for a living... :P
7. Stacey - get ACA up and running and have it bringing in a preetermined amount by the end of the year
• It's no secret that we are so behind in launching this but we are soooo close!
8. Get in shape 
• Ugh....I can't promise this is as important to me as it is to Beau although I wish it was :/
9. Get the house organized/maximize space
• The baby isn't even 7 months old, we've experienced two FABULOUS gift-giving occasions (baby shower and Christmas) and I'm already getting anxious about storage. This house actually has a good amount of closet space - we just aren't using it well. The Container Store Elfa people would be itching to get ahold of this house! It will be up to me to get creative on this one while saving money (read: not hire out the Elfa people).
10. Give back to the community 
• Through both volunteering and monetary donations, we are both interested in giving back. Beau has become interested in helping high school kids who are at the very important cross-roads of deciding to either go to college or go straight to work. I think he would be a great mentor in a role like this. :) 
• We are also looking at pledging to our new church home St. Philip's. They are in a great time of growth but I am discouraged to see their pledges are down by 4% from the year before. Interesting when membership is up and the economy is on the upswing. We would love to help however we can.
11. Stick to the budget 
• In 2010 we were able to pay off all credit card debt and most student loans! We plan to keep this up by strictly following our budget spreadsheet :) (Similar to #2, this is barring major life-changing events). 

There you have it - 11 for 2011. I hope to look back on this often to keep our focus. I'm curious as to what my friends' 11 goals are for this year. I hope to see a similar post from those of you with blogs! :D