Hello, 2013!

Happy New Year to any of my followers. Are you still around? Has the neglecting of my blog turned you away? LOL Man, I've been terrible at keeping up with this. Sorry loyal readers ;)

I am not usually one to make New Year's Resolutions, but over the last few days I have been doing some serious reflection on who I want to be. So I am going to try and stick to these 13 goals for 2013!

Here’s to 2013, in which I aim to:
1. become a better parent. I want to play more with my kids, be more active with them, be more patient, be more present.
2. become healthier. I want to lose the weight that I have gained back, and lose that last bit to finally get to my goal of a healthy weight. I will do this by eating healthy foods and moving more. This will include cooking new healthy recipes.
3. exercise more - I plan to attend 2-3 hot yoga classes per week and learn to run - I'd love to complete a 5km but will set small goals for myself - 1km would be a great start.
4. spend more quality time with my husband.
5. get my house organized and develop a daily/weekly/monthly cleaning schedule
6. get a small tattoo - I keep saying that I will reward myself with a tattoo when I get to my goal weight, so if I get there...I will get a tattoo!
7. read more. I will try and read 25+ books this year.
8. drink more water and less Diet Coke.
9. spend more quality time with my family and friends. I dislike talking on the phone, but will make more of an effort to call family members and friends.
10. spend less time wasted on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and my beloved Pinterest.
11. blog more
12. be happy. Laugh & play more. Life is too short to let negativity and frustrations ruin my day.
13. Live my life by intention and not by habit. I am lazy, impatient, selfish, sensitive and emotional - I have big plans for my life, starting with 2013 - it's time for a change, and the only way to do it is by living by intention and not by habit.

Also - I guess another goal for my list....
My husband bought me a pretty purple notebook a few years ago for Christmas - it has sat in my pantry for years - each time I open the door, i would look at it and think "I should start using that book" I have decided that I am not going to use it as a journal, where normally I would vent and complain...I am going to use it as a gratitude journal and try and write in it every night before bed - stating what I am thankful for every day, something great that happened, etc.

So, on that note - I hope to be back soon to write more. #11 on my list of goals for this year. I vow not to leave you hanging for so long this time ;)