15 in 2015

I'm a little late in getting my 2015 goals posted because we left for a two week trip to Texas and New Mexico right at the start of January. (I'm actually still in NM with my family now.) I'm excited to work on these goals this year. I feel like they're challenging but not impossible. Here's what I'm shooting for this year:

1. Write at least 2 blog posts per month.
When I looked at my blog posts for 2014, I noticed that I posted every single month of the year. This was probably the first time that has happened since this blog was born in 2009. I realize that my pregnancy updates were the reason for my constant posting, but I hope to continue that trend with keeping up with Peter's monthly developments this year. I plan for this to be his digital "baby book" of sorts, so I want to stay updated on those posts. Additionally, I want to post one entry each month about something non-baby-related in an effort to have some interests and hobbies outside of my life as Mommy.

2. Read 5 books.
I love reading, but my time is much more limited in this season of life and reading a book has become a luxury. I don't particularly care if the books are long, short, fiction, non-fiction, inspirational, or just plain silly. I want to read 5 books cover to cover in 2015.

3. Eat more whole foods.
I like junk food way too much. I've been researching the Whole 30 plan a lot lately and am toying with the idea of doing a modified Whole 30. As long as I'm nursing, I just don't see that I'm going to follow the plan perfectly, but I've got a lot of room for improvement. My goals last year included a couple related to eating more vegetables and cutting out processed food, so I'm just continuing those into this year.

4. Spend less time on my phone.
This was one of my goals in 2013 and I don't think I really achieved it. However, I have a renewed motivation now as I want to be present in Peter's life. I don't want him to see his mom valuing time on her phone over time with him. I want to live my life more than I post about it. I will be staying home with Peter instead of returning to work, so I know the temptation to be on my phone all day long will be great. This might be one of my hardest goals this year but I am bound and determined to make it happen!

5. Find creative ways to save and/or earn money for our family.
Since we'll be going from two incomes to one in February, I want to find some ways to help ease the financial burden on our family. I don't have any concrete ideas but I feel confident I can make things work in the next year.

6. Keep up with my One Line A Day journal.
My sister-in-law, Brynn, and I got these journals for each other for Christmas. I really want to update it regularly and post in it daily. It's not a huge time commitment but it will take a while to get in the habit.

7. Purge our home of 300 unnecessary items.
I LOVE getting rid of stuff. Cleaning out closets and trashing/donating bags gives me some sort of weird purging high. A few years back, I set a goal to get rid of 150 things because I was about to get married and knew I would be adding a lot more "stuff" to my household. Now that I've got a baby, I'm feeling the same need to simplify. Last time, I lived by myself in an apartment. This time, I've got a house with two other humans in it, so I feel confident I can double that number. For this goal, any item counts. A shirt or a bag or a trinket or a pen all count as one item--size doesn't matter. I will donate some items, sell others and then trash some that have no future life with anyone (think clothes with stains or holes in them).

8. Spend time outside.
I can already tell that it's really easy for me to spend days at a time inside with Peter and never step outside our house. I want to go for walks with him and spend weekends hiking with Kory and play in the backyard with Sky. I live in a beautiful place and I want to take advantage of that and enjoy time outside!

9. Learn how to use our new camera.
Our family Christmas gift this year was a new camera (Canon Rebel T5i). I really wanted to have good pictures of Peter that weren't just taken on our iPhones. I know it has a lot of really cool features, but I don't know how to do much other than use the Automatic setting. I hope to improve my photography skills this year and I have no doubt I'll have plenty of opportunities to take photos of my cute kid.

10. Run a 5k.
I've run two 5k's and I loved the way I felt when I was training as well as the feeling of accomplishment after the race. I haven't exercised in far too long, so this will take a good while for me to get back in good enough shape to run 3 miles, but I really want to make it happen this year.

11. Complete 6 crafty/house/Pinterest projects.
I don't have anything specific in mind here, but I love doing projects and want to make our house feel a little more homey. Decorating is not my strong suit, but I can copy a Pinterest idea pretty well, so I'm going to try to do a few of those this year. I feel so much better when I spend my time doing something productive rather than watching hours of TV or playing on Facebook, so this will help me use my time better I hope.

12. Try 12 new recipes.
I think one new recipe per month is very reasonable. If I had fewer than 15 goals, I might try to do more, but I want to be successful, so I'm going to stick with 12 new recipes. We have quite a few cookbooks that we've never used, so I'd like to go through them and find some inspiration for new dishes.

13. Lose 20 pounds.
I've got about 20 pounds of baby weight still hanging on (which is totally reasonable since it's only been two months) but I'd love to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by the end of 2015. Goals number 3 and 10 should help with this one.

14. Organize and file our stacks of paperwork.
I used to be really organized and have all of our bills/receipts/invoices/household paperwork filed away neatly. Then, I got pregnant/had a baby and I started stacking them all on our desk because I was exhausted and didn't want to take the time to think about it. Every time I look at this stack of papers, I feel a little bit of anxiety. I really want to get back in the habit of filing what needs to be filed and trashing the rest.

15. Plant a garden.
Few things in life (besides having a baby) have given me the immense satisfaction and pride that I get from growing a garden. I kind of let it slip this past year, mainly because I had a giant belly that prevented me from bending over, so I want to do a better job of tending to the garden this year. The thought of a garden fresh tomato makes me salivate right now.


I've certainly got my work cut out for me this year. I'm excited that I'll have time to focus on more of these things this year since I won't be working outside the home. Caring for Peter will take a large chunk of my time, but I want to work towards finding a balance between being Mandy and being Mom. Here's to a fun, productive, and meaningful 2015!