I've never really been big on New Year's resolutions. I've always wondered why people wait until the end of December to decide to make some major (or minor) life change. If they really want to make a change, wouldn't they just do it, regardless of the day of the year?? And don't even get me started on the people who declare things on 12/31 and totally then forget about them mid-January!
But this year...I started having a change of heart.
{And by the way, man did I have a Grinch-y view-point or what!?!}
The start of a new year is a chance for a breath of fresh air. It's a symbolic way to put the past behind you and look towards the year ahead and the opportunity it holds. It's a time to pause and reflect on the year that just went by. It's the opportunity to reminisce about the good times had and maybe even be amazed at the rough patches you made it through.
Amongst all this reflection, I realized that resolutions don't seem quite so crazy to me anymore. What more perfect time than at the end of a year to decide to make some changes?!?
This is where I realized that I've been looking at resolutions all wrong for a while now!!
{Should I make a resolution to look at New Year's resolutions differently? Ha!}
Before I can get to our resolutions though, I feel like I should review some highlights of 2012. Here goes!
Top 6 Highlights of 2012:
6. Travel - We had the opportunity to spend time on vacation with both of our families this summer and road-tripped all over the country. We went from Dallas to New Orleans to Florida to Savannah to Atlanta to Jackson and back to Dallas. We also got to go Boston for a wedding in October and I was able to go to Pepperdine for an Alumni Leadership Conference.
5. Health - This summer we started running and we went from not being able to run a quarter of a mile to completing our first 5k in November.
4. Work - This year Taylor was promoted to Producer at Reel FX. We love his company, and his job!!
3. Transportation - Our old Ford Taurus died on our the day of our third anniversary. Sweet Taylor was on his way to the store to buy flowers for me and instead, I had to rescue him and we had to leave the Ford behind. We've officially been a 1-car family for over 6 months now! We're saving up for a new car, but we really want to be able to pay cash for it...which brings us to #2:
2. Finances - In 2012 we paid off all my school loans and paid off our other car. This was a HUGE accomplishment for us and was the result of two years of hard work! We were officially debt free for about two weeks...and then we bought a house. Oh well, we figure that Dave Ramsey will excuse the house debt for now, especially considering we made the decision to take out a 15-year mortgage! But seriously, debt-free is the way to be....which is why we want to buy our next car with cash.
1. Home - Oh yea....we bought a house! It took a lot of serious saving and house-hunting, but we did it! {You can read the recap here!} We're extremely happy to be homeowners and love our area!
And now for the resolutions! We're starting small this year with just three areas, but I feel good about making these resolutions for 2013:
2013 Resolutions
1. Study French - So I'm fluent in French, and Taylor has been wanting me to teach him the language since we got married. I love French but find it very difficult to teach it without some sort of lesson-guide. So we decided that 2013 was going to be the year to actually start studying the language together. It'll be a great way for me to practice what I already know and it'll be actual lessons for Taylor. We really want to go though the Rosetta Stone series, but it's a little pricey, so we'll see what actually happens.
2. Complete a half marathon - As I mentioned above, we've been running a lot lately. We want to keep working at it and hopefully complete a half marathon in 2013.
3. Build equity in our house - We're hoping to get the condo paid off in less than 15 years - call us optimists! This year, we're getting serious about putting more towards than just the required monthly amounts towards principal. Bring it on!
Here's to the start of a new year!
Happy 2013!
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