Things to Do: 2009

Ringing in the new year allows each of us to start fresh and to think about things that we may want to improve upon or change before the ball drops again. We have several goals for this year...

Family - As many of you are already aware, my plan is to graduate in May of 2010 with my Master of Science in Special Education. In a perfect world, I will waddle across the stage at graduation and we will start our own family before, or just after, I turn the big 3-0. Now, you will probably never hear the words "we're trying" come out of my mouth because, well, that's just way too much information to share; but, our plan is to be pregnant by the end of the year!

Health & Fitness - With our ultimate goal in mind, I am determined to slim down and to develop healthier eating and fitness habits this year. My ideal weight loss is 40 lbs. but, more importantly than the lbs., I really want to become more active and to eat less processed foods. I feel that a lot of my bad eating habits started when I was young and I really want to instill good habits in our children, especially since they will be genetically pre-determined to not be small. In order to do this, Mark and I need to develop healthy habits as well. I will continue to attend WW meetings and will commit to get physical (cue Olivia Newton-John) at least twice a week to start.

Money - I will be setting up my 403(b) this year again. It had discontinued when I changed school districts and I haven't set it up again. I will also be setting up a "Summer Saver" account through my credit union. I only get ten paychecks a year and this type of account will deduct a certain percentage of my monthly checks and put it into a high yield savings account. The money that I stash away each month will be accessible to us without a penalty, which is a definite bonus.