Possible New Year's Resolutions

So I try to set some goals every new year, whether it being something personal or for the home and I tend to stick with it for good period of time. This year I'm going to be a bit more realistic. Here are a few (okay a lot) of things I came up with.

1. Clothing budget. January is a good time to stick to a budget since all the winter clothes are on sale an I pretty much have everything I need for the next few months. I've decided to give myself a budget of $250 a month to do whatever I want with or carry over to the next month.  This will be a nice challenge and will help me decide to buy quality rather than quantity. Let's see if I can keep up with this.

2. Re-do my kitchen. I've been saying this for the past 10 years and now I can finally say it's time. After a quick labor estimate of $8200 (is that too much??), the contractor told me my cabinets are in pretty good shape, so that means no need to replace cabinets. Yay!  But the countertops, flooring and lighting will definitely need to be replaced.  The labor cost should be lower if I don't re-do the cabinets.

3. Visit family more.  I have my family near me so I see them at least twice+ a month. My hubby's family is spread around the East coast and hardly sees the so I think we'll take advantage of visits to Virginia Beach, Pennsylvania, Minnesota (okay not the East), Massachusetts, and New York.

4. Travel. Last year at this time we were in Costa Rica. This year we'll have to postpone long vacations until end of March or August.  Hawaii is one option in March.  Turkey is another option in August. Decisions. Decisions.  Of course cost is a factor too.

5. Exercise more.  The last 2 weeks has been a dud in terms of exercise and bad eating.  I'm beginning to get into the habit of exercise so need to get back to it.  It's time to sign up for a half marathon or the NYC 5 Burroughs tour which we do every year.  Also, a friend sign us up for swing lessons. I'm excited about that. Unfortunately, hubby's schedule gets in the way so I'll have to learn on my own for now.

6. Get back into my photography.  THIS. IS. A. MUST!!!!

7. Blog more. I've always wanted to keep a daily journal of the things that happen to me and my life so that I can look back. It's the modern day diary with photos. I'm sure I have a lot to say. Or if I don't, I can post photos.

8. Just be happy with what I've got: my hubby, my mom, my health, my job.  What more can we want?

Okay, that's it for now.