The Liebers: Tuesday Ten: My New Year Resolutions {LinkUp}

We are now officially a week in to 2014, so I thought today would be a good day to post my resolutions. I would actually laugh about my procrastination habit, but I've actually had this post planned for about a month. Today marks the first day of my collaboration with Lisa at The Golden Spoons for our Tuesday Ten linkup. Today we are asking you to link up your New Year's Resolutions in this post. It can be a post you've already published or one you write specifically for this link up. It doesn't even have to be 10 things. We aren't the internet police or big meanies. All we ask is that you link up a post related to the topic and then go visit and few others and leave them some comments.

As I've been thinking of my resolutions, I decided to go check out my resolutions from last year. I'm still not sure if that was a mistake or not! Many of the things I am resolving to do this year and the same as things I resolved to do last year. That's not to say that I failed at all my resolutions. It just means that there is still progress to be made and I am not giving up.

1. Being still--I wrote about my word of the year in this post, and I am putting this at the top of my resolutions. I am going to take at least 10 minutes each day to just be still: no iPad, no TV, no books, no kids, no husband, nothing. Just stillness and listening. Maybe some very quiet stretching.

2. Praying more--I have joined a facebook prayer group. I have told my family that they are invited to say the rosary with me every Sunday after lunch. I have a few devotional books that I am going to read this month and then I'll seek out some more (leave me a recommendation). I also have a kids' devotional book that I am putting at the table that the kids and I can read at meals.

3. Lose weight--This one was a big fail last year. Not only did I not lose weight, I'm pretty sure I gained some. Part of the problem is that I haven't weighed myself at all. I'm certainly not going to start weighing myself every day, but it's a good idea to check once a week, right. I'd like to lose 15 pounds by not snacking so much. I will replace my bored and habit eating with drinking water. I will also keep...

4. Exercising--Zumba starts again in a few weeks and I will be keeping up with that again. I also plan on doing some exercise at home in the evenings before bed. 10-15 minutes a night is a good, realistic starting point for me. We'll see if I can work up to 30 minutes a night.

5. Better planning--I am currently reviewing a meal planning service that is making that aspect more fun. Near the end of last year I also started printing out a weekly schedule on Fridays for the coming week. We already have monthly calendars printed, but the weekly version allows me to plan meals around other things that are going on and the format is bigger, so it's easier to see what's going on.

6. Save money--I really want us to be able to move sometime in the near future. One bathroom and five people is difficult and crowded. We're not underwater in our mortgage, but we are in the position that we will have to sell at the same time that we buy and that's going to make things complicated. I have a "secret" online bank account that I am going to divert some of my paycheck into each pay period. I don't check it often, so I won't be tempted to use it for things. We are also making good progress at paying off our credit cards, so that helps too.

7. Clean my house--My house is my nemesis! I've tried lots of different ways to force myself to be a better housekeeper, but I typically lose steam after a few weeks. The good news is that each time I lose steam I am a few baby steps closer to my goal. I downloaded a new, fun cleaning app for my phone. The initials are UFYH and I will warn you that there is a bad word in the title (the f one), but it has some great cleaning challenges and it is irreverent and fun to do.

8. Go to bed on time. I am hereby giving myself a bed time. 10:00 seems reasonable. Actually it just seems like the time I typically fall asleep on the couch anyway. This year I am going to fall asleep in my bed and stay there all night instead of wrestling with myself to get up and move in the middle of the night.

9. Be more purposeful about my time online--I'd like to spend less time online--Yes! I said it!! I want to spend less time online and more time interacting with actual human beings and my house. This can be a hard thing to attempt since, as a blogger and an office worker, online work is required, but I need to do a better job of signing off and leaving the devices alone when I am at home. I need to do a better job of concentrating my time and not bouncing around all over the pace. Especially because I plan to increase my monthly page views and interactions. I think that by planning a concentrated effort towards community building and readership, I can increase my numbers AND spend less time online.

10. Being a better example to my kids--Every single other resolution comes back to this one. I want to be the best moter I can be and that means setting the best example that I can in all areas of my life. I want my kids to be happy, healthy, spiritually-nourished, and secure in my love. That means I've got to set up all those things for them.

Also, just for your viewing pleasure, I'd like to present some of the Mother of All Meltdowns Crew and their resolutions for 2014:

Your Tuesday Ten hostesses are: