The 365 Day Resolution Challenge

Welcome to 2010! - A bright new year, a year for greatness. This is the year that I am going to set a New Year's resolution and spend the next 365 days blogging about how I accomplish it. Sounds simple, right? If only my new year's resolution could be mastered overnight. Nope. This one is going to take practice and I predict I will fall flat on my face quite a few times before getting it right, but I WILL get it right. The best part is that I am sharing it with the world. The idea of others watching me on this journey makes it even more exciting. I love a good challenge!

This is the year that I turn 34. This is the year that my oldest daughter becomes a teenager. This is the year that my husband and I take our first big leap into a new business venture. This is the year that I become the Director of Operations for a division of one of the largest companies in the world. Oh and did I mention that I have a three month old and a three year old? This is the story of my life. I run a million miles an hour, never slow down, and always feel as if I am coming up short.

This brings me to my new year's resolution. It started off fairly normal and simple.

As I already mentioned, I just gave birth to my third child three months ago. During the pregnancy I gained 60 pounds and now am left with a still bulging baby belly framed with a pair of deflated balloons on top. Spanx are now a part of my every day wardrobe and I have a push up bra with three inches of padding and thick straps to keep everything in place. While to an outsider I may look pretty damn good with my full body fat suckers, lift enhancers, and stylish Ann Taylor pantsuit - I still could stand to lose 20 pounds, tone things up and splurge on a few elective procedures. So my first resolution for 2010 is to get into shape. I want to look the way that I did when my husband and I started dating. This muffin top has got to go!

If I had stopped with the above then there would have been no need to blog about it, but then my husband walked in and said, "Honey, this year we need to argue less and start doing it more." Wow - what a great idea! Done. Please add two more resolutions to my list.

This afternoon when I was in the shower I thought, why not take it a step further and document 365 days of me fulfilling my new year's resolutions. So this year I am going to find balance between my demanding career, my three kids, my husband, and myself. In my career I set objectives and then metrics allowing me to measure my success. It seems only fitting that I apply my work methods to this new personal project. Below are the obejctives and metrics that I have set for 2010.

• Excercise at least 4x per week
• Lose 20lbs
• I will not argue with my husband in front of the kids (for every time that I do I will put .25 cents into a jar which I will apply to the therapy that all of us will need)
• I will compliment my husband every day (365x)
• I will do the deed 260 times (avg 5x per week)
• 52 special moments with each child (156 total) - I will take the time to plan and execute something memorable. It could be a trip to the zoo, an hour that I take off work to have lunch at their school, a special note in their box, etc. (if anyone has ideas I am open)
• I will limit my work week to 50 hours - (I tend to be a workaholic and spend way too much of my time working and not enough time with my family)
• I will save 1/3 of my salary in 2010 - (my husband thought I should add this one since he knows first hand how bad I am about saving my money. I figured what the hell)
• Blog once a day for 365 days on my progress

For the next 365 days I am going to blog about my progress on giving 100% to all areas of my life and becoming the best , well-rounded mamma that I can be. I will documents my accomplishments, failures and effects this has on me and my family.