I’m not one for new years resolutions, in fact I’m not one for creating goals much beyond raising the kids, securing my family’s future, staying healthy and saving for retirement. All of that being said, I really do much better at getting things done when I have goals to achieve. This year I’m going to step out of my comfort zone and set some some monthly goals for myself. I’m calling it the 12 in 12 Project (#12in12project).

Friends and community are extremely important to me.  This year I’d like to take more time to focus on them and connecting with them. Filling my home with people and spending hours chatting with friends brings me great joy. I am setting a goal to host friends for dinner or parties at least 12 times over the next 12 months and attend at least 12 community events in the same timeframe.

Connecting to the community not only means participating in events but volunteering and donating to support the community and the organizations within it. I plan to volunteer at or donate to various organizations within my community 12 times in the next 12 months.

Cooking is another passion of mine. Preparing a meal for my family to enjoy is how I relax at the end of the day. Over the years I have procured many cookbooks. I often look over these cookbooks for ideas but rarely follow a recipe to prepare a meal. I am setting a goal this year to cook 12 recipes from my cookbooks over the next 12 months.

Spending time with my children and family is always a priority but in the hustle and bustle of every day life, work and all of the kids various activities, it can be difficult to slow down and take time to be with one another as a family. Taking time to connect with one another is important, to that end I am setting a goal of 12 planned family outings over the next 12 months.

Lastly creating things has always been important to me. I graduated with a BFA from Moore College of Art and Design years ago. Since then creating things has become a sporadic endeavor. I enjoy knitting, metalworking, jewelry making and crafting in general but have let all of those things fall by the wayside. I’d like to reconnect to this side of me and pledge to create 12 things in the next 12 months.

 My 12 in 12 Project goals:

• Host 12 dinner parties
• Attend 12 community events
• Volunteer at or donate to 12 community organizations
• Prepare 12 meals from cookbook recipes
• Plan and take 12 family outings
• Create 12 things

My hope is that I will have time to share these various experiences here with you over the next year but more important then documenting them here is actually accomplishing them, which will be my focus. I will be tweeting about my 12 in 12 Project throughout the year using the hashtag #12in12project so please follow me!
What are your goals for the year? Create your own 12 in 12 Project goals and share your link below. Tag you posts on social media using the hashtag #12in12project. I look forward to seeing what everyone is doing! Happy new year!