4 Simple Goals in 2011

I decided to jump on the bandwagon and participate in the 4 Simple Goals project created by Elsie at A Beautiful Mess. I'm always getting myself involved in new projects and endeavors so of course I loved this idea. Elsie wanted to complete her goals BEFORE 2011, but with a new baby, work, school, and the holidays coming up I knew it would be a bit more realistic for me to give myself 1 year to complete my goals. So here you are folks... my 4 simple goals.

1. Find the perfect pea coat. I can't even begin to tell you how many pea coats I've purchased in my life, and yet I never seem to find the right one. They always seem to be a bit too long, a bit too tight, the wrong color, the wrong style, etc. This winter I'm determined to find that perfect black double breasted pea coat that's light enough for California winters, but heavy enough to keep me warm.

2. Start a family tradition. With the arrival of Cayden and the start of my own family I want to be sure to create special memories for him to fondly look back on one day. Growing up, I never really had family traditions. I was raised by a single mother raising 3 girls with no help so we couldn't afford to take vacations each year and she was usually too busy to do any sort of activity with us. I want to be sure to start a family tradition for Cayden so he can always have those memories and perhaps continue them with his own family someday. I'm not quite sure what I want to do yet, but some ideas such as renting a cabin in the snow or going to the pumpkin patch in the fall come to mind.

3. Start my own event planning business. Many of you don't know this, but for a short period of time I was pursuing a career in event planning and even worked as a wedding planner for a minute. When I realized the lifestyle and hours weren't for me (it included working every weekend in Vegas which wasn't ideal for someone who wanted to start a family) I quit that job and continued my degree in Child Development to become an elementary school teacher. However, the desire to plan events has never left me. I'm the person who plans the family birthday parties and baby showers and I love to throw a good party. Organizing and decorating just come natural to me and it's something I really enjoy. And although I don't want to make it my full time career at this point, I do want to start a small business on the side to plan events for friends, family, and neighbors. My mom gave me the idea to advertise in her neighborhood and just start out small with birthday parties and bridal showers and see where it takes me. Although it will be scary to put myself out there and try something new I think it would ultimately be very rewarding if it worked out. So I'm going to give it a shot and see what happens!

4. Make a baby book/scrap book for Cayden. I was so tempted to take the easy way out and just buy a baby book when Cayden arrived, but 1) I couldn't find one that wasn't the generic pastel/animal themed and 2) I knew it would be so much more special and memorable if I made it myself. This is a huge task because I'm such a perfectionist and each page takes a few hours to make, but I know I can complete it in a year and the end result will be so worth it!

So there you go! I will be updating whenever I complete one of these goals so be sure to stay tuned! Oh, and in case you were wondering what my reward will be whenever completing a goal... I've chosen a pedicure! Simple yet luxurious!