Time for some changes...

Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe it's 2012 already!!

Like many people, I love the start of a new year as it feels like a fresh start. I know I could make changes to my life any day, but the start of January seems to give me extra motivation.

Today is also exactly 6 months since Liam and I got married, and in that time I have gained over a stone in weight. I lost quite a bit of "baby" weight in the run up to the wedding, but still had about half a stone left to lose, so I'm not exactly pleased that I've since put on weight rather than carrying on losing. Yet more motivation to make some changes around here.

So here they are...some things I hope to achieve in 2012:

• lose weight to get back to my "happy weight". I've actually already started this as, after Christmas especially, I got so fed up with my weight and with stuffing myself silly full of chocolate/cake/cookies/cheese etc (it seems I have a problem with 'C' foods!!). Since last Wednesday, I've been focusing on eating more "proper" foods, making sure I get a decent breakfast, and snacking less, as well as eating less processed foods. I'm going to weigh myself once a week to see how I'm getting on, and will write updates about that on my 'Weight Journey' page. Slightly cringe worthy publishing my weight for the whole world to see, but if it keeps me accountable then it's worth it.

Today's lunch (dry-fried with another wrap on top to turn it into a quesadilla). Not exactly low-calorie, but I'm focusing more on eating three good meals a day so that I don't feel the need to snack. This definitely kept me going til dinner! :)

• go to the gym/go swimming/do some kind of exercise at least twice a week. As well as eating more healthily, I know that I also need to focus on exercise. I was really good at going to the gym regularly in the run-up to the wedding, but in the last 6 months I've hardly been at all. I'm not really sure what type of exercise I'll be doing yet as I'm considering cancelling my gym membership to save some money. I haven't been using it and with Liam's long work hours I can't go to the gym in the mornings, and am usually too tired by the time the children are in bed in the evenings. So I'm thinking exercise DVDs while Toby naps might be the way to go!

• go to another toddler group each week and/or take Toby swimming once a week. We always go to toddler group on Wednesdays, but it would be nice to find another one to go to as well. When Izzy was Toby's age, she was at a nursery and then with a childminder, so she had lots of interaction with children her own age. Toby still isn't speaking yet, and whilst I'm not overly worried (as Liam didn't speak until he was 2.5!) extra chances for him to socialise can't hurt. We all used to go swimming together on Sundays, but now Izzy has swimming lessons on Mondays we've stopped going as a family very often. Toby really doesn't like the swimming pool (despite loving having baths!) so taking him isn't exactly pleasurable, but I want to get him used to it before the summer when we'll want to go swimming more regularly.

• save money. This is a bit of a vague one as I'm not sure yet how much we'll be able to save. But I know we've been spending too much in 2011 so some cut backs need to be made. No more expensive food products or coffees in Costa for me! I'll also be writing monthly budgets so that I know exactly how much money is coming in and going out, and how much we have left to spend on food/toiletries etc. I've been writing everything down on my phone as we spend it for the last couple of days as well, which I will then transfer to the budget documents.

• do more housework/sort out the house/organise paperwork. Liam will be jumping for joy at this one! We only ever seem to have time to keep the house clean on a basic level - getting the essential things done but never having time to actually "sort" things. I'm fed up of having piles of clutter everywhere so some major sorting and trips to the charity shops needs to happen soon!

Believe it or not, this is the "after" picture...hmm, maybe still some more sorting to do here!!!

I am confident that all of these "goals" will be achievable in 2012. None of them are things that I consider to be quick fixes, but more things that I want to spend the next 12 months working on. My weight loss, and the necessary exercise that goes with it, are my main focus - it's got to the stage that they really need to be. I don't love exercise, but I'm hoping I can at least find something that I can learn to like! Either way, I know I need to do it, for both my physical health and my self-esteem. I am so fed up of feeling frumpy, not having any clothes that fit, and feeling disgusted by the way I look. I'm not expecting to get back to the weight I was, aged 19, pre-Izzy. But it would be nice if I could get back to the weight I was after her. At the moment I'm the heaviest I've been since 6 months after Toby...he's going to be 2 in a couple of days time so I really can't blame my weight on him any longer!!!

Right, I'm off to write January's budget. Aka sort through the mess that is my paperwork folder (and the extra piles of papers lurking on all available surfaces!) to find out how much all our incomings and outgoings are, and then make a pretty spreadsheet! ;-) these goals couldn't have come soon enough!!

Do you write any goals or resolutions at the start of a new year? Or do you have anything particular in mind that you want to achieve this year? I hope 2012 brings lots of success to all of us, we can do it!