And so it begins...

Tomorrow, June 9, I am officially beginning my challenge!

The idea first came to me in February 2007 when Jarrod made his 30th birthday. He was kinda depressed and down because he was THIRTY! Like it was the worst thing in the world. It was then that I decided that I wanted to be excited about turning 30, not dreading it! But how could I accomplish this?

Why not be in the best shape of my life?

But as I've pondered this goal over the past year or so, I have added some other things that I want to accomplish by 30 as well. I came up with five core values that I want to strengthen in the coming year (in no particular order, mind you):

• Health
• Family
• Finances
• Education
• Spirituality

Here is how I am going to go about strengthening these five areas of my life:

Health

The end goal is to lose 30 pounds, but the real reason I want to lose the weight is to be healthier. I want to live a long life and not be plagued by health problems. I want to be in good physical shape before I get pregnant so it's not so hard to lose the baby weight. I want to be able to walk into a store and pick out anything I want and not have to worry if it comes in my size. I want to be able to comfortably wear a bikini in the summer time.

Family

My family is everything to me, so my goal in the upcoming year is to communicate with them as much as I can. Whether it be through blogs, Myspace, email, cards, you name it. I want to remember everyone's birthday, and schedule as much family time as I can. It's hard when my family lives hours away, but it's not impossible.

Finances

My goal this year is to save more, and spend less. My husband and I are finally in a position to really make this happen if we just put our minds to it. I want to make a significant dent in our student loans and credit cards, and up my contribution to my 403(b) fund. I want to open a savings account and start putting away money for emergencies.

Education

My goal is to get enrolled in grad school this year. I want to be about halfway done by my 30th birthday. Learning has always been a passion of mine, and no time is better than the present to make that happen.

Spirituality

My goal this year is to go to church every Sunday. I go about 2-3 times a month right now. I am also setting a goal to pray more than once a day, and to read one spiritually enlightening book this year. I want to continue to make God the focus of my life, and to live how He would like me to live.

So as you can see, this blog is about more than just losing weight. It will hopefully become a diary of my transformation over the next year. My goal with this blog is to update at least 5 times per week so that I stay focused. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and for your support over the next year.