I’m not a person who likes to make resolutions. I’ve made them in the past and year after year I was just a big failure at them. No matter what I tried I just couldn’t stick to the resolutions so I started making goals, that didn’t work very well for me either, so this year I’m going to try for hope.

Hopes for 2013. Things that I hope to accomplish. No pressure needed.

In 2012 I didn’t really have any hopes. Make it through a year without any hardships was about all I had in mind. Well we made it to about the 350th day of the year and then the bottom fell out. We were close, and to be honest it was quite a boring year, which, depending on the way you look at it is a good thing, but I wonder that if I would of had higher hopes for the year, might it of been just as good?

That’s why this year I have several hopes for 2013 and the hopes are broken down in categories.

Family: For my family I have hopes that we will lead a healthier lifestyle this year. At the age of 37 my husband and I suffer with more health concerns than our parents. It all comes down to the way we have chosen to live our lives  up until this point and we are ready to make a change. We hope to make healthier choices by eating better, exercising more, sleeping better and keeping the stress to a minimal. The kids are also going to join us in living a healthier lifestyle and will continue participating in a variety of sports. Bobby will spend most of his time with travel baseball of which starts next week. He is doing awesome in school and was on the merit roll for the first grading period and education will continue to be the most important thing for him. Gracie will be trying her hand at gymnastics this year and is also dying to try out soccer. She continues to excel in school and I have no doubt that will keep this pace going!

Sherman: Sherman’s hopes for this year are on hold for right now until we figure out his health issues, of which I promise I will talk about later this week or next week depending on my state of mind and as soon as I learn more information. It’s all orthopedic issues that we are dealing with, but due to the holidays I just haven’t had all my questions answered by the vet yet and I don’t want to jump the gun.

Leroy: There are lots of hopes for Leroy this year but we will take them one at a time. We will continue to work on our draft work and we may also try water rescue with him, but that is yet to be determined. My hopes are that we also will continue to show him here and there throughout the Spring and Summer, but I will be the one showing him which means that we have a lot of practice to do. I mean we as in me, because I am the one who has issues in the ring. It is my hopes that one day I will write a blog post that starts off with, “Today Leroy and I hit the show ring and I did great!”

Gibby: Well this cute little pig will continue to challenge my mind with creative ideas. He really has become a big part of our family and his with his spunky little attitude he fits right in and will continue to be featured on the blog as long as his owner lets me.

Plunger: Plunger hasn’t made many appearances on the blog and it will probably remain that way as he is a grouchy old fella. At 14 his health continues to decline but we are doing what we can to keep him comfortable. I don’t like to admit it but I think his time with us may be limited.

The Blog: Again, I have high hopes for the blog this year. I’ve already mentioned that I will eventually be switching over to a different theme and framework and the reason for that is that I just feel that we have outgrown this one and need one that allows us to have more categories where I can break things down. I really would like to have more posts that talk about pet health and for the beginning of the year I have a feeling that there will be a lot of talk about joints, ligaments and alternative medicine. Yes, I am going to ask you to join me on this journey, but don’t worry I’ll still have plenty of pictures and ramblings! Promise!

You: I have hopes for you this year that you will continue this journey with us and that you will have the best year possible whether it be fulfilling your resolutions, achieving your goals, or watching your hopes turn into reality.

May 2013 be good to all of you! 

Happy New Year!

XOXO Jenny Jugs