New Years Resolutions!

So how many of you have made New Years Resolutions? Do you have a lot, a few, none? I have made several this year. It is actually quite unlike me to do this, as I usually come up with goals throughout the year instead of just one particular time of year. This time I decided to try it this way, partly because it was a fun idea and I hadn't tried it this way, and secondly because it just happens to be when my life doesn't have a million projects or things going on, so maybe more coincidental than anything.

I thought I would share a few of my new years resolutions with you and how I am thinking of keeping track of my progress.

1. Stick to Our Budget. Each year we have a budget spreadsheet that I diligently keep track of our spending and expenses, each year it seems that at some point throughout the year, life gets in the way of accomplishing this and we put it aside for a month or two or throw it out the window all together, this year I want to stick to filling out, as well as trying to stick to the actual budget. Now some things we don't put as apart of our budget, like house projects, and as you know, we do a lot of those, but overall I want to try and keep to it.

2. Get my Event Planning Certificate. I signed up for my first course last year when I was in China and then it pretty much died there, life got in the way and I wasn't able to move forward, this year I want to accomplish getting it.

3. Try at least 1 new recipe a week. Brian and I tend to stick to whats safe and easy as far as food goes, not because we don't like trying new things, but because neither of us really are dying to cook and the easy recipes we already have and know are just that, easy. This week I have already tried a great new Salmon recipe that i loved! It was Maple Glazed Salmon, both of us really liked it, and I am planning on making it for my parents next time they are in town. I am going to try and keep track of this through a spreadsheet, that will list all of the new recipes we tried and whether or not we liked them, or changes we thought should be made.

4. Read at least 1 book a week, so 52 books. I am starting off right with this one as I just finished a book last night and will start a new one today. Its not so much that it has to be every week, but I would like to read more, and wanted to quantify it. So some weeks I may not read at all, some I may read 2 or 3 books. This one is also going in a spreadsheet and I am going to keep track of whether I liked it and would want to recommend it to anyone, my mom, sisterinlaw and I are always trading books around so that will be fun! Maybe even if I get a chance I will try starting a book club here.

5. Run a half marathon. So last year my friend Crystal told me about Disney's wine and dine half marathon, so you run, then there is a wine and dine festival at disney afterwards. Needless to say I was excited. I haven't done any significant running before in terms of just running, at least not voluntarily. But I really want to do some triathlons in the future and figured a good way to start was to start with running. So hopefully by the end of Sept I will be all ready to complete the 1/2 marathon in Florida. I have running buddies that are hopefully doing the run with me and will keep track to share with them :-)!

6. Lose weight, yep its a cliche, but of course I am female and not exactly where I was in college and high school and want to lose weight. I am hoping my running will of course help with that, but I am also going to be joining a gym here, I wish it weren't January when all the "I think I might want to try the gym again" people were there, but thats what it is. I am waiting probably until 2 weeks in to the new year when the initial people start to fall off before joining. Joining at this point is sort of a coincidence for me, it just happens to be when I would join the gym after moving here. Hopefully I will find a good gym that both Brian and I can enjoy. I am going to keep track of what I eat and calories burned, I may reconsider buying a bodybugg, I had one and ended up returning it just do to the fact that I could estimate things relatively well and didn't really need it, but it takes the thought process out of it, and now it syncs to your phone instead of having to sync it to your laptop everyday. Hopefully I will reach my goal by April or May and then be able to maintain it with training for the 1/2 marathon.

Well those are my top goals and ones worthy of sharing, the others are well just little things like learn to sew, learn more about photography, doing the photo project I have been meaning to do for 2 years, silly little things. How are you starting out your new year? any good, fun, interesting or similar goals?