Goals of 2016

Here are some things I want to LEARN this year:


How to Tell Time
I can't tell time on a watch.  Well, I guess I can, I am just not very quick at it.  I am really good at the minute hand, but I really struggle to figure out what the hour is.  I usually assume it's whatever number is closest to the little hand and unfortunately that is not how it always works.  There are usually a lot of context clues with what hour it is (and digital clocks everywhere which enable me to cheat), so I think that is why I have gotten by for so long without knowing.  I figure now is the perfect time to master this skill.  I am already off to a good start this morning since I downloaded an app called ClockMaster.  It's for children, but I think it will do the trick.

How to do Winged Eyeliner
Because why not?  It will take some time, but I think even I can learn how to do it.  I will turn to YouTube to be my teacher and then practice, practice, and practice of course. Maybe I will even throw in wearing lipstick along with this challenge since they are kind of related.  They are both about just deciding you are the type of person that wears winged eyeliner or lipstick and then just rocking it!  Realistically, I may not be able to leave the house with the combination of the two, but I think I may be able to manage if I experiment with one at a time. 

How to be Selfless
I have spent the last 27 years basically only worrying about myself.  Am I happy?  Am I following my dreams?  Am I becoming the person I want to be?  Am I developing talents and skills I want to have?  Blah, blah, blah.  This slightly shifted when I got married (almost 7 years ago, if we can believe that) and started thinking in "we" sometimes instead of always in "I."  But Jeremy is a self-sufficient adult, so while we communicate, share, and create a life together, adding a helpless infant to the mix will be completely different.  I don't think of myself as great at sacrificing or putting others needs before my own... so this is the year that I will start that journey.  I'm already doing daily injections of Lovenox every night to keep this baby safe (thanks blood mutation), so there's a step in the right direction.

How to Create with Wreckless Abandon More Frequently
This is one I have hoped for for a while.  I am getting better at it.  I am caring less about the perfection of the end result and focusing more on enjoying the process of creating.  Deciding to start kicking perfectionism in the butt was one of the best things I ever did for myself.  I think what I really want to focus on this year would be to create more frequently.  I find so much joy in it.  I want it in my life more.  From knitting to drawing to calligraphy to painting to dancing and whatever other creative outlets I gather along the way, let's have more of it.  I better make this my focus before the baby comes because that selflessness might take over this one at times when a little one is around.

2016 is going to be AWESOME!  Let's do this!!

So how about...

Some Resolutions for the New Year...

Create
I enjoy creating.  It gives my mind a break from other stressors and every once in a while, I come out the other side with something pretty cool.  Creating can also be scary.  I want to be okay with not being great at things and enjoying the creative process even if the end result kind of stinks. 

Be Active
I want to continue to engage my body and do things that I find enjoyable.  I want to work out so I can be active in life, not workout just to workout.  I want to climb mountains, ride bikes, etc., etc., and have the strength and energy to enjoy nature. 

Love
I want to serve and love others more readily.  I want to connect and reach out to my family and friends more often.  I want to be intentional about creating and strengthening the relationships I find fulfilling.

Be Brave
There are adventures ahead and I want to dive right in.  I want to have the courage to embrace it all.  I'm excited to see where we will end up and want to be brave in going wherever we are supposed to go.

   

gooooals!

create
with my hands. every week. either in my sketch book, with my knitting needles, with my calligraphy nibs, or any other creative outlet i end up exploring - because i'm sure i will dabble in new things.  i am a hobby collector after all.

move
daily. to appreciate my body.  i don't want the focus of my workouts to be on changing my body. my body isn't perfect and that's ok.  it rocks regardless.  it helps me do a whole lot of things.  i want to enjoy the body i have and appreciate it by keeping it healthy. 

read
(the word of God daily) and for fun, too.  i need to find a balance when reading novels. i go through phases of reading like it's my job and then phases of not reading at all because i want my life back.  i want to enjoy a book and be able to put it down to enjoy more important things.

serve
i want to serve someone each week.  i want to take time to notice what others need and then do what i can to help.  maybe it's a plate of cookies, a thoughtful conversation, free babysitting, a lunch date, an anonymous note, a meaningful hug.  something to show love for someone else.

a new year...

means new goals!   

i love pondering life and thinking about what i need more or less of in mine.  

 here are my goals for the year:

exercise because i want to

this year i want to exercise because i want to, not because i "have" to.  i want to keep my heart healthy, not obsess about working out to change my body.  there is more to life! i want to listen to my body, not overwork it.

read for fun

i love reading.  anytime i get a break from school, i read like crazy.  i hope to read more for fun this year, which will be easy-peasy after i graduate in may, but i want to try to read for fun even while i am still in school.

try something new

i want to create more.  use my hands.  take risks.  not be afraid to fail.  i think i will take an art class of some sort (sketching, watercolor, calligraphy, etc) after i graduate.  just to try something new and keep learning.

don't weigh myself for the year

scales are for fish not people.  my weight doesn't matter.  numbers don't mean anything.  it's about how i feel and how my clothes fit.  i don't need a number to validate me or bring me down.

dance party every week

sometimes my body just needs to be free to wiggle and move as it pleases, so why not just blast some tunes for ten minutes and get moving?!  plus i think a little dancing is good for the soul.

knit something challenging

i have been sticking to safe things ever since i picked up my first knitting needles in 2009.  this is the year that i will try to tackle something new (stuffed animals i hope!).  i also want to knit longer than just the winter months.

take vitamins

because we all know i am not getting enough veggies in my diet.  so let's skip the "try to eat veggies" goal this year and just go for taking a multi-vitamin and fish oil every day.  mission accomplished!

we'll see how this goes!

stuff to work on

i am so sad to see 2011 go. is anybody else? it was such a good year.
2012 better be just as fun... or else! here are some goals to keep me focused.

keep working out
i got back on the bandwagon in mid october. and i love it! regular exercise keeps me sane. so i am just making it a goal to keep working out. it makes me happy and it keeps my body healthy! i am also toying with the idea of running another 1/2 marathon sometime this summer. but that seems like a lot of work. so we will keep it at exercising at least 30 minutes, 5-6 times a week for now.

print pictures
this was my goal last year... and i printed ONE picture and that was a couple of weeks ago. so it must be my goal again. i cannot be defeated. so this year i will print my favorite pictures and make a collage of some sort. what's the point of taking pictures if they just sit on my computer?

learn to like at least one vegetable
(besides my one and only green beans) vegetables are just terrible. but alas they are good for you. how inconvenient. i attempted to try numerous veggies in 2010...and it didn't work out very well. so i am at it again. since i am aiming to learn to like only one vegetable this year maybe i can do it!

enjoy every moment
last year i wanted to "be brave" with all the changes that i knew were ahead. this year my motto is to enjoy every moment. i know school might get hard and i might hate it every once in a while... but i signed up for this. if it wasn't hard then i would be mad that it costs so much. the hard times help me grow. so i will learn to enjoy every moment this year, not just in school, but in life as well.

paint my nails every week
why? because i always need a random goal that makes life more exciting and painted nails are WAY more fun than the natural sort. i bet i will have quite the nail polish collection when the year is through.

spend new years eve in new york city
wouldn't that be AMAZING! i dream of doing it sometime, so why not officially make it a goal. i would love to be in times square and count down with millions of my closest friends. i HAVE to do it if i am this close to new york city. maybe we can make it happen this year.

any new goals for you? do you have a motto for the year?

a new year...

i am kind of sad to see 2010 go... we had so much fun. but i'm sure 2011 will be just as grand! -if not grander. it will be fun to see what comes our way. here are some goals i have been thinking about for the new year...

cook dinner
i cook dinner sometimes... but i would like to cook better dinners more often. cheese quesadillas don't count as a better dinner. i'm going to work on planing more meals out in advance and making frozen dinners once a month.

get rid of my eczema
i have eczema on my right elbow and left knee and it drives me nuts. i HAVE to get rid of this nasty, dry, itchy skin! any tips or homemade concoctions to rid me of this evil?? please share... i am willing to try anything.

print pictures
last year i wanted to take more pictures... and i have been taking them, but now i need to print them. i want to print my favorites and make a collage of some sort. what's the point of taking pictures if they just sit on my computer? (is it weird to have a collage of pictures of just me and jeremy and our adventures??)

keep working out
i have been working out and i am happy to say that i feel great about where i am (or should i say where i was before i took the month of december off of exercising). so i am just making it a goal to keep working out. it makes me happy and it keeps my body healthy!

be brave
2011 is going to be a big year for us. it's already looking like we will be moving across the country sometime this summer. so i need to be brave! i can move to a new place, i can live in a big city, i can survive not being a day's drive away from my parents (maybe), i can get into grad school and not fail.... ahhhhhh! be brave.... be brave!!

read my scriptures
i need to make time to delve into and truly study the scriptures. a verse or column does not suffice- i need more spirituality in my everyday... i need to be feasting, yes- FEASTING, on the word of God. i want to make my scripture reading a priority!

i think we will leave it at that... any new goals for you?

goals! goals! goals!

jeremy and i like to make goals at the beginning
of the school year. it helps us focus on what's important.
plus it's fun printing them out and posting them all
over the apartment. here they are for this year:

spiritual
-fhe every sunday from conference/ensign
-have daily scripture study
-no hw or tv on sundays- unless it's a big game
-attend the temple twice a month

physical
-exercise- j- play basketball 1-2 times a week
-exercise- k- workout 5-6 times a week
-buy/eat more fruits
-cook dinner 3 times a week
-clean often- with music blasting

marriage
-take a walk every night together
-discuss our daily scripture readings
-act of kindness for one another daily
-review goals and help each other improve

some goals... finally

so its about time that i made some goals for the new year. i couldn't bring myself to do it earlier in the new year, because i hadn't thought about them enough. i didn't want to just throw goals out that i really had no intention of attempting.

here is what i plan to work on this year...

take more pictures.
i realized that i don't take enough pictures... of everyday life, of pretty things, of jeremy and me. it will also help me become a better photographer. you know what they say, "practice makes perfect," or at least better, right? i have a blog in the making that will be dedicated to the "picture a day" challenge to help me with this goal. it shall be revealed... hmmm, sometime soon.


workout.
this one almost didn't make the list, especially when i was contemplating my goals late december/early january. i just didn't want to do it. but then i think of summer and colorful swim suits and i get this drive to look very nice in one. haha. this goal was also prompted by a quote i encountered while reading for my class on sociology of sport: "Socrates met a physically undeveloped youth and promptly rebuked him, '. . . what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and the strength of which his body is capable!'" that bold sentence shall be my motivation. i wonder what my body is capable of...


serve others.
i want to help others. i want to do whatever i can to ease others' burdens and see smiles in return. i have decided to go for a more organized approach to help me be diligent in working towards this goal and i am hoping to volunteer the at center for women and children in crisis. i am just waiting for an email back from the guy in charge... maybe a phone call will have to made today instead.


make something once a week.
sometimes school gets me down. i get tired and feel like my brain can't handle anymore theories, exam study guides, and long papers. i have found that if i set time aside to create something (as simple as my heart window) then i am ready to conquer my homework. it is refreshing to create. once a week may be difficult, but hey... goals are designed for us to push ourselves... and i do love to make things.


wear headbands.
this is my fun goal. so it doesn't really matter, but why not? i don't wear headbands very often. i have some... that are kind of cute. but if i were to make some pretty headbands, therefore working on the goal above, then i could totally rock them. i just need to own it, as cousin lindsey would say.

now, my goals are official.

My Goals...

I figured I should follow through and make these public, then maybe I will actually do them. They are more like goals for the semester, but here they are:

Exercise more
Learn to like at least one vegetable
Read each assignment for all of my classes this semester
Go to bed earlier (10:30 sounds good)
Get to know all of the girls in my ward
Start cooking, at least a little bit

I plan to keep all of these in mind this semester and slowly work towards them. We'll see how that goes...