Happy New Year!

It is THAT time of year.  The new year has arrived which means, among other things, that parking will be hard to come by at your local gym.  Until at least February ... that's about the time of year those pesky new exercisers tend to slide back into old habits .

Along with millions of other people, I took a look back at the last year and came up with a list of things I would like to achieve.  I like to think of them in terms of 'goals' and not 'resolutions' though.  A resolution is more of an intention where a goal requires me to make some sort of effort in order to achieve it.  So, whether you are into making resolutions or goals, here is my list of goals for 2011:

1)  I'll start with the one that is probably on the top of most people's lists:  Lose weight.  Specifically after stepping on the scale this morning I have decided I would like to be 25 pounds lighter than what I currently am.  That would put me in the low-mid area of my height/weight range instead of in the mid-high area.

2)  Get back to exercising regularly.  I was plagued with back pain through most of 2010 and fell far off of the exercise wagon.  Hopefully this goal will help me achieve the first one!

3)  Get back into cooking.  I have an abundance of cookbooks in my kitchen that have been neglected over the last couple of years.  My goal is to cook at least 3 new recipes a month over the course of the year.

4)  Swap one electronic device for another.  I received a Kindle for Christmas as well as a gift card to use towards books.  I used to love to read and often find myself logging on to the computer rather than picking up a book.  It is my goal to read 25 new books this year AND since most classics are free to download, my goal is to read at least 5 classics.

5)  Get financially organized.  Top on my list is getting us on a budget so we can work towards paying off the home equity loan that we've had for a while.  While I don't want to go all Dave Ramsey on our finances, I do think we can benefit from being a little more organized.  I'd love to pay my car off this year but this is supposed to be a list of goals not dreams!

6)  Find a hobby and work on honing the skill.  Over the years I have tried many different things:  knitting, crocheting, rug hooking and basket weaving (yes, basket weaving).  I even picked up a cross stitch bookmark set (for a whole $2.50 on clearance) thinking it might be something I might like.  I'd just like to be able to start and complete a project this year.  Doesn't sound like too lofty of a goal ...

I could probably sit here for the next hour and come up with an even longer list of goals that I'd like to accomplish.  Faced with too long of a list however, and I probably wouldn't even accomplish one.  Although I do like to think I work better under pressure, the point of the list is not to stress myself out  :)

Wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2011.  I am off to work on Goal #4 while the little ones are still napping ... too late ... someone is peeking out their bedroom door looking at me.  Sigh.