Well, well, well. Here we are.
January 1, 2013.
An entirely new year. Blemish-free. The cleanest slate there is. There’s just something about this day that brings so much hope, as we embark on a new year and a new journey. My New Year’s Eve was low-key and not too terribly exciting. No midnight kisses for this girl! (Unless dachshund kisses count?) Ah, maybe next year.
Now it’s time to get to work! My theme for the year, as I wrote about yesterday, is “Do The Work.” This year is going to be about big, fantastic, incredible changes but I have to put in the crazy difficult work to achieve them. It’s not going to be an exciting year, but it is going to set the groundwork for exciting years to come.
And, as in years past, I have made a bunch of resolutions. I ended up achieving over half of the goals I set last year and I’m hoping to do even better this year!
Health and Fitness
> Lose 50 lbs.
> Train for a 5K, and set a new personal record.
> Get my wisdom teeth removed.
> Eat less meat.
> Quit soda cold turkey.
> Complete the Spartan 1,000. (100 jump squats, 200 push-ups, 300 sit-ups, and 400 burpees. Gulp.)
Money
> Put myself on a strict budget and evaluate how I am doing on a monthly basis.
> Save at least $83 per month to have $1,000 saved by the end of the year.
> Pay off my last credit card.
> Set up a payment plan with the collection agency holding my ER visit bill.
> Spend less than $100 on Kindle books. (I spent over $350 in 2012. THREE. HUNDRED. AND. FIFTY. DOLLARS. I, um, have a problem.)
Writing
> Write and edit a novel.
> Participate in NaNoWriMo 2013.
> Get at least 3 freelance articles published.
Independence/Social
> Buy a car.
> Go to 3 social events per month.
> Travel by myself to visit a blog friend. (Tentative plans to visit NYC with Melissa. Iwantthistohappensobadlyomg.)
Other
> Get a tattoo.
> Complete Project 333.
> Send one piece of snail mail a month.
> Read 100 books.
> Memorize 24 Bible verses by participating in the Siesta Scripture Memory Team.
Whew! I am so excited about these goals and I can’t wait to share my journey throughout this year. First recap will be in April!
Have a great first day of 2013, everyone!
I love your goals and I KNOW you will achieve them if you work hard for them, like you mentioned.
YAY! A tattoo! I got my first one in 2012 when I reached the 50 pound lost mark – it was my reward. I set up rewards for certain weight loss goals. Do you know what you want to get yet? Mine is on my back and says “A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
I was thinking about doing the rewards system for hitting weight loss milestones. I do know that when I hit my goal weight, I want to go sky diving. Which is crazy, but I think it would culminate my journey. Eek!
I want to get a tattoo that says “grace” and then another one that says “mercy.” Both words mean a lot to me, in a faith standpoint, and they help me remember where I come from and where I’m going. I’ve toyed with the idea of getting it on my wrists or forearm. I want it somewhere I can see it. I’m still trying to decide where, though!
What great goals! I too, am planning on joining in with the Siesta Scripture Memory Team this year 🙂 Glad to know someone else to keep accountable with!
Fabulous! I’m really excited to go on this journey of memory verse learning. I’ve gotten so bad at studying Scripture and memorizing verses that I think it’s exactly what I need to kick start it all!
I! Love! Your! Goals!
Particularly the one in which we meet in NYC? Epicness?! I think so!
But seriously I was looking forward to reading what goals you were going to be setting for yourself. Mine are going up tomorrow and I still have a few tweaks to make to them, but I’m feeling pretty ambitious as well. I like your goal of saving exactly 83$ a month to have an extra thousand at the end of the year. That seems very achievable, and 1 000$ is a good amount for sure! I wish I could have a specific goal like that, but with my money being so wishy-washy with school, I never know how much I’ll make in a given month! Ah well.
Here’s to an epic 2013, whatever adventures it holds! 😀
Thank you! And NYC – this HAS to happen. HAS TO. Has to has to has to. Flights are pretty reasonable so yes, let’s do this.
I am so bad at saving money so I think giving myself a specific number will help me. I have NO savings right now (awful!) so having that extra $1,000 will help relieve some stress, should something come up. I know you already set your goals up, but having a specific percentage from your paycheck to go into savings is a good tool when you don’t know how much you’ll make from paycheck to paycheck.
Yay, 2013! I hope it is a great year for the both of us. 🙂
Good luck with your goals! I love reading goal lists and yours are great. Project 333 is such a cool idea, also.
Happy New Year 🙂
I’m excited to get started with Project 333. I have a feeling it will be a life-changing experience!
Love your goals! You can do it! I know you can!
That is a great set of goals and I know you will do great things this year! I also love the fresh, clean slate of a new year. I like saying good bye to the previous year and welcoming a new year that is unblemished and full of possibilities. I had a fairly low key NYE as we just hung out at the house of my boyfriend’s college friend. We played apples to apples and watched the ball drop and I had my first New Years kiss in 5 years, which was wonderful. 🙂
Happy New Year! Here’s to a year that will be full of achieving your goals!
A very happy New Year indeed! 🙂 It’s amazing how much can happen in a year, how much we change and grow and learn and experience. I can’t wait to see what 2013 holds and I’m just excited to start over with another year.
I have a couch with your name on it! LOL. 🙂 I really do hope you two can come visit. That would be awesome!
We may take you up on this! I do know that flights to NYC are pretty reasonable so it just makes sense to go there since I’ve wanted to for so long and it would be fun to experience the city! Will keep you posted on my plans. 🙂
Awesome, awesome resolutions!
Awesome goal list, Stephany! I have a lot of the same goals, like saving money/paying off debt, travel/be more social, etc. As for your Kindle goal, I’ve heard that people can check out Kindle books from the library. That might be a good option for you since you’re trying to cut back!
I actually do already check out books on Kindle from my library. The selection isn’t the best, though, and the popular ones have loooong waiting lists so it makes it difficult. But I am really going to try to be more mindful of my spending in 2013, and this definitely includes dear old Amazon.
Some people may consider this bad juju, but I didn’t really count January 1st as my starting point, I counted today, the 2nd, as my starting point. This was because I’d been up late having an Xbox dance party at my house for New Year’s Eve with some friends and didn’t get to bed until around 2 a.m. I decided I would use New Year’s Day to hang out with my friend, Brittany, some and rest. I did attempt productivity yesterday night, but got sideswiped by my cousin wanting us to go her parents’ house, 30 minutes away, to get New Year’s Day food (collard greens, ham, and black-eyed peas).
Today has been pretty productive, though. We were busier at work than normal, I read 50 pages of the book I’m currently reading, have set aside articles to use in my blog post for Friday, and am doing some blog networking right now. This interspersed with trips to the laundry room to clean clothes, as well. Tomorrow morning will, hopefully, be productive, too. I have myself going to bed at 10:00 tonight and waking up at six to start breakfast. We’ll, uh, see how that goes…
I think it’s funny the pressure we put on ourselves to make January 1st THE BEST DAY EVER EVER EVER. It’s the first start of the new year and if we screw it up, the whole year is a waste, right? Ha. I was a bit crazed on Jan. 1, I will admit. I wanted this to be the first day in my brand-new life and now that the newness is (already!) wearing off, I’m realizing baby steps are okay and I don’t need to get it all right on the first week.
Oooh, what tattoo are you planning to get?
I want to get a tattoo that says “grace” and then another one that says “mercy.” Both words mean a lot to me, in a faith standpoint, and they help me remember where I come from and where I’m going. I’ve toyed with the idea of getting it on my wrists or forearm (I have a coworker who has this great quote on her inside forearm and I love the placement of it.). I want it somewhere I can see it. I’m still trying to decide where, though!
I like how ambitious you are! Certainly more than me. 🙂 If you haven’t tried it, I recommend Mint.com as a way to track your finances.
For some reason, Mint just doesn’t work for me. I don’t know why, maybe because they tell me I have a low balance when I have $250 in the bank and I’m like, “NO! That is AWESOME for me!” Haha. I like spreadsheets, I guess. I need to feel in control and be on top of things myself, I guess.
Good luck with your goals! I spent no money on books this year and I did it by heavily using the local library. Also, as you probably know, Amazon has a bunch of free books you can get, so maybe it’s time to brush up on the classics!