A little goal-setting never hurt, right?

This is a long post.  I needed to get this out, for me, not for you!

I've never been really big on New Year's Resolutions.  I know the things I need to improve on for the most part, and resolving on January 1st to do those things has just never really done the trick for me.  I know I need to lose 20 more pounds, and that I should get a new job that is fulfilling and gives back, and that I should learn more and eat better and be kinder.  Blah blah blah, I get it, already!  Working in a bookstore, we always have the transition from holiday cheeriness and fun books to what we like to call the "You're Fat and You're Ugly" displays.  Depressing.

For some reason, though, I am feeling a little more introspective and aware of things that I would like to do differently this year.  Maybe it's turning 30. Maybe it's that I finally got the promotion I have been waiting for a few years to get, and it turns out it's not what I want to do at all.  Maybe, just maybe, it's because I'm growing up a little bit and want to give myself a good kick in the ass to get moving on some of the things I have been putting off for years.  Whatever the reason, I feel compelled to make the darned list, and set myself in motion.


Some of these are big deals, some of just fun things I've wanted to do for awhile.  Whatever they may be, I want to check at least some of these off my list this year, and start moving onto bigger and better things.  Quit thinking about what's been holding me back, and embark on some new adventures.  All that hippie shit.  :)

2012 Goals

• Apply to school: I have been talking about going back to school for about 5 years now, and it's time to bite the bullet and pick something to study. I have been leaning toward a technical writing program at UW, but am still unsure. I have also thought about how much I love working with children, and would love to teach in some capacity. I have some soul searching to do.
• Get my drivers license: Yeah, I know. I think perhaps this one thing might be the catalyst to changing a lot about myself.  
• Get my nose pierce: I just think I'd look cute.
• Learn to make cheese: Because what kind of a cheesemonger can I really call myself if I've never made the stuff myself?!
• Run a 10k (for real this time!): This has been on my list for awhile, and this is going to be the year I do it! Running is hard in Seattle most of the year. It gets dark so soon after I get home from work, and it's dreary most of the time. But enough with the exuses, woman! I know I like to run when I get into a rhythm, I just need to find it again, and then there will be no stopping me!
• Have a dinner party: I feel like I could throw an awesome party, if I ever could just get around to planning one...wow, if that isn't applicable to my whole life!
• Be positive: Something I have always prided myself on is being a "glass half full" kind of gal, and in the last year that has changed. I want to get back to being a sunny person! I have been trying to stop myself at work when I get frustrated or stressed out, and at least this week, I have mostly been successful!
• Learn how to cable knit: Don't know why I haven't bothered learning this very integral skill!
• Be healthier: Just making better choices. Don't eat the glazed doughnuts at work, they will just make me feel bad. Go for a walk instead of holing up with an episode of Gossip Girl. Basics.
• Brush and floss every single day: After putting it off for a number of years, I finally manned up and went to the dentist last month. I had developed a huge anxiety, and just kept making excuses for why I couldn't go, or I would go when I did "x". Turns out, I am lucky enough to have really good teeth and gums, and I would like to keep it that way! No cavities! I have now brushed and flossed for 32 days straight, and I think I may just have developed a good habit!
• Plan a vacation: I'm always letting Kevin plan the trips. Frankly, he's a lot better at it than I am. But other than my trip to San Francisco last spring, I have never planned a trip anywhere, and it would be nice to do for my husband!
• Keep track of books read: See previous post.

Whew! That's a goodly amount of goal setting! I think I just needed to get this down on paper, so to speak, to hold myself accountable to my desires. And really, that's all a resolution is: getting what you desire. When I think about it like that, it makes it all feel a little less daunting!