2013 Goals

I don't have a snazzy catchphrase for this year like "12 in 2012" and it's mainly because I didn't want to add another goal. It was hard enough to think of so many last time and I just didn't feel like adding some lame "extra" to make 13. It probably would've been about Doritos or Taco Bell, and let's be real, I have no desire to change my habits about either of those things.

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Instead I have 10 overall goals for myself. Some are big, some are small, some require deep thinking, and some are just basic habits. And I like to call them goals instead of resolutions because this way it feels more casual, like I can get to things as I have time. Oooh, I just thought of something: the sense of urgency might be why I never kept traditional resolutions. I felt like I had to start RIGHT THEN, which, if you know me, isn't how I roll. I like to ease into new things. Anyway! Let's see what I want to do this year. My goals, in no particular order:

1. Exercise everyday. Because this was my favorite from last year, I thought I'd torture myself again. Curse you, scoliosis, and the need to strengthen my core!

2. Drink more water. It's kind of boring, but I feel like I need to cut down on the caffeine. Coffee, tea, pop... All things I drink more frequently than water, and if I'm going to be exercising for real this time, I should stay hydrated.

3. Read two books a month. Now that I work with my hands so much, it's harder to carve out time to read. (That was my favorite thing about working in the city--two hours a day to read on the train.) I've been reading more since it got cold, so I'm hoping to keep it up.

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4. Reach 900 sales in Little White Chapel and 300 in Oh Nostalgia. The numbers here might slide a little depending on the direction I take with my business, but I want both shops to keep growing steadily.

5. Overhaul both product lines. This one is scary. I still like what I'm doing but I feel a shift happening in my brain. Now that I've been married for several years (and am a little older), I'm less googly-eyed about weddings and am getting excited about other things. I don't know what exactly I'm going to do about it yet, but I suspect Oh Nostalgia will start to be a larger piece of the pie. I'll keep you posted.

6. Paint the cabinets. Mainly the kitchen cabinets, but this also refers to the built-in shelves in the basement. They're not hideous or anything, they just don't go with the rest of the house.

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7. Plant stuff in the garden. "Stuff" is about as specific as I can get right now, because I don't know anything about plants except that they're easy to kill. So... something resilient and preferably edible. Zucchini?

8. Stick to a budget. Since Hubsey and I want to tackle some larger house projects and we don't like to charge up the ol' credit cards, we'll have to set some money aside. It won't be a big change, but we plan to make a spreadsheet this week to track how much we're spending.

9. Focus more on interior design. This is another area that I'm still a little iffy about. I haven't decided what exactly I want to do with my degree and I need to look at some options. Maybe I'll find an internship, for example, or start doing some kind of reader room design feature here. (Or maybe Martha Stewart will decide to hire me and then I won't have to worry about it.)

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10. Do more DIY projects. I used to do these every couple of weeks and I totally miss that. I'd like to get back into a regular routine, even if I'm just sharing something small.

**Bonus** Figure out the furniture situation in the family room (and preferably put it in there). We have some weirdness going on in there thanks to a support pole right in the middle. Seating for a couple more people would be awesome, but I need to find something the right size...

So what are your goals for the year? What you most excited about? Anything you're doing because it's practical, but you aren't excited? How are you keeping track of your list?