New Year, The Usual Resolutions

You are not going to be shocked by anything on this list.  It is my usual list that I obtain some degree of success on every year.  The more I do actual New years resolutions the more I see why we do this as a culture.  While most of the time I keep my resolutions far past the January joiner stage, something about the onset of fall always results in a dropping off the rest of the years habits.  Then it's holidays and it's cold and we are busy and I don't care anymore..... and then TA DA its a NEW YEAR.  Time to get back on the horse again.  All of the horses.  In their various manifestations.  I am much less organized this year, but here is the list and my plans.

* Specific exercise goals like I covered last year will be a different, more motivated post.  One step at a time.*

1.  Read at least 26 books.

I am a reader.  Always have been.  This year was pretty pathetic on the reading side of things.  I think TV watching and staring at my blank computer screen filled in the time gaps.  My husband has 1000 hobbies and is always at work on one of them.  I have reading, video games, and working out.  I've mostly just been doing the gaming and staring at my computer screen.  No more!  2 books a month or bust!  I also already have the 26 books picked out, but I am open to changes.

2. Bible Study.

I was doing really well with this for a month...maybe two.  Then I just stopped.  No particular reason.  I was really enjoying my daily Bible readings and going over passages I particularly enjoyed to help set up prayer times.  To keep me on task this time I have set up a reminder on my phone ( Using the Life Reminders App) to go off every day at 8 pm.  This will hopefully remind me to go get my study Bible and go through the reading for the day.

I am also adding to this goal to meditate at least 2x a week.  I need to get some more tools in my meditations tool box and I can't do that unless I am practicing regularly.  I realize two times a week is not regularly, but you have to start somewhere.

3.  Masters

I really need to stop being a cry baby whiner and just start a masters program.  This is getting ridiculous.

4.  Stretch every morning and 5.  Lay out Clothes every morning. 11. Budget

On every goal list I've ever had since the beginning of time.  Ever.

6.  Cleaning.

When I was little my mother use to try to shame me into cleaning my room by saying something about how horrible my house was going to look when I grew up.  I am not a cleaner.  Never have been never will be.  On top of that I am  a serious clutter bug.  So this goal is two fold.  Clean AND declutter.  I set up my schedule on life reminders for the cleaning and my husband and I will work on the decluttering together.

7.  Call my brother more - Self explanatory

8.  Work out three days a week  10 Track calories

I've been really really terrible at working out.  Other times when I said I was doing terrible I was still in Spin class or taking weekend rides.  I've been doing NOTHING for MONTHS.  I had some medical problems and was not able to ride my bike or take spin class.  Once that habit was gone it was really really gone.  I need to get back into a routine and get some muscle back.

9.  Take more pictures

I got the super awesome camera that I wanted for Christmas.  I've been able to play with it a bit but I am really looking forward to taking more and better pictures this year.

12.  Eat at home more

My brother and sister in law gave me two eat healthy cook books for Christmas.   I am hoping it helps with the eating at home thing.

13.  I am really over the ridiculousness of Facebook.  Again.  Starting January 1 I am going to follow last January's plan again.  I can only get on FB or read blogs 1 day a week.  Saturday or Sunday.  I am realllllly looking forward to the self imposed ban.  I do not need to limit news this year.  Unlike social media which slowly crept back into constant use after last years January avoidance, I still avoid most of the news like it's the black plague.

Do you have any goals for the new year?

If this post didn't bore you to tears and you want read last years resolutions that I keep referring to you can see my fitness goals here, my internet goals here and a follow up to the internet goals here.

 I leave you with a couple of my first pictures on my new camera.  They are not anything amazing but they were some of my very first attempts so I like them.