Goooooaaaalllls....

Welcome 2018 we all have such high hopes for you!

Time to set my goals down in writing. My yearly contract with myself. I've finally made the switch to the new year instead of my birthday, or September, I think. I still feel the need to set goals that time of year but it's just so neat and tidy to start things on January 1st. And there is a lot of support built in to this time of year as a lot of people are doing resolutions as well. So, yes, I think I'm a first of the year convert now.

So...what do I want to do this year?

Well, I want to keep doing a lot of what I already do, as normal. That's the thing with goals over resolutions, I think. I'm not trying to quit something or chastising myself for not being what I want to be, I'm trying to be more. To keep going with what works for me but also stretching in those areas a bit. I know it gets repetitive, but it works for me, and it would be stupid to give it up at this point. So most of this will look like last year, and the year before as well.

Picture of the Day. I enjoy it. I like when other people play along. I like when people comment on my pictures and when I can see theirs and comment on them. I like the different interpretations that happen. So Picture of the Day sticks around for another year. Going to do the prompted one again at least for the first part of the year.

Writing. NaNoWriMoMo was a good kick off to the intended goal for this year which is to write at least 5 days a week for 1-2 hours a day. Sitting down at the desk and putting the words on the screen. I'm not sure where it will take me, but I want to do it consistently to see. My subgoal is 156 blogs. And out of those blogs I want to make sure I have 52 short stories. So at least one short story a week on average. The rest can be whatever they end up being, but I enjoy short stories and so I am going to do more of what I enjoy. The subsubsubgoal under this one is to submit 3 pieces for contests or publication. I had pretty much decided not to do this anymore as it tends to take some of the free wheeling joy of writing away from me, but it's all part of stretching right? And who knows, maybe I can get something in print that I can hold in my hand and treasure for ever and ever. (sort of being a smart ass there, sort of not) So a main goal and three subs.

Reading. Daily reading aside from bedtime reading. Again, this is because I enjoy it, and because it calms my head when things get too busy and unfocused. Sixty four books total for my Goodreads challenge this year. That's a book a week plus one extra a month. A good amount. And underneath all of that I found a cool challenge on Goodreads to read a book published in each year you have been alive. So 50 (EEK!!!) of the books will fall under that umbrella. I started The Last Unicorn last night for 1968. In to the first chapter and realized it's the book the movie The Last Unicorn was based on. Brent and I saw that in the theater and we mocked it for years and years and years, it was SO bad. So I'm reading a book that a movie I thought was terrible is based on. Anyone who knows me well knows this cracks me up. (Edit!! Went to pull an image from the film and realized the movie I was thinking of was Legend which was ABOUT the last unicorn, it wasn't based on the book The Last Unicorn, so I'm saved. But now it's even funnier to me.)

Exercise and fitness. Sticking with what we've been doing. Gym most days each week, we do 6 right now unless there is a holiday or an illness and I think 5 is pretty solid, so we are going with most days each week. I want to lose another 5 pounds. Really I want to lose another 15, as you all know me, but 5 is a reasonable goal and puts me in an area I'm comfortable with. Meaning, it's the top weight that my knees seem to be the happiest about. Though my body is stronger now so they haven't been bitching as much overall. As far as eating goes we've made a change each of the past two years and those have been good, looking at building on that this year. So keeping up with the eat real food, not foodlike substances, and no added sugar during the week and limited on the weekend. Or I should say, very little during the week, I am still sticking with not being militant about it, that doesn't work for me and triggers my obsessiveness. I'm going to keep up doing my best not to be crazy about my weight and food. I am really proud of how "normal" I was able to maintain last year. Normal for me being that I know I'm crazy about this area and I am doing a lot to not be unhealthy. I'm honest with you all and everyone around me about what I'm doing and how I'm feeling and that helps keep me from heading in to really unhealthy areas. I'm also looking at adding in some other fitness areas. Like yoga, or swimming lessons, or back to skating. These may be monthly goals. Which brings us to...

Monthly goals. I'm going to start setting small goals for each month. Something I am working toward in that time period. The thought being that I will build on them each month, not pick them up and put them down, but keep going. Though the reason why I'm doing them as monthly goals is to give me the freedom to not keep them if I don't like them. I haven't decided on what I'm doing each month yet, I will set the goal at the beginning of that month so as of right now I just have January locked in, and February on deck. So January's monthly goal is to cook dinner at home 3 nights a week. I am, frankly, a better cook than most of what we can get out and it will really help with our already established eating plans. Sometimes it's tricky to get something at a restaurant that isn't higher in sugar than we would like. I switched to breakfast at home 5 days a week last year and that made a real difference in our eating. It also made a difference in how much we spent at Starbucks, I'm surprised their stock didn't take a dip. So, though I love the convenience of someone else cooking for me I will be doing the cooking for at least 3 nights a week. Three because it helps give us flexibility during hockey season and nights when Brent's schedule might be a little inconvenient to cook planning.

February will be (as of right now) getting back to my Spanish lessons. I am so rusty that I will just start over, but I want to get back to that.

I'm also going to have a long term list again though I need to figure out how to be consistent checking those things off. I did really well with the list for the first half of the year but never got back to it after sabbatical so about half of 2018 will be left over 2017. Maybe choose a project each month? We will see how it goes.

I'm also sticking with my star chart in my calendar and adding in a daily checklist to keep focused. I want to make sure I'm using my time in ways that I enjoy and, as odd as it sounds, having a plan on how I spend my time does that. It's what I do on vacation, I maximize every day that we have someplace to get as much good stuff in as I can get. I had a bit of an epiphany (early I know) recently that I should be doing that all the time. I have tended to stay away from it because I get a lot of grief for being so schedule oriented for as type B as I am, but my mellow is enhanced by a schedule. Which is contradictory, I know. But that is the joy of being me. So checklists and star charts because I love a schedule and a reward. I already got my first star for the year this morning when we got back from the gym, and this blog will be my second, and dinner is already cooking so that will be the third. Not a bad day for a holiday.

So there you go. Goals! A lot more of the same. Which I think is my message. Do what makes you happy. No matter how weird it seems to everyone else and if setting goals for the things you do every day makes you happy, then you get down with your bad self.

And get that gold fucking star!