The start of a new year, the opening of a fresh day planner on January 1, the removing the past years calendar and adding the new year's calendar in its place. It causes most of us to reflect on a year past, and a new year arrived. I spent a lot of my holiday break off from work doing just this. In between all the sleeping in, reading, coffee consumption and copious amounts of food stuffed in my gullet of course.
I tend to hate resolutions, but this year more than others is going to be the year of goals. Look, I know it's like basically February already, but I don't care. I'm still reflecting, so here they are:
STAY ACTIVE / EAT BETTER: I know I know, could there be a more cliché resolution in the history of resolutions? In my defense, it was my 2012 Alaskan winter motto, and I was doing well until the whole holiday break where I suddenly realized cookies and cheese are lovely and should be eaten by the pound. See also, more wine please. But hey, I've got a wedding to attend this summer, and even more eeeekk causing, a honeymoon in Tahiti to enjoy where my wardrobe will be 90% bathing suit, 10% tiny summer fabrics, so you know, winter Alaskan hibernation pounds, be gone!
STAY A STRESS FREE WEDDING PLANNER: So far I've done pretty damn well (if I do say so myself) keeping the crazy at bay. I read all sorts of things where people suggest a bride set time aside to talk wedding, and then force themselves not to talk about it with their significant other besides that one chunk of time and I'm just like, HUH? Besides our argument over Christmas break regarding groomsmen footwear (YOU WANT THEM TO WEAR WHAT???) Adam and I have made wedding decisions like this, ME: "So do you think X would be a good idea?" HIM: "Sure." Done. When we first got engaged my head was overflowing with ideas, but then once we solidified our vision, the noise settled and a to-do list was created. Every once in a while I'd look at the list, and do something. Simple, no? Mostly I want to keep this mindset as we get closer and the little details creep up. It's only a day. One silly day. Here's to remembering it for what it is.
MAKE TIME FOR FRIENDS: The whole working from home thing means I can easily slip into hermit zone. Work from home, workout alone, make dinner, continue being solitary minus the one other person I live with. I want to make sure that I make an effort to leave my hermit hole, continue to build on current friendships, and build up new friendships.
WANT LESS, SPEND LESS, PAY DOWN MORE: Adam and I are reading a book called, Smart Couples Finish Rich, being the corny kind of couple we are, reading a chapter, then talking about the chapter together, and then deciding what we need to do next. Basically we've got a doozy of a year ahead of us financially with the whole wedding/honeymoon thing, but we've committed to keeping expenses low. We're trying to cut down on the needless spending in our lives, stay home more, spend less, pay down more debt. We got really good at this in Olympia, and since we've been in Alaska we've let it slip. Dinner here, movie there, bar trip here and there, and if we're going to be serious about getting rid of these debts and living within our means we need to make more sacrifices. Sucky, sucky, sucky sacrifices, but sacrifices we need. Bla bla bla responsibility is lame.
So that's it. My four big items. My four focuses. My four to-dos.
Bring it on 2013, it's going to be a great year.
So the 
