2012 New Year's Goals

Here is a quick list of the 2012 "goals" that I've made for myself...

Personal: 

1.  Run a half marathon.  This means training.  And lots of it.  I'm going to go with the White Rock marathon, more than likely.  It gives me almost a full twelve months to train.

2.  Lose 50 lbs. 

3.  Read all the books that I currently own as of 1/1/12. 

4.  Blog.  I'd really like to focus on my book blog and this blog, so readers, hold me to it!  I'm going to commit to 3 - 5 blog posts a week.  I'm going to attempt to do a weekly recap in photos (to correspond with the 365 photos in one year challenge) AND Friday Five.  This will help keep me motivated and accountable.
5.  Find a church. 

6.  Become more active in the Fort Worth book club that I found.

7.  Do something for myself.  Must be relaxing!  I'm going to shoot for once a month.

Marriage:

8.  Do unexpected "just because" stuff for Marcus.  At least once a month. 

9.  Learn to pick my battles.

10. Increase intimacy by communication.  (Good goal, Krista!  We need this too!)

Family/Friends:
11. Make it a point to have more "girl's days out" with Carie and Lindsey!  I miss my friends.

12. Spend time with my mom, doing girlie stuff, just getting out of the house, SOMETHING!  At least once every few weeks. 

Home

13. Decorate our master bedroom/bathroom. 

14. Organize the kitchen.

15. Go through the 2012 "declutter calendar" and achieve at least 10 items each month.

New Year's Resolutions - Recap

As with the end of each year, I always try to reflect on the year as a whole, recap the things that happened, set goals for the next year, and think back on the goals for the previous year.  As with any year, it had it's ups and downs.

2011 Recap:

Multiple moves. 
(I moved my essential stuff from Dallas to Fort Worth, then moved Marcus' essential stuff from Dallas to Fort Worth, moved all of our furniture into TWO storage buildings (one in Dallas, one in Fort Worth), moved the stuff out of storage into our house, spent the last three weeks gathering all the rest of our crap to move into the house.  I'm pretty much done with moving for awhile.)

One new job.

One new house.

One year ago, on December 31st, 2010, I drank my last Dr Pepper.  I've successfully made it almost a year without touching another "regular" soft drink.  For the first 4 - 5 months, I didn't drink any soft drinks, but I've slowly let them creep back into my life.

12 5Ks.  I started out with one a month, and did very well with that until November and December.  A move, finals, etc. didn't allow me to do one a month, but I ran several in certain months, so I'm counting it as a goal ACHIEVED!

75 books read.  Well, not quite, but almost.  I should reach this goal.  I have three more to go!  Well, really like 1.5 to go.  :o)

Pecan Pie

I thought I'd go ahead and share my mom's pecan pie recipe. It's seriously one of the BEST pecan pies we've tried, and I think between my mom, mother-in-law, and I, we've tried a few.

Mom's Pecan Pie (not sure where she got the recipe to be honest... but if I find it, I'll source it)

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 heaping cup of pecans, chopped

9 in deep pie shell

In a large bowl, combine corn syrup, brown sugar, salt, butter, and vanilla, and mix well. Add slightly beaten eggs and blend well. Stir in pecans. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree over for 45 minutes, or until set. Remember to cover pie crust edges with aluminum foil.

Simplify Your Life - Week 3

So I'm a few days late in posting this, but last week's "simplify your life" tip didn't work out so well. I did great the first couple of days - but after that, I realized that checking my e-mail first thing in the morning was probably the most effective use of time. Eventually, I'm going to check my mail, and checking it while waiting on the shower, means that I'm not checking it later. So yeah, while I loved the idea behind it, it just wasn't good for me. I'm still using the "one hour" with no technology rule, so I'm 50% engaged in this process.

So week three is to start your day with exercise. Psht. Wouldn't that be nice?! I've been attempting to do just that for MONTHS! I'll give it one last try. At least this is the challenge the week BEFORE Thanksgiving, not during. LOL.

Blog Design

I'm working on updating my blog... and doing some new design features.  Eventually, I'd like to design my own background, header, etc. but while I'm getting to that point, there's going to be some "growing pains" so please be patient with me. 

I realize that the header is currently blank.  :o) 

<3
Christina

Simply Your Life - Week 2

Week one went fairly well. It was nice to just turn off the tv, put up my phone and laptop, and just chill for an hour each day. Mostly, I did homework, but I was giving myself the time to set aside to focus on something I wanted to do too, so I actually started and finished two books. It's amazing what you can get done in an hour. :o) I'm definitely KEEPING this part of the Simply Your Life challenge in my daily activity!

So... for week two... this is going to be a definite challenge. The "tip" is to avoid checking your e-mail first thing in the morning. I'll admit, it's going to be tough. I check my e-mail, on my phone, while I'm waiting for the shower to warm up in the morning. I don't know what I'll do now to pass the few minutes it takes. Read? Just relax? Who knows! But, I'm up for the challenge.

A personal challenge...

On Facebook today, a friend posted a link to this article... it's 16 tips to simplify your life (and increase your productivity) and of course, I'm intrigued.

Since I know that I'd NEVER accomplish all 16 steps at one time, I'm going to try them one at a time... adding a new step each Wednesday until maybe I've accomplished them all.

So for week 1... my personal daily challenge is this...

1. Turn off all technology for 60 minutes a day and focus on doing your most important work.

Wish me luck. :) I'll report back next Wednesday with the 2nd "tip" and let you know how the first week went.