12 IN 2012 -- PART 1

A few blogs that I follow have been doing something called "12 by 2012." Have you heard of it? Basically, you list out 12 things you want to accomplish by 2012. By giving yourself the deadline and sharing it on your blog, hopefully you feel more accountable and will accomplish your goals on time.

I know that I would NOT be able to accomplish 12 real goals by 2012. I could make up small, easy ones, but I actually have some ideas that I've been sitting on that I want to accomplish soon(ish), so instead of giving myself the unrealistic goal of "12 BY 2012," I'm going to do "12 IN 2012." I suppose it's no different than a bunch of new years resolutions, but I hardly ever take those seriously. This time I'm going to write these out, post them so I can see them daily, and check them off (I LOVE to check things off).

Anyway, here are 12 things I hope to accomplish in 2012:

1. Make my own cookbook.
Notice I didn't say "write" my own cookbook. I have a bunch of cookbooks, but I NEVER use them. I always end up browsing cooking blogs or websites and I have accumulated several wonderful recipes that we love. I have a binder with my favorites printed out and placed in page protectors, but I want to turn them into a real book using My Publisher! Most of my recipes are in storage, so I really must wait until we move to make real progress on this. I also want to go through my grandma's recipes to find some old favorites too. This is going to be a lot of work, but I think it will be SOOO worth it.

2. Read 12 books - for pleasure
I love to read but this year I think I've only read 1 book that was not baby related. I don't have much down time, but hopefully next year I can make reading for pleasure more of a priority. I already have a few books on my radar. When I Fell From the Sky - the author was on the Today show recently and her story sounds FASCINATING. The Book Thief - I've heard great things about this one too. I'd also like to re-read The Hunger Games series.

3. Go on a trip with Ryan
Just the two of us. Now that he's travelling every week for work, it makes me want to jump on a plane and go somewhere exciting. I'd really love for the two of us to be able to go somewhere fun next year. Even if it's just for a few days.

4. Organize and print my next blog book
Every year I have my blog printed into a book and we keep them on the coffee table. It's a great little journal and fun way to look back and remember some of the fun things we've done since we got married. It takes quite a bit of work to organize it the way I like. It usually takes me a few weeks to put one together and I'm a year behind schedule, so I'd like to get the next one printed before next summer, when I'll be 2 years behind schedule. : /

5. Make an effort to get to know new people
Making friends has always been hard for me. ALWAYS. I'm very shy and have a hard time approaching someone new to chat. Once I am talking to someone new, I have a hard time keeping the conversation going. I feel a bit like a turtle who just wants to back up into my shell sometimes...and I HATE that about myself. Once I get to know someone I am much more chatty and outgoing, it just takes a little while for me to come out of my shell.

Since we'll be moving somewhere new, I need to make a real effort to get to know new people next year. I didn't do this when we moved up North, so I never made any close friends and always just wanted to come back "home" where my friends are. I'm determined to make the best of wherever we end up, and making some friends is going to be KEY. I'm HOPING that having Brady now will make it a little easier to meet people through play groups and such.

6. Live a more active lifestyle
I'm going to admit something that many of you aren't going to like, but here it is: Dropping the baby weight from my first baby was easy. Like WAY easy. Like, I never did one sit up or deprived myself of one treat, and I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight, or better, by about 5-6 months. The funny thing is, I think I've had more intense cravings as a nursing mama than I ever did while pregnant, so it's shocking to me that I've lost any weight at all. I DON'T expect it to be this easy after baby number 2, 3, etc. but I'm very lucky to have dropped the weight like I did.

PROBLEM IS....I'm so out of shape it isn't even FUNNY. I am practically out of breath after climbing one set of stairs. It's embarrassing. I'm always thinking about exercising and planning when I COULD go, but I never actually DO it. So my goal for 2012 is to just be more active in general. Not to lose weight, but to be more healthy and in shape. I'm not going to give myself some strict guideline like "exercise 4 times a week," I just want to get out and move more. Once Brady starts walking I have a feeling I'll be moving A LOT more, like it or not.

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This is getting really long and I don't know what my next 6 goals are yet, so I'll post "12 in 2012 -- Part 2" a little later.