Follow up on my goals for 2012:

• Read more novels. I only finished 5 books last year, 4 fiction and 1 non-fiction, plus a couple audiobooks. I’m currently in the middle of 2 fiction books, neither of which I have a head of steam to finish. 7 books is a lot fewer than I had originally hoped for myself.
• Shoot more video. I uploaded 16 videos last year and I think all of them were of our dogs.
• Lose some weight. In the first half of 2012 I lost 21 pounds (I know, right?). In the second half of 2012 I gained back 12 pounds (moving to a new house, vacation, Thanksgiving, Christmas). So overall still down 9 pounds. I should feel positive about it, but I’ve still got more work to do.
• Stop drinking soda. I went for almost 10 months without drinking a single drop of soda. It wasn’t easy starting out and required a sizable change in routine. I gave up my workday afternoon Diet Mt. Dew, I ordered water every time we went out to eat, and we stopped stocking our fridge with soda. After 10 months, I felt like I had broken whatever habit or addiction I had to soft drinks. In the last couple months, I’ve felt free to enjoy sugary soda on occasion but I can’t drink much of it without my stomach getting upset. I think that’s a good thing.

My goals for 2013:

• Lose some more weight. I dropped 9 pounds in 2012 and I know I can lose at least another 11. That’s my goal.
• Cook with appliances. And I don’t mean gadgets. We have a food processor, blender, and stand mixer in our kitchen cupboards that could really expand not only what food we cook but how well it’s prepared. This will also force me to open up the recipe book, try some new things, and challenge myself in the kitchen. I’d like to be a better chef this time next year.
• Become a better home owner. By the end of this year, I need to organize my tools in the garage, hang some ceiling fans, figure out a system for mowing and maintaining the lawn, and a dozen other things around the house. Right now I have no good place to put the charger for my cordless drill. I want to figure this out this year.
• Use my iPad more, especially for reading. I bought this super awesome thing and don’t seem to use it much. I know several people whose iPad is their constant companion and it makes me feel a little guilty for wanting to upgrade. What I have is still plenty serviceable and I should get more use out of it. I’m going to start with using it for reading novels and playing some strategy board games.