Even more birds!

We have had some purple finches outside our window the past couple of days. They are pretty!

2014 Resolutions

Alright, these goals are sort of "the usual" ones I make every time. But I think it is good to keep goals present and to sort of "refresh" my commitment. I decided to divide these goals up into categories of self-improvement. These categories are:
1. Financial, 2. Physical, 3. Mental, 4. Interpersonal, and 5 Misc. Hobbies & Projects

1. Be financially conscientious. We have been really good with money, simply out of necessity. But I also want to make sure we are on the same page and are working toward similar goals and have similar expectations with our income and expenses.  My goal is to have a meeting about once a week or thereabouts to go over finances. This will include checking in with Justin on our financial goals. These include short-term, medium-term and long-term goals. 

2. Physical exercise. This can be running, (Couch to 5k app is going to help me with that), hiking, walking, "finishers" (crunchies, squats, push-ups, armstrongs, lunges, wall-sits, jumping jacks, etc.), Youtube videos of yoga/pilates/aerobics workouts, P90 DVDs, or simply cranking up some good music and dancing around the apartment. Not that I'm going to do ALL of these ALL the time, but that I have a lot of options. If I'm especially worn out, I can just do several rotations of finishers. If it is rainy or cold outside, I can do a DVD or Youtube tutorial, if I can't bring myself to follow directions after being at work all day, I'll dance! And as the weather improves I have more opportunities with running and hiking. Mostly my goal is to have an active lifestyle. It isn't to exercise. It is to be active. 

3. Mental exercise. This includes doing my logic puzzles (this will be easy, I do several almost every night before going to bed) and MAKING logic puzzles (not as easy and more time consuming, but fun).
This also includes reading. I have a bunch of text books and nonfiction books I want to read that have been sitting on my bookshelf for ages. I also want to read for fun. Mostly, I want less screen time and more book time. This is probably one of the most challenging things, because screen time means internet, and it is soooo easy to get sucked into the internet. (as I post this...on the internet).
Another mental goal is to continue learning and exercising Spanish. I have downloaded some apps and got a Spanish textbook, so I am hoping if I just take a few minutes every day to go over Spanish, I can keep up. 

Finally, my last mental exercise is...(don't laugh), learning my times tables. I am okay at these, but I never ever did get them down pat and I never had the motivation to. 

4. Interpersonal exercise. This is sort of my "don't be a flake" goal. I want to make sure I work to foster friendships. This includes inviting my acquaintances Mami & Jeff over for dinner and games, replying to emails, facebook messages, texts, letters, and postcards, and actively writing those, instead of just replying.

Within my interpersonal goals, I also want to be more present. (aka, less screen-time). I want to play board and card games with Justin, go on walks, cook together, and also hold our Finer Things Club meetings. (I'm planning a Sherlock themed one soon. Tea and biscuits, anyone?

5. My last goal is to work on my hobbies and projects. These include weaving on my mini-loom, making my logic puzzles (as mentioned earlier), making music videos, writing down memories, maintaining my scrapbook of ticket stubs and travel tickets, etc., blogging more regularly, transcribing/copying recipes from online recipes I like to recipe cards,  re-potting my plants, and finally, regularly organizing and reducing my possessions to only the items of essential or sentimental value. This last goal is really just to enjoy time away from the computer or television. 

Five big categories, but I'm feeling good about them!