2012 Goals

First of all, I'm currently blogging from my Mom's new iMac! It's gorgeous. I am definitely an Apple girl...I love my macbook, love my iPod touch and love my new iPhone! I just love the technology & I've never had any problems (knock on wood) with any of the products.  By the way, thank you all for the phone advice earlier. I am loving the phone & encourage everyone to get one! Still on the hunt for a case, though...

Earlier this morning my Mom & I were chatting about how a lot of people are saying 2011 was a terrible year. This may be true for some, but I think I had a great year! However, I am ready to start fresh with 2012. To be honest, I was never one to write resolutions.  In fact, I don't remember ever sitting down and writing them.  Now that I'm 21, though, and feeling more like an "adult", I decided it was time. Here are some of my 2012 goals/resolutions!

1. Save/manage my money more effectively

I always seem to use every penny of every pay check.  This has got to stop! I'm going to graduate and have no money saved up - that would not be good.  There are also some big girls purchases I want to make in the future that I will need some money saved up.  I've decided to take my Mom's advice and set up automatic transfer at the beginning of every month so X amount of dollars will go into my savings account where I can't touch it!  I'm also going to set up a monthly budget so that when I get my paycheck & LOFT just happens to be having a sale I don't run & clear out the store!  Plus, like that quote says, I need to step back more and realize just how much I have and be thankful for it.

2. Plan [at least] 5 serious races / make time for exercise

By "serious" I mean I'm going to race, not jog.  In high school I ran cross country & track and I absolutely loved it.  Running is my favorite form of exercise, besides Jazzercise/Zumba.  Now that I'm in college, and have been for three years, I've been slacking when it comes to running. After a day of classes & work it's easier to settle in for the night with my homework instead of hitting the road for a run. I did run a half marathon during my freshman year and it was by far the best run of my life.  I want to get back to that point.  This year I plan to schedule a 5K, two 10Ks, a 10 miler, and a half-marathon.  I think I'll run the same half marathon that I did previously - it's in the Outer Banks. Anyone who likes running & lives on the east coast - I highly recommend this race! GORGEOUS setting, 99% flat and lots of fun! Usually ran in November.

3. Read more books

I love that Ashley & Crystal set up the book club because that will help me with this goal.  I want to read more books for me.  It's definitely more difficult to read during the semester when I should be reading my textbooks, but there isn't anyone stopping me from not sleeping in on Sundays and, instead, waking up to read! I think for this goal I might choose 15 books - one a month, plus an extra 3 during the summer.

4. Decide where I want to go to graduate school

Believe it or not, next fall I'm going to be a senior! CRAZY! That means one thing - more applications! My degree is going to be in Human Development with a Childhood & Adolescent Development concentration.  However, I am completing the classes necessary to enter an Elementary Education graduate program in the state of VA.  My school, unfortunately, does not offer the 5 year degree + licensure program.  Right now I'm thinking about applying to all the graduate programs in VA and then narrowing it down, rather than only applying to a couple. (I would love to not have to move though...so fingers are crossed for Tech & Radford!)

5. Keep my room clean

Not my desk, but I want mine that clean!

When I had three roommates who often were bouncing in and out of my room, I kept it pretty tidy.  This year, I have one roommate who I hardly see.  This, plus my schedule of late classes & busy football weekends, has resulted in one messy room! I hate it! Being in a cluttered space is very frustrating for me, but rather than take the time to really clean it up (which I figured was time I could be doing homework) I would just escape it to do work at Panera or at home.  This year I'm going to spend one hour - that's all it should take - each weekend to tidy up my room.  This also goes for laundry...I need to keep up so it doesn't pile!

6. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN

This goes for assignments, blogging, trips, meals, etc.  I'm a list-maker freak but I sometimes make too many lists.  I need to create a nice weekly spreadsheet separate from my agenda that includes everything I need/want to do each day.  I am going to start doing my assignments the day they are assigned, rather than the day or two before they are due.  I have fallen into this trap too many times.  I am going to start planning my blog posts for the week on Sunday that way I don't find myself sitting in front of my computer with writer's block.  I am going to plan out my trips to see Steven, my brothers, my Dad, etc ahead of time so I can make sure I'm caught up on work so that I can be on the trip stress-free.  However, in any schedule, you need to include time for people. I'm going to schedule in walks on the Huckleberry with Mom & Sadie!

7. Learn a better method of grocery shopping/meal planning/cooking for one

I live off-campus so I'm usually making myself breakfast, lunch and dinner unless it happens to be that I'm on campus with a break during one of those times.  This past semester was kind of rough - I was scrambling to find something quick for breakfast in order to catch the bus.  Lunch worked out pretty well, but cooking for one at dinner time proved to be difficult!  To be honest, I usually bought lots of Healthy Choice frozen meals since they are really easy to "make" - aka heat up in the microwave.  While they are good, for a frozen meal, not only were they getting a little too expensive but I started to get tired of them.  This year I'm going to do my research, talk to my Mom and actually plan meals (that I make) that are inexpensive, healthy and made for one.  If anyone has any tips on that, feel free to share :)

8. Go somewhere new

I love to travel, and although I know I'll have a busy spring semester & probably spend a lot of the summer working and watching baseball in Martinsville, I want to go somewhere I haven't been before! I've never been to Atlanta and my Mom has an Uncle that lives there who us begging us to visit. We are trying to plan a mid-May trip there :) On my list is to go to the aquarium & the Coca-Cola factory! Y'all know I love my Coca-Cola classic...

I want to thank all of my followers for a great year of blogging!

Cheers to 2012!

xoxo,