Just the Beginning..

Now, since I've already posted my goals for 2014, I was thinking of ways that I could try to keep them through the year and keep my motivation up.

Goal 1 is to keep a blog schedule.  So far, I've been able to block out certain days for certain blog posts for the entire year, which I listed in this post. Hopefully, I can keep up the motivation because I've made my life pretty easy by writing out a schedule so that there's almost no reason not to stick with it.

Goal 2 is to stop eating like crap all the time.  As someone who loves baking and has hopes of owning a bakery some day, this one seems to be a bit harder for me.  I have a motivation board on Pinterest that I've been neglecting for...months.  I've somehow lost seven pounds since Christmas, which surprised me, but maybe whatever I've been doing will help keep it on track.

Goal 3 is to start jogging again.  I've been trying to make myself go out for a walk, even just a short one, daily for the last week.  When it starts getting a little warmer out, I think it will actually be pretty nice to start jogging again because the wind in Oklahoma kills any motivation to run when it's cold.  The base has running trails all over the place, so it won't be hard to find ways to keep it interesting by finding new paths.

Goal 4: Budget.  Now, this year is going to be a trying time for my finances, just like last year was.  I can't start budgeting too early because I honestly don't know what kind of job I'm going to have in the next few weeks, what kind of car payment I'll end up with in the next few months, or where I'll be living by the summer.  I'm just hoping I can find a way to save a little more than I spend for once and maybe make it out of the year with more than $13 to spare.

Goal 5 is probably going to be the easiest for me because of a prior post (which can be found here).  This is the list of books I want to read before the end of 2014.  There are 13 books on this list, and I'm currently finishing up a David Sedaris book (Let's Discuss Diabetes with Owls) right now.  When I finish my current book, I have Paper Towns by John Green on standby that I got from my sister for Christmas.  I'm so excited to start reading all of these books, and I will probably end up buying most of them on Amazon in the next wee or so, so that I have no excuses not to read them later on when I finish others.

If you have any suggestions on keeping goals through the year, let me know, and leave a comment with your goals for the year, if you have any!  Happy New Year!

2014 Goals

Last year I made a list of goals for myself that I kind of, sort of followed...  This year, I'm hoping that I can at least kind of follow my goals again, but hopefully be a little more realistic this year.

I realized when I was writing my Recap of 2013 post that I had given myself a TON of things to try to follow all at once, and maybe that's how it ended up failing.  I had set twelve goals for myself, which just seems insane to me.  This years list more like five items long, and will hopefully keep me on track without feeling overwhelmed.  Here's my own list for 2014, let me know if you've made and goals or have any suggestions on how to follow my own!

Goal 1: Keep a blog schedule.  I've tried to do this before (like last year with the Random Acts of Kindness posts) and had it fail slowly but surely.  I bought this calendar and literally went through the entire 12 months and filled in blog post plans.  It took a whole sleepless night, but that happened.  Now I have to stick with it.

Goal 2: Stop eating like crap all the time.  Seriously. Put down the cookies.

Goal 3: Start jogging again.  I used to go jogging every other day when I was living with my parents and I honestly felt a lot better during that time.  I stopped because I got really sick for a couple weeks and I physically couldn't bring myself to go out like that, then I never got back in.  I'm hoping once the weather warms up a little bit I can go out again and start.

Goal 4: Budget.  No, really. Stop laughing.

Goal 5: Read more.  I said this would be on the list.  I feel like I never read enough and now I have a huge list of books I want to read and hopefully finish by the end of next year.

If you know of any good budgeting apps or motivation to work out and stay positive, please let me know!  I'm really hoping to start on these goals sooner rather than later so I can just make them second nature habits as opposed to daunting tasks.

Book Wishlist December 2013

I've realized lately the amount of books that I want to read has grown incredibly over the last few months.  I'm not sure what exactly made that happen(probably cold weather), but since the end of the summer I've started finding more and more books that I've added to my Amazon wishlist and I would love to hear any feedback you guys have if you've read these!  Also, if you have any suggestions or favorite books, let me know =)

(All photos from Amazon.com)

1. Paddle your own Canoe by Nick Offerman
2. This Book is Full of Spiders by David Wong
3. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
4. Paper Towns by John Green
5. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
6. Egghead by Bo Burnham

(All photos from Amazon.com)

1. Adulting: How to become a grown up in 468 easy(ish) steps by Kelly Williams Brown
2. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
3. Bossypants by Tina Fey
4. Bitches on a Budget by Rosalyn Hoffman
5. The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman
6. Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick