Goals.

I try not to stress myself out with resolutions. I feel that putting a lot of pressure on myself either goes really well or really badly. This year, I'm setting some goals for myself, with mini goals to help me attain them.

1. Get back to this weight.

 (at the beach in march 2007)

This is something I've been working on since October, and I know I can do this. I got down to that weight from far heavier than where I'm at now! Mini goals: eat healthy, unprocessed foods and cut back on drinking. Which leads me to this:

2. Cut back on drinking.

I just found this old photo and it cracks me up because one, the bottle was empty when I did that and two, I was the one who emptied the bottle. My problem with drinking is I tend to overdo it - not in the hopes of getting drunk, rather I'm just having a good time. And then I pay for it with headaches, bloating, upset tummy. I'm going to cut down to just a couple of beers (or drinks) a week. I did this a couple of months ago and could feel a difference in my mood and how I was feeling overall. But, I should say, I really, REALLY love beer. Good beer. Local beer. I love the experience of sitting in the brewpub with a good beer.

3. Exercise.

I really don't want to become one of those that starts out at the gym all pumped up and slowly tapers off. I've done it before. I want to break that cycle. I want to exercise because it makes me feel good, not because I have to. I have a plan for this: my classes are every Tuesday and Thursday and I have a 2 hour break in between two of them. No reason for me not to go!!

4. Connect.

I miss all of my friends and spent a lot of this year reconnecting with them and meeting new ones. I'm going to scale up my efforts to keep in touch. Meet ups, mini road trips to Seattle, written letters.

5. Read.

With school, this could be a little harder. I would like to read at least one new to me book a month, more if possible. Over the summer I went through the Harry Potter series, the Hunger Games series and more and I loved it. I realized how much I missed reading for pleasure.

6. Germany, Austria and Italy.

I WILL go in June.