It's New Year's Eve, a time to celebrate the year that is ending and look hopefully towards the year that is approaching.
It's also a time to set ridiculous goals for yourself that you probably won't live up to.
Erm. I mean. It's a time to make reasonable goals that you at least plan to put some effort into.
Hopefully that's what I've done.
Mrs. Geek's New Year's Resolutions
in no particular order
-Blog more (and better).
I started this blog to document the wedding-planning process. Since we were planning the wedding long-distance from both the venue and my family, and since I'm the first grandchild in the family to get married, I knew people were going to want to feel involved in the process. I brought as many family members as I could on the dress-shopping trip because, although I didn't expect to actually buy a dress that day, I knew it was probably the only decision I could physically involve everyone in. I knew that, by writing about every decision we made and why we were making them, people like my aunts and my grandmothers could follow along and feel like they were a part of everything. Although the wedding was a full Mass in a Catholic church and I wore a white dress, we still had some less-than-traditional elements going on that most of our younger guests wouldn't bat an eye at, but had the potential to ruffle the feathers of those who had a different idea of what a wedding is "supposed" to look like. The blog gave me an opportunity to explain everything so that the color of my shoes wouldn't shock and upset people on the day itself. (You wouldn't think shoes could be so controversial. You have no idea.) Wedding blogs also serve as inspiration for other brides planning their weddings- I know I followed a ton of wedding blogs before we even got engaged!- so this blog also served as an application to Weddingbee, where I could share my planning experience with other women facing the same decisions. Opening up to an audience of people who didn't know me personally was a little daunting, but overall has been a great experience. I hope that, by expanding the topics I write about here, I can also expand my audience; I've always loved writing and sharing what I have to say with other people. I hope, in the coming year, to make this little blog look a bit more professional- I want to give it a (hand-made) face lift, I want to stick to my 3-days-a-week posting schedule, and I want to write about things that interest not only you, my current audience, but also an audience that may not know I exist yet. While I don't think I'm going to monetize this little blog any time soon, I would like to focus on cleaning things up and bringing it to a point where that might one day be an option.
-Read more.
Now that wedding planning is over, I finally have time to read again! Since we got home from the honeymoon, I've averaged about a book a week. While I'm not sure I can keep that up, I do want to challenge myself to read at least one new book every month- knowing full well that I'll probably be re-reading Catching Fire before the movie release, and I'll probably dive into another Potter series re-read. Reading has always been my favorite way to escape the real world, and I don't want books to be replaced by the internet or television to provide such an escape.
-Cook from scratch more.
Before we got married, Mr. Geek would come over for dinner as often as he could, but most week nights his work schedule made that nearly impossible, especially towards the end of the engagement. My roommate and I were often on nearly opposite schedules- I like to eat dinner closer to 6pm and she sometimes wouldn't be home until after 9- so more often than not, I was cooking for just me. I figured if the food I was making wasn't going to be served to anybody else, I may as well make something easy and hassle-free- no sense getting all fancy if there's no audience. Now that we're married, though, I want to get away from my reliance on frozen meals and "just add ground beef" boxed meals and pre-made jars of pasta sauce. We were given an entire kitchen full of new and amazing gadgets, so I need to start properly using them! This year, my goal is to make at least one completely-from-scratch meal each week, though I'll allow myself to fall back on the pre-made pasta sauce and pre-cooked chicken the rest of the week when I'm just too busy. Meals made with fresh ingredients not only taste better, they're healthier for you, too. Plus, meals that have a lot of prep work provide the perfect opportunity for us to cook together!
-Yeah, okay, I want to lose weight, too.
Every single year, without fail, I resolve to lose 5 pounds. Every single year. Sometimes I actually act on this resolution, setting myself an exercise plan that I stick to for a good couple of weeks, and sometimes I vow that when the weather gets warmer, I'll take more walks outside. This year, I actually mean it- while I don't want to put a number on it, I definitely need to shed some pounds. I am the first bride in the history of ever to actually gain weight during the engagement! When we first got engaged, I was actually happy with my size and weight and therefore didn't feel the need to actively try and change anything. I put myself on a strict no-desserts-ever "diet"- managing to make it all the way through Christmas with my family without once touching a piece of pie or a cookie!- but other than that, I mistakenly believed that "staying the course" would mean maintaining the same weight. Wrong. Apparently, when I get stressed out, my body stores up all the fat it can get in an effort to, I don't know, keep me warm in the winter, or something. While I still fit in my dress on The Big Day- it wasn't that drastic of a weight gain- I definitely look...softer than I did when we got engaged. Squishy. I want to get rid of that. Healthier food, less eating out, and yes, actual exercise, should get me there.
-Get to a place where I'm happy with my career.
If I can't manage to do this in 2013- if I can't get to a place where I'm happy with where my career is going, at least, if it's still not possible to be happy with the day-to-day job- then one of my resolutions for 2014 will be to get a new career, starting with going back to school. I know what you're thinking- "You've only been in this career for two years!"- but it's not what I studied in school, it's not fulfilling in the slightest, and the path I'm currently traveling leads absolutely nowhere. I know, I know- the economy is crappy and nearly every just-out-of-college 20-something feels this same way, I should feel thankful that I have a job at all. Yes, that's true, but I'm actually planning to do something about my unhappiness instead of wallowing in it and complaining about it.
Here's hoping I can stick to these resolutions!
Are you setting any goals for yourself in the new year? What are they? Are they the same ones you've set before?
Happy New Year!
The Geeks
It's also a time to set ridiculous goals for yourself that you probably won't live up to.
Erm. I mean. It's a time to make reasonable goals that you at least plan to put some effort into.
Hopefully that's what I've done.
Mrs. Geek's New Year's Resolutions
in no particular order
-Blog more (and better).
I started this blog to document the wedding-planning process. Since we were planning the wedding long-distance from both the venue and my family, and since I'm the first grandchild in the family to get married, I knew people were going to want to feel involved in the process. I brought as many family members as I could on the dress-shopping trip because, although I didn't expect to actually buy a dress that day, I knew it was probably the only decision I could physically involve everyone in. I knew that, by writing about every decision we made and why we were making them, people like my aunts and my grandmothers could follow along and feel like they were a part of everything. Although the wedding was a full Mass in a Catholic church and I wore a white dress, we still had some less-than-traditional elements going on that most of our younger guests wouldn't bat an eye at, but had the potential to ruffle the feathers of those who had a different idea of what a wedding is "supposed" to look like. The blog gave me an opportunity to explain everything so that the color of my shoes wouldn't shock and upset people on the day itself. (You wouldn't think shoes could be so controversial. You have no idea.) Wedding blogs also serve as inspiration for other brides planning their weddings- I know I followed a ton of wedding blogs before we even got engaged!- so this blog also served as an application to Weddingbee, where I could share my planning experience with other women facing the same decisions. Opening up to an audience of people who didn't know me personally was a little daunting, but overall has been a great experience. I hope that, by expanding the topics I write about here, I can also expand my audience; I've always loved writing and sharing what I have to say with other people. I hope, in the coming year, to make this little blog look a bit more professional- I want to give it a (hand-made) face lift, I want to stick to my 3-days-a-week posting schedule, and I want to write about things that interest not only you, my current audience, but also an audience that may not know I exist yet. While I don't think I'm going to monetize this little blog any time soon, I would like to focus on cleaning things up and bringing it to a point where that might one day be an option.
-Read more.
Now that wedding planning is over, I finally have time to read again! Since we got home from the honeymoon, I've averaged about a book a week. While I'm not sure I can keep that up, I do want to challenge myself to read at least one new book every month- knowing full well that I'll probably be re-reading Catching Fire before the movie release, and I'll probably dive into another Potter series re-read. Reading has always been my favorite way to escape the real world, and I don't want books to be replaced by the internet or television to provide such an escape.
-Cook from scratch more.
Before we got married, Mr. Geek would come over for dinner as often as he could, but most week nights his work schedule made that nearly impossible, especially towards the end of the engagement. My roommate and I were often on nearly opposite schedules- I like to eat dinner closer to 6pm and she sometimes wouldn't be home until after 9- so more often than not, I was cooking for just me. I figured if the food I was making wasn't going to be served to anybody else, I may as well make something easy and hassle-free- no sense getting all fancy if there's no audience. Now that we're married, though, I want to get away from my reliance on frozen meals and "just add ground beef" boxed meals and pre-made jars of pasta sauce. We were given an entire kitchen full of new and amazing gadgets, so I need to start properly using them! This year, my goal is to make at least one completely-from-scratch meal each week, though I'll allow myself to fall back on the pre-made pasta sauce and pre-cooked chicken the rest of the week when I'm just too busy. Meals made with fresh ingredients not only taste better, they're healthier for you, too. Plus, meals that have a lot of prep work provide the perfect opportunity for us to cook together!
-Yeah, okay, I want to lose weight, too.
Every single year, without fail, I resolve to lose 5 pounds. Every single year. Sometimes I actually act on this resolution, setting myself an exercise plan that I stick to for a good couple of weeks, and sometimes I vow that when the weather gets warmer, I'll take more walks outside. This year, I actually mean it- while I don't want to put a number on it, I definitely need to shed some pounds. I am the first bride in the history of ever to actually gain weight during the engagement! When we first got engaged, I was actually happy with my size and weight and therefore didn't feel the need to actively try and change anything. I put myself on a strict no-desserts-ever "diet"- managing to make it all the way through Christmas with my family without once touching a piece of pie or a cookie!- but other than that, I mistakenly believed that "staying the course" would mean maintaining the same weight. Wrong. Apparently, when I get stressed out, my body stores up all the fat it can get in an effort to, I don't know, keep me warm in the winter, or something. While I still fit in my dress on The Big Day- it wasn't that drastic of a weight gain- I definitely look...softer than I did when we got engaged. Squishy. I want to get rid of that. Healthier food, less eating out, and yes, actual exercise, should get me there.
-Get to a place where I'm happy with my career.
If I can't manage to do this in 2013- if I can't get to a place where I'm happy with where my career is going, at least, if it's still not possible to be happy with the day-to-day job- then one of my resolutions for 2014 will be to get a new career, starting with going back to school. I know what you're thinking- "You've only been in this career for two years!"- but it's not what I studied in school, it's not fulfilling in the slightest, and the path I'm currently traveling leads absolutely nowhere. I know, I know- the economy is crappy and nearly every just-out-of-college 20-something feels this same way, I should feel thankful that I have a job at all. Yes, that's true, but I'm actually planning to do something about my unhappiness instead of wallowing in it and complaining about it.
Here's hoping I can stick to these resolutions!
Are you setting any goals for yourself in the new year? What are they? Are they the same ones you've set before?
Happy New Year!
The Geeks
Missing you on the bee! Your resolutions sound EXACTLY like mine. Word for word.
ReplyDelete:) I'm waiting on my pictures to come in!
DeleteHopefully I've set goals which are challenging enough to offer growth opportunities and yet reachable enough that I can achieve something this year!