Goals for 2013

I am the type of person who likes making resolutions at the beginning of the year. The holidays are full of indulgences-- to much eating, spending, and generally living large. Come January it's back to real life, and I like having this as a time to reassess and focus on how I'm living. I've had large and small goals in years past, and while they might not stick 100%, I do usually feel successful in my resolutions. This year I have three, and for sake of accountability I figure I should share then with this little world we call the internet.

First, in 2013 I want to read more classic books. I feel like to often I'm in a conversation with people about books that I haven't read, and I can blame some of this on the years I lost to silly British chick lit. (I'm still a sucker for that genre!) I've already started Hemingway's A Movable Feast, and have promised Joe that this is the year I'll finally read a little Vonnegut. Joe owns at least 10 different Vennegut books, so I should have plenty to choose from! My book club is reading Emma soon, too, and I'm excited for my first Jane Austin experience. This goal is reasonable, easy to measure, and can continue for years if I just sprinkle an older, well known book into my lineup every few books.

The next goal is a little more vague, but important to me. I'm going to use my camera more often. I love playing around with the Nikon D3100 that I bought last year, and after a Living Social deal on a class, I've been almost completely shooting in manual mode. But I'm shy about actually pulling out the camera, and rarely take it out of the house unless we're going on a vacation. I can't get better with the camera unless I use it, so this year I'm going to push myself out of my comfort zone by using my camera out and about around Chicago. Get ready friends... I'm going to document everything!

The final goal is the most vague, but it's a challenge I need to give myself. In 2013, I will push myself to live more simply. This goal is partially financial-- skip the Starbucks, cook dinner at home, host game night instead of meeting at a bar. But it's also a goal of how I want to live my life overall. I like stuff too much. New knickknacks, another scarf/shirt/kitchen gadget, and more silly things to fill my house. But at the same time I value quality items, and hate clutter around our small condo. I would like to buy less, and buy items of better quality. It might be time to try to curb my habit of popping into silly stores like Forever 21! As I try to live more simply, I want to focus on friends and experiences, while also spending responsibly.

It was hard to think of a picture to represent "living simply".
How about our lovely, relatively unadorned couch?
It represents entertaining at home, and limiting clutter.
Good goals, right?

Speaking of responsible spending, we do have a goal for some of the money we want to save. This spring Joe and I are hopefully taking a big trip. A trip that is way overdue, that I've been obsessing about since we first got the idea. But I'll save this plan for a separate post, just to keep you guessing for a bit.