2013 ...here we come!

I love this time of year. I love the feeling of renewed hope. I love that people are generally in a positive mood.

I usually do make resolutions, but as with most people, I'm not great at following them.

That doesn't stop me from making them each year, though. One of these years, they're bound to stick, right??

2012 was a great year for us- I got to quit my job in late 2011 and stay home all year. I loved it more than I ever thought possible. I did a little traveling and killed my resolution of wanting to reach "50 geocaches found" (we actually found 66 when our original goal was to find 34). I also did really well with making meals at home and eating out less. I estimate that in the last quarter of the year, we saved well over $500 by eating meals at home.

So, here they are for 2013:

1) Make memories. This includes traveling, trying new things, and documenting those memories.

2) Keep a SMASH book. Don't know what one is? I didn't either; until I read this post. The other night at a New Year's party, Robin asked what our favorite memory of 2012 was-- I thought about it so much and I honestly couldn't remember all we had done throughout the year. I KNOW we did some cool stuff, but at that moment, I couldn't remember one second of it. What's the point of making memories if I'm not remembering them?? Hence the SMASH book.  Plus, Connie kinda threw down a SMASH book challenge and I'm super competitive so I HAVE to do this. Ultimately I decided that our trip to Indianapolis earlier in the year was one of my favorite memories.

3) Take my vitamins like I should. I feel like such crap when I don't take them regularly. My psychologist husband has given me several ideas for ways I can improve this behavior. And, he didn't charge me for the advice ;) I take:

• 10,000 IU Vitamin D
• 3,000 mg Vitamin C
• 12.5 mg Iodoral (iodine)
• B-100 complex

4) Find 72 geocaches. This will be quite challenging mainly because we've already found most of the local caches. Finding more than we did last year will require us to geocache more often (we cached 28 days last year) and find caches farther away from home. Part of achieving this goal will be to finally HIDE our own geocache. I've done extensive research, met with a local historian, and planned exactly what I want to do for our first hide, I just need to actually do it.

5) Lose 15 pounds. I'm not trying to conquer the world here, but I need a starting point so 15 lbs sounds like a good, reasonable, achievable number. I plan on eating more Monster Spinach Smoothies for lunch in order to do this. They really are very good and only take a few ingredients, so I know this is something I can do. Eating these smoothies will also help save some money. For Christmas, my MIL gave me a Yonanas frozen yogurt machine, so Hubs and I are planning on using that to supplement also.

6) Read more. I've never been a big reader, but in 2012 I read 2 trilogies plus another book for a total of SEVEN books reads. I know quite a few people that read 7 books in a month, so that may not sound like much of an achievement, but for me, I assure you it is. In 2013, I'm hoping to read more than 7 books. I know how important it is for Ryan to see others reading in order to help cultivate his love for books, so that's definitely my primary motivation with this resolution. Let's see how that goes :)

Here's to hoping your new year is filled with laughter, health and more positive optimism that you know how to handle!