Looking back on 2012 and ahead to 2013

Wow. 2012 is on the books. That sure was quick.

First, I want to take a look back at my first post of 2012, and see how I did on each of my "resolutions":

1. Eat a fruit or vegetable with every meal. Ideally, actually get 5 servings of fruit/veg per day. This will be especially hard at breakfast for me. I did OK on this. I really started eating better in July, switching to a mostly Primal style of eating. I'm not 100% on this, but I'm MUCH better.

2. Fit into the pink dress I bought a couple years ago and LOVE but have never worn. Not quite there yet, but definitely MUCH closer than I was when I added it to the list!!

3. Try to be less cluttered. Eh. This one is hard. I'm better at work, for sure - the job move and a slightly smaller work area helped with this. But at home... I'm consciously trying, but I'm not sure its really working

4. Let people finish sentences without interrupting. I'm REALLY bad about this, partially because my mind tends to move a zillion miles an hour. I'm more conscious of this, but I still find myself doing it. But I think about it more, so that counts for something, right?

5. Eat fried food no more than twice a month. I would say never, but that's just not realistic. So I'm going to try to limit it. I'm not sure if I've stuck to this, but I can say that, especially since July, I overall eat MUCH healthier than I did at the start of the year. So there's that

6. Blog at least once a week, if not more. I did pretty darn well on this one!

7. Write more songs. Maybe even record one or two of them. But this one... epic fail.

8. Get rid of the clothes that I haven't worn or fit into in years but haven't wanted to get rid of because of sentimental reasons. I have a HUGE bag of clothes sitting in my guest room waiting for me to take to Goodwill. I also took a couple of big loads earlier this year. So success, I think.

9. Read one book per month. Not sure about January and February, but I'm pretty sure I did this. Other than July - it took me over a month to read the Reagan Diaries, but it was a super long book so I think I can still say I did this.

10. Finish my master's degree. I finished all the course work! I had to take some time off with the job move, but all I have left to do now is the capstone, which I start on Monday. Success!!

On top of all of that, 2012 was just generally a pretty good year for me. A job change, a move, and, not at all least, the engagement!! 2013, I'm hoping, will be even better - if for no other reason than I get to marry my best friend this year.

So, continuing on the same track as last year, here's my top ten list for this year:

1. Don't let the wedding planning stress me out. Also known as have fun with the wedding planning.

2. Keep up with the better eating lifestyle. I'm less focused on the numbers, but I still want to wear that pink dress, dammit!! I think a feasible goal would be to be able to wear it to the rehearsal...

3. Keep decluttering. This is really hard, but I have to work on it. One thing that might help, at least with some of the paper, would be getting a desk or a good filing cabinet.

4. Continue working on not interrupting people.

5. Be a better listener. This goes hand in hand with number 4, but its not the same. Especially with Matt, I'm not always very good about listening and watching the way that I talk to people, especially those I'm closest to. I need to work on it.

6. Re-evaluate my budget and start saving more and contributing to my IRA again.

7. Cut my credit card debt in half. This goes hand in hand with number 6, but honestly, I'd rather get that debt cut in half before I worry about the IRA too much at this point.

8. Write more songs. Maybe even record one or two of them. Yes, this is a repeat. But I really want to come back to writing and singing.

9. Do project 365 - post a picture for every day of 2013. Day 1 will follow in the next post.

10. Be able to look back on 2013 with much of the same satisfaction as I have today as I look back on 2012. While it wasn't a perfect year, and I didn't do everything I wanted to do, I can say that it was pretty solid, and I'd be happy if 2013 was as good.

Happy New Year to everyone... What's on your list for 2013?