Sunday, January 1, 2012

Hello 2012!

Well, it is a new year.  Yet another one where at least part of the population thinks the world will be coming to an end again!  :)  I have to say, this one is particularly humorous to me.  If you truly think that a culture that couldn't predict the demise of their own culture had the power to determine when the entire world would end . . .

Any who, a new year, a new start . . . in theory right?  I try to make changes through out the year, because let's face it, if you continually put it off until the new year, you are wasting a lot of opportunities.  But when New Year rolls around, my mind gets even more into, what changes do I want to make . . . so I have New Year Goals, whether I believe in the principal of it or not.

I am trying this year to make them more realistic.  I think that is usually the downfall of my goals.  One often thinks they can achieve more than they will.  I hope to have evolving goals that I will review and alter if needed each month.

So, I have two main goals:

1. Take better care of my health.  This is the broad theory, broken down:

~ Really Gluten Free - I will eat out and eat things I know there might be contamination issues with, just to make it easier.  Easier to eat out with my husband(who likes to eat out), not to inconvenience people, easier for myself, etc.  Sometimes things go okay and sometimes I get really sick.  So, for the month of January I will not be eating out.  Everything I consume will be something that I know the parts that go into are gluten-free.  To help me on this journey, I recently purchased 100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster and Gluten Free on a Shoestring: 125 Easy Recipes for Eating Well on the Cheap by Nicole Hunn. And a few months ago I purchased Gluten Free Asian Kitchen by Laura B. Russell.  I will be learning to cook gluten free from home more.  Trying out new recipes and learning more about the different flours and what I like and don't like.

In part to this or a deviation from this, I have learned in 2011 that I love the principal of Sushi.  I only eat cooked meats in sushi, but still, love the principal and think it's a great way to work in more veggies.  Tomorrow, I will be trying my hand at making my own Sushi inspired rolls.

~ Exercise/Fitness - I made some progress with this during different parts of 2011 and some setbacks, but more if it was in the positive.  So, I am continuing with this, because I know it can work if I make time for it.  So for the month of January, my goal is to exercise each day for at least 20 minutes.  I have a few different exercises to vary things from day to day.  My day often ends up feeling too long, so my goal is to wake up 20 minutes earlier and exercise before I head off to work.

2.  Write up and publish a knitting pattern.
~Here my main goal is to get my butt moving on doing some designing stuff which I am very interested in.  So for the month of January, my goal is to write up the pattern I used for the Vetter Baby Sweater from the notes I have scribbled in my notebook.  Then in the next months I will do things like prepare the pattern in other sizes, etc.

5 comments:

  1. Wonderful goals. I love the concept of sushi as well.

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  2. At least you're able to ponder goals. I'm not...

    Happy '12!!

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  3. Happy New Year, and good Luck with your goals!

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  4. Those sound like good goals to me! You're right that GF is hardest when you're relying on someone else to cook for you. We just got back from the holidays...I never feel like more of a pain than when someone else is cooking 3 meals a day! The nice thing is that cooking at home also means eating healthier in general, so you get a two-in-one goals-wise. =)

    Good luck with the pattern writing, too. I'm just beginning that process, too, and am hoping that I actually manage to stick with it this time around. The sweater is really cute, so it should be a good one to start with!

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  5. I struggle with eating out as well, not because I can't eat gluten, but because I eat such terrible foods when I dine out. And yet, my husband and I dine out at least twice a week. I'm a little late in making my resolutions, but one of them will be to stop eating out so much (and possibly learn how to cook).

    I also need to exercise more. My husband is encouraging me to join his gym, but I hate working out in front of others. I'm going to see if Netflix has some exercise DVDs to rent. What kind of exercises do you do?

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