5 for Five - Special NYE Edition!

Welcome to the special New Year's Eve edition of 5 for Five 2013!!!  Jenn and I are really excited for y'all to link up with us today!!  2012 was a great year, and I think that 2013 will be even better!!

Today, instead of sharing five goals for the week, set five goals that you hope to accomplish in the new year!  Feel free to set any number of goals for 2013 - we just like five because it goes with our usual theme!

Here are my New Years resolutions for 2013:

1. Adopt a "clean eating" lifestyle.  Andrew and I have been talking about this for a while now, and I think that now is the time to make the change.  We tend to not eat many "convenience foods" as it is, but I want to really get into the clean eating movement (first step: clean out the pantry).  I have always been bad at eating vegetables, and I need to get better.  Plus, I need to stop eating sweets.  Of course we will be allowed "cheat days" but for the most part, I want to change my diet, and clean eating really appeals to me.

2. Work out 5-6 times per week.  Since I am back to working full-time, it has been very tough for me to maintain a regular workout schedule, and it shows in the way that my clothes have been fitting lately.  I'm the same size, just squishier.  Plus, I don't feel as energized and well-balanced as I used to.  So, this year, I resolve to get back to a healthy exercise routine.  I will allow myself one "off" week per month where I may miss a workout or two - because life happens - but I want need to maintain that average otherwise.

3. Create a cleaning schedule and stick to it.  I do not like a messy house, but I also don't want to spend all of my free time after work and weekends cleaning.  Andrew and I have also had one too many little arguments over who should be doing what when it comes to chores around the house.  So, we are going to sit down and create a "chore chart" that outlines when different things need to be done and who is responsible for doing them. I think that this will lead to a happier and  a cleaner home.

4. Reach out to contact at least four friends every month.  I have realized that I am not much of a phone person, but that I need to suck it up so that my friends will want to stay friends with me despite my living far away from them.  I want to stay in touch, and it is my goal to reach out (returning a call doesn't count) in some way (phone, email, text, etc.) to catch up and let my friends know that I'm thinking of them.  This is important to me, and I hope to not only meet this goal, but exceed it. I miss my long-distance friends very, very much.

5. Obtain a dSLR camera and learn how to use it.  I really, really want to get a "real" camera and be able to take amazing photos with it.  Andrew has told me that he will get me my dream camera once we start a family.  So, whether we have a baby or whether I save up my money to buy a camera for myself, hopefully sometime this year you will start to see some non-iPhone pictures appear on the blog!

Whew!  Wish me luck!!

And just for fun, here is a look at the resolutions that I set for 2012, and how I ended up doing over the last year. I'll stick with the usual green = yes, red = no system to show whether or not I met each goal.

1. Update the blog daily (even of it's just a quick pic or check-in, just get something up here each day).  Blogging is one of my favorite things now!  It is so crazy to me how much this little blog has grown since I decided to start keeping up with it regularly.  When I wrote this post last year, I had less than 20  followers blog friends.  Now, I feel like I am part of a huge community, and I have "met" some amazing women who I consider real friends.  Plus, thanks to all of my posts, I can relive 2012 whenever I want!  Next year, I hope to continue to grow and develop my blog, although I don't think I will be as strict about posting daily.  Still, I can't imagine going more than a few days without an update!  I'd miss it too much!!

2. Make one new recipe each week.  I am now so much more comfortable in the kitchen, and I'm starting to feel like a "real" cook.  I can look at what we have in the fridge and turn it into something delicious, and I now have a great little collection of "go-to" recipes for an easy, homemade meal.

3. Complete a half marathon.  You can read about it here if you haven't been reading for long.  This was a  lot of work, and I am really proud of myself for being so dedicated to my training.  This year, I would like to either run another half-marathon or do another triathlon (I did a couple in college), because it really was fun!

4. Stop eating sweets, except for Monday night fro-yo and special occasions and celebrations.  I lasted about a month before my sweet tooth kicked in.  I am hoping to phase out sweets as I work toward my goal of eating clean in the new year.  Special occasions will still be the exception!

5. Call a friend each week to catch up (texting and calling just to ask a favor/question doesn't count).  I don't know why, but I have always been bad with this.  I kind of failed on this one from the get-go.  I am just not a phone person.  But it is important to me to remain in touch with my friends, so I am going to try my hardest to make this a priority for 2013.

6. Do cleaning chores on a regular schedule, not just when I notice they need to get done... they are overdue at that point!  This also started off strong, and I kept up with this the longest out of the three failed goals - but as soon as we moved and I started working again, the chore schedule went out the window and cleaning has gotten put off for way longer than it should have been.  I'm hoping for better results this year!!

So I had set six goals for myself, and I fully met three of them - an even half.  That is really not bad at all as far as year-long resolutions go!  Hopefully in 2013 I will be able to meet all five of my goals.  Only time will tell!