2013 Goals

Back in January, I made this list:

13 goals for 2013:
1 Read all the books I own (instead of buying so many new ones)
2 Finish a final draft of my novel
3 Start writing book two
4 Start learning French
5 Continue practicing yoga on a regular basis
6 Pay off debt
7 Go to see the world of Harry Potter in Florida
8 Start a 10-year journal
9 Celebrate life, instead of trying to fix it
10 Put myself out there (and I'm referring to dating)
11 Move closer to my job
12 Put together a design binder for my dream house
13 Get back into creating art regularly

I thought I'd revisit this to see how many of my goal's I've actually accomplished this year. I have bought more books, but I keep winning competitions at work in which the prizes are Barnes & Noble gift cards. Poor me. I just can't help it. But I have read quite a few of the ones I own. I have not finished a final draft of my novel, so of course, #3 is out of the question. I finally bought Rosetta Stone in French about a month ago, and I told myself I'd start over the weekend. It didn't happen. I'm starting to think I have an unconcscious fear of being terrible at French; or maybe it's not so unconscious.

#5 is the first winner! It took me until last month to make yoga a regular part of my life, but I'm doing it and I'm not stopping. That's something.

I did pay off quite a bit of debt, and now I've added a bunch more with all the tests on my heart I had a few months ago when I had the worst neighbors ever. And now I'm doing work on my teeth. Looks like I already have a goal for 2014. Oh, and I did move closer to work. Twice. I made plans with a friend to go see the World of Harry Potter in the spring of next year, so I'm not counting this one. And I couldn't get a 10-year journal, but I got a 5-year journal instead, which I have been using. Most of the time. 12 and 13 are ongoing things. I haven't been doing any art, unless you count making jewelry.

Numbers 9 and 10 are a little hard to categorize as something I've done or not done, especially celebrating life. I'm not sure how adept I am at that yet. I tend to focus on the little annoying things, which carry me right into the big annoying things, and it becomes a negative fest. I think yoga is helping with this though. I've noticed my breathing more. You can't be calm and in the moment unless you're breathing. (Now you're going to start noticing how you hold your breath when you're stressed. Watch.)

Last, but not least, putting myself out there. I think I was running out of ideas for 13 goals. I did go on match and I'll never do that again. I'm just one of those weird people who likes to meet men in person, I guess. I keep thinking that I'm ready for a relationship and then something like match comes along and lets me know how wrong I am. Life is funny like that. Just when you least expect it, life will tell you when you're ready.