Yearly Goals

After much thought, I’ve finalized a list of goals to achieve over the year 2012. Here they are, in no particular order.

1. End the year with a zero balance on my Visa.
2. Lose 75 pounds. (19.9 of 75 done – 27%)
3. Cook thirty-six “new to me” recipes in a year. (11 of 36 done – 31%)
4. Visit an aquarium.
5. Sew 8 new projects this year. (1 of 8 done – 13%)
6. Read 50 books this year, not including re-reads. (12 of 50 done – 24%)
7. Pay off the car loan completely. ($1630 of $2160 – 79%)
8. Vacuum the house (at least) once a week. (20 of 52 done – 38%)
9. Do not buy any more fabric this year!

Here’s my thoughts on these and how they are progressing.

1. I might be able to make the last payment in December. I’ll have a month to month balance as my gym membership, Netflix, and Abundant Harvest are billed monthly to it, but that will get paid off every month.
2. If I continue at the average rate I have so far this year, I anticipate losing a total of 55 pounds for this year.
3. We’re trying out two new recipes a week, so this one should be a breeze!
4. This one’s not looking so good. Sad because I really want to do this one.
5. I’m honestly waiting to lose a few more inches before I take anything serious on for this one.
   • Re-made the interior cushion on Lucy’s dog bed and repaired the outer cushion where Sashi chewed it up
6. Last year I almost made it, but I read a lot of graphic novels. This year I’m reading “real” books, and the going is much slower. I’m not sure how far I’ll get on this one, to be honest. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
   • At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance–A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power
   • Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations
   • Hurry Down Sunshine: A Father’s Story of Love and Madness
   • Famous Players: Mysterious Death Of William Desmond Taylor
   • The Hunger Games
   • Catching Fire
   • Mockingjay
   • Twilight
   • Asimovs Science Fiction (2 issues)
   • Tune In Tokyo: The Gaijin Diaries
   • Some Girls: My Life in a Harem
   • New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird (currently reading)
7. If #1 goes as planned, I will make my last payment on this in December as well.
8. So far, so good. I’ve been vacuuming at least twice a week since the start of the year.
9. I get tons of sales emails for various fabric shops, and I haven’t even opened one. Just deleted them because the temptation is way too great if I browse.