2013. Let's Do This.

Happy New Year! 

I'm back at work after nearly a week and a half off for the holidays, and believe it or not, I'm happy to be back. Christmas was mediocre this year, and I took a massive fall down the stairs (my second in about a week) before New Years and spent a couple days in a lot of pain, so I'm kind of ready to just get back to my "normal" and have high hopes for 2013. I'm not a usual resolutions person, but this year I'm going to give it a shot because there's some things I'm excited about and some things that I need to stick with for the sake of my health. Below, my goals for the upcoming year. Yay!

NO caffeine - Seriously. I barely drink caffeine as it is because it's always kind of had a negative effect on me, but I can't seem to get myself to stop drinking iced tea and unfortunately even the tiny bit of caffeine in that really gets to me. I spent the evening last night curled up in bed with stomach pains and couldn't fall asleep until 2am thanks to ONE glass of iced tea with brunch. So not worth it. I found a decaf chai concentrate at the grocery store over break, and with lactose-free milk it's probably not the healthiest thing in the world, but it's a delicious substitute and at least it doesn't make me sick!

Very very VERY little alcohol - My body is extremely sensitive in general, and in the last several months just a couple of glasses of wine at a girl's night sends me into a full-on hangover the next day. It's kind of pitiful and again, not worth it. I know better than to say I'm never going to drink anything (we have 3 exciting weddings for great friends and family coming up later this year), but since I'm well past the whole getting wasted on the weekends with my friends phase anyways, there's no reason not to cut down on it even a little further - especially knowing that if I do drink it will make me feel like garbage anyways.

Work it (out, that is) - One of the major highlights of my break? I joined a gym! A kinda fancy-pants one I might add, and I am pumped about it. Bridget and Aris (among a ton of other people I know) are members, so I have built-in workout buddies ready to go. It's convenient, really nice, totally community-feeling (unlike places like Bally's where everyone looks like a body builder and I feel super out of place), AND they have a rock climbing wall. Unfortunately I officially joined about 20 minutes after my not-so-graceful fall down the stairs, so I have yet to actually be able to utilize my new membership, but I feel back to about 90% today so I'm planning to get there before the weekend.

Create routine - Joining a gym is a big part of this for me, along with other things like setting out clothes for the next day before going to bed, eating breakfast at home (or grabbing something to take with to work), bringing my lunch instead of eating out, meal planning for dinners and going to bed around the same time each evening. While it's not my favorite thing about myself, I don't do well with spontaneity - especially during the week when there's lots going on - so starting to make routines and actually sticking with them will really go a long way for me. I'll obviously have to find a balance here as things will inevitably come up and plans will change, but overall I'm just hoping to structure my days a little better - which will hopefully lead to more productivity and energy!

Budget - The amount of money that we spend on food in the form of going out instead of cooking at home or bringing our lunches to work is more than a little ridiculous, and we're making a major effort to turn a lot of that into savings instead this year. Then there's this little shopping habit of mine that certainly doesn't help either. Dan has all of our budgeting set up on mint.com and has worked really hard to help me understand how it all works, so we're starting the new year with a new budget and big plans for saving as much as we can. 

Keep in touch - I absolutely positively SUCK at keeping in touch with people out of town. It's one of my greatest downfalls, and I plan to make a serious effort at changing that this year. I kind of despise chatting on the phone (except for with my brother for some reason), and while skype is sometimes fun I also find it really awkward. I'm decent about emailing, but we all know that's not the same as actual contact with someone. I have amazing friends out of state (hi Ames!!) with kids (!!!) that I've barely even seen pictures of because I am that bad at keeping tabs on what's going on in people's lives. Not cool.

I'm sure I'll add to this list as the year goes on, but I think for now it's a good way to start the new year. Here's to making lots of new memories in 2013!