14 in 2014

I haven't participated in many "blog series" over the course of my sporadic 5+ years of blogging (wow, I just realized it's been over 5 years!), but I really love Regina's yearly goals that she blogs about at Live Delightfully. As a fellow list-lover and goal-setter, this series speaks right to my heart. So, without further ado, here are my 14 goals for the year 2014.

1. Eat {more} vegetables.

I am not a huge fan of vegetables. However, I understand the necessary nutrition they provide, so I am trying to put more of them into my belly. I'm hoping to try some new veggies this year that I've never eaten as well as making an effort to actually consume some every day.

2. Learn to drive a stick (again).

I learned how to parallel park in 2013, (which wasn't officially a goal of mine). I just never learned how since it wasn't required in my driver's ed classes. Anytime I drive to Kory's office downtown, I have to parallel park and I got tired of circling the block looking for a space where I could pull in nose-first. Plus, there was a lot of teasing from Kory and I couldn't handle it anymore. How did I learn? Well, I just watched another driver do it one day and then tried it myself. I'm not perfect at it, but I think I'm pretty good for being self-taught.

Anyhow, the point of that tangent is to say that I did have to learn to drive a stick shift in high school, but I haven't done it in years and wouldn't feel confident doing it now. Our friends who are also our neighbors have two vehicles which require this skill, so the plan is for them to take Kory and I out and re-teach us both how to shift gears gracefully.

3. Read books.

Jon Acuff launched a new project in December called the Empty Shelf Challenge. The idea is that you take a picture of an empty book shelf and then continue to take pictures of that book shelf filling up all year as you place all the books you've read on the shelf. I love to read, but often find myself spending my spare time doing mindless Facebooking or TV watching, so I'm committing to read more books this year. (I didn't keep track of how many books I read in 2013 but I would guess about 6 or 7?)

4. Print and make albums with the pictures I take in the year.

I know I'm not alone when I say I haven't printed any pictures in a couple years. I take a ton of pictures on my phone and they get put on Facebook, maybe the blog, and then get stuck on the phone or computer for the rest of time. I was noticing at work the other day that my most recent pictures at my desk are from my wedding, 2.5 years ago! I always loved looking at picture albums when I would visit my grandparent's house and I would love to have keepsakes of our life now for future generations of our family. I really doubt my kids will want to scroll through my Facebook page to see pictures of what life used to be like in the good ole days...assuming we still have Facebook, which is another reason I want to put the pictures in some form that will last a bit longer. 

5. (Continue to) memorize the book of James. 

As I mentioned previously, I did memorize the first chapter of James in 2013. I'm going to continue working on this goal and add another chapter or two in 2014. It is my favorite book, but I learned most of it in the NIV growing up, so now memorizing it in the ESV version is proving to be quite a challenge. 

6. Crochet a blanket for Kory

Kory bought me a book of crochet projects in 2012 and asked me to make him the blanket on the front cover. I agreed to and forgot about it, so this goal is about following through with a commitment I made long ago. Kory gets to pick the colors, so I don't really know what this will look like when it's all said and done. 

7. Can 3 foods.

I got quite a bit of canning equipment for Christmas, so I want to put it to use and find a few foods (ideally that I've grown myself) and can them to be used at a later time. I don't actually know how to use all the equipment, so I guess I need to do some reading and learn what all the different parts do before I get too involved in the process.  

8. Do puzzles.

I really like to do puzzles. I think it's the sense of accomplishment along with the fun of watching the picture come together slowly to form something really beautiful. I often find myself feeling like I need to be productive and work on "important" things like cleaning the house or paying bills or whatever else might be nagging me...which is true, some of the time. However, I also believe I should be able to do puzzles for the simple fact that I enjoy it and find it relaxing. So, I really don't have to convince anyone but myself that it's ok, but I plan to complete several puzzles this year.

9. Make my blog prettier. 

Last year, I was really into simple looks. I liked having the clutter and extra stuff gone from the blog. Now, it looks sad and lonely and far too white. It's been a long time since I played around with blog backgrounds and templates and such, but I plan to do that in the near future, so I'll enjoy looking at my blog more...and hopefully that means I'll post a little more too.

10. Read through the entire Bible.

I don't even know how many times I've tried to read the Bible through in a year, and I have never successfully made it past January or February. This year, I'm doing a Chronological Bible Story reading plan on my phone and think it will go much better. I really love that it gives me a reminder each day to read and that it only schedules reading for 6 days a week so I always have a catch up day when I get behind.

11. Eat more whole foods and, therefore, less processed foods. 

I stumbled upon the blog 100 Days of Real Food a couple months ago and have been following her on FB ever since. I also have a friend who's been talking to me about organic and non-GMO foods and why she believes it's important to make smart food choices. I've been pretty overwhelmed with the whole topic because I know so little about it, but here are a couple posts that really got me thinking this was doable, even for me:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/01/02/real-food-tips-5-easy-changes-for-2013/

I like junk food. Quite a bit! I'm already working to eat more veggies, but this goes a little bit further into more cooking, less fast food and less pre-packed everything.  

12. Get my braces off.

Hey, 14 is a lot! I need an easy one. Plus, this does partly rely on me wearing my rubber bands and following orders so I can get them off on time. Target date is November 2014...ideally right before Thanksgiving!

13. Brush up on my Spanish.

Kory is going to Guatemala on a mission trip in February, so he's been trying to re-learn basic Spanish. He and I each downloaded an app called Duolingo to work on our Spanish on our iPhones. We can compete against each other to see who gets more points, so that's the real motivation to keep going at this point. There is a lot of trash talking going on (in broken Spanglish) in relation to this app.

14. Move out of our house.

2013 was the year of searching for options in relation to our home. Plain and simple, we found no workable options. Kory and I both believe 2014 will be the year that we leave this house. My feelings about that are very different from day to day. I don't know what our exit strategy will be exactly, but I do hope to celebrate Christmas 2014 in a home other than this one.

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Well, as you can see, I've got some pretty lofty goals for the year. It's always amazing to me how long a year feels in January and yet how very short it seems come December. I'll try again to update on a monthly basis to check in on my progress with these goals. Did you set any goals or make any resolutions for this year? I'd love to hear about them if you did.