The 2012 Bucket List

I guess my resolution #1 should be: Stop procrastinating (as much?). But seeing as how these resolutions are already 5 days late, I guess I already blew that one. Still, I feel like I owe it to myself to at least outline some sort of "goals" for 2012 since, you know, it's the last year before the world ends and all that. Make it count right?

Goal 1: Beat my previous 5K time. Unfortunately, this requires actually getting back into a running routine. My husband got me a sport armband for my iPhone for Christmas, so now I am completely out of excuses for not running. I've got the shoes, the gear, the desire...but not so much of the actual motivation. Seeing as how I am running in the Five Points of Life 5K on February 18th, I should probably start pounding some pavement sooner than later. So - the goal is to run at least 2 miles, three days a week.

Sprinting to the finish line of the 2011 Five Points of Life 5K. I did it once, I can do it again - right?

Goal 2: Eat meat-free at least once a week. As it is, we typically don't eat a lot of red meat in our house; mostly just chicken, turkey, fish and pork. Even so, I'd like to make it regular practice to eat meat-free more often. Recently I've started experimenting with vegetarian options, like this awesome Baked Eggplant Parmesan (I make it slightly modified: I only follow the first two steps, and then serve it topped with some marinara and a side of spaghetti squash, which is one of the most magical things I've ever discovered. More on that in a future post.) That eggplant parm is so good and hearty that you don't miss the meat one bit. I've also made these crazy-easy, delicious Cheesy Zucchini Enchiladas that just so happen to combine some of my favorite things ever: Zucchini, CHEESE, and Mexican food. Brilliant!

Goal 3:  Get organized. I've been out of college for going on 5 years now (wow, really?) yet in a lot of ways, I'm still living like a college kid. I've got all kinds of who-knows-what stored in plastic drawers and bins, papers and notebooks from freshman year stashed in my bookshelves, and a hodge-podge of furniture hand-me-downs from both my family and my husband's. It wasn't until last year that we got a new couch, after my parents' 16-year-old sofa ceased to be attractive or comfortable for more than 1.5 people (see the problem?).  I think it's well past the appropriate time for a massive overhaul of our house to get rid of the useless, the junky and the Holy Crap I Didn't Even Know I Had This. No real game plan for exactly how I envision all this taking place, but I think it's going to require a couple hours each weekend for the next, oh, century or so.

Goal 4: Stop procrastinating. (Haha...good one, right?)