October-December 2012

2012

As a sequel to my previous blog (or is it prequel?), this blog is dedicated to 2012's accomplishments.  See 2011's list here.

• Quit working fast food
• One of my unspoken resolutions last year was to quit working at the fast food restaurant that I'd been working at for nearly a decade.  ACCOMPLISHED!  
• Get new job
• Of course, I couldn't quit working fast food without acquiring another job, which I did.  I currently work for a communications company, and I love the job thus far.  It is really nice to be able to come home from work and not smell like greasy french fries.

• Graduate with my bachelor's degree
• It only took 7 years after graduating high school, but I finally did it!  Granted, I didn't go to college until after I'd been out of high school for 3 years, but it's an accomplishment of which I'm proud.

• Concerts
• This year my awesome fiancee took me to see my most favorite band ever(!!), the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  It was amazing.
• I also saw Ani Difranco, again.  And because of Ani, I discovered a new band called Pearl and the Beard.  PATB opened for Ani, and they are wonderful!  Can't wait to see both of them again.
• I also saw the Avett Brothers again, but this time my awesome fiancee scored us tickets right at the stage!  It was a good experience.

• Got engaged!
• Speaking of fiancee.... =) this wasn't really a goal or accomplishment of mine, but I'm pretty stoked about my wedding in May =)

• Bought a new car 
• This also isn't really considered an accomplishment, but I bought a new car- dubbed Sonja the Sonata- in order to help my parents out with some financial difficulties.

• Ran a 5k!
• I'm not a big runner, but I ran my first official 5k in August.  I didn't do as well as I liked, but I'm still proud of myself for sticking to it.
• The hellion started kindergarten.
• I know this isn't really my accomplishment, but I think it's an accomplishment for my growth as a mother. =)

• Went on a family vacation to Destin, FL.
• Had some new and old friends come back into my life.  (This is a common occurrence throughout every year, and it always makes me sad when people go out of my life.)

A small list, but a list nonetheless.  I rock! =)

New Year optimism that we all seem to have at the moment

Happy New Year!

From what I recall, I've officially survived TWO end of the world theories (Y2K and the Mayan calendar crisis), which means I'm pretty freaking badass, or I'm in hell and just haven't realized it.

Anyway, it's time for my obligatory 2013 New Year Goals list, which I'm sure you all are tired of reading on all those other social media websites.  Nonetheless, I give you mine!

• Blog more
• I know I say this several times throughout the year, but because I'm officially out of school and only working one job, I've decided that I need to dedicate more time to updating my blog.  It truly is a stress reliever.
• No cussing!
• This is a goal I created for myself midway through last year.  While I certainly don't cuss as much as I used to, I haven't completely quit yet.  I can say that I haven't cussed at all this year thus far though! =)
• Drive a manual
• Every boyfriend I've ever had has told me they would teach me how to drive a stick shift.  Well, every single boyfriend never showed me. I started learning how to drive a manual on Thanksgiving, but I haven't completely mastered it yet.  Mainly because I don't have access to a stick shift car, although my bestie Dara just bought a five speed, which I fully intend on using to complete my goal.

•  Posture
• This was my new years goal for 2012, and suffice it to say that I only corrected my posture when I thought to =/ so, again, I am making it a goal for 2013, especially since my wedding is in May and I don't want to walk down the aisle looking like a hunchback.
• Read one book a month
• I've joined a local book club, but I haven't actually begun to read the books assigned, mainly because a lot of them I don't care to read.  I know, I know! Reading books out of my preferred genre is what being in a book club is all about, but I promise I'm going to get to it.  In addition, I've decided to read an additional book per month, one of my choosing.  I know that I'll probably read more than 2 books per month, but in order to fulfill my goal, this is my plan.
• Start grad school in August
• This is another reason why I only plan to read  two books per month.  I'm a little nervous about grad school, and I don't want to be too bogged down.  I decided to wait until August to start so I can take a break and not be stressed with school and planning the upcoming wedding.  It's going to be weird not being in school, but I think it's a weirdness that I will gladly welcome...for the time being.
• Stop using credit cards so often
• I've never been one to avidly use my credit cards as a source of payment, but I would still like to tone down using them.

• Start writing in cursive.
• This is something I stopped doing around the 8th or 9th grade.  I would like to take up the habit again because I think it is a dying art form, and I recently found out that they stopped teaching cursive in schools.  This makes me sad for some reason, so I would like to pursue it once more.

•  Save $2000.
• My awesome friend LC had a goal last year to save money, and she surpassed it!  Her excitement at doing so inspired me to try and do the same thing.  I don't know if $2000 is realistic or not, but I think it's a good start.  
• Thrift store shopping
• I realized while shopping for my 5 nieces and nephews during Christmas that department store shopping is just too expensive, so I've decided that next year I'm going to do all my clothes shopping at the thrift store.  I already shop at thrift stores, and I enjoy doing so, so I don't think this will be a feat too big for me.  I hope not, anyway.

And I saved (what I think) are my biggest two goals for last:

• Go running for 5 days/week.
• This is mainly I goal I chose to help me lose weight for my wedding, but I want to continue it throughout the year.  I absolutely hate running, and I already pretty much know that when Aunt Flo is in town I won't go, but I think it is a good goal I've set.  I ran my first official 5k last year, and I would like to beat that time and maybe run a few more 5ks this year.

• Speak Spanish fluently.
• I've always had a passion for language. This passion was further pursued in high school when I began to take Spanish.  When I first started college, I was a Spanish major.  Disappointingly, I've taken over 5 years of Spanish courses, and I am still not fluent in the language.  So my goal this year is to reacquaint myself with language and to become fluent in it.  

 So there you have it, folks.  My obligatory New Year Goals.  I wonder how long it'll be before this optimism wears off....

=)