Daily Archives: December 31, 2007

I’ve never been big on new year’s resolutions. A year seems like a very long time to test a goal. And why is January 1st the magical day that changes everything? It doesn’t make much sense. If you want to change a habit or set a new goal, why wait until the dead of winter to do it?

That said, I do have a few goals I’d like to share. I tend to be an over-achiever, so I’m trying to keep it simple this year. I hate failing, even if it’s my own standards, so I’m trying to only set goals I believe are realistic and tangible. Here goes.

1. Book Review Tuesdays. I have a beautiful Bookshelf on this website, but haven’t been updating it regularly. This is going to change. I posted four new reviews today and hope to post at least one new review each Tuesday. I’ll continue posting at Christian Children’s Book Review, as well. I do 5-10 reviews there each month. (It’s much quicker and easier to review picture books than titles appealing to adults!)
2. Maintain a meal plan. I always plan meals before grocery shopping, but I never set the dates for when we will eat what. What’s worse is I don’t keep a list of the recipes I’ve chosen. This results in wasted produce (I forget what is necessary for which meals and use it in something not planned.) and a lovely routine of “What do you feel like eating?” right around 6 o’clock every night. Not exactly wise stewardship of time, food or money. So, this resolution is to keep a calendar of meals, with recipes annotated. I’ll know exactly what we’re eating each night and whether or not we have the ingredients required.A tangent of this goal includes make-ahead meals (Ala Once a Month Cooking and Don’t Panic — Dinner’s in the Freezer!). I’m not (completely) naive. I know life is never as expected, so I want to stock the freezer at least once a month with ready-to-heat meals for those nights when I won’t have time to cook.
3. Exercise three times a week. Yes, I know I should already be doing this, but doesn’t running up and down stairs 15 times a day count as exercise? Maybe. This goal refers to premeditated and deliberate exercise. I already do my crunches and such twice a week. (I was doing it every day until I realized that made me useless the next morning when my 30 pound child wanted to be carried everywhere.) So, three times a week is the goal.
4. Complete at least 40 books by the end of the year. This year I read 30. I started probably 70, but only finished 30 of them. (ADD strikes again.) My list was pretty balanced; about 50/50 for nonfiction vs. fiction. If I only read fiction, I could knock out about two books a week, but with nonfiction, I have to process everything thoroughly before I can move on. This is why I am still reading Prayer by Philip Yancey. I started it last spring. The man is brilliant, forcing much prickly introspection. I hope to finish this title this year. I’ll not list other specific titles (see my previous post), but I do hope to again maintain an equal balance.
5. Continue writing. I want to submit at least ten articles for publication in 2008. I also want to rework my book proposal and begin another one. Finally, I want to get an agent who can shop those proposals for me.

What are your goals for the new year?