1.) Reading - Kevin wants to read 50 books in 2015, while I would like to read 30. Yes, he is a bit of an overachiever, but this difference in goals between us has to do with the types of books each of us reads. Kevin enjoys novels and fiction like Stephen King and the James Bond series, while I like non-fiction dealing with nutrition and environmental issues. Both entertaining in their own ways, but my books tend to take longer to read... not to mention, he gets extra reading time while I am in the kitchen cooking. What a lucky guy right?
So far this year I have read "The Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollan, "Love Your Body" by Talia Fuhrman, and I am currently reading "Dr. Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes" by Neal Barnard (I don't have diabetes, but am a nutrition nerd that likes to learn! :)). Next on my list is "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World" by Dan Koeppel.
2.) Saving for a house - This goal has a couple of other mini-goals imbedded in it, including goals of only eating out at restaurants or take-out twice a month, finishing paying off our second car, minimizing credit card bills, and saving money by homemaking meals rather than buying convenience foods. I find the last portion of that goal to be fun and challenging. So far, we have been enjoying a lot of homemade meals with rice, beans, and veggies.
To reach this goal we also have given each other $75 budgets for fun personal things each month. The goal is not to spend it just because its there, but to plan out fun things we want to do around this budget. For example, we are both putting in $10 each this month to go to the Seattle Mariner's Fanfest this Saturday. I'm also planning on taking a $10 knitting tutorial class on how to begin knitting a sweater. This budget would also count if either of us wanted to go out to lunch on our own, or out with friends.
3.) Earn healthy bodies - This portion encompasses more than just weight loss, but Kevin's goal is to lose about 10-15 pounds, while I would like to lose 30. So far, I have been improving our diets one meal at a time. Kevin and I have both been eating big, beautiful bowls of fresh fruit for breakfast. For lunch, I have been having soup and salad, or just one large salad, while Kevin has some chopped veggies and a helping of the night before's leftovers. For dinner, Kevin and I sometimes do our own thing, but I have been making sure to include more veggies for the both of us. We hope to incorporate more exercise into our weekly routines as well.
Here is a quick overview of a typical day for me:
Breakfast: 1/2 apple, 1 orange, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries with earl grey tea
Lunch: Large salad with 1/2 iceburg lettuce mix and 1/2 power greens mix, yellow peppers, radishes, carrots, french green lentils, raw pumpkin seeds, and my 1-2 dressing
Dinner: Panini with Dave's Killer Bread, buffalo wing hummus, power greens, onion, lentil burger patty, spicy mustard. Steamed broccoli with tahini "cheese" sauce. Apple for dessert.
4.) Go on an Alaskan cruise - Since Kevin has been sold on cruising after our (late) honeymoon last May AND the fact that we moved less than an hour away from the Seattle port, we have been wanting to take an Alaskan cruise. We have planned for Kevin's parents as well as mine (all separate rooms of course!) to join us, and we are currently looking at dates in August and early September. To help strive to this goal we are being conscious of spending money on unnecessary things, as well as keeping an eye out for cruise prices we like.
How are your 2015 goals coming along?
Health and Happiness,
Amy
I just love making new goals. I used to hate it, but now I give myself permission to drop things that don't turn out to be a burning desire. Learning to speak Spanish, watercolor, eat/cook vegan, smile more, exercise more, learn to play the uke, go to Hawaii, and many more have been on my successful list in the past. Some others, I didn't keep up, because I didn't like them were knitting and hydroponic gardening. Life is a grand adventure to be tasted and sometimes devoured.
ReplyDeleteOh, and keep posting the titles of interesting books, please.
DeleteHi Ginger, I'm there with you. I don't like the idea of setting goals and feeling like a failure if I don't complete them. I like setting adaptable goals to strive towards rather than hard-set (unforgiving rules). At the end of the year, it is better to end up with any sort of progress you are proud of than it is to feel like a failure for not being 100% successful.
DeleteThose are great and ambitious goals! I have some very similar goals. My husband and I are focused on saving money for early retirement and on eating clean & nutritious foods. I love your idea of a personal budget of $75 for each of you. We recently started budgeting again after a couple of failed attempts with Mint.com. We are trying again this time with a software & methodology called "You Need a Budget." It costs $60 but we are still in the 34-day free trial period so we haven't purchased it yet. If it helps me to save and track where my money is going, then I feel it will be worth it. Right now, I have no idea how much we spend and how much we save each month. Do you use a budgeting tool?
ReplyDeleteI am also avoiding refined sugar after too many indulgences over the holidays. I was out of control; sugar is such an addiction for me, but if I can stay away for awhile then it no longer tempts me.
I also want to write more. Whether it is more comments on other people's blogs, or more reviews on Yelp or Amazon, or just in my own journal, I just want to write more.
Thanks for sharing!