Late Happy New Year!

...or something like it. As far as I can tell, 2010 was a pretty great year personally. I'm kind of sad to see it go.

Quick recap:
JANUARY - Skiing with friends and family.
FEBRUARY - Moved across town into a nice place/neighborhood.
MARCH - Completed first half-marathon in Lexington.
APRIL - Bought my brand new Mazda 3.
MAY - Met Corey.
JUNE - Big promotion at work.
JULY - Camping trip on the AT with Corey and taking him to TN to meet the family.
AUGUST - Personal record for 5K distance at 27:08 during the Midsummer Night's Run.
SEPTEMBER - Sweet weekend white-water rafting trip in West Virginia.
OCTOBER - Chicago trip with family/Ran Columbus half-marathon/Traveled to DC for the Rally to Restore Sanity.
NOVEMBER - Started training in vibram FiveFingers.
DECEMBER - Accepted into my top choice law school.

As you can see, it's been a good year. I'm going to try my hardest to make 2011 just as good, if not better. Instead of traditional resolutions (which I never could keep up with after about a week), I'm making goals for myself. By being able to achieve the goals, hopefully that will change some of my current behaviors.

1. Run two half-marathons and a full marathon.
Since the second half of 2010 was plagued with injuries for me, I need to focus on getting stronger and healthier for these races. I also need to pay attention to nutrition and consistency. Hopefully, I'll be able to shed some pounds and get leaner in the process.

2. Tackle household projects.

Since it looks like I'll be moving to a new place in February, I've been bit by the DIY bug. Between decorating and making a (town)house a home, I'll be keeping busy. It's also going to be doing it on the cheap, which may be the real challenge.

3. Experiment in the kitchen.

This is a two-fold goal. First, I need to learn to make a good loaf of bread. By hand, kneading and all. I've already tried once so far, and it was okay. But not stellar. It's a work in progress. The second part of it is to experiment with one new recipe or technique per week. Hopefully this will expand my culinary horizons a bit... and I know plenty of people who will be happy to help me test these things out.

4. Make a budget...and stick to it.

I've made up a budget and now the important thing is to stick to it as much as possible. I've even tried to account for the large expenses throughout the year. I need to be a stickler about this, especially when I'll be living off a limited income when in law school.

Those are the big ones. I think four is enough to make a difference in the way I live day-to-day and I'm looking forward to the improvements I can make to myself and my relationships.

I do believe 2011 may be a great year.