My 2013 goals: A progress report

Like so many others, I tend to start the year full of good intentions and excitement for what lies ahead, only to have the long, cold, miserable months of January and February sap all my motivation and positivity.

This year, I set a few goals on New Year's Day.  Some were kind of vague, some more specific and all seemed manageable.  Ten weeks on, I thought it was time to look back and see how I've done so far...

Go vegan two days a week

Fail.  Kind of.  I have definitely eaten a lot more vegan meals this year but I haven't stuck to two completely vegan days every single week.  On the whole, though, a large proportion of my food and drink has been vegan so I think I've done OK.  

As always, tea is my biggest struggle as I just can't drink it with soy milk!  Maybe if the weather ever warms up, I'll find it easier to forgo the several piping hot mugs of Yorkshire Tea I need to get through the cold days of winter.

Learn a language

Yes!  I am currently learning Italian and (I think) it's going rather well so far.  I can count, I can order a meal, I can introduce myself...that's enough to see me through a few days next time I'm in Italy, yes?  I'm loving learning a language again and Italian feels much more natural to me than Spanish did when I started learning that a few years ago.  Maybe it's the language's similarities with French, the fact that I well and truly left my heart in Rome or just that I am much more into Italian culture (and food).  

Make more time for friends

Yes!  It's so hard getting everyone together but I've definitely made more of an effort so far this year by being more flexible and shifting my schedule around to enable me to see friends more.  I've also got a couple of roadtrips lined up to make sure I don't leave out those friends who are further afield.  

Try a new recipe every week

Kind of.  I haven't consciously tried a new recipe every single week but looking back, I reckon I've just about tried 10 new recipes this year.  So I'm saying "yes".  I've made fresh pasta, a first for me, stepped out of my lasagne rut, made chocolate souffle for the first time and had a few cooking experiments turn out very well.

Get back to nature

Fail.  I've definitely spent a lot more time outdoors so far this year as I'm now working from home again.  Most of this has been spent on the Wirral coast, though, and what I really wanted to do was get out to North Wales and the Lakes, climb mountains, stumble over scree piles and wade through muddy streams (I know, I don't seem the type, but I really am).  In my defence, it's been bloody cold and snowy so far this year and I don't think my boyfriend would take too kindly to being dragged up Mount Snowdon in heavy blizzards so this goal will have to wait for slightly warmer weather.  I really don't want to be one of those people who has to be airlifted to safety by Mountain Rescue, the shame.

I'll stick to the beaches for a few more weeks, I think.

Write, write and write

Yes!  It is definitely true that you get out what you put in, especially in the world of freelance writing.  I've been amazed by the volume of work out there and am plodding along, building up a nice little portfolio of writing while gaining experience in different topics and kinds of content.  

Complete all my un-finished projects...

Meh.  I've completed some, but started about 20 more.  That's OK, though.  This goal was more wishful thinking than anything else and the fact that I finally finished my little bluefinch embroidery after many, many months is good enough for me.

On balance, I think I'm quite pleased with my progress and it's come as a pleasant surprise to realise I am well on the way to accomplishing several of my goals for 2013!

Jenny

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Happy New Year!

The above quote sums up my attitude to New Year perfectly.  I love waking up on the 1st January with the feeling that anything is possible.  I don't usually bother with New Year's Resolutions, mainly because when I used to, they were the same every year (exercise more, eat less chocolate) and only lasted for a couple of weeks but there is something very appealing about using this time of year to start afresh and set new goals.

My goals for 2013:

Go vegan two days a week

Confession: I tried this last year and I did stick to it...for a few weeks.  I'm a strict vegetarian and was vegan for a short time in my teens but have never managed to go back to it since.  Two days a week seems easily manageable, especially given some of my favourite meals are vegan (spinach, sweet potato and butternut squash curry and satay tofu stirfry, noms) but it's tea that really causes me problems.  I drink several cups of Yorkshire Tea with organic skimmed milk every day and it's just not the same with soya milk!  But I'm nothing if not a trier, and I'm going to go vegan at least two days every week in 2013.   

Warm Edamame Salad

Learn a language

I've recently started learning Italian and I want to be at a decent conversational level by the end of 2013.  As a complete beginner, this seems a long way off but I really enjoy languages so am hoping this will be achievable! Buona fortuna...

Make more time for friends

A self-explanatory one, but nothing lifts your spirits like a few hours crying with laughter with friends!  When everyone's busy with careers/partners/children and spread out around the globe, it can be difficult to get people together as often as you'd like so I'm going to make an extra effort for 2013.  Even when I can't physically be with my friends, I'm going to make sure I always find the time to drop them an e-mail, give them a call or send them a card.

Try a new recipe every week

I really made an effort in 2012 to cook with seasonal (and, where possible, local) ingredients but I know I could have done a lot more.  I have a pile of gorgeous cook books in my kitchen which only get an outing on special occasions so I want this to be the year I re-discover my love of cooking and step away from the pasta!  

Get back to nature

I'm lucky enough to live on the coast but also within 20 or so minutes of amazing countryside and mountains.   2012 was so busy that I couldn't spend as much time outdoors as I'd like so this year, I want my boyfriend and I to spend more time in places like this:  

Snowdonia

Write, write and write

All I wanted to be when I was little was a writer but, for some reason, this has been way down at the bottom of my list of priorities for the past few years.  I've recently started writing again and it's been like finding myself!  I've now got together a small portfolio of my freelance writing and my goal for 2013 is to build on this and to earn at least a small part of my income this way.

Complete all my un-finished projects...

There really should be a crafty goal in here and I'd love to say 'I want to learn a new craft' but in the spirit of trying to be more organised, I think I'd better aim to finish all the abandoned cushions/scarves/throws/embroideries I have lying around.  First item on the agenda, assembling these little pink crocheted hearts into bunting for my niece's bedroom:

So, there you have it.  My goals for 2013, and not a 'I will exercise 7 times a week' in sight!  

Here's hoping your hopes and dreams for the new year come true and that 2013 is happy, healthy and prosperous for all :-)

Jenny

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