Goals for 2012

I can't get enough of the rain here. There have been a few rainless days since I came up here (and they have been beautiful), but I'm never disappointed to wake up to that soft pattering and cloudy sky, and the presence of  dark-green trees. I still can't believe that I don't ever have to leave this place, that I'm fully done with school. And yes, I am definitely done with school. My freak-out from last time was over the fact that I was not listed as a graduate on my school records, even a week after my grades were up online. Yes, yes, the holidays, the offices aren't open, who's there to list me off as a graduate, right? I just wasn't sure how this was done...and I have a gift for making mountains out of molehills, as some of you might have noticed. Over-reaction is my middle name. But I've since heard from the college and everything's fine and dandy. No problems whatsoever. Yay.

There's so much I've never bothered to blog about that happened over the holidays. But it's not like this is a journal. Which reminds me, I need to pull out my beautiful leather journal sometime and bring that thing up to speed. Daaaaang.

Well, here are the goals I came up with for the year 2012:

1. Start an exercise regime. This isn't simply about losing weight. I want to make this a habit. I've been a sedentary creature for my whole life and I want to change. And with this incredible landscape around me...incentive shouldn't be a problem.

2. Find a job! Any paying job for now, but I want to scope out for one with the potential for growth. What kind of job? Still figuring that one out.

3. I said this last year and failed utterly, but I want to figure out my spirituality. I've turned into such a skeptic the past few years, and everything to do with the LDS church is tied too strongly to painful experiences in my past, in my family. I'm skeptical and I'm bitter, but...there are three very strong and very personal reasons why I can't flat out say no to it all. And have I ever really tried or been consistent? No. So, this year, I am going to try. "Baby steps, baby steps."

4. Start painting again. My mom gave me a beautiful set of paints last Christmas, and one of my sisters gave a me a motherload of canvases this Christmas. And once again, this landscape/climate is incredible, so incentive shouldn't be so hard.

5. Learn how to cook real food, which ties into #6.

6. Eat better food. Have a healthier, more balanced diet. Just smaller and healthier portions. Hah. We'll see how this one goes.

7. Learn how to crochet. Or some other craft. I haven't done any crafts in a long, long time.

8. Pull out my old "manuscript" from 2010 and start working on that thing again.

9. Read!! Lots and lots of reading! Which won't be a difficult goal at all. I have a huge list of books waiting for me.

10. Try to be less of a narcissist. Try to quit living in my head, quit daydreaming. Be more involved in what's happening around me.

11. Volunteer at a library. Get some experience, even if I don't end up getting a Master's in Library Science. Libraries are my happy place.

12. Write in my journal once a week.

13.

Too many? I'm sure I could think of more, but I'm calling it quits here.