A year for change

Well, it’s New Year’s Eve! At least in my part of the world.

The year 2012 wasn’t great, so I’m pretty ready to be done with it. I’m hoping for a better 2013.

While I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions (I sort of feel like they’re an excuse to put off change–if you’re going to change, do it! You shouldn’t need a reason to do something that’s good for you), a lot of people like to look at it as a time for new beginnings.

I’m hoping that’s what this year is going to bring.

Fitness: This is a very popular topic for the new year isn’t it? It pops up every year and every year the majority of people who pledge to lose weight fail within the first month. Fortunately, I started this two months ago and have been very successful so far (20 pounds gone, woo!). So I plan to continue with the plan I have set out, continue my ten-week exercise experiment, and hopefully see more results. I expect to plateau at some point and that will be frustrating. But it happens and I’ll find my way over that hurdle when I get to it. Since winter is here, I’ll be making more use of Wii Fit. I hear we’re suppose to have a harsh winter, which means slippery ice. Zach and I got FitBits and have been trying to get in our steps (10,000 a day = 1 more pound a week, generally, and without trying we usually get in 6000-8000). Usually, I love taking cold, snowy walks and then coming home, putting on PJs, and cuddling up on the couch with a warm cup of tea. What I don’t love is slipping on ice and falling on my ass. So I may skip the outdoor walks and just walk in place on my Wii Board. That seems like a safer option.

Cooking: So Fitness will stay the same. Cooking has taken an interesting turn, though. I got a pressure cooker (Christmas was filled with wonderful surprises) and Zach and I are experimenting with interesting and healthy recipes. (Don’t worry–the ones we’ve made so far do not require a pressure cooker. It just speeds up the cooking process.) We can all look forward to that. =)

School: Zach is hoping to defend his dissertation either in the summer (I really hope it’s summer) or December. Either way, by the end of 2013, it should be defended.

Location: Graduating could mean moving. We want to move out of West Virginia, but that probably won’t be for another year or two unless we get really lucky. (We have a couple places in mind, mostly in Pennsylvania, but nothing is set in stone.)

Job: Zach has figured out what kind of career he wants and is taking very huge steps in a direction that will make it happen. He’s taking classes and making connections with some people who are fairly successful in their field. He’s also intending to apply for an internship this spring.

Money: We’ve already started changing our finances. So when he graduates (or even before, maybe) we’ll be able to move to a bigger place, whether we leave town or not. Which would be nice. This coming year we’ll hopefully be in a better position to really start hitting our savings so we can buy a house in a couple years.

Family: I’m going on a trip with my mother, sister, and grandmother that I’m pretty excited about. ^_^ Possibly a trip this summer to visit my brother-in-law and his wife in Michigan. We haven’t spoken much about it, but it would be really nice.

Friends: There are friends I haven’t seen much of for a while that I’m hoping to get to see more often. Zach has alerted them to the idea of us possibly moving to their area once he finishes school and they seem quite excited. So we’re going to try to make more visits up there. (Because how awesome is it to move to a new area and already know your way around? So awesome. Makes the moving process so much easier.)

So 2013 should be full of changes for us. Assuming everything goes according to plan, of course. Grad school is difficult to predict, though, so I’m trying not to get too excited. That seems to be a losing battle. Every time I think about it, I squee a little inside.

What does 2013 hold for all of you?