To start, I detest New Year’s Resolutions. I think they usually set you up for failure. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer. However, I really want to set up some attainable goals that will guide me through the rest of the winter and through 2011. I suppose they’re kinda/sorta resolutions, but for the sake of my sanity, let’s just call them goals. If these goals are in plain English and published on the internet I figure I can’t possibly fail… We’ll see.

1.) Get to the gym more often. This is really more of a winter issue. Ross and I share a car, which he uses most days of the week. In the summer it really isn’t an issue as I can bike pretty much anywhere. I just bike to work, then the gym, then home. I can’t do that in the winter. Nowadays I walk home, put on some sweats and don’t move again. Bad news – I need to get motivated. I’m starting at a new gym that offers classes (my old one doesn’t), so my goal is to walk home, wait for Ross to get back, then head to the gym. Or, I can do one of my Jillian Michaels exercise DVD’s. She’s kind of scary, but at least I get a decent work out in the comfort of my living room.
*This may be the worst / most frightening photoshopping job I’ve ever done. Sorry Jillian.

2.) Get more adventurous with my cooking. This goal could be interrupted by the aforementioned goal (as I’ll be getting home later). Perhaps on my off days, however, I’ll try to experiment a bit more with exciting cuisines like Moroccan and Greek and delve more into the world of healthifying comfort foods.*Braised Chicken with Dates and Moroccan Spices from Bon Appétit November 2010

3.) Make my surroundings more beautiful. We live in an older, small, one bedroom apartment. Translation: we don’t have marble counter tops, walk-in closets, or an airy living room. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t make small improvements that make the place feel nicer. For instance, we recently went to Ikea and purchased this island, and it has revolutionized my life. We had a lot of open floor space, so finally decided to fill it up with something useful. Oh my god, it’s amazing. I have so much more counter space and it’s pretty to boot. Score.* We (meaning Ross) treated it with furniture oil so it’s more of a golden color. I’m in love.

4.) Make my blog more awesomer. I started blogging in June and have come to really love sweeter salt. It’s my little interweb baby! I really want to maximize its potential, boost my readership and get to know other bloggers better. I have a feeling that 2011 will bring some great Portland blogger projects, and I would love to work with bloggie buddies from other areas as well.

I guess that’s it! Do you guys have any goals you’d like to maintain in 2011?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!