looking forward to a . . .

. . . berry good new year with some berry good changes in store.

while on break, jill, caitlin, and i talked a fair bit about what we want to do differently in 2011. my list is by no means complete. here are a few of the (many) things that could use some improvement. it would be berry good to . . .

• respond to emails (unfortunately it's pretty common for me to take 9 months to get back to someone. boo.)
  
• pay off my student loans
• organize my computer desktop and files
  
• write my grandparents letters and emails; call them on the phone (i miss them!)
  
• NOT allow myself to amass heaps of uncorrected papers
  
• run a marathon (maybe a half marathon. or do a triathlon.)
  
• get a new job (my contract in the UAE is up this summer. i think i'm ready for a new adventure.)
  
• upload my photos onto facebook (i've got 14 months and 7 countries worth of pics to post!)
  
• plan for the upcoming school semester; plan for each school week
• dig deeper into friendships (i've been a very bad friend his year)
  
• read more books (in general)
  
• read A Million Miles by Don Miller, Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright, Women, Food, and God by Geneen Roth, and more of the Bible (specifically)
  
• trim back my google reader and keep only the blogs that i really like (thanks, caitlin for pointing out i have over 1000 posts to read!)
  
• eat more vegetables and drink more water (always)
  
• travel. (maybe prince edward island. or the seychelles. or new zealand. or china.)
• bike through a country. (maybe spain. or the ukraine.)
• be more loving, affirming, and patient with my girls
  
• finish blogging about my trips to thailand, egypt, nepal, and the PNW. start blogging about azerbaijan, turkey, india, and jordan.
  
• save more money. (maybe for the beginnings of graduate school. maybe for the beginnings of a down payment.)
  
• cook more often
  
• be better about letting people know they're appreciated
• follow through on my commitments
• lose some weight
• be more balanced in how i spend my time, money, and energy
  
• do more yoga
• keep things simple. (he he!)
  

i'm still strategizing. i want my goals to be obtainable, helpful, worth the work, and--well, berry focused.


stay tuned . . .
-m.