A Snapshot Into The New Year - Quests for 2014

As the new year was approaching I was thinking a lot about 2014. I am now 50 years old and as I'm aging I'm realizing NOW is the time. If I want to do something I need to do it now. I don't have any huge plans, my life is pretty simple. We (Gary and I) are limited in what we can do because of our financial situation. No, we are not having financial problems, but we still have some debt we are working on getting rid of and we've made a commitment to pay off our debt and save money for any extra-curricular activities/vacations we might do. That means we stay home most of the time. Our big splurge is to go to Family Video every couple of months and rent $12 worth of movies! In the summer we have bike dates. We ride our bikes to the donut shop to have breakfast or to Dairy Queen to get an ice cream cone. Our simple life is fine with me, I learned a long time ago, money is not what makes you happy.

Anyway, back to the point of this post. Looking back on the last year, I see some things I'd like to change in my life, and I can think of some new things I'd like to do, but haven't done because it is just easier to come home, sit, get on the computer and spend my time interacting online. Most of my goals for the coming year are small, but I believe if I am consistent in achieving these small goals by the end of the year I will feel like I've accomplished a lot and have become a better person.

In the spirit of Nerd Fitness (I love this site) I am going to create quests in different categories of my life. Then I'll have specific goals that will help me achieve each quest. Some of them will be for the year and some of them will be more short term.

Flylady Quest: Keep the house organized & out of CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome)

Flylady is an awesome site that can help you learn the tricks to help you keep your 

     house clean & organized by spending a few minutes a day doing "missions."      

1.  Shine the sink every night before going to bed.
2. Swish and swipe my bathroom daily (hair off the floor too).
3. Swish and swipe Gary's bathroom on even days.
4. Do one load of laundry daily, including drying, folding and putting it away.
5. Clean off the hot spots.
6. Deal with the mail every day.

Relationship Quest: Spend time making others in my life know they are important to me

1. Have a "date" two times a month with Gary. One time I plan/one time he plans.
2. Send two cards to friends or family monthly.
3. Call two people monthly just to say hi.
4. Contact A.J. and Daniel at least once a week.

Personal Quest: Do things I enjoy, things that will make me feel a sense of accomplishment and things that will make me grow as an individual.

1. Scrapbook once a month.
2. Rubberstamp once a month.
3. Blog once a week, even if it is just a partial blog that needs more work before it is posted.
4. Read 30 minutes daily from a non-fiction book.
5. Work on a "you've been putting it off" project once a month.

Financial Quest: Pay more attention to our money - having knowledge keeps you in check and you know it :-)

1. Once a week, update the orange notebook with money spent during the previous week.
2. Set up a "Rewards" account ($20 monthly). Rewards can only be purchased if earned and if there is money for them. 

Professional Quest: Get all those projects done that you've been saying you were going to do!!!

1. Get your online Reading Comprehension class DONE! Do at least two lessons a week.
2. Apply Quality Matters to your online Reading Comprehension class. Due date August 1, 2014.
3. Get the Reading Buddy lessons done. One lesson complete per week starting Jan. 6th.
4. Develop a Reading Buddies class.
5. Develop a combined Reading Comp/General Studies course class.

Food Quest: Eat for health

1. Eat to be healthy, eat Primal 80% of the time, but make some conscious choices to enjoy the foods you don't typically eat.
2. Prepare one new recipe weekly and post it on your blog.
3. Drink water and plenty of it (this is a new habit I've been doing for several weeks, and I don't want to stop).

Exercise Quest: Get stronger and more fit

1. Complete your first Nerd Fitness Challenge starting Jan. 6th. Continue to level up my fitness by doing the challenges throughout the year (complete at least 4 NF Challenges in 2014).
2. Do a 15 minute (minimum) Yoga workout at least 3 times weekly.
3. Complete at least the first level of the Dumbbell Workouts (Beta version) in Nerd Fitness Academy.
4. Running: Keep running in your fat-burning zone (HR 126-135). One run per week can be at a comfortable pace.

Wow, that seems like a lot, but with focus and determination I can do it. Now let's get on with the new year and see what the next 360 days will bring.