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I’m 31!  Yep, my birthday was almost a month ago already, which just goes to show how time flies when we’re super busy!  We just moved at the end of March, so since the new year our lives have been consumed with finding a new place, getting things at our old place in order, organizing, packing, cleaning, moving, so. much. to. do…

Anywho, we are settled at our temporary residence for the month of April while we wait to move into our new place at the beginning of May, and now it feels like we have time to breath!  And I’ve decided to keep going with this yearly-goal-setting thing because I had an incredible year last year, and I owe a lot of that to setting goals for myself and keeping myself accountable.  So without further ado, I present my list of 32 goals for my 32nd year!

1. A secret goal!
2. Allocate a per person monthly spending allowance
3. Carve a pumpkin for Halloween and roast the seeds
4. Complete my dresser painting project
5. Complete two 5km runs for charity
6. Complete two cross stitch gifts
7. Complete two unfinished cross stitch projects for myself
8. Conduct two purges of unused/unnecessary items
9. Create a weekly gratitude feature
10. Create a work-from-home office space
11. Create some garden spaces at our new place
12. Do 12 random acts of kindness
13. Donate blood four times
14. Go on a trip with my Mom
15. Join a choir
16. Learn basic bike maintenance
17. Make our own cleaning products
18. Mend all my frayed clothing
19. Paint a picture
20. Pay off my student loans
21. Play chess once a month
22. Read 12 books
23. Splurge on flowers for myself
24. Successfully move into our new rental
25. Take more swimming lessons
26. Take on 12 monthly fitness challenges
27. Update my underwear situation
28. Update the photos on our walls
29. Volunteer for two causes/events
30. Walk barefoot on the beach with my husband
31. Wear all the dresses I currently own at least once
32. Welcome a pound puppy into our lives

One of the things I learned last year was that, even though I tried to keep my goals S.M.A.R.T., my list needed some fine-tuning – specifically around goals having to do with habits.  I decided that for this go-around, the creation of habits, and any other goals that cannot be measured easily, are not allowed in this list.  I either accomplished it or I didn’t… no grey area (let’s hope!).

The other thing to note is the balance I’m trying to achieve; there are both long-term and short-term goals here, and some goals are life-changing while others are just about appreciating the little things.  Not every goal needs to be heavy duty.  Life is a combination of big events and small/daily occurrences, so my goals should reflect that.  I think I’ve found a happy medium.

Wish me luck… there are a few goals that I’m dreading!  (A little bit of fear can be a good thing… right?!?)

S