Earlier today, I posted a blurb about 2008. I wanted to share my 2009 goals too! Here you go – these are in no particular order.
(RowdyReaders: Please comment and share some of your New Year’s Resolutions or what you are grateful for.)
1. Health / Fitness
Kittens!
Food Choices. L and I have been eating locally, but we want to start eating less packaged foods and purchasing food at the local farmer’s market. We also want to try growing some of our own food. At least we want to grow some herbs in a planter out in front of our apartment.
Exercise Routines. My plan is to continue running and biking in 2009. But, I want to start swimming again. I stopped swimming, once the marathon training program began (Thank God I finished!) and I want to get back into the pool. But I need to find a local pool in Sacramento. Some of the clubs are really expensive and I don’t want to pay huge membership fees. I love living in Sacramento, but I miss swimming the Davis Aquatic Master’s Team. I especially my swim buddies, the coaches and the camaraderie.
2. Finance
Your Money or Your Life. We will continue to follow the program laid out in Your Money or Your Life and slowly find ways to decrease our monthly expenses.
Eating out. A cost we want to decrease includes the portion of money spent on eating out and at the Sacramento co-op. Hopefully, we can start baking more bread and treats at home, thereby spending less at the store.
Savings. In 2008, we started saving a tremendous amount of money. We have been consistently putting away 35-50% of our monthly income. So in 2009, we want to continue the savings trend! Having a nest egg, in case either one of us are laid off from our jobs is comforting. Plus, our tiny house fund is growing every month! Yay!
3. Simplicity
Dee Williams
Tiny House and Downscaling. The tiny house is never far from our thoughts. Downscaling and living simply is a work in progress, so we have a lot to do this year. Especially if we are going to squeeze into a tiny home!
300 Possessions? Dee Williams, my hero, has 300 possessions in her tiny house. I wonder if L and I can reduce our personal stuff down to 300 items, each? Dee’s reduction strategy makes me wonder how much stuff we still own. I guess we need to start counting!
4. Relationships
Coffee/tea dates. Lately, I have been really bad about staying in touch with my girlfriends, but that is going to change. Friendships are important. If you don’t keep up with them, they fade away. Time goes to fast and I don’t want to waste it.
5. Personal Growth
Writing
Writing. I have been blogging for over a year and I want to continue the trend! It has been so much fun and I have learned a tremendous amount about technology and made many news friendships. Writing has become an important part of my life and the community aspect of blogging is awesome. Thank you RowdyReaders!
Volunteering. A few friends have been trying to get me to volunteer at the pound, so I am going to take the plunge and do it this year! Playing with the kittens and dogs will be a learning experience. But, I am scared; scared of getting attached to the little critters.
6. What about you?
RowdyReaders, have you made any New Year’s Resolutions? If you have, please share! 
Note images from: icanhascheezburger.com and the Seattle Times
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my intentions for 2009 are to cook more, go by bike more often than by bus, and procrastinate less. That last one will also help with the first two, as it’s often the case that not cooking and not biking happen because of some other delayed action.
I’ll also continue to find ways to avoid plastic, especially in packaging. Bread is a challenge here. I’ve baked a few loaves in my life and haven’t been thrilled with the process or the results, but I’m considering another stab at it, perhaps one of the no-knead recipes.
Happy New Year!
Heather – Thank you for reading RowdyKittens! I wish you a Happy New Year too!
Your resolutions are awesome. Since we want to make more homemade food, hopefully we can avoid plastics too! L is into bread baking and it is so HARD! A few weeks ago we were talking about how his homemade bread was super heavy and realized that we forgot to knead it. Ack! Looking for no-knead recipes is a great idea! If you find any, please send them our way.
RowdyKitten and L: You are such inspirations. I love how you have brought so much consciousness into your lives. Thanks for sharing so much of yourself through your blog.
I generally don’t make new year’s resolutions but rather keep an ongoing list, always on a piece of scrap paper taped to the shelf above my workspace. I review and update it regularly.
About 6 weeks ago I took a dive into blogging for the first time but wanted to do something with my daughters and that would not be overly time consuming, so we started a gratitude blog together. I do more of the entries than they, but I am beginning to enjoy the process.
Over the past few days I have resolved to relearn knitting, both because I like to have my hands busy and because of the utilitarian functions of knitting. I taught myself to knit quite a number of years ago but did not keep up with it. So, knitting is on my scrap paper and 2009 should be a purl for me!
Peace. Joy. Justice.
Wendy: Thank you for sharing your goals. Even though you don’t do the traditional resolutions, it is great that you update a goal list about every 6 weeks. That is a great idea! It’s so easy to get wrapped up in our daily lives and forget long-term goals. I’ll have to try your method too.
Yay for blogging! Can you send me your blog address? I would love to read it. This year, I want to do more positive and inspirational posts. Maybe even doing a weekly gratitude post? The news is so bad most of the time, and it’s good to write positive pieces. Blogging sounds like an excellent activity to do with your daughters.
It’s funny that you mention knitting, I learned to knit a few years ago. But I got out of the habit when the weather turned warm this summer and want to start up again. Once you make some fun pieces, send me pictures!
Big hugs! I wish you the best…