Lunch today was nice and easy thanks to weekend leftovers.
I ate two thin sautéed chicken breasts with a side of mashed (overly liquidy and gross-looking) sweet potatoes and a toasted English muffin topped with strawberry preserves.
Half of the English muffin was inhaled before the picture was snapped.
I ended up whipping out some ketchup to use as dipping sauce for the chicken because it needed a little more oomph. Much better!
My Personal 2012 Goals
Yesterday I realized I was feeling a little “meh” about the new year. Usually when a new year arrives, I am filled with a sense of motivation to achieve new things. I love having goals and working toward something but this year I didn’t really take time to sit down and think about what I’d like to accomplish this year until last night as I was drifting off to sleep.
Then the ideas started flowin’!
I came up with a list of personal goals and figured I’d share some of the items on my list on the blog just in case any of you out there are in the mood for some goal-setting and are looking for some ideas. Feel free to share your 2012 goals in the comments section as well! I’d love to read what you hope to accomplish in the coming year.
- Volunteer. This year I hope to give back and spend time volunteering with a local organization. I already found a bunch of different organizations I’m interested in reaching out to and hope to dedicate time to lending a hand in my new community.
- Bring Back Date Night. Ryan and I were so adamant about taking turns planning a special date night for each other once a month when we lived in Orlando, but when we moved, we seemed to have a lot more travel and commitments on our calendar on the weekends and date night fell to the wayside. We’re bringing back Date Night in 2012, baby!
- Find a New Church. I mentioned this before, but we loved our church in Orlando and are hoping to find one that fits us perfectly in Ocala. It’s a work in progress!
- Take a Special Vacation with Ryan. Another one I briefly mentioned on the blog! Ryan and I went on a few little weekend road-trips last year, but this year we’re hoping to take a week-long vacation somewhere exciting.
- Put Myself Out There Socially. Ever since we moved, I feel like we’ve been out of town on the weekends, back in Orlando or bustling about and haven’t really found a good group of friends here in Ocala. The community is older than Orlando by nature and the social scene isn’t nearly as vibrant, but that’s not an excuse not to try to meet new people and make new friends in our new hometown. Hopefully some of my goals mentioned above will help us meet people our own age.
Question of the Afternoon
- What is one of your goals for 2012?
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Ooh ooh, you should definitely make your vacation to San Francisco 🙂 so many fun city things to do plus lots of outdoor activities. My husband and my resolution is to do a vacation rental by owner trip to Hawaii and find more under $30 date night spots in our city!
I’m in Gainesville and can help with your last goal! 🙂
i would love that!!!!!!
Great goals Julie! I like that you call them goals not resolutions. To me a goal is something to work at where a resolution sounds more do or die.
Your last goal of being more social is one I know really well. Ive moved to 2 new cities in the past 4 years, and it can be really hard to make new friends even if you’re an outgoing person. I found it takes about 6 months to start knowing the city and meeting people. I’m sure since you work from home that makes it even more challenging. Volunteering is actually a great way to meet people, so you can combine those 2 goals! Happy 2012!
My goals are to move house and put myself out more socially, train for and run a marathon, and take up a new skill. Already taken up sewing and embroidery, which is waaaay cool!
I have a good friend who just moved to a new city.. she says if she’s off work before 5, she forces herself to go somewhere alone with people “like her” around so she can meet new friends. so far, she’s had luck at Starbucks and the dog park.
now, go sit and smile in starbucks alone and ask people if they want to be your friend. 😉 I know you can do it.
You mentioned finding a new church…have you ever tried checking out Jehovah’s Witnesses, Julie? We have 109,000 congregation worldwide, and I’m pretty sure there is a Kingdom Hall in Ocala. Everything taught there is from the Bible and is the truth. I promise you will be warmly welcomed!! 🙂
Hi Julie,
You are very beautiful and I have been so blessed by you. I really wish you would be able to find a new church in Ocala!
Awesome goals- good luck accomplishing them, don’t have any doubts that you will! My Dear and I have a weekly date night [not always out to dinner, sometimes a movie, etc.] on Fri or Sat night and I love it, especially when he’ll ask me out on a date [haha]- makes the relationship still seem new and exciting!
I feel the same way about putting myself out their socially. I just moved to north Jersey and have had a hard time putting myself out there to make new friends. Great post and happy 2012!!
I love Goals! Keeps you motivated.
You should look into Junior League of Ocala. I just joined this year and love it! It’s great to volunteer {My goal last year} and meet other ladies here in Ocala. It’s a nice age range, 21+ – I’ll keep you posted when we start excepting new members. August is when I joined this year.
As far as churches… my husband and I love Medowbrook. I’m not sure where you have been yet, but we enjoy it. I like that they have a IPhone app!
Hope this helps!
you live in ocala!?!? friends??? 🙂 i actually emailed the junior league after a friend recommended it to me – apparently they were accepting members in august and said they’d keep me in the loop about possible events in march or may or something like that, i think. i’m definitely interested! are you enjoying it so far? and i’ll look into meadowbrook! thanks!
I would love to be friends :] haha! aybe we can meet @ starbucks for coffee? What gym do you use?
So far I love JLO. It’s been great to meet new ladies here in Ocala. We meet once a month @ Golden Ocala for our meetings. You can grab dinner and a glass of wine before the meeting starts. :]
We have socials every few months too. We always have an event or organization that JLO teams up with. It’s great to give back.
How do you like Ocala?!?!
i would love that! we go to the y. 🙂 and i’m so glad you have such positive things to say about junior league – i’m really hoping to get involved when the time rolls around again.
I don’t have special goals for the year bacause I think it’s often hard to stick to them. Rather I wish this year will be a good one, that nothing bad will happen and that my family will be ok as well. I think it’s pretty much reasonable! ^^
Think I popped this in the wrong spot before! lol new blogger here so please forgive me!
Goal of 2012: 80:20 ratio of eating clean to not-so-clean on a weekly basis!
Just found your blog from Life of Blyss and to say the least I am loving it! I am new to the blogging world (right now just using it as a way to track things in my life and stay connected with a few friends) but I am truly inspired by yours! Loving the “our fake family” post. My roommates and I have the same thing going on. We don’t wish them goodnight each night, but at parties we tell people its one of the roomies grandparents lol. Too funny. I look forward to checking out your blog often. Its great! Don’t stop doing what your doing!
And I am from Illinois! Woot woot. I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave Chicago (i love it too much) but I am sure florida has its perks as well!
hi christie! i am so glad you found me!! and woohoo for being a new blogger… and one from chicago! i miss it there terribly. 🙂
Funny you say that the crowd is older in Ocala- I just visited there (well The Villages) for the first time back in October! My boyfriends younger brother lives there and he too is having a hard time making friends due to the lack of younger people!
PS -Just discover your blog and it has instantly become my favorite one to read 🙂
Why is it so much harder to make new friends as an adult? Whyyyyyyyyyyy
Those look like great goals. I have enjoyed your blog so much. Thanks for sharing. I just wanted to mention the church that I attend. Have you tried attending the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints? I know that there would be one close to you. I promise that this church will change your life for the better and make you happier. Check it out on http://www.mormon.org. Have a great day.
Delayed response, but: I’ve read people suggesting Dublin as a vacation and I can’t put in my vote with enough enthusiasm. I’ve been living here for about 6 months now for a 1 year M.Phil course, and it’s amazing. My brothers and I bought my parents tickets and a hotel combo (for their Christmas/birthday/mothers day/fathers day/anniversary) and it was crazy cheap. The entire deal for flight and 4-night stay at a nice hotel in the city center was just a bit more than a round-trip ticket alone.
Ireland is beautiful, and Dublin is fantastic. There are also lots of trips to go on hikes! If you can swing the expense it’s amazing.