Me & Mr Jones

Another year coming to a close and another list of things to do for 2016.  Let's call them "promises" instead of resolutions because if I feel like I'm promising myself something I'll feel like I'm cheating myself out of something if I don't keep up with them!



One Book a Week
I am an avid reader.  If I'm really into a book (and have the spare time) I can easily read the whole thing in a day.  Lately I've been letting myself down by not reading as much as I have in the past.  I don't know why and there are no excuses so 2016 is going to be the year I get my arse back into reading mode.

One book a week is an entirely achievable goal, don't you think?  I'm not setting any sort of rules about the length or type of book, I just need to read the whole thing in a week.  I saw a post on Buzzfeed about the "best apps ever" or something like that and saw an app called "Bookling" so downloaded it immediately.  You can use it to set goals, keep track of what you read and it will also keep track of your reading achievements so figure this is perfect for my goal.  See this - I've already got one book on there!  I think I'll count it as a warm up though as I did start it before the new year...

More Recipes!
As with reading, I feel I've neglected my cooking and recipe creating.  I have so many things on my cooking "to-do" list so there's no excuse for lack of inspiration.  I want 2016 to be the year I make agedashi tofu - this dish was sort of the inspiration for me to start blogging and cooking more.  This is the actual dish that triggered the comment from my sister...

Continue "Photo a Day"
I started this as a resolution back in January of 2014 and am still going strong.  It might not be challenging me too much to improve my photography skills but I've found it's an excellent way to keep a record of everything I get up to.

I use the Collect app which manages the daily photos really well plus makes them easy to upload for my monthly roundup.  I love flicking through the *many* photos taken over the last two years and am always amazed how a single photo can take me back to that exact moment.

Join the Gym
Notice I didn't say "join a gym"?  This is because there is a gym at work that is totally free.  Yes, free.  And I'm not a member.  Why?  Because I'm lazy, I don't like being hot or sweaty and would rather be napping.   My "join the gym" goal is quite vague because I don't want to beat myself up if I don't lose a certain amount of weight or go to the gym a specific number of days a week.  I'm going to join, I'm going to do my best to go regularly and if I skip a day or two then that's ok because even if I go once or twice a week it's still more exercise than I'm doing now.

Play my Violin
Waaaaay back in the olden days when I was in junior high school I played the violin.  I practiced for hours, played for years and really loved it.  I played in a school orchestra, I played in the Colorado Springs Youth Orchestra but just kind of gave up...

I still have the violin from my early teens and have to admit that every so often I take it out to have a smell (violins smell amazing!!!!) and occasional pluck.

Sorry, Mr Jones and neighbours but there might be horrible noises until I get back up to scratch...

Get Married!
We've been engaged a while now.  I love being engaged!  I think I'd quite like being married as well even though it seems like an awfully grown up thing to say "my husband".  There have been so many things that we've needed to get out of the way before spending a large chunk of our savings on a wedding - flat sale, house moves, office moves, more house moves, new jobs...it's felt safer to keep the savings in the bank "just in case" rather than spending it on a hog roast or venue (or bouncy castle...).  Hopefully over the next few months we'll be able to get a view on whether 2016 is the right time to get hitched...

Interact More!

This is a late addition but think it's a worthy one...after the latest "Bloggers Do it Better" chat (look for #bdib on Twitter to take part - it's lots of fun!)  I've noticed that feedback and support is a key thing within the blogging community.  I have oodles of blogs bookmarked and I admit now that I read posts and very rarely leave comments.  After taking part in the chat I realised that leaving comments on posts is not only a way to leave constructive feedback but also gives bloggers support and confidence about their posts.  

I promise that this year if I enjoy a blog post, if I support something a blogger is writing about and even if I don't agree with something, I will leave a comment.  I will also stick to the rule of "if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all".  

Here's to a new year and new goals - happy New Year everyone! Here are some other links to 2016 resolutions that I love:

18 Resolutions You Won't Regret Making in 2016
How to Keep Your New Year's Resolutions
26 Things to do Before 26