So, at some point resolutions has apparently become a bad word and in many of the blogs that I read, the author takes careful consideration to point out that they like to set GOALS at the beginning of every year and not dumb ol’ resolutions that people never keep.  So wtf is the actual difference and what makes one better than the other?

I read through a couple different definitions and the general gist is that a resolution is vague and a goal is specific.  A resolution might be something that you want to incorporate more of or do permanently, while a goal is more of a one-time deal and has more specific parameters/metrics and, typically, and end date.

So a resolution might be:

• I want to have a healthier lifestyle.

While a related goal would be:

• I want to complete the Couch to 5k running program by May.

Makes sense I guess, although I still don’t quite get what people have against resolutions.  There are certainly things that I would like to incorporate more permanently into my life.  And I think the two are pretty closely related, since specific goals are just the implementation of a more general resolution.

But ANYWAY, all of that lengthy chatter just so I can get into what my goals/resolutions (I have a mix of both, by those definitions) are for the upcoming year!

TRAVEL:

• Plan a rocking trip to Germany/Austria/Hungary in May.  Planning trips is one of my favorite things to do and I’m really excited for exploring a different culture and part of history than we’ve been exposed to so far (WWII).  I think this trip will be  little more intense than Italy or Greece? (we are planning to visit a prison camp and other emotional memorials and museums) but will be so rewarding.
• Travel to some cool places within the US.  Aka, do more local travel.  Places that come to mind are Charleston SC, New Orleans, Key West.  These places have been on our list for forever, but we’ve really been focusing on more distant travel in the last two years.  Our Germany trip is the last international trip that we have on the docket for a while, so the time is ripe for closer-to-home travel!
• On that note, explore Wilmington a little more.  There are a lot of cool things to check out here in Wilmington that we haven’t even done yet.  Between visitors (we tend to stick to the same tour of Wilmington when we have people here for whatever reason) and travel of our own, we haven’t been able to immerse here as much as I would like.  I want to try new-to-us restaurants, visit Southport, see the Airlie Gardens, etc.  There are also a lot of cool events here that we don’t take full advantage of like Azalea Festival and Flotilla.

BLOG:

• Get savvier with my blogging.  This is pretty vague (therefore more of a resolution I guess?) but I want to improve the layout/theme of the blog, improve my writing, and look into self hosting as examples.
• Learn how to take better photographs.  And by better, I mean photos that meet the bare minimum criteria of being decent.  I’m not shooting for the stars here, but I would like to learn some basics about lighting, composition, etc.  I would also like to learn more about the features and modes on my camera.
• Start creating recipes and/or meal plans.  Cooking and eating are a big part of my life (I’d estimate I spend 50% of my waking hours either eating food or thinking about food), so I don’t think I represent enough of that here on the ol’ blog.  I want to think of cool and useful ways to come up with food-related content.

PERSONAL/HOME:

• Be better about skincare.  As I’ve mentioned before, I got totally sucked into r/skincareaddiction this past summer and have slowly been revamping my routine.  I’d like to stick with it more consistently (less being lazy and falling asleep with makeup on, more actual oil cleansing) and get serious about incorporating a Vitamin C serum (so exciting, I know.  Aren’t you glad that you now know this about me?).
• Organize and get into a better house cleaning routine.  The other day I was changing the sheets on my bed and had to look in THREE different places to find the right set of sheets.  THREE.  I have THREE places where I am storing sheets in my house.  I’d like to reorganize and find a place for everything.  I also want to get rid of some junk.  I’ve been looking at some cleaning/organization guides on Pinterest (so, making this more of a specific goal I suppose) but those all seem so….ambitious.  Like, I’m never going to be a person that cleans their baseboards every single week.  But I would just like to not have shit all over the counters every day (like mail and stuff, we don’t have actual shit on the counters).  So far, the app/website “Unfilth your Habitat” seems to preach a promising method.  Created for lazy people and there is lots of cursing?  I’m in.  I will report back.
• Run a strong half marathon and continue to set new fitness goals.  Well this one is just a mix of a goal and a resolution, isn’t it?  I would like to complete the 2016 VA Beach Shamrock Half Marathon in less than 2:30 (ooh…so specific).  And after that?  I dunno man.  I keep saying I’m going to complete a legit strength training program, so maybe a Lauren Gleisberg guide?  Jamie Eason’s Livefit Trainer? (so vague, so very resolutiony).  We will see.  But basically I just want to continue to work out and get fit.

So that’s it!  Obviously as the year goes on, these are subject to change as things happen and priorities shift but I think it’s a good start.

**Also, Happy Birthday to my beautiful Mommer, Julie! Hope you have a great day!!** 🎂🍰🍻🎁🎊🎉

What are you looking forward to in 2016?  What resolutions/goals do you have for the upcoming year?