Goals for 2011

Health and Fitness

• Keep that 10lbs off! - Maybe even lose that 5lbs more I really could use losing! 
• Run 2-3 times a week - I seem to need the motivation of being entered into things to train, there are several fun sounding half marathons around so maybe i'll sign up for those. Another marathon? Maybe, this year is a busy travel one, so I don't want to tie myself down just yet, but Cape Cod is calling, as is SF (if SF wasn't in July i'd say that was a certain, but being less than a month from when I get back from Antarctica, that's pushing it a little for training). 
• Eat more local/homegrown, cook more - I'm hoping the move will help me with this one, already i'm reaping the benefits of cheaper food in this state (a full basket of groceries, mostly organic, $60 as opposed to the $100 it would have cost me in HI), so I want to turn that around and buy better, local, food. I have yet to find a place to live, but I really want a large freezer (or even a normal size one!) so I can cook more and freeze homemade meals to help me eat better. 300sq ft living was good for me, but i'm ready for a real kitchen too!  
• Try a Triathlon - Yup, it's in here again, lets see if I can do this this year. Interestingly there are lots here in the Northeast, so i'm hoping after my crazy spring and summer, I can knuckle down and find a fun sprint triathlon to do in the fall. 

Life & Recreation

• Take a hike! I didn't manage to save for a vacation or big trip this year, so i'm going to go closer to home and do a 5-10 day hiking trip somewhere local (and there are LOTS of places here to do that) or somewhere I end up on work travel. The 100 mile wilderness (here in Maine) is calling, but lets see what the year holds for location. Anyone want to join me? 
• Make all my soap - Can't wait to get my house set up so I can get going on this one again! 
• Keep cutting the clutter - My mantra - if you don't need it, don't get it! Just because a larger house is in store for me, doesn't mean I need to fill it. I now live in an area with NO big box stores, so i'm hoping without temptation right there, it's going to be harder to gain "stuff". 

Finance

• Keep moving forward - It's going to be a tough year financially, I already know that so don't want to set impossible goals that I just feel crap about when I don't succeed. But I need to keep moving forward, paying down debt, watching my finances closer to avoid fees (particularly on my UK accounts that are all too easy to forget about) and work on spending less and saving more. I want to buy a house here in a few years, to even make this remotely possible I need a financial overhaul, I already know i'm not earning full salary this year (grants not getting funded) so it's going to be quite a squeeze even surviving. 
• Make over 50% of the items I gift this year - 100% for me is just impossible, sometimes I just see stuff that cries out for someone in my life, so I think 50% is a reasonable goal and I haven't been too far off in recent years. This year i'm going to make a list of everything I gift along with price, so I can reign in a little. Gifting is one of my biggest expenses, and I enjoy it, but I need to control more, and making things can be fun! 

Work

I thought about a category for work this year, as it's an important part of my life. I love what I do, it has some pretty big ups to counter those really low downs that have unfortunately prevailed recently. This year is a tough work year for me, so maybe goals are not good. I've moved, have to meet everyone, get set up again, figure out a new (to me) system, find those local grant places again - it's a lot of set up. And I have a pretty busy year already - March - Alaska (5 day scuba cruise); April - Hawaii (student thesis defense); May - June - Antarctica (5 week cruise). I need to keep writing papers (and have a ton I could write if I just had the time!), I need to keep writing proposals (and get them funded....sigh) and the balance between the two is a hard one for me - papers get me recognition and advancement, proposals keep me alive with salary. Let's just say I need to do my best this year and work my butt off, I need to set a good impression at my new location and show i'm worth keeping around. This is a reason I haven't put too much in the recreation category this year, work needs to be my focus. 

So those are my goals for 2011, nothing too groundbreaking this year, in many respects I want to play it by ear and just keep it moving forward. Hope you all have a good 2011!