Things I want to do in 2019

I promised you ~~last week~~ two weeks ago that I was going to share a ‘things I want to do in 2019’-list, so here I am. I am still a little wary to put a list together, but I also like the process of making a list and subsequently, checking things off that list.

Go to Germany.

After last year’s plans were thwarted, I made new plans to visit my family this year, no matter what. This is my number one priority. I haven’t seen my family for almost two years (hard to believe) and it’s time. Obviously, if I would have it my way, I would see them more often. I hope they’ll come visit us again here in California soon (and I know they’d love to!).

Get rid off stuff.

Before our move, I purged quite a bit of stuff, so we didn’t have to move it (I also wasn’t sure if we were going to have enough space for storage). I already felt a thousand pounds lighter, but still, there is more stuff that ended up in boxes in our garage and I am planning to go through this and truly get rid off everything we don’t want or use anymore.

Improve my fitness and break the 2 hour-mark in the half marathon (gasp, I said it).

Is this year going to be the year? Running a sub-2 hour half marathon has been a goal, well, I guess since I ran my first half marathon. The first race was just to prove myself that I can run the distance, then my ambition was tickled and I started trying to improve my pace. While I had two more PRs last year, I still haven’t broken the 2 hours. My current PR is 2:02:39 (so I am literally 2:40 minutes away from my goal), but you’d be amazed how freakin’ hard it actually is to improve only a couple of minutes over a long distance like that. Back to more cross-training and running more miles, it is.

Run 3 half marathons (again).

I am a much better runner, if I set goals and having a race on the calendar is definitely great motivation. I liked having three bigger races, conveniently spaced out in spring, summer, and fall, to look forward to and work towards last year. I think I want to do this again this year.

Find at least two healthy new recipes to try per month.

I’d like to think that I am already eating pretty healthy(-ish), but I am always looking to add more, new exciting recipes to the mix.
I believe that cooking at home (mostly) from scratch with fresh ingredients (and control what goes into the dish) and an attitude of “what can I ADD to my to your diet, instead of take away” is more important than restricting my diet and eliminating certain foods entirely.

Read 52+ books.

Last year, I set a goal of 60 books (which was 1 more than 2017) and didn’t quite make it. But I read 52 books (which is one book a week on average) and my goal is to just keep that up. Any extra books are going to be a bonus.

See new places.

I am rephrasing my “travel more”-goal from last year. You don’t have to travel far to visit and explore new places and there is so much in my immediate vicinity that I haven’t seen, so I’ll be making an effort to be more of a local tourist this year.

Did you set any goals for 2019?

Cait
January 24, 2019 at 4:47 pm

“See new places” is clever! I am not a big traveller, so that seems right up my alley. There is so much to see locally by me, in both New Jersey itself and the surrounding states.

I went through a major decluttering phase after my wedding last year. Erik and I both cleared a bunch of old stuff from our closet, got rid of old hangers, and donated a bunch of kitchenware that we replaced with gifts from our wedding. I’m trying to continue that trend this year and find other areas to clear out as well.
Sara
January 24, 2019 at 6:09 pm

My goal was to read 110 books this year, I’m so far behind I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to catch up. Good grief. I am also going through and purging stuff left and right. I watched that Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and now I’m telling my husband he can’t possibly need 51 pairs of underwear and keep the ones that spark joy. He thinks I’m nuts but if he can’t make a decision I will and he’ll be down to 10 pairs. Maybe.
Lacey
January 24, 2019 at 6:30 pm

Love your goals, and love the rephrasing of “see new places”. I set a bunch of goals for this year and am working on monthly goals and so far I love it – definitely keeping me accountable and the goals I set are attainable, so I’m feeling good.
Shann Eva
January 24, 2019 at 7:18 pm

Those are some great goals! I would love to read a lot more, and get rid of a ton of stuff. We’ve gotten rid of a lot of stuff and put it in the garage, but now we need to get a truck to haul it all to the junkyard. I really hope you get to see your family very soon.
ShootingStarsMag
January 24, 2019 at 8:12 pm

I hope you can make it to Germany this year. My fingers are crossed for you!!! Good luck with your reading goals, and running goals too of course. ;) I love being a Local Tourist. Plus, if you blog about it, you can link up with me!! :)

-Lauren
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
January 25, 2019 at 6:06 am

Good luck with the sub 2 hour 1/2 goal! I set that as a goal many years ago and it felt so good to achieve it! Now my PR is down to 1:52. I don’t know that I will improve my PR until we are done having kids and I”m back to working out more intensely and more regularly. But it was fun to work towards a goal back in the day!

I made a list of 19 things I wanted to accomplish in 2019. One goal I’m working on accomplishing this quarter is setting up a will. We are meeting with an attorney next month. Can’t wait to cross that off the list!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
January 25, 2019 at 12:51 pm

I love your goals. Reading is one of mine and I think one per week is really ambitious. Also the “seeing new places” is good. I might have to steal that one.
Good luck on all and I hope you get that 2 hour one cracked
Stephany
January 25, 2019 at 6:36 pm

I love these plans for 2019, especially going to Germany. I really, really hope you can make that happen because I know how good it is for you to see family. <3

I can't wait to watch your progress as you try to hit that sub-2 hour half-marathon. That's such an exciting goal to have!
Kim G
January 26, 2019 at 11:43 am

Love your plans for 2019, especially going to Germany! I’m a huge advocate for travel and exploring new places :)
Charlotte
January 27, 2019 at 7:51 am

San, this is an incredible list of goals for 2019. I wish you all the best of luck with them!! Especially going to Germany, upping your marathon goals, and trying new recipes twice a month. For me, I think it helps to create really big goals and mix them up with smaller, achievable ones. I can’t wait to read and follow along your journey!! Xoxo
terra
February 12, 2019 at 4:48 am

Rooting for you this year to hit that sub-2:00 mark! I know how bad you want it and I know you can make it. I’m very much looking forward to reading about it, too! It’s an incredible feeling, to hit that mark.