Intentionally

For the past two years I've felt as though I've been "coasting."  I recently realized that, beyond being a good wife, friend and employee, I don't currently have any major goals.  Which feels odd and disconcerting, considering I have spent the past 29 years working towards something.  In 2010 I graduated law school, got married, and started my new job.  By 2011, I figured out a routine (or what there is of one when your husband works ridiculously random days/hours), and even started up an old hobby and first love, horseback riding.  2012 was a bit of the same.  We traveled a lot, I felt more confident at my job, but I started to feel a bit... discontent?  Like a cliche, New Year's found me contemplating my life and my goals. 

So, after giving a bit of thought to the areas of my life I want to improve, I came up with a theme to apply:  be intentional.  I've really enjoyed reading the blog C'est Law Vie this past year, and following along as she updated her progress monthly.  I hope you all with follow along here, too.  I could use the encouragement!

1) Exercise Intentionally: run a 5K

I have never been a runner, but I have signed up to run in the Flying Pig Marathon's 5K race on May 4, 2013 with a friend of mine.  I can currently barely run a mile without stopping, so my goal is to use the Couch to 5K app on my iPhone three times a week.  I should be finished with the program early enough that I can switch to running outside in the months before the 5K.    

2) Eat Intentionally:  record what I eat

I recently started using LoseIt app on my phone and calculating my recipes.  I obviously can't always record everything, but so far writing everything down has helped me realize when I've grabbed way too many mini candies from the legal assistant's desk. It also motivates me to cook more and eat out less, because it is impossible to guess how many calories are in restaurant meals. 

3) Buy Intentionally:  spend less than $60/month on myself.

P and I have started to (finally, for real) budget our personal spending.  We've always had a combined shopping budget, but we never kept track of who spent what, so there was no real accountability.  I've now created a separate category for each of us on our Mint account, but I'll also post here what I buy each month. 

4) Learn Intentionally:  read 6 non-fiction books in 2013.

I have always loved to read, and this was something I purposefully pursued last year (maybe last year's theme was "find something to fun to do outside of work"?).  I even joined a book club last fall started by one of the other residents' wife.  Last year I read 22 books:  you can follow me on Goodreads. I discovered that I enjoy listening to audiobooks when I workout and in the car, which helped with my overall number.  Included in last year's books were a few non-fiction reads:  Nelson Mandela's autobiography (in anticipation of our trip to South Africa), Unbroken by Laura Hildebrand (listened to on audiobook), In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson (listened to on audiobook), and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller (listened to on audiobook, also in anticipation of our Africa trip).  I highly recommend all four, and especially the three audiobooks because the narrator in each really made the book.

This year, I want to intentionally learn something new by challenging myself to reading 6 non-fiction books.  Ideas include:

• Catherine the Great (currently reading)
• Infidel  (book club selection for April 2013)
• Team of Rivals (hoping to listen on audiobook)
• The Ghost Wars, the Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, Bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
• Pathologies of Power by Paul Farmer
• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
• Africa:  A biography of a Continent
• The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory

5) Give Intentionally: begin volunteering.

Finally, I want to commit this year to getting involved here in Cincinnati.  I've checked out both City Gospel Mission and ProKids in the past, but have not moved forward with figuring out a sustainable way to be involved.