2012!

A new year; a new list of things to do in 2012:

1. Preserve my photographs. I have more than 10,300 digital photos (21.9 GB) and none of them printed and put in albums or backed-up on anything else but my external hard drive. Both my computer and my external hard drive are 6 years old. This is a recipe for disaster. I'll be the first to admit that not every photo ought to be printed, but I do need to systematically begin to print my photos and put them in albums. I'll start with 2011 and work my way backwards. I also want to put together a Big/Little album of my favourite photos with the Little. 
2. Create a home inventory for insurance purposes. We're all supposed to do this, but I'm guessing not many of us do. My plan is to take photos, and make a detailed list of electronics with serial numbers/model numbers and scan receipts. Sounds straight-forward, right?
3. Spend less, save more.
4. Go to the gym regularly. I have a part-time membership at GoodLife (which is actually a pretty great deal!), and rather than pay for a membership I don't use I want to make the most of my membership and see where it gets me. 
5. Reduce grocery bill significantly. I spend way too much on groceries because I love to grocery shop, and I'm an optimist about cooking. I also tend to be an impulsive shopper. Yes, I love lists, but I usually find myself grocery shopping wherever I am (with my list at home on the fridge), and look for inspiration in-store. I have to get better at menu-planning AND smarter about shopping. I'm keen to buy local whenever I can, but I also need to plan meals based on sales in the flyers, and not shop impulsively.  Also, I'm ashamed at how much food spoils before I get to it, or finish it. I need to be more careful about what I buy and what I have time/plans to cook. This is my goal for 2012.
6. Read more! I'm not reading much these days and that makes me sad. My excuse is being busy, and I've never been a before-bed reader (I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow). So I need to be intentional about reading. Also, I have so many books on my shelf that I haven't read yet - I'd like work away at those so that I can free up some space (because there'll inevitably books that I can weed from my shelves after they've been read). But in reading more, I'm not going to put any boundaries on what I read, like I did last year. I have to admit, once I got into Jane Eyre and Tenant of Wildfell Hall, they read pretty quickly, but I slogged through at the beginning. I wanted to read them because I thought I should read them. It's like what Donald Miller says about the Bible in Blue Like Jazz: "I always thought the Bible was more of a salad thing, you know, but it isn't. It's a chocolate thing." I want to read a book not because I think it's good for me, but because I crave to read it. Y'know what I mean?  Of course there are also books along the way that we read because we know we should. Sidenote: I'm not a huge fan of Donald Miller, his writing style drives me crazy, so it's sort of a big deal that I quoted him just now.
7. Inspired by Heather over at The Book Backlist, I'd like to start a reading journal. I'm already off to a good start for 2012 having read The Hunger Games and The Virgin Cure over the Christmas holidays. I'm debating about whether to do this online or on paper (leaning towards an actual notebook). But I like the idea of keeping track of first impressions from a book, date read etc., and then second impressions when I re-read a favourite.
8. Go fishing! I've got the gear, might as well. I just need a fishing licence and I'll be ready to go!
9. Roast a bird. I've never actually roasted a chicken - it always seemed just as economical to buy one of the bbq chickens in the grocery store. I'm told it's super easy, so I should probably give it a try.
   
10. David Lewis processing - finish appraisal. 12+ boxes are taking up far too much space in my apt. and I'm ready to see them go. On the other hand, I do want to see what's in the albums. I'm nosey like that. Also, it's kind of my 'baby'. I'd like first crack at the research potential, if there is any.....and maybe eventually have something publishable out of it (an article, or a paper to present at an academic conference or something)...but that's another goal for another year. Right now I need to focus on getting the boxes appraised and into the Archives.
11. Visit as many of the 27 Nova Scotia Museums as possible. I have a museum pass this year and I plan to use it! I'm going to aim for visiting at least 14 museums.
12. Journal more. I've noticed that since the start of this blog, I've been less faithful with journaling. It's not a big deal really...but after recently going through some of my journals I did think it was a shame that I've been so sporadic in writing the last couple of years. Actually, I've been pretty sporadic with blogging too. Maybe I should work at posting more often here too.