The List

So on New Year's Eve, we had just gotten home from Charlotte- we had driven seven hours on Friday from Jacksonville to Charlotte... checked in at the hotel, changed clothes, went to a rehearsal dinner, went back to the hotel, Zachary went to the bachelor party, we went to sleep around 3:00 AM, woke up, Zachary went to the wedding for pictures, I packed for the ride home... went to the wedding... stayed for a little bit of the reception and took the seven hour drive back home.  After that whirlwind we were not in the mood to do anything big for NYE so we sat together and thought about what exactly we wanted the next year to bring to us.  I thought it would be neat to come up with twelve goals for us to achieve in 2012.  We think these goals will lead us to be healthier, smarter and happier!

Before the Olson Wedding!

1.  Watch all the Harry Potter movies.

Zachary was called Harry Potter in basketball games because he was one of the few white guys and had the dark hair... I've only read the first book and I've seen bits of pieces of different movies but we wanted to get the whole Harry Potter experience in order!  We watched the first one a few weeks ago but we've got all the rest ready to go in our Netflix queue (separated by a few Good Wife discs for when Zachary's on watch)

2.  Run a 5K together.

This one is by far the scariest one for me.  There have been many times when I've gotten to where I can run a mile but I haven't got past that and I haven't been able to maintain it.  I get bored with walking/running... I prefer group classes like Yoga, Pilates, Step Aerobics... but Zachary loves running so much and I think it would be awesome for us to be able to do that together.  I'm hoping we can find a 5K that is for a cause we believe in.

3.  Make a baby.

Zachary and I have been talking about kids since were... probably 17 or 18.  We've got names picked out and Zachary lovingly watched "The Business of Being Born" with me.  We've got some work to do- like finding a good doctor/midwife, making sure Jeannie is done jumping on my stomach every time she needs to go out, etc. but we're excited about the idea of a little Holliday to hold and love and change and... all that good stuff.

4.  Save $1200.

We want to put at least $100 a month.  This may seem like a contradiction to number 3 because babies are expensive but Zachary's getting a raise this year and we want to take advantage of that and use it to help us save.  Hopefully we'll save more than the goal but it's somewhere to start!

5.  Go to Disney

Zachary's parents gave us tickets to Disney for Christmas last year... like 2010 last year and we have yet to set aside the time to do it.  We are definitely homebodies so it'll take some planning and effort for us to actually pack up and travel but we're going to make it happen!

6.  Find a church family.

Being part of a church family was essential in our relationship.  We met in middle school and were separated in eigth grade, going to different middle schools but were reuinted in high school.  I always had a crush on Zachary... he was the guy I dreamed about marrying but never thought it would happen.  My aunt went to the church Zachary's dad was the minister at and most of the family would go to Christmas Eve service there with her each year.  Eventually, my aunt talked my parents into starting to attend the church which I really think led us to have the relationship we ended up having.  Now that we're in Florida and I don't have a job or my college friends around, a church family would be a wonderful thing to have... just in general but also for when Zachary goes on deployment.  It can definitely be lonely on Zachary's watch days.  So we don't just want to find a church- we want to find a church family.  We've tried two churches so far and I'm hoping that when we go to the one we'll end up at, it'll strike us when we walk in.

7.  Try 12 new meals.

Zachary and I eat pretty well.  Pepper steak, Mexican night, breakfast for dinner, spaghetti, chicken and vegetables, and grilled chicken serve as regular meals for us but we want to spice it up a little and introduce a few more into the mix.  I'm the pickiest eater I know so 12 new meals will be a challenge but hopefully a few of our experiments will turn into favorites!

8.  Read 12 books each.

I love to read but I rarely make time for it.  We can read some of the same books but we definitely have different styles of what we like to read.  I think Zachary's going to start with our Christmas gift from his parents- Dave Ramsay's Financial Peace Revisited.  I've applied for a library card and have had my account activated but I just have to take in a few documents to prove my residency and then I have a plethora of books to choose from.  I want to read a mix of non-fiction and fiction... I love young adult novels but I like mysteries too... this should be a fun goal to achieve.

9.  Go to a concert.

Zachary's pretty tolerant of whatever music I listen to so this shouldn't be too hard but again... we don't usually go out and do things so it will take some effort to actually plan it and leave Jeannie behind for a night but it will be fun and will give us good memories.

10.  Watch 6 Best Picture Award Winning Movies.

Let's see- I've seen The King's Speech (2010), Chicago (2002), Titanic (1997), Forrest Gump (1994), The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and I'm not going to look any further back.  Zachary and I will have to agree on 6... that may be a challenge!

11.  Complete 12 hours of community service each.

We're planning on doing most of these together... this is another minimum... hopefully we'll find somewhere we really enjoy volunteering at and we'll be able to do more but, again, it's somewhere to start.

12.  Go on 6 nature walks in different places.

This is one we worked on today!!  As we were walking (as we're going to do every day until Zachary feels like I'm ready to start running a little bit... he's obviously my trainer), we went to a little nature trail at our apartment.  It was really short but it's a start again... I'm hoping we'll see some really pretty sights and it'll help us work towards goal #2!