some goals

I've made some successful new year's resolutions in the past.

In two different years, I gave up fried foods, and managed to pass on Chick-fil-A #1's and chicken biscuits for an entire year. That was tough.

Tougher was the year I vowed to drink 365 glasses of milk. I hate milk, like super-hate it, and so this was a healthy resolution that challenged my self-discipline. While successful, it never got any easier to (literally) swallow.

So yes. I've made, and kept, resolutions.

But I'll tell you what's what: Starting on those resolutions is a lost cause when I'm not home in my routine.

I mean, there is no way I'm passing on homemade biscuits at a family meal for New Year's dinner. That's just sacrilege.

As far as I'm concerned, the new year begins when I'm back home and facing my routine again, with my feet back underneath me after a glorious break from it all.

And today's the day.

This year, "goals" came up in a conversation as a preferred word over "resolutions," so in honor of that, here are some goals I'm aiming for in 2014:

bad habit to break // Snoozing my alarm. I am the. Worst.

habit to form // Monthly "family" dinners with friends around a table, lingering and chatting with no agenda.

a new skill I'd like to learn // Writing a grant application. (Or mastering my new crock pot, which I probably have a much better shot at doing.)

person to be like // I already fight hard against the comparisons game. I think I'll just try to be like me.

good deed to do // Host a brunch for some senior adult ladies from my church.

place to visit // Italy. And it's happening, people.

book to read // My reading list is so long right now. George W. Bush's Decision Points has been on there awhile. I might tackle that one this year.

food to try // Quinoa. I don't know why it scares me so.

do better at // Designating time each day when my iPhone is not within reach or sight.

Which of these categories resonate with you? What are you hoping to achieve in 2014?