For the past three years, I haven’t really made any resolutions other than to lose weight, and I always break those kinds of resolutions anyway.  2010 being no different.  I’ve been thinking of what resolutions, or “challenges” as I like to call them, I want to make for the new year and here they are.

1. I’m definitely going to get back into the gym this year.  It’s the only way I’m going to lose weight and get in shape is if I’m paying to do it.  I’m not setting a weight loss goal though at this time because I probably will wait till after January to join.  I’ll let all the other people who put the gym on their resolution list get out of the way first before I start!
2. It wouldn’t be a new year without a new reading challenge.  2010’s goal was 30 books.  I passed it with 42 books read.  I’m shooting for 50 next year, but will be happy with at least reaching 40 again.  Of course, I’ll be keeping track of them by reviewing the books here on my blog and keeping a Listmania list over at Amazon.  Here’s my 2010 list if you are interested. Amazon only lets you list 40 items per list, so I deleted two books that I didn’t even finish reading because they were horrible.  My 2011 list will also include books I read for LLBR and from my Kindle.  I never included LLBR books before unless they were books I chose on my own. I’ll be starting my list with A Christmas Carol which I read over the holiday.
3. Blog more!  I always say I’m going to do this but the gaps between posts grow and grow thanks to all the other activities I’m involved in.  Hopefully, I’ll cure that with my next two challenges:
4. I’m starting a new blog in 2011.  The St. Louis Bookstore Review.  I probably won’t do it all in one year, but I’m going to visit every bookstore in the city (chain, indie, textbook, religious, etc.) and review them. This is a new project I’m very excited about so I hope you’ll follow along and share the blog with others.
5. Pie challenge!  After my killer pumpkin pie back at Thanksgiving, I’ve decided to do a pie challenge next year.  I’m going to bake a new pie each month and blog about it.  I’ll share the recipe, take photos, and report back.  I’ll experiment with homemade, premade, and frozen crusts.  Fillings, holidays, baking, and more. And of course…taste tests!
6. Couponing!  Definitely going to keep this up since I did such a good job of it this year.  But in 2011, I’m shooting for $1500.  That’s only $500 more than my previous goal, and only $300 more than where I ended 2010 at in savings. I’m also keeping track of the coupons again, but in 2011 I’m doing it in a spreadsheet rather than by hand like I did in 2010.
7. As part of #6, I’m going to try to cut down my spending on groceries in general. More about that in my next post where I examine my spending habits for 2010.

And that’s about it.  Like I said, I’m not really resolving to do anything, just challenging myself to do things better.  We should be resolving to do that every day, right?  So…let the fun begin!