Goal additions

Ah, hello there 2012, and thanks for the snow so far.  Keep it coming, would you?

I’m still on a bit of a high from skiing with Kenai on the 1^st.  Pretty sweet.  I’m not sure my pup has ever been happier!  I sent the video link to his breeder, and he loved it!  I really hope we can get back up there and do it some more.  I’m going to look into getting some fabric to sew – or iron or Velcro on perhaps – to put some white patrol crosses on his pack.  Oh, and speaking of patrol crosses, my jacket should be ordered today!  It will be nice to be official, though it’ll mean I can’t ski like a bat-out-of-hell any more, haha.  Granted, I haven’t done that often in recent years, my inner speed demon has slowed, thank goodness!  Even with horses it’s slowed a lot.  Not having the opportunity to run lately has sort of cured me of my need to do it as often as I once did.  Its still an amazing sensation, but not one that I feel is so necessary.

I’ve been thinking of some more resolutions, in addition to ones I’d previously come up with, over the past two days.  My prior ones all tended to be more focused on inner growth.  I definitely want to get out and DO some more things this year.  So, without further ado, the additions to my list:

Read more – I miss reading dearly.  I was the kid who didn’t watch TV, played outside, and read a lot of books.  My time for this has dwindled to nothing lately.  I want to make time for it.  I have a growing selection of books that are begging to be read.
Ski at least 20 days this season – I have grown to despise east coast skiing.  The past two or three years I’ve only skied one or two days – tops.  Patrol should help change this, as should my Big Sky trip in March!  Not to mention, my tele skis will arrive tomorrow and I will begin learning this weekend!

Ride 100 times – This may be lofty as my efforts to move to a job elsewhere may seriously limit my opportunities to ride, but I am going to make the effort still.  One down so far!

Yoga everyday (as before) for at least 5 minutes – Originally when I committed to this goal I said I would do it every day be it 1 minute or 100.  However, I feel I’m cheating the goal a bit with 1 minute days.  Five minute minimum will calm me at least a little and benefit me more.

Run a 5K – While my ankles are absolute crap (thanks, swimming career) I would still like to get into running more before the end of the year.  I used to run 5Ks for HS XC and they weren’t the end of the world.  As well, I’m not – nor have I ever been – dreadfully out-of-shape, thank goodness; so, I think even if I didn’t have time to condition like a champ, a 5K wouldn’t be murder to do.

Make dinner at least 1x/week – This is probably going to be the biggest challenge for me.  I used to make a lot of my meals when I was at school – especially that year I lived alone.  Since moving home I don’t do it often.  But, once a week, from semi-scratch, I want to make myself (and parents, if they want it) dinner.

Learn 2 new editing tricks/month (&& take more photos) – I’ve learned a couple things in the past few months, and its helping me already.  I rarely ever edit my photos.  Most photos that have ever been on this blog (save for parts of December) have been straight-out-of-camera.  I would like to change this.  I want to learn how to make-up for bad lighting, remove distracting things (like wall outlets, power-lines, etc.), and other such little things.  Get my pictures to really look like they truly do to the eye & maybe learn a few fun tricks along the way.

Nothing outrageous, but things to improve me.

Ah, also, I’ve pursued another step in days past towards achieving my goal of getting future-super-star.  I contacted the breeder I’ve been drooling over for months now, inquiring as to the price range for her horses.  I had fears that they would be way beyond my range…but they aren’t!  All are well-within my desired range.  The youngsters are even slightly below what I figured I would one day pay (I plan to get a 1-3 year old).  Now, hopefully, within the next two years I can purchase future-super-star and start building our bond and trust and experiences from the ground up.  I’m going to take it slow and do it right with him/her, covering as many bases as I can with ground work before I ever get into the saddle (in my mind’s eye this involves intricate dancing like in the Black Stallion movie, or as the boy who found the Red Stallion did in those books – I’m such a horse nerd/dreamer).  The breeder is expecting 8 foals in the spring, so who knows, in a year or so maybe one of them will be mine?

So, cheers to you, and here’s to meeting, surpassing, and excelling at all goals for 2012!