As things settle into place post holidays and 2013 and I get to know each other, I thought I’d (finally) share my resolutions for the new year (because the first two weeks are really just a trial period anyway – right?).

Recommit to Gluten Free

I’ve really fallen off the gluten free bandwagon. I wish I could blame it on all the holiday treats (I’m looking at you break-room cookies!) or the stress of starting a new job, but I can’t. I made the decision to stop caring about what I ate and I’m really feeling it. I’m fortunate to not have Celiac’s or even to be very gluten intolerant, but I still feel and look better when I severely limit my gluten intake, so this year, that’s what I”m going to do.

I have to be realistic with myself. If I go whole-hog and quit gluten cold turkey (can I fit any more weird meat cliches into that sentence?), I’m going to be miserable. So I’m planning to allow myself two weekly cheats –  bagel on Monday morning (because it’s a glorious office ritual) and one gluten-full meal a week. Pasta for dinner? Fine – but only once a week. A spread of bruschetta? Sure! But only if it’s the only gluten I”m eating that week. This will help (hopefully) keep the cravings down and make it easier to go out to eat or to friends’ homes for food.

Make Saving a Priority

I’ve been chipping away at a lot of the long range goals on my 25×25, but my savings goal – to have a fully funded emergency fund – is one I’ve actually made negative progress on. I’ve talked extensively about the reasons life has been expensive lately, so we won’t rehash those now. Suffice to say, now that we are getting into the swing of life here, I’d really like to start building up that happy little financial buffer. Ideally, I’d like to have 3 months worth of expenses saved up by the end of the year, but if we make it to $1000 (Roughly $20 /week), I’ll still consider this goal a success.

Send More Post

I’ve recently discovered the joy of sending and receiving post. I created our first annual Christmas card and am getting better at sending birthday cards (just not always exactly on time!) and would love to start sending post just because. I’m going to have to work on a system to become more organized (so I don’t miss important dates) and set aside time to craft custom cards. This goal should be a lot of fun!

I’m late to the party, but what are some of your goals for the new year? Have you been successful so far?