Living Richly in Retirement-Looking Forward To January

Well, folks, welcome to January, the fiscal cliff, and..........continued illness.  Seriously, thank you everyone for your kind words. I am a little better today. My son gently suggested that I move past juice, tea, Vick's and cough syrup and go straight for the serious stuff-Theraflu. Perfect timing as I am now "juicy" as the used to say. What a difference!

As you can see from previous posts, I am a New Year's goal maker (not sure if resolutions is the right word). Most of my goals are long term and in general I have the same priorities from year to year. If necessary I can tweak or adjust those goals as needed. I'm always going to want to plan trips, only the location will change-for example.

I'm trying to divide my big yearly goals into some bit sized pieces. Obviously, unloading this house is a big goal, one that I'll address separately.  The same with decluttering and preparation. I have not put them as monthly goals because they are simply part of my daily routine.

•  My first goal is to get more healthy. I know, I know, that's very general. A year ago, I lost seventy pounds and have only gained a few back. I lost that weight with minimal exercise (in fact in the summer when I am in the pool four an hour a day, I get hungry!!). My first baby step will be to move at least five days a week. Move as in exercise, I mean. Seated exercise, a walk, something. My second step for now will be to resume the volumetric portion of my diet. While this is probably worth an article on it's own, it's very simple. Before every non breakfast meal, I eat at least three cups of leafy vegetables, or I have a low calorie broth soup. When I first started my weigh loss journey, all I did was take this simple step and start moving to low fat items. I'll talk more about this later, but I'll say it her..........fiber folks, lots of fiber.
• In terms of future planning, in January I want to make a metrics list of comparisons between Texas and Colorado. I also want to begin a stream of consciousness  thing where I write down everything I like to do and compare it to the two locations.  I intend to begin looking for temporary rentals in this area.
• I want to make a tentative list of articles ideas on single retirement and frugal retirement living
• I hope to begin on planning for one long road trip, as well as taking a day trip escape somewhere in January.
• I have a sewing and crafts goal that I am still working on in terms of listings and gifting.
• I want to fill in my calendar for the new year and make a list of all the appointments and such that I need to schedule.
• Finally, there are somethings will not move with me, and I need to make a long list, take photographs and then go to craigslist or elsewhere.  I have a huge china cabinet for example, and two full dining tables.  I'm ready to let these go.
• Try and come up with some kind of reading plan for book club books, mindless drivel and some meaty stuff in between.

Whew!!  Well, looking at that list, I may have bitten off more than I can chew, we shall see.  However, January is primarily inside weather (at least for this texas girl). Add that to plenty of football still, lots of reading and my Habitat fundraiser and I think that's gonna keep this frugal retiree plenty busy.

What about you?  Do you set annual goals? Are you a list maker?  And has ANYONE driven up the coast from San Diego to Vancouver?  This is my long term trip goal this year. Is it realistic?