Sunday, January 1, 2012

2012 aspirations

I know it's the 3rd January today. And that most people seemed to post their 2012 goals, if they made them, at the end of December. The 1st January at the very latest.

However, clearly I am not that organised.

I do, nonetheless, have some things I'm hoping for in 2012. Not resolutions, perhaps, but goals and aspirations - things I'd like to keep in mind over the next 12 months.

What I hope to achieve in 2012

In work -

Making the most of opportunities without over-committing myself

Using work time to its maximum potential, so I can shut the door at home

Achieving several specific work goals that I won't outline here

Being more social at work!

In fitness -

Keep cycling and keep making it to Body Attack

Run in the Perth City2Surf for the second time, in August (my choices will be 12km or a half marathon)

In life -

Fulfill emerging travel plans, most immediately to Exmouth (northern WA) at Easter and then more provisionally to Europe and possibly Morocco (!) in September, around a conference I have in Portugal

(Possibly) buy a house with Mr Bite...not in Australia, to add a twist

Continue learning how to use my camera!

Continue expanding horizons in the kitchen, especially with main meals



This is the first year I've had a blog to record goals for the year ahead, and I think it will help with reflecting back at the end of the year. I can already sense that some may prove challenging, but then a list of easy-to-achieve goals wouldn't be much use at all.

In other news, there are some modest blog changes about;
  • A new header, which I really hope appears ok on all browsers. The title will look better in Chrome and Firefox than in Internet Explorer, but should work in all (you might need to refresh the page though).
  • An updated and much extended About page
  • A new page for 'themed' posts (for lack of a better word), called Categories of Posts
  • The final update to my Books list from 2011...2012 will start up soon

And one change that's still in progress:
  • A new Google Site for organizing all my recipes. Links to the original recipes (in post form) will still appear under the Recipes page, but that now includes a link to the new site, which is easier to navigate and makes printing simpler. All new recipes will now include a "print recipe" link that goes to the Site and I'm gradually putting all of the old recipes in there too.

Please let me know if there are any problems with any of the above (or if you don't like any aspect)...I'm made very aware of my technological limitations when doing updates like these!

28 comments:

  1. Kari they all sound like wonderful 2012 goals to me. Especially intrigued by the buying outside of Australia and travels to Morocco! Both would be a whole bucket of excitement!
    Your header looks great. Can you please do my techy changes? It never seems to happen for me, I get part way through, decide I don't like it and then have to go do something else. Back to the beginning again.

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  2. what a wonderful set of goals!!

    And I am intrigued by the possible overseas house buying!!

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  3. I really like the new header.. the colors go together quite well and that chocolate looks perfect!

    I am excited to hear more about this house buying business!

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  4. Love the new header, and the manageable yet still significant-enough-to-be-exciting goals! TRAVEL TRAVEL TRAVEL... except does this mean you might move overseas?!

    Take me with youuuuuu! xo

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  5. You are way ahead of me in the goal setting department. I think my goal will just be to keep my head above water - the first few months are already crazy busy.

    The new header looks great - and reminds me that updating my blog look is also on my to do list! Maybe tonight if I get all the post holiday washing done.

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  6. Fabulous, realistic goals. And I hope you go to Morocco, it's such a fabulous country!

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  7. I'm rather fond of your blog as is :-) I will say, though, that there were definitely some of those back to the beginning moments. It ate up a lot of time, that is for sure! And Mr Bite was called to my rescue on a few occasions.

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  8. Thanks Lisa - the overseas house buying has been keeping us excited for a little while so I hope it ends up going somewhere!

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  9. Thank you Eleah...and you will definitely hear more if the house buying moves forward :)

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  10. Well, yes, maybe on the move front...but not for several years :) Just travel at this stage - perhaps I can squeeze you into my case ;) Thank you for your enthusiasm, I was thinking of you as I typed the travel-related items!

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  11. I might share your treading water goal as my immediate focus...I'm thinking I might need to rein in my focus over the next few months and just get through the weeks!

    And thanks for the positive feedback, much appreciated :)

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  12. Oooh, you've been?? Brilliant. I don't know anyone in real life who has, and responses when I mention it sometimes go off into the 'dangerous place to visit' domain. I'm relieved to get good feedback!

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  13. Kari, that means the world to be! Soon I will invade everyone's brains when it comes to all things travel and chocolate!! :P

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  14. Those who have got their new years resolutions together probably still have a long way to go in accomplishing them so I am sure you are not too far behind.

    Just had a look at your changes - the header looks lovely - it is more stylish than bright and cheery than your first one (hope you took a screen shot of your old one - it is something I was glad I did when working out how far I had come in design) and the about page is interesting - esp as it seems to give a clue as to where you might buy overseas - sounds like a huge undertaking to deal with real estate overseas but probably best if you haven't bought before so at least you haven't any prior expectations. Good luck with the resolutions and with your tweaking of the blog - admire your exploring new technological challenges

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  15. Seems like you have a lot of excellent goals for the NEw year! Best of luck!!

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  16. Morocco! Portugal! Do you mind if I ask what field you work in? If you don't want to reveal too much of yourself on the internet, that's okay! I'm just curious (and wouldn't mind hopping to Portugal for a conference!).

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  17. I just love you so much right now.

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  18. Thank you Johanna! I definitely kept a screenshot of the old header - it may well re-appear some time as I still quite like it, it was just getting a bit too familiar and the new one seems fresher for its newness.

    You did well with linking the property goals and the About page details...I was wondering if anyone would do so ;) Yes, there is a definite clue in there! With that said, buying from overseas really is a daunting prospect and I'm not sure how it will all play out. I actually bought (or at least, took out a mortgage on...) our current place when I moved in to it a few years back, and I remember how stressful it all was buying in person. We shall see!

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  19. Amusingly, I don't work in any field that would be expected to result in a conference in Portugal! I'm in a university-based position, doing mostly research, and have 'research funds' available that pretty much equate to travel funds for conferences. A lot of international conferences seem to be in wonderful locations, so I have taken to planning our bigger holidays aruond them ;)

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  20. Casey @ Insatiably HealthyJanuary 5, 2012 at 6:05 AM

    Nice idea with the google site recipe page. I may possibly steal that idea on a later date. Also awesome to see you're already tackling down resolutions only a few days into the year

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  21. A house abroad?! Now that makes for an exciting 2012, even without all your other goals! I love the idea of keeping work time separate, and making more time to pursue other activities, too. Finding balance can be so tough, but so rewarding if you make it happen. Best of luck with all these goals!!

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  22. Please do :) I love that you like the idea. I'm gradually becoming a fan of all things Google and I'm yet to be disappointed.

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  23. Thank you Alyse! The balancing act is certainly a tricky one, but as you say, worth it with the rewards.

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  24. I like the new look of your blog although I thought your original look was great too. This is something I keep meaning to do but never get around to completing it as I have trouble deciding on a layout!

    Your goals sound fantastic and buying a house overseas sounds like such an exciting prospect. I'll look forward to hearing about your travels to Exmouth as we are planning to do a big trip over to WA this time next year and Exmouth is one of the locations I am particularly interested in visiting.

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  25. Thank you Mel - and I'm pleased on your behalf to hear you'll be (hopefully) touring WA next year. I'll definitely make sure I post on Exmouth!

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  26. Great to see that you got your comments back and I'm pleased to have inadvertently helped. :) I thought it was odd that there were 0 comments showing on your posts!

    WA is one of the few states I haven't been to yet and my husband spent half of his childhood in Perth so it is high on our travel agenda. We are planning to save up lots of leave this year so we can see as much of it as possible and have a looong break from work.

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