“Canon in D” just came on my Pandora radio station. I absolutely love this song and not just because it makes me think of weddings. I love the song for the melody, the crescendos, and the lulls. It is, quite possibly, the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard. I can listen to it over and over, getting lost in thoughts of love and hope. It was fitting that it came on as I was starting this post. I’ve been pretty reflective the past few months and that culminated in a great discussion with my fiance about our futures – together as a couple and for each of us personally. I spent the better part of today in complete silence, not doing much of anything besides staring into space thinking about the past year and my future. I have never been one to list personal highlights of the previous year or goals for the new one, but it feels like the right time to start. Not to toot my own horn, but a few of the things that brought me great joy last year were:

• Starting Birmingham Dance Walk
• Joining together with friends to start a very tasty and intellectual Supper Club
• Supporting, donating to, and volunteering with more charities and non-profits than I ever have before – most of them local to Birmingham
• Building a remarkable relationship with Daniel Walters
• Getting my first freelance writing assignment (Artwalk article for Magic City Post)
• Starting some fitness regimen again, first with G57 Training and Fitness and now with Iron Tribe Fitness
• Joining See Jane Write – possibly the most exceptional group of women I have ever met.
• Hearing First Lady Michelle Obama speak in person
• Completing 2 5Ks – the Color Run and the Race for the Cure
• Fundraising with free hugs for the Crisis Center of Birmingham at Naked Art – truly one of the best nights of my life
• Rescuing a pup and finding her a home
• Developing some of the most meaningful and empowering female friendships I have ever had. We are doing GREAT things in 2013!
• Learning more about myself this year than any previous year. And it helped me realize my biggest passion along with focusing on the direction I want to take with it.

My friend Jen West recently wrote about a new iOS app called Everest – where you can live your dreams by setting personal goals and then breaking them down into smaller steps to help you achieve them. I downloaded the app today and spent most of the morning thinking about what dreams I have for the years ahead. Here are the dreams I came up with and posted in the app, along with the rough time frame that I set for them. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I have never been one to set goals, but this seems like a great (and fitting) year to start. Here we go (in no particular order):

1. Volunteer with children. I’ve thought about this a lot the past year, off and on, and I really want to pursue this dream. Children light up my life and I would like to give some of that back if possible. I thought about McWane Science Center, but am leaning more toward Big Brothers & Big Sisters or something akin to that locally. By When: 3 months
2. Create 365 blog posts. Yup, I’m going to do my BEST to blog every day for a year about something. Fingers crossed on this one! By When: 1 year
3. Ride a bike again. I know the saying, but I’m telling you – I’m scared to death to get my big ‘ole butt on that tiny seat. My knees aren’t good and I can see me falling right over. But I have to start somewhere..even if it’s going to Cahaba Cycle and baby wheeling it around the show room floor for a few. I would like to get a bike and ride around Birmingham. By When: 6 months
4. Meditate. I did this for a Chopra Center challenge earlier this year for the first time and loved it. I would like to make it a part of my daily life. When: Ongoing
5. Work out at least 3 times per week. Enough said! When: Ongoing
6. Read 1 book per month. By When: 1 year
7. Run a 5k. I HATE running. Let’s rephrase that..I can’t run. Not for more than about 200 meters currently. I get too winded to keep going without passing out. And I hate it. So, I walked the 5ks that I did this past year. I would like to run one and I know I can do it. It just takes practice. Running practice. Lots of running practice. Ick. Blech. Whatever. By When: 9 months
8. Lose 100 lbs. I originally had 50 on there, but I changed it to 100. Fifty is more realistic, but let’s go for gold and see what happens. #GetAfterIt By When: 1 year
9. Get 100 people to participate in Birmingham Dance Walk. We can make this happen, but I will need your help. 🙂 By When: 1 year
10. Give back to Birmingham; figure out the who, how, and why. I recently talked about starting a non-profit to help the sponsors of Birmingham Dance Walk make tax-deductible contributions while also sharing with other non-profits in the area that need help. I still like that idea and want to do that, but I’ve thought about my original intention some more and realized that a) I am most passionate about Birmingham and all she has to offer and b) I love doing things for other people. So I plan on figuring out exactly how to put those two together and what that means for me…how I can give back to Birmingham, exactly who I can help, and definitively state why I want to help. HOW, WHO, and WHY will be my 3 words for 2013. This will also help with today’s 31 Days to a Better Blog challenge item: Create the blog you want to read. By When: 1 year

There you have it. My 10 goals for 2013. Here goes nothing!

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.