End Of The Year Goals...

At the end of the year, I always plan these lists and goals I want to achieve before January 1st of the following year. I'm not a fan of the New Years Resolutions because I don't think you should try to be a better you at the beginning of the year. People rarely stick with these plans, whether it's to head to the gym more often or take time to be a better person all around. I don't believe the beginning of a year means it's time to change. Sure, it works for some people, but I set myself up for failure when I do those things. I've tried it before, telling myself I'd have this goal in mind - working out more, putting myself out there more and getting friends, taking more photographs and improving my skills, but I don't go through with it. I think it's just a stressful feeling when I give myself a huge goal for the beginning of a year, I feel like I have to go through with it, and if I skip a day or a month goes by with no improvement, I feel like I let myself down and failed.
So, I planned some end of the year goals. They don't necessarily have to get done, just a few things I'd like to get done before the new year comes around. They're small goals that can be achieved and I feel like I can get most, if not all done. I'm not planning on going to a gym, taking some huge trip or becoming a completely new person. Just small things that are completely attainable. If they're not all completed by 2014, I'll carry them over into the new year and work on those.
So, here is my list:

• Keep a budget notebook. Kryss and I are working on getting that apartment we've talked about for awhile now. We have slowly been keeping count of our spending habits, whether it's gas, groceries or even our snacks (not a good idea to do this when you plan movie night multiple times a week. We've slowed down, though.) and we felt good about it. We completely forgot about gas money, though. So, we plan on buying a little notebook to keep track of expenses for the next few months. We'll track money we're making every two weeks with how much we spend and how often we spend. We'll keep track of the next few months and see just how much we're spending and how we can cut that down further. We've been really strict with money lately, so we're doing well so far, but I'm sure we can cut down even more. 
• Finish 5 more books. I've read a lot this year, but not as much as I intended to. I wanted to read dozens of books, but I'm so picky when it comes to reading. A book really has to pull me in and I have to get that crazed feeling where I can't put it down. I've probably read a dozen books this year, but I'd like to read a few more. I go through phases where I read constantly, I'll grab a cup of coffee and lay in bed and read at night, but I haven't lately. I've been playing a lot of video games, and I feel guilty doing that. I feel like I can spend my time doing something more productive. I plan to make a list of 5-10 books I want to read and I'm going to hanker down and read them. I'll do book reviews on the blog to keep track and give some good recommendations. 
• Develop 3 more rolls of film. This is important to me. I've tried developing my own film and so far, it's been going pretty well. My issue is the 35mm scanner I got just doesn't want to work for me. It's a Kodak scanner and I bought it off Amazon. Well, it didn't come with a SD card that had the program on it, so I couldn't install it. I scanned half a roll of film and now it doesn't scan images at all. I wanted to learn how to develop my own black and white photographs but it's such a touchy thing, you have to be precise with ingredients and I need a good scanner to do so but I'm not going to shell out another $50 to do so. I am keeping a close eye on Craigslist in hopes of finding one that may do the job, though. So, I'll continue taking pictures and bringing them to a Walgreens or Rite Aid to get developed. Maybe I'll try to find an online shop that can do it, too. 
• Plan a 52/365 for 2014. This is a goal I've been wanting to complete for years. The 365 challenge is so much work and I really don't think I'd be able to take a photo every day for a whole year. A part of me wants to do it because it'd be such a rewarding challenge, but in all honesty, I know I'd stop after the first month. Sometimes I'm not able to take a photo because of work or because of having a huge schedule some days. I'm thinking the 52 challenge would be a little more attainable. I'm going to have to really decide which I'm up for. The 365 sounds more exciting and challenging, so it would be nice to be able to do it.
• Visit NYC one more time. I've been to the city twice in my whole life and I'm only four hours away. I am dying to go back, even for a day trip, so I think Kryss and I will have to make this happen. Both of us want to go and are planning to go back. It may happen in January, though. Our friend Holly is currently traveling in America from the UK for three months and she'll be headed there in January. I think we'll go the 7th or 8th of January, but we'll definitely make our way back soon. 
• Start looking at apartments. Kryss and I have been slowly getting into looking at apartments online. We're trying to plan our budget and step our toes into the process of looking at areas we're interested in and finding out what price we're comfortable with. We have to find places and tour these areas and see if they're for us. It's so scary to think we're going to be renting and having our own place soon but I can't wait. I feel like such an adult even talking about it, hah!
• Plan a Project Life. Okay, so this is really popular in the blogging world right now. I understand why. I love browsing Elise's blog and seeing how creative she is and how she documents her life and it's something I really want to do. It's such a fun way to scrapbook and I'd love to have dozens of books to look back on and remember them all over again.
• Write a letter to a blogger. I have a lot of blogs I love and there are so many people out there that are so inspiring to me. I have a blogger in mind, actually two.. but I want to write a blogger a very genuine letter and let them know exactly how they've inspired me. I want to let them know I appreciate all of their hard work and enjoy taking a peek into their life through their writing. 
• Organize my feed, folders and desk. I get these crazy itches to clean. Not just a room or area, but my online life, too. I follow a lot of blogs that are either inactive or haven't been updated in months. I need to lighten the load and follow blogs that still update and ones I still enjoy reading. I also need to organize my folders on my computer. I have a ton of "photography" folders that I sometimes just let go  and end up saving any document to them. Also, my desk is a mess. I'm letting it get messy and that doesn't help with my creativity. I'm too OCD at times about how clean an area is. I need to clean these things up and really organize them to make it easier for me. 

I'm excited for these goals to be slowly crossed out once I finish them. I don't plan to get every single one done, so I'm hoping to get at least half completed. I'll probably even add more, but it'll be nice to review this post again in a few weeks and see how I've come along!