Happy New Year everyone! あけましておめでとうございます！

2012 snuck up on me. I was so busy planning the end of 2011, that I forgot 2012 came next. 2012, you dirty little dog! Name-calling is probably a bad start.

I’m not big on resolutions, but I am big on to-do lists. I LOVE to-do lists and make one every day. I love crossing things off and adding things willy nilly, copying things from yesterday onto today’s list just so I can cross them off again. It’s not cheating.

Instead of resolutions for 2012 I’ve decided to come up with a list of measurable goals, like a to-do list. And in the spirit of accountability, I’ve decided to post some of them here. Having all you watching me is bound to guilt whip me into shape. So, for 2012 I plan to:

• Cook 12 new recipes, one per month.
• Read 5 books. This seems low, and I thought about hiking up the number to look smart but then remembered this list is about achievable goals, so 5 it is. Even if I have 7 in my pile. And no, the Hunger Games trilogy I read over Christmas doesn’t count. But maybe Swamplandia!, which I started just after Christmas does.
• Visit 6 new places. Cities or countries, it doesn’t matter. And walk around these places without a map.
• Make a quilt for myself, for fun.
• Have a conversation with a stranger in Japanese.

I’m feeling a little bit cocky about starting on my list, since today I found a new recipe via my friend’s blog and I start my full-time Japanese classes. That’s 5 days a week, baby! I even have a new backpack, fresh notebooks, and an erasable pen for the occasion.

2012, bring it on.