Every year I seem to make New Years Resolutions, and surprisingly most of the time I end up sticking with most of them. I love the prospect of a new year and new goals, so I bring you my statement of intentions for 2010 (because that sounds way better than resolutions right?!)

1. Run a FAST 5K.

Last year I vowed to get back into running and run a 5K. Well this year I want to get faster and run a sub 27 minute (my lucky number) 5K.

2. Be more organized.

When we moved in our new house everything was so crazy that things got put away, but not in any sort of orderly fashion.

3. Cook at least 4 times a week and actually eat leftovers (or recreate) instead of wasting them.

Hubby and I are the worst about wasting food since we don’t particularly like leftovers, but for the sake of our budget we really need to break this bad habit. I am hoping my Robin Miller cookbooks will help me with this one. A lot of the recipes call for preparing things over the weekend so you can throw them together and cook during the week and they give great uses for leftovers!

3. Date Night/Out to Eat once a week.

We eat out WAY too much and it is affecting our budget and our waistlines! This one shouldn’t be too difficult as long as we stick to #3. Also need to pack lunches the night before so we don’t get caught at work with no lunch and stuck going to lunch. Which is hard for me since I use my lunch breaks to workout, so I end up grabbing something from the not so healthy restaurant in our building. No more.

4. Get to bed early.

I have a really hard time sleeping at night, which makes it even harder to get up in the morning! We are establishing an unplug rule around our house and a bedtime of 10:00 so we can get up early and run together before work

5. Go to church more/join a church.

The past year has been really difficult to get involved in a church since we were out of town 75% of the time. Now that the weddings have calmed down, our Sunday mornings should be free and clear to go to church. Plus what better way to meet other young couples and make friends!?

6. Devote more time to friendships.

I am the worst about keeping in touch with my good friends and calling to see how things are going. I am lucky they know this about me and love me anyways! But I do want to be a better friend because I am lucky enough to have some pretty amazing friends all over the country. I just need to make a point to call and visit them more. We also need to hang out with our friends in Charlotte more, hear that guys?

7. Stick to our budget.

Since I have a ton of finance and accounting classes under my belt, we have always had a budget in our household. Sticking to that budget? Now that is another story. Since we now own two homes and might be getting a new car it is more important than ever for us to cut our frivolous spending habits. Bring in mint.com.

8. Leave behind the negativity.

I have a bad habit of being a negative nancy. I know I am very blessed and I just need to make a commitment to be more appreciative of what I have. And honestly, don’t we all?

9. Blog it up.

I have had a blast building this blog over the past year and I look forward to what 2010 has in store for PinQue I definitely want to devote time to working on the design/header. I mean I am a designer, so it really should be stunning right?!

10. Work on my hobbies.

I love making and designing things. I have a sewing machine that I need to learn how to use to its potential. I have a camera I need to learn to use to it’s potential. I want to learn to hem my own clothes, make curtains, sew an outfit. The possibilities are endless.

That’s about it. Nothing too extreme and nothing I can’t accomplish with a little forethought and dedication. I’ll check back in throughout the year and see how we’re doing. What better for accountability than posting it out the for the world to see! Bring it on 2010.

Last year my goal was to complete a 5K for my birthday (I had never run a long distance race before! I was always a sprinter ) Unfortunately I got hurt while training for that 5K due to trying to do too much too soon. Little did I know this year I would not only complete two 5K’s, but also an 8K and a half marathon! The running bug bit me hard, and although I am not fast (yet!) at long distance running, the fact that I have grown to love it is enough for me.

I have to admit yesterday’s race was HARD, especially with the hills and the fact that I had been sick the week before, but I crossed that finish line:

I really wanted to come in under 2:30, but my bladder got the best of me and I had to wait at the porta potty FOREVER! Otherwise, I think I probably would have been fine. The weather was freezing (literally, 32 degrees!) but after my body warmed up, it was smooth sailing. After about mile 10, my mind (or perhaps my ADD since that was right under 2 hours!)started getting to me and I really just wanted to quit, but I kept on trucking and finished the race.

Even though I can hardly walk today, I already started looking into my next race, the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston. I have wanted to run this one for as long as I can remember, and the 8K – 10K distance has become my favorite. I also want to run a fast (for me) 5K, so let the speed training begin!

Congrats to everyone else who ran Thunder Road!

I was featured on the front page of one of my favorite fashion sites Weardrobe! If you haven’t been to, you are missing out, it is a mecca of fashionistas and a melting pot of style and creativity. Check it out!

This is the outfit that was featured, and I happened to have loved it too

This week has been jam packed full of meetings for work every night, without much time left for photosnaps and blogging. Le sigh! I did, however, meet a blog reader and new friend while I was working the awesome Center City 2020 meeting last night. Hi Kati! It was pretty funny because I have never met anyone IRL that recognized me from the blog, and Kati happens to work like a block away from me in the same building as another friend of mine.

We had charicature artists at our meeting last night and my coworkers convinced me to have one done, and here is what he came up with (with a little help from my friend):

They were supposed to draw you in your favorite location in the Center City, so of course they put me in the ‘mall’ This was definitely the most fun and exciting public meeting I have ever been involved with!

We are headed to Boone in the morning for the hubby’s birthday to relax after this crazy week, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Probably will be spending the weekend in my cozy hoodies and UGGlie boots, can you blame me?

Happy Birthday to my hubby and my friend Kath!!!!

This Saturday I will be running the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure here in the Queen City! This will be my second 5K and I am so glad it is for such a great cause. I know several people who have been affected or afflicted by Breast Cancer, so I will be thinking about them while I am running. If you would like to donate in honor of my run, or in memory of a friend or family member, please visit my Race for the Cure site.

If you would prefer to support the Cure with your shopping dollars, Dogeared has a new line of Find a Cure jewelry where ‘100% of net profits from these special necklaces go to recognized organizations.’ You guys know how much I love Dogeared, so I think this is a great way to support finding a cure for breast cancer! Check out these beauties: