GOALS

Our first year as homeowners has been especially challenging. Would the speed bumps we've hit have felt as treacherous had we still been merely renting our adorable Bordentown apartment? Probably not. But here we are, and we are muddling through it all.

Wasn't that delightfully vague? If we regularly interact in the real world, that likely made sense to you. Anyway. I'm very eager to put our struggles behind me, and as such, I am setting some personal goals to get me through to 1/1/15.

This fall, I will conquer pie in anticipation of peak holiday baking season. The more I read about baking them, the less intimidating they sound. Will I make a perfect lattice-work crust? No. But I can manage a double-crusted pie where I just cut out a few venting slits. (Plus, I can buy a few pretty, plain and simple Pyrex pie plates--new toys are always good incentive to face my fears!) I mean, I've already done homemade rainbow cookies and macarons, so...bring it on, pie! Bring. It. On.

This fall, I will complete a 10-mile race at the second annual Women's Perfect 10. The following week I will run a 10K as part of the Trenton Double Cross Half Marathon weekend. The 10-miler has been enticing me since I ran the 5K event in the race last year. Then I saw the Trenton Marathon Weekend enticed me mainly because I get to run across the Trenton Makes, the World Takes bridge as well as some pretty farmland over in PA. Am I nuts? Yup.

These are the big goals I have in mind at the moment. I'm sure I'll be adding more, and then I can start working on resolutions and larger-picture goals to sprinkle about in 2015. But for now, I'm looking for ways to challenge myself, but also for specific challenges that are juuust out of reach so when I accomplish them I'll feel like I totally crushed it.

Here's to hoping. And to hope.