New Year's Resolutions

Okay--chinese new year's resolutions. Nathan and I like to set a goal each year--that really gives us some focus. I still do the prerequisite new year's resolutions (lose 20 lbs, better health, be a better friend, save money etc) but there's usually one that stands out. Mine for 2008 is work less, travel more. So far the workless part is being troublesome, but we are already making plans to tackle my travel more goals. Next weekend we will head to Esperance (about 1 days drive to the South Coast) to camp on an island nature reserve, and visit what has been almost universally described as Australia's most beautiful beaches. We've begun planning for a trip to the Great Barrier Reef, a trip to the US in August (4-18), some travelling with Todd & Steph when they come to visit in October, and maybe a trip to Bali or Phuket if we can squeeze it in. I'm still trying to work in my big goal--a trip to China, but we are running out of vacation days. Most of the trips this year feature diving or oceans somewhat, so I might need to go back and revisit that weight loss goal if all my pictures will be in wetsuits or swimsuits.

Nathan's goal is zeroing in on a triathalon. He's done a sprint triathalon before in Minnesota. But Aussie's are sports mad, and they have a hard-core triathalon culture here. The ultimate in doing this would be an ironman, but Nathan has agreed he needs to learn to swim first. He's already been running, cycling and playing hockey, so he's pretty fit, but swimming in the ocean promises to be the big challenge. The big steps to achieving this are swim lessons and a decepnt bike. If we both keep to our goals he'll be running, swimming, and cycling during all these vacations I have planned.