Time to Have Some Fun in 2013!

Instead of making a resolution list this year I have decided to make a bit of a life list - things that will bring more fun into our lives in 2013. Now, don't get me wrong, there was some fun in 2013, mostly spent exploring the beaches here.

There was also lots of work this year - readying our home for sale and having it on the market for five months, packing up, moving, unpacking, and oh yeah, the first year of self employment!

So 2013 is the year of FUN!

My list includes both things we can do for free, some with little money, and some with more money!

1. Do some hiking. We did some hiking last summer on our trip to Whistler and we really enjoyed it. There are some fantastic hikes within driving distance so this should be easy to accomplish. Cost? Gas. Lunch? Pack it in the backpack I bought last summer with Birthday money.

2. Travel to a country we have not yet been to, hopefully somewhere in Europe. Cost? Large. Is this a realistic goal in 2013? Well, there is just over $500 in the travel fund right now and it is not growing as we are carrying two homes. If we sell the Alberta home this is going to happen. If I win a trip (I still enter contests) it may happen. One can dream as travelling is one of the few "things" we spend money one.

3. Go to Portland Oregon in September. This is going to happen as my cousin is getting married and these family get-togethers are the only way I get to see my extended American side of the family. We shall drive and take Mom (her brother is the Father of the Groom) to share some of the travel expenses but as Portland is a seven hour plus ferry ride away - come hell or high water we shall be there.

4. Explore some new beaches. Cost? A small amount of gas. As I meet more people here we hear of new beaches so this will definitely be something we do this year.

5. Learn to Sea Kayak. Cost? $100 for a couple of lessons and rental for the two of us. We shall pay for lessons and kayak rental first and then when we get more accomplished we shall just rent the kayaks. We have one of the best protected areas for sea kayaking here and you can get into the water right from the rental store. We wanted to do this last year but ran out of time when hubby's company took off. This is one of those things not to put off as we are 43 and 50 years old. I can't see us buying kayaks as we own cars so it is difficult to transport them and store them.

6. Day trip to towns we have not been to on Vancouver Island. Cost? Mostly gas. We can take lunch or splurge on lunch out. Vancouver Island is beautiful and although we have explored many towns here - there are many we have not been to. Tofino is one of the ones we hope to get to this year.

7. Do some biking. We own bikes, and I need more exercize. This requires me to get into slightly better shape as we have many hills around our home that need to be conquered to go any distance. Cost = free! We own the equipment already.

8. Do more socializing and accept invitations that come our way. In the past we have been guilty of avoiding socializing primarily because hubby was in upper management at his last J.O.B. and he had a very social job. He always felt like after hours(I mean after his 12 hour heart attack inducing day) was his time and we tended to cocoon at home. We declined many invites. Now that we are self employed we need to get out of the house more. We recently had our neighbors(new friends) over and had a very nice, and yet still inexpensive evening. You don't have to break the budget to entertain.

9. Do more photography. I love taking pictures and since I purchased the Canon T3I Rebel camera before our trip to Costa Rica in 2011 I have the equipment already. Some of the activities on the FUN list will allow me to take pictures but I also need to start keeping it in the trunk of my car as see many photo opportunities, such as seven bald eagles sitting in a tree yesterday on my way to get groceries. Unfortunately the camera was at home.

10. Date nights. Yes, hubby and I are together most of the time now as live and work together at home but we need to schedule more dates where talking about the Business and using the iphone is off limits. The budget may go up and down on this but we need to make it happen.

We are going to have a fun next two days - Mom is coming for a two night visit this afternoon. Tonight we are going to go see The Hobbit. Yes, I will actually make it to ONE first run movie in 2012! Tommorrow I cook the holiday turkey feast and we shall watch movies at home. Cheers and Happy New Years!