For the first time ever I've created a list of things I want to accomplish in a year. Not New Year's resolutions, though the list was created with the New Year in mind, and not lifestyle changes, though there are some behaviors I'd like to change that are on the list.

No, these are really a bona fide list of things I want to do in 2010 -- with a sprinkling of lifestyle adjustments.

I felt good about making the list. I felt good about writing down the things I want to do this year. I felt good about creating a plan for the things I want to do. For example, instead of just writing "Clean Garage" and then waiting until the 11th hour to do it so I can say I marked it off the list, I wrote "Clean Garage -- January." (And Go Me! for getting that done this weekend!)

And the same went with other goals. The promotional period for the new computer we bought ends early this year and now that we've paid off my car we'll roll the car payment and the existing computer payment together to be able to meet the promotional deadline so we don't have to pay interest payments out the wazoo. And when the computer's paid off, there will be other things that we can roll that massive payment into.

While I started writing the list in much of a stream of consciousness kind of way, I still found it interesting that "A1C under 7" wasn't farther up on the list than it was. No, the list wasn't prioritized as I was making it, but it's still sort of weird, I guess, that that goal wouldn't be closer to the front of my brain.

Another diabetes-related/health-related goal: walk at least four times a week. For which I bought myself star stickers for my daily planner so I can track my goal. A friend of mine once told me that she motivated herself by putting stickers on her calendar each day she exercised; at the time I thought it was a little nuts, but now I'm sort of looking forward to looking back at all my star stickers.

Today, I got a gold star.