Thirteen Things for 2013

A friend of mine asked me if I had any New Year's Resolutions and my easy response was "no."  I actually haven't made formal resolutions.....well, ever really.  I'm such a wanna-be anarchist when it comes to weird things that society expects of me.  Those things include, but are not limited to: losing weight to fit into jeans, doing something just because someone with unsolicited advice told me I should, and New Year's Resolutions.  My friend went on to tell me hers and I found myself a little jealous of these challenges she was setting up for herself.
But I still can't make myself call them resolutions.
So here are 13 ways I'm challenging myself for 2013.
(Don't even bother pointing out that they closely resemble resolutions, because it's my blog and I'll call them what I want.)

1. Tighter hugs.  I refuse to give any more limp lifeless hugs.  I've met two very small people in the last year that give fiercely tight take-your-breath-away hugs, and they make me feel fantastic afterwards.  I want to do that.
2. Listening.  It is so easy for me to hear someone complain about something I'm connected with, and to get defensive before they even have the chance to get it all out - even if it is something I can't help or change.  Instead, I'm going to start listening and taking a step back from all that.  I'm learning that really that a person sometimes just needs to be heard and shown a little empathy, even when they know it is out of your control.
3. I'm going to move back to the U.S. and find a fantastic job that allows me to be home for my children when they need me most.  It will also allow me to be cheerful and energetic in my downtime. On top of all that, it will be rewarding and soul-giving, while making enough moolah to pay off my black hole of college debt.  I'm certain such a job exists.  My challenge is to find it and take it.
4. I'm going to watch cartoons with my kids.  I usually spend the entire time they're watching on my computer, ipod, or reading a book.  When something happens they look at me to laugh with them, and I'm instantly caught in the act.  I challenge myself to watch at least a half hour of cartoons everyday.
5. I'm going to try my hand at embroidery. Knitting was a bust.  But I believe embroidery is where it's at for me in 2013.  I've seen some really awesome stuff out there from other people, and I think if I got good enough I could incorporate it with my photography. 
6. I will throw all of my electronic, social-media driven devices down a very big cliff.  Okay, maybe I'll just limit my usage to them to when my kids are either sleeping or at school.  I don't want my kids to only remember the top of my head staring down onto a miniature screen - which is the track I'm currently on.
7. I will floss every every-other night.
8. I will hug my husband, willingly and with great gusto at least once every day (see #1).
9. I will bake one new thing a week, starting with my new cookbook from a friend.  This week - Apple pie.  That's fancy, complicated-with-two-kinds-of-apples, apple pie to you.
10. I will not post braggy/boastful posts on Facebook about my perfect kids.  Oh wait...I don't do that.  I will not get annoyed when other parents post braggy/boastful posts on Facebook about their perfect kids.  Nor will I allow myself to compare my children to the ones in their braggy/boastful posts.
11. I will not apologize for my kids before they've even done anything wrong.
12. I will have better manners in 2013.  In fact, I will have such over-the-top good manners that my kids will somehow absorb these awesome manners and become the epitome of Emily Post - preschool edition.
13. I will play more.  I will turn my work into play.  I will turn chores into play.  I will turn my downtime into play instead of more work. I will learn to have more fun.

If I could sum up 2013 with one word, that word would be:

(Think in life, not to be married.)
 Challenge Accepted.
What is one of your "challenges for 2013"?