2010: A Visual Representation & Goals

My visual representation of 2010!

Goals for the Year

1. Try one new restaurant every month (January was Leenie's in Longmont, CO)
2. Blog more often (so far, so good...but that's how it always starts)
3. Go out on at least one second date
4. Do well in all of my classes (8 this year)
5. Keep exercising and eating right on a regular basis
6. Start using the Rosetta Stone products that I have
7. Learn at least 2 new skills that will help me be more successful at work (MS Access is one...the other?)
8. Clean out my closet and drawers and get rid of some stuff that I'm just not using
9. Figure out a better way to store my onions, potatoes, etc., in my very small kitchen

I know that this is just a belated list of resolutions. But it's never too late to start thinking about what you really want to do with your time and I think it helps to verbalize your goals, too.

The Best Part of a Diet

I dieted from December 31st to January 9th. 10 days. I also exercised every one of those days (fine, I missed one day...can't I pretend I actually made it all the way to the end?). I felt SOOO good while I did this diet, that I'm convinced that it's the right way to do it. Exercise was essential, but eating the right foods for my 1200-1300 calories per day was important, too.

My diet basically looked like this:

- Food (examples): whole wheat English muffins, tofu, low fat cottage cheese, veggies, low-sodium turkey, low fat, low sodium soups, etc. Low fat, low carb, low sodium are all things to remember. High protein stuff helps. 1200-1300 calories per day total.

- Frequency: I ate about every 3 hours and actually counted calories the first couple of days to get the hang of how to estimate my caloric intake more accurately.

- Simple Eliminations: I eliminated sugar and cream from my coffee and learned to enjoy it black. No sugar in my tea, either (it's funny how much more you can taste of the tea and coffee flavors when they aren't masked). I didn't put a tablespoon of butter on my English muffin when I ate it, and it was fine (who knew it could be).

My exercise was all indoors because it's winter in Colorado and many days this season have been well below freezing and snowy. I used 10 Days to a Better Body, a DVD that I bought on Amazon for about $9 plus shipping. It has 2 separate workouts, one for upper body and one for lower body. You are supposed to alternate the exercises every day.

This DVD rocked. I'll continue to use this. The best thing about doing these exercises is that my waist is slimmer than it was before, so it pulls in and gives me more of an hourglass shape.

Now that I'm done with the strict part of the diet/exercise process, you know what I'm thinking? It's time for a classic Smashburger with jalapenos.

I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed my dieting/exercising phase and have decided to incorporate a lot of the things that I learned into my long term regular diet.

Cleaning House

The new year is the perfect time for me to "clean house."

January is a busy time for me. My vehicle registration is due, my AAA membership is due, and my auto insurance is due soon. I just enrolled and bought books for 3 new classes in my bachelor's degree program (I also started reading my books early..4 chapters down already). I got my son geared back up to return to school (I only had to listen to a few days' worth of whining). I got him signed up for a Kung Fu class and we went to our first session tonight.

So, I obviously have plenty on my plate already, but find that my mind gets into organizational mode and decides it's time to clean everything up. So, I moved old posts from 2 other blogs that I was successfully managing to ignore about as well as this one and deleted them. Poof. They are gone.

I also decided that it was time to go ahead and start looking at the things in my life that I would like to do/have and try to methodically work towards those. I have decided that I want to find out how much it would cost to get a tummy tuck and breast lift done. I'm tired of feeling self conscious about my body and I'm tired of worrying about what other people will think of me if I decide to do it. It's my money and my body. I'm the one who will have to heal.

I've decided that my own personal demons - my neuroses, fears and secret obsessions are not my enemies. They aren't signs of any particular kind of weakness. They are just me. I like being me and I'm pretty sure that one day (even though right now it feels like never) I will meet a boy who will like my brand of crazy, too. Here's to hoping he shows up soon (and in an amazing hot bod, to boot).

My house cleaning has more to do with mind cleaning than anything else. After getting a good night's sleep, eating decently and exercising, I feel pretty damn good. I'm ready to face 2010. Here I come.

New Year's Wish

I really love Neil Gaiman's New Year's Wish (as delivered at Symphony Hall in Boston):

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

New Year's Resolutions

Boy, there is a part of me that hates making resolutions. Maybe it's the simple fact that I've written some resolutions in the past and haven't necessarily followed through with them.

It's embarrassing to say the least, but I guess that I shouldn't let that stop me from trying again. Which brings me to my first resolution.

1. I will not let fear control my choices. (This one is an all encompassing subject. I could actually just leave the list at this one and feel like my bases are mostly covered.)

2. I will not avoid doing things out of laziness.

3. I will be open to change.

My list was actually a lot longer when I started writing them down this morning, but then as I typed, I realized that these 3 are all I need. I often wonder what it was in my younger life that made me who I am today.

I find that I sometimes think and rethink things and hesitate to take action because of fear. I become afraid of losing what I have, of looking stupid, of stepping outside my comfort zone. And I hate it.

One way or another, I am going to find a way to change my life. Now.