Category Archives: goals

My take on New Year’s Resolutions

052: Happy New YearI pretty much never make New Year’s Resolutions. And by pretty much, I mean I think about it briefly and that’s as far as it gets. So, as the new year approaches and everyone is talking resolutions, I thought I’d have a little fun: I Googled  “Typical New Year’s Resolutions.” I discovered that USA.gov has a list of popular New Year’s Resolutions. So, since I really don’t make resolutions, I thought maybe I’d analyze the list from my point of view.

  • Drink Less Alcohol — I actually cut back on that in the last year already. The expense of it, not to mention the fact that its empty calories, forced me to drink less already. I don’t think I’ve sported a “buzz” in well over six months, if not longer. And I’m okay with that! You don’t need alcohol to have a good time. I do drink socially, and I do enjoy a glass of wine or mixed drink in the evening. And I still consider myself a “beer snob.” But drinking less alcohol really isn’t an issue for me already, and thus there’s no need to make it a resolution.
  • Get a Better Education — I do hope to take a few photography “classes” this year. And I would love to make it to at least one blogger conference. You should NEVER stop learning!
  • Get a Better Job — How about instead of getting a better job, I just advance myself and what I am already doing. My goal for the end of this year had been to have a literary agent by, well, today. That didn’t happen, but it doesn’t mean its not a goal I don’t still have. It’s a goal I will continue to pursue into 2011.
  • Get Fit — YES! Something I need to do. It’s not a New Year’s Resolution, though. It’s a life resolution.
  • Lose Weight — I wouldn’t mind still shedding 10 lbs. But I’ll do it at my pace and more in the realm of getting fit more than with the need to lose weight.
  • Manage Debt — This week. The last week of 2010. I already did this one. I’ll only mention this ONCE here: I officially filed for bankruptcy. I was just in too deep with no way to claw my way out. Short of winning the lottery, I was already only weeks away from one creditor filing suit against me. I’m not proud of it, but it was what I had to do. It doesn’t make me a bad person or a slacker. It makes me someone taking matters into my own hands and moving forward with a clean slate in the new year.
  • Manage Stress — See that last bullet? That already made this one happen as well. Now its just a matter of keeping myself striving forward in a positive direction. Reminding myself to keep my eye on my goals, but live in the moment.
  • Quit Smoking Now — The only smoking I do is second hand smoke in the bars. Guess if I were to follow the less alcohol point, I’d lower this one, too. HA!
  • Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle — The house we are moving into next week is in an area that offers curbside recycling. This WILL happen anyway!
  • Save Money — Yes. We’re making huge strides to be able to do that. We have a few friends and family to pay back (who have helped us through this year), and as soon as that happens… the little bit of money that I was still throwing at credit cards will now be thrown into savings. Time to get smart about my money.
  • Take a Trip — We missed Oregon this year. I want to make a trip to Oregon to see my husband’s family happen this year. Which will be facilitated by the whole save money thing.
  • Volunteer to Help Others — I’ve wanted to work with MDA for the last several years. Perhaps this year will be the year I actually make that happen.

Resolutions aren’t bad things to have. I prefer to call them goals, and they can be made at any time in the year. January 1st is just a pretty date to use as a starting point. If it works for other’s, great. But for me, its more just a chance to check in on my life goals and see how far I’ve come… or how far behind I may be.

How are your goals going??

A weight goal

I want to lose about 10 pounds.

Now, I’ve heard it 1000x before. “You don’t need to lose any weight!” Yeah, and you people have never seen me naked. Thankfully.

I’ve actually  been content with where I’ve been the last year. Not an ideal weight, but not too bad either. Lately, though, I know what to blame for a recent spring in my weight: Beer.

Its that time of year, though, in which football just seems to scream, “Have a beer… or four!” So I listen to the scream. And suddenly, my jeans start to feel weird. I find myself looking for looser tops to hide a muffin top. I look in the mirror and see a weird texture to my tummy.

I have no interest in going back to the weight I was in high school. I’m not even worried with going back to my weight when I got married. I’d just like to bring it back to somewhere that I don’t worry so much about how my clothes fit. 10 pounds sounds just about right.

So, time to get my lazy butt up off the couch and back up on the treadmill. Time to cut back on the beer intake. And I really shouldn’t make cookies — which I did last month a couple times. I’ll cheat for my birthday, but otherwise I’m going to keep a much closer watch on what I eat. Am I eating because I’m hungry or because it just seems like the thing to do?

I’m not calling it as “going on a diet.” I’m calling it, “Get my eating back in focus.” I’ve re-set up on the site I used to lose 10 pounds a couple years ago. Current weight. Goal weight. Food and exercise log.

I can do this! It’s just going to take some discipline! I have my cousin’s wedding next year as something to focus on for an extra incentive, but just watching myself in the mirror and how my jeans fit should be incentive enough.

So here we go! Current weight: 155. Goal weight: 145. Totally do-able. Totally.