Happy New Year!

Last year was pretty good, but I'm definitely looking forward to 2012. I'll do the obligatory Christmas post in a couple of days once I go through all the pictures. I've been thinking a lot today and want to get it all out there. Here are my New Year's Resolutions:


1) Exercise for 20 minutes per day. It can be a run, a walk, a motley assortment of crunches and push-ups, or a Yo Gabba Gabba dance party. It doesn't matter. It just has to be for 20 minutes. 


2) Send one letter per week. A friend in Tucson inspired this one. I like getting mail. I like sending mail. And I don't want the USPS to cut services. Therefore, I have resolved to send more actual mail. If you like mail, send me your email address and I'll send you something. 


3) Bake and decorate one thing outside of work per month. I've been pretty much doing this already, but I'm going to officially declare it now. I really want to work on my home cake baking, stacking, and decorating. And working with the tools I have and not spend a ton of money on buying new fun things. Similar to the previous resolution, if you like cake, send me a message and you may get one some month. 


4) Stop living "in the moment". Let me explain this before you get offended.  Because it is not wedding season, I haven't worked for a whole month. I was looking forward to spending a lot of time with Lily getting things ready for Christmas, baking, shopping, decorating, wrapping, the usual holiday affairs. But I also didn't want to be the crazy Target lady with long lists and piles of things to do. So I tried to just "be in the moment" and let things happen as they were want to. We played a bit, we shopped a bit, we did things on a whim. 


That was fun for about two days. It ended up making me crazy. After hanging out with Lily all day I would be super anxious about all the things that I should have done and didn't so that by the time dinner came around I was done. Evenings can be pretty rough as it is, and add on me having a near panic attack each night at dinner was not helping. Then after Joe put Lily to bed I would start with the crazy lists, and doing a million things, and staying up way too late. Also, by trying to make every moment special for Lily, I completely put myself on the back burner. I didn't exercise enough, I didn't eat right, I didn't sleep right. These things do not lead to success. 


I need structure in my life. I need a plan. So I'm getting myself a new planner. I haven't had one in over a year. And I need to be selfish. I need to not say "later" to myself. For my personal sanity I need to exercise. And I need the house to be reasonably neat. So Lily can wait and play by herself for ten minutes after breakfast while I do the dishes and then we'll have a tea party. And she can tolerate being strapped in the stroller all snuggled up in a jacket and mittens and blankets while we run along the lakefront. I think the clean dishes and the Vitamin D will do us both good. 


I know circumstances change, and you can't always (or ever) actually follow a plan, and I'm okay with that. I just need to start with one. 


Happy New Year, y'all!