resolution number 1: start immersing myself in the education that I'm paying for. i always find myself blowing things off and finding reasons not to go to class - I'm tired, I'm hungry, it won't matter. why do I pay a tuition that's going to leave me in debt valued at more than my house if I'm not going to act like I want to be here? from now on, I'm going to be a model student. if you know me personally, this is laughable... but a new year is a perfect time to kick it into high gear!
resolution number 2: use my things or get rid of them. a clutter free home is the way to a clutter free mind!
resolution number 3: start being on time for things. when it comes to meeting with my friends, I find myself getting there early. but work? couldn't get there on time if my life depended on it. it's got to go.
resolution number 4: reduce, reuse, recycle! I really, really hate seeing paper, cardboard and plastic get thrown in the trash but unfortunately I see it daily. I work for a fairly large corporation and they waste thousands of sheets of paper a day just because people don't want to walk to the recycling bin on the other side of the room. i'm going to start walking - and separating everything at home, too.
resolution number 5: cook more - buy less! Matt and I always find ourselves eating out and complaining afterwards about the (inevitable) guilt of having spent that money unnecessarily. and half the time, there's already food in the fridge! I plan to make a conscious effort to cook what's in my fridge and stop throwing my money at places like Chipotle. I've also decided to stop giving myself a label when it comes to my diet. I don't need to consider myself a vegetarian to eat well. processed food is everywhere - surely not just in the meat industry - but if I just think before I eat, eating well should be a piece of cake (lucky for my body weight, I don't much like cake)!
resolution number 6: drink 8+ cups of water a day! according to some research I've done, the whole "8 bottles of water a day keeps the doctor away" thing is more of an estimation. in fact, it is recommended that people drink half of their body weight in ounces of water a day. but for me, that will still add up to be about 8 8-ounce cups of water a day. not bad at all!
resolution number 7: get rid of any and all negativity in my life. this includes people, things, attitudes, beliefs, etc. I've been on this positivity kick for a while and, seriously, it works. things just go right when you're in that mindset. I try to tell my friends about it so often that it comes off as preaching, so I've given up a bit, but I really swear by living a negativity-free lifestyle. I've gotten so good at turning a cheek to a negative situation, avoiding drama and creating friendly environments. I've been going to yoga, reading about Ayurveda, complimenting people more often, thinking about the tone in which I say critical things, and just passing on good vibes in general. it sounds ridiculous until you try it, but your quality of life will dramatically increase. take my word for it.
resolution number 8: start reading for pleasure again. the girls and I always joke about starting our own "book club", but I'm really going to make it happen (and by club, I mean four girls passing around awesome books to one another). we've actually already agreed on the first round! we're each going to begin reading one Michael Pollan book and pass it on when we're finished. we've all agreed on this resolution and the fact that we have all been slacking on reading for pleasure and soaking up real knowledge as opposed to the garbage on television (this is not to say I don't love the garbage on television - but sometimes you just need a little raw information).
note: if you've never read anything by Michael Pollan, do yourself a favor. if you're anything like me, you'll be almost upset you didn't know some of this stuff your whole life. he does a fabulous job of putting food and food culture in perspective. and not only is he an established author, but he's made a few documentaries you may have heard of, too! Michael Pollan is the mastermind behind both Food, Inc. and The Botany of Desire.
resolution number 9: start to sell my crafts! I love to DIY. that's actually why I started blogging - I fell in love with all the DIY blogs I follow! they make it seem so easy and exciting. this year I want to really start getting into my crafts and making enough to sell them! I'll probably open an Etsy store within the next few months and start showcasing it. something I've been really inspired to do recently is open a paperie. I love stationary and everything that goes along with it (you should see my stamp collection) and I think it would be a great way to stay inspired by the arts and make some money on the side.
resolution number 10: take more trips! I am borderline obsessive about traveling - especially internationally. this is going to be my year. I will finally make it out of this country if it kills me! since I started at the job I'm at now, I've been saving every week for a huge Europe trip - I want... need... to see it all. but for this resolution, traveling inside of the US border will suffice. I've actually already begun planning some small trips! so far, the girls and I will be in NYC for a day in January and February (we have tickets to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart!) and are taking a trip to Savannah, GA for St. Patrick's Day to stay with a friend. we're also taking a road trip to Texas (with a few stops in between) with our entire group of friends! it should end up being about 20 of us. that is going to be crazy by every definition of the word.
there's my list! hopefully it inspires you to make some changes, too. becoming a more perfect version of yourself is always possible!
resolution number 2: use my things or get rid of them. a clutter free home is the way to a clutter free mind!
resolution number 3: start being on time for things. when it comes to meeting with my friends, I find myself getting there early. but work? couldn't get there on time if my life depended on it. it's got to go.
resolution number 4: reduce, reuse, recycle! I really, really hate seeing paper, cardboard and plastic get thrown in the trash but unfortunately I see it daily. I work for a fairly large corporation and they waste thousands of sheets of paper a day just because people don't want to walk to the recycling bin on the other side of the room. i'm going to start walking - and separating everything at home, too.
resolution number 5: cook more - buy less! Matt and I always find ourselves eating out and complaining afterwards about the (inevitable) guilt of having spent that money unnecessarily. and half the time, there's already food in the fridge! I plan to make a conscious effort to cook what's in my fridge and stop throwing my money at places like Chipotle. I've also decided to stop giving myself a label when it comes to my diet. I don't need to consider myself a vegetarian to eat well. processed food is everywhere - surely not just in the meat industry - but if I just think before I eat, eating well should be a piece of cake (lucky for my body weight, I don't much like cake)!
resolution number 6: drink 8+ cups of water a day! according to some research I've done, the whole "8 bottles of water a day keeps the doctor away" thing is more of an estimation. in fact, it is recommended that people drink half of their body weight in ounces of water a day. but for me, that will still add up to be about 8 8-ounce cups of water a day. not bad at all!
resolution number 7: get rid of any and all negativity in my life. this includes people, things, attitudes, beliefs, etc. I've been on this positivity kick for a while and, seriously, it works. things just go right when you're in that mindset. I try to tell my friends about it so often that it comes off as preaching, so I've given up a bit, but I really swear by living a negativity-free lifestyle. I've gotten so good at turning a cheek to a negative situation, avoiding drama and creating friendly environments. I've been going to yoga, reading about Ayurveda, complimenting people more often, thinking about the tone in which I say critical things, and just passing on good vibes in general. it sounds ridiculous until you try it, but your quality of life will dramatically increase. take my word for it.
resolution number 8: start reading for pleasure again. the girls and I always joke about starting our own "book club", but I'm really going to make it happen (and by club, I mean four girls passing around awesome books to one another). we've actually already agreed on the first round! we're each going to begin reading one Michael Pollan book and pass it on when we're finished. we've all agreed on this resolution and the fact that we have all been slacking on reading for pleasure and soaking up real knowledge as opposed to the garbage on television (this is not to say I don't love the garbage on television - but sometimes you just need a little raw information).
note: if you've never read anything by Michael Pollan, do yourself a favor. if you're anything like me, you'll be almost upset you didn't know some of this stuff your whole life. he does a fabulous job of putting food and food culture in perspective. and not only is he an established author, but he's made a few documentaries you may have heard of, too! Michael Pollan is the mastermind behind both Food, Inc. and The Botany of Desire.
resolution number 9: start to sell my crafts! I love to DIY. that's actually why I started blogging - I fell in love with all the DIY blogs I follow! they make it seem so easy and exciting. this year I want to really start getting into my crafts and making enough to sell them! I'll probably open an Etsy store within the next few months and start showcasing it. something I've been really inspired to do recently is open a paperie. I love stationary and everything that goes along with it (you should see my stamp collection) and I think it would be a great way to stay inspired by the arts and make some money on the side.
resolution number 10: take more trips! I am borderline obsessive about traveling - especially internationally. this is going to be my year. I will finally make it out of this country if it kills me! since I started at the job I'm at now, I've been saving every week for a huge Europe trip - I want... need... to see it all. but for this resolution, traveling inside of the US border will suffice. I've actually already begun planning some small trips! so far, the girls and I will be in NYC for a day in January and February (we have tickets to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart!) and are taking a trip to Savannah, GA for St. Patrick's Day to stay with a friend. we're also taking a road trip to Texas (with a few stops in between) with our entire group of friends! it should end up being about 20 of us. that is going to be crazy by every definition of the word.
there's my list! hopefully it inspires you to make some changes, too. becoming a more perfect version of yourself is always possible!
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