It's time. Time to check in on my New Year "goals"...
Below are the goals I talked about in my post back in January. I intended to post an update half way through the year, but certain recent events have caused me to check in on my yearly goals a little early. Let's review...
1. Buy local, Cook more, Eat better.
2. Save money instead of Spending money.
3. Study a foreign language.
4. Watch less TV/movies and Read more books.
5. Regain active lifestyle and be dedicated about strength training.
6. Journal more.
7. Plan honeymoon trip to Greece and actually Go.
8. Finish furnishing our guest room and then keep it consistently full of guests!
9. Try new things instead of falling into habits.
10. Laugh more, Stay positive, Stop calling myself "old."
ONE
Buy local, Cook more, Eat better.
I have definitely been eating better. Better for me immediately meant cutting back, way back, on soda. That was a number one goal and since February I have been doing really well with this. I don't beat myself up if I have one every now and then, but I definitely don't drink it every day like I had been in the past. In addition, I've made other substitutes and chosen alternatives which you can read about here. However, I still have a long way to go. In fact, I had my first nutritional counseling session today with my trainer, Diana. When I wrote "buy local" we were referring to co-ops and farmer's markets around Austin. This is still something we need to do. Also, I can't say I've been cooking more, but Tim and I have both been better about making lunches. So buying local and cooking what we buy is still a big priority.
TWO
Save money instead of Spending money.
I won't rant about this here, but I've recently had a change of heart about this. I still think saving money is very important. You never know what life is going to throw your way and it's nice to have some spare change for, say, a weekend getaway or a down payment on a house or - more realistically - a new set of tires for your car. We have definitely overspent since January, and we're struggling to catch up. However, all of those purchases have been for something that we are going to use and benefit from for a long time: a guest bed, a grill, chickens, etc. I'm about to dump a whole bunch of change on LASIK eye surgery -- but guess what? I'll use that everyday for the rest of my life.
THREE
Study a foreign language.
My excuse is that our hard drive died and we had to replace it and now we don't have ROSETTA STONE. Gonna get that fixed because I'm about to have a wholelotta time on my hands to learn me some Spanglish. (more on the extra free time next post)
FOUR
Watch less TV/movies and Read more books.
Sadly, NOPE.
FIVE
Regain active lifestyle and be dedicated about strength training.
YES! I train once a week with a personal trainer, I have weekly workout homework, I've lost 5lbs, and my body is starting to feel like it might be 27. Oops... almost 27. Don't want to jump the gun! Still a long way to go, but I do want to run at least a 5k in the next year. With all the extra time I'm about to have, I plan to spend a lot of it exercising. And cooking. And shopping local:)
SIX
Journal more.
If you've been reading this blog, then you will know that I have been pretty dedicated about posting at least once or twice a week. I've actually exceeded my expectations for this resolution, and I'm really happy that I've kept up with my writing.
SEVEN
Plan honeymoon trip to Greece and actually Go.
We are actually planning our trip to Greece. We haven't gotten so far as to book airfare, but we have some dates in mind and are about to kick it into high gear. Who's excited!
EIGHT
Finish furnishing our guest room and then keep it consistently full of guests!
Wow. I never knew Austin was such a hot destination. Since we put a bed in our guest room back in February, I feel like it has been occupied just about every other weekend. What I love about this, aside from getting to see friends and family, is that I have to keep my house perpetually clean. There's still some decorating to do, like hanging curtains and finishing our custom shelving, but it's done enough I can check this one off the list.
NINE
Try new things instead of falling into habits.
This goal was very vague. Honestly, I don't really remember what I had in mind. But I think the general idea was to not be afraid to do things that I've never done, that I might not ordinarily do, or that I have been meaning to do for a long time. When I was studying theatre, working in theatre, and specifically working as an actor, I was always - everyday - trying new things. That WAS a habit. Everyday I stretched myself and grew a little bit. You don't realize what physical and emotional exercise that is, how exhilarating it feels to be in that line of work, until you're stuck at a 9-5 and no one asks anything of you but that you show up to work with clothes on. Mind-numbing. If I'm not going to necessarily get this from working in the theatre industry, I want to make sure I get it somewhere else: whether that is taking watercolor classes I've always wanted to take or learning how to raise chickens.... just doing something new every week to stay stimulated.
TEN
Laugh more, Stay positive, Stop calling myself "old."
We have already had some dark moments in 2012. But that's just life. You can't expect to stay positive 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But I've stopped making excuses for my self and started looking for contentment where I used to be dissatisfied. Thanks to several other things on this list, like a steady stream of visiting friends, we have been laughing a lot lately. Having friends around also helps you keep your age in perspective!
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One thing is certain about all of these -- I haven't changed my mind about any of them being necessary to the list for 2012. And I am still determined to keep working toward them as goals. Also, reassuringly I can't think of anything new to add to the list that isn't already incorporated in some way to one of the 10.
So I don't plan on quitting any of these new year resolutions. But I did just quit something else. Next post, please.
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