It took a few days but I think I’m finally ready to set some resolutions in stone and tackle 2009 full steam ahead.
1. Lose 20 lbs by May 1, 2009. If I cut back on my carb and sugar intake, up my water intake, and work out four days per week, I should be able to lose five pounds per month, getting me to my 20 lbs weight loss goal. I’m pretty stoked about hitting the gym again. In 2008, I kept track of every day that I worked out. The total? 62 days. Not very good. That’s more than 300 days that I DIDN”T go to the gym. This year, I’d like to break 100 days at the gym.
2. Pay off BOTH cars. I’m about six car payments away paying off my car, or three payments away if I continue to double up every month like I have for the last several months. By mid-March, my car should be paid off (a whole 14 months ahead of schedule) and my husband’s should be paid off by the end of the summer (a year ahead of schedule).
3. Continue the healthy habits I started a couple of years ago: taking a daily vitamin, flossing, and drinking less soda (regular and diet). In fact, I’d like to cut soda out of my life completely, but sometimes a Diet Dr. Pepper just tastes soooo good and can really save me when I’m dieting and having one of those massive sugar cravings. I’d also like to continue and probably increase my church attendance and involvement with non-profits. They help keep my heart healthy. :)
4. No smoking. Most people don’t know that when I drink, I smoke. My husband is the same way, in fact when we first met, he was a full-fledged smoker, polishing off several cigarettes every day and taking regular smoke breaks at work. He’s since reduced it to just social smoking, like me, having a few with a beer or a glass of wine. But over the last several months, even just a couple of cigarettes leaves me feeling like an ashtray the next morning. It makes me sick, makes my clothes reek, and isn’t so great for anyone else around me, so why do it? It’s stupid. And the closer I get to contemplating procreation, the more serious I am about getting – and staying – healthy, even if I don’t intend to become pregnant for another couple of years. So I gave myself a head start on this one and took my last drag a couple of months ago. At the end of the night and feeling like ass after only three cigarettes, I resolved to stop smoking completely. I almost caved in one night a month later when out a the bar with some friends and all three of them were smoking, but after fighting with myself for about an hour, the smoke-free me won. Let’s hope she always wins from now on.
5. Visit another foreign country. 2006 was the year we traveled to our first foreign country: Mexico, for our honeymoon. In 2007 we went to Mexico again, this time on the Pacific side, and in 2008 we visited the Bahamas, and took our first trip to Europe. We visited Spain, Malta, Italy, and France. Now, one can’t complain about all of that traveling. Especially considering everything we saw in 2008 alone. But the ever-present baby-making deadline is fast approaching and there are only a couple of years left before we kiss our freedom and leftover paycheck dollars goodbye. Maybe I shouldn’t look at having children that way, like it’s impending doom on my comfortable, carefree lifestyle, but I do and I bet anyone with young children would agree that I’m right, even if the good parts outweigh that loss. Still, I’m not yet ready to give it all up, so every vacation day, every three day holiday, every weekend with no obligations is a gift. Time to be used wisely, making memories, exploring new places, and simply enjoying our youth. So we take vacations, even if they’re not entirely practical (like the one to Florida we have coming up in a couple of weeks). In 2009, I’d like to add another stamp (or two) to my passport. Specifically, England and Scotland. Maybe Ireland, if time allows.
6. My usual goal is to read five books throughout the year. According to my GoodReads profile, I read seven books this year. Or 7.5 if you include the fact that I’m halfway through Eclipse (the third book in the Twilight series). Though I’d like to try and make in “nine in ’09”, I realize that’s quite ambitious of me. But what the hell. Resolutions are really just goals, right? Let’s hope that if there’s one I don’t make, it’s this one.
7. Find a general practitioner and visit him/her for a general check-up/exam/physical/whatever you call it. I haven’t had a family doctor since I was still covered under my parents medical insurance. And even then, I had never met the doctor they used. I’m just lucky I guess. Anyway, I need to find one, just because. I should also probably schedule a visit with a dermatologist. I’m a little…uh…moley, I guess you could say. I should probably have them looked at.
8. Finish two major house projects: The deck and the downstairs bathroom. Earlier this year, we tore down our old deck and rebuilt a new one. All by ourselves. We even stained it. What we didn’t do is add some trim/lattice work around the bottom and do some landscaping with bushes and flowers. This will be a springtime project. The downstairs bathroom we remodeled – also by ourselves, with some help from dads and grandpas – but we made some mistakes. Specifically with the tile laying. The floor was uneven (even though my dear husband insisted it was level) and we rushed it just to get it done, and it shows…in the grout lines and the one broken tile that cracked due to the uneven floor. Over the weekend, hubby tried to take up the broken tile with a hammer and chisle but I’m thinking we must’ve bought some damn good cement because it wasn’t going to come up without the help of a jackhammer. At this point, we just don’t want to deal with it, and have decided to leave the tile work to the experts. Not sure when we’ll have our floor redone, but it will likely be this summer when my husband’s work schedule is a bit more flexible.
9. Learn a new skill. Whether it’s taking steps to learn a foreign language, guitar or drum lessons, sewing, golfing, cooking, whatever. I need to pick something and take steps to learn it.
Phew, that’s a lot. Let’s hope I can actually do all of this. Bring it, 2009!
But... Will There Be Cake? 