why blog? for better or worse, i am a sharer- yes, often an over-sharer- i have very little need for privacy in my life and i like to have a public space to get my thoughts out of my head and into the world- it’s not that i have any delusions about my thoughts being particularly deep or of any particular interest to anyone- i don’t even think i really care if this blog has many readers- but i have always been a journaler and i find public journaling so much more satisfying than private journaling- it’s like putting my thoughts out into the world makes them more real… or something
(a long time ago, i had a livejournal- it’s still out there: plant-geek.livejournal.com (“there is a light” is such a better blog name, but i think it was already taken here, frowny face)- i really enjoyed livejournaling, so this is an attempt to pick that up again- also, i am often tempted to post very long status updates or notes on facebook but facebook isn’t really the right space for lengthy posts)
ANYWHO…
(omg, out of curiosity i just googled “anywho” and urban dictionary says this: “used in place of “anyways”, usually someone with a weird personality says this; an extremely annoying misuse of the word “anyhow”, generally used by people who think they’re being clever”- so, i guess i’m weird and extremely annoying and think i'm being clever- oh well, i’m going with it…)
ANYWHO…
this is kind of obvious, but i wanted to make this post on the last day of 2011 about my “resolutions” for 2012- i have been doing a lot of thinking about this recently and there are a lot of changes i want to make in the new year- these are mostly changes i’ve needed to make for a long time, but for some reason, i feel more motivated than ever to actually make them, i guess i’m growing up or something… of course it remains to be seen how successful i’ll be, but that’s another benefit to blogging about this: making my goals public makes me more accountable for succeeding at them
this is kind of obvious, but i wanted to make this post on the last day of 2011 about my “resolutions” for 2012- i have been doing a lot of thinking about this recently and there are a lot of changes i want to make in the new year- these are mostly changes i’ve needed to make for a long time, but for some reason, i feel more motivated than ever to actually make them, i guess i’m growing up or something… of course it remains to be seen how successful i’ll be, but that’s another benefit to blogging about this: making my goals public makes me more accountable for succeeding at them
my overall priorities are as follows, and i feel that i shouldn’t take on anything else except for new friendships of course and romance if i'm am lucky enough to encounter it:
- my health and happiness
- huck’s health and happiness (huck is my dog)
- nurturing my connection to my family, friends, and community
- doing the best i can at my job
- fulfilling my board responsibilities (i serve on two boards)
and now, the specifics:
BIG THING #1: MY HEALTH
i’ve had a gym membership for a while but i am not very good about going- i’ve decided that saying i will go after work is not working, i often have other stuff going on or i’m too hungry or whatever, so i am going to try to go in the mornings- this means... I NEED TO ESTABLISH BETTER SLEEP PATTERNS! this is huge for me, i am such a night owl, i often stay up til 1 or 2 and i sleep in as late as i possibly can on work days- i never eat a good breakfast and while i do eat a lot of good stuff, i also eat a lot of crap, and i eat too much in general- so, here’s the plan:
- lights out by 11pm, wake up at 6am (sunday night through friday morning)
- 45min workout at the gym before work M-F
- eat a breakfast rich in protein
- eat vegetables at lunch AND dinner
- eat smaller portions
- reduce junk food and late-night eating
BIG THING #2: HUCKLEBERRY
huckleberry is my wonderful dog and my relationship with him is one of the major relationships in my life (you may raise an eyebrow at that, but while i am fully aware that he doesn’t fulfill all of my needs, he is the one i come home to, my little life-partner)… i think he’s a happy dog and that i am a good caretaker, but i realize that his quality of life fully depends on me and that i could be doing more- so:
- take huck for a 20min (at least) walk M-F after work
- take huck for at least one 40-60min walk on the weekends
- look into doing a dog training course (he has some behaviors we need to work on and i think training is always a good thing for a dog’s mental health)
BIG THING #3: MONEY, MONEY, MONEY
i have A LOT of debt- school loans and credit card debt- and this is one of the biggest negative things in my life... i will probably at some point make a separate post about this situation- i am currently taking some steps to get this under control... as far as changes for the new year go, this is what i need to remember: DO NOT LIVE BEYOND YOUR MEANS! (credit does not equal cash)
"LITTLE" THINGS:
(1) i have always loved to bake and in recent years, i have developed a love of cooking- i’m often cooking for one, but i love spending hours in the kitchen, trying new recipes- i am a cookbook junkie and have many that i have never used- so:
- try to use at least 1 new cooking recipe a week and 1 new baking recipe a month
- use each cookbook at least once this year
(2) read more! in other words, watch less tv... i think i will try to restrict tv watching to only when i am doing other things, like cooking, washing dishes, or folding laundry
(3) craft and create more!
- i always want to make things for my loved ones for their birthdays and christmas, but it rarely happens- so, i have come up with this idea: each year, i will make one thing for each person on my “VIP” list and send it to them even if it’s not on their birthday or christmas (actually, i think i will send an annual “care package” which will include one awesome hand-made thing and lots of other awesome little things like candy and stickers- the care package part of this idea was inspired by tavi’s care package post on rookiemag: http://bit.ly/tf8YBY)
- i also have this awesome idea for a collaborative snail-mail based art project which will involve all of my favorite people across the country
- maybe even stockpile enough handmade stuff to sell at a craft fair
(4) call loved ones more often! don't forget grandparents!
(5) set up an okcupid profile (ugh… this will be a separate post too…)
(6) blog! and upload photos to flickr!
(7) continue improvements on the house and yard
- asap: clean out the back room! (and then proceed with the rest of the long list of projects)
- next spring: set up the porch as a sitting space (not a storage space) and hopefully install a raised bed in the garden
(8) follow through with ideas for UU community service projects
(10) continue being an active member of my UU congregation (another post: my growing unitarian universalism)
(11) finally fix ukulele and get together with allison to practice!
i think that's all... i know they say you won't be successful if you try to make too many changes at once, but i feel like this stuff is doable, right? i think a lot of it comes down to controlling my tendency to be lazy (though i do think a little laziness is important, you gotta have down time)
ANYWHO... wish me luck! and i wish you luck with your resolutions, whatever they are!
XOXO (oh wait, i can't sign off that way, that's gossipgirl's sign off... whatever, it's staying for now)
*a note on the name: missing the ocean - it’s so lame, but i think a blog titles always ends up sounding kind of pretentious and lame… i tried out a few before settling on this, but they were all taken (i kind of wanted to go with something less poetic and with little meaning, like “bloggy blog”)… anyway, i have lived most of my life in southern new england and being a new englander is a huge part of my identity- but now i live in iowa, and i do miss the ocean (it just feels a little unnatural to me to not live near the ocean)- but of course missing the ocean is not the focus of my entire life nor will it be the central theme of this blog… so, it’s really not such a good name (i mean, what am i going to do when i move back to new england and i’m no longer missing the ocean?), but it is what it is… also, i don’t like to capitalize most words that are supposed to be capitalized and i am loose with my use of punctuation- if you are bothered by this kind of thing, you’ve been warned... also, personalization of blog appearance to come soon!
