last day, first post

i set up this blog* a while back and it’s been on my to do list for a while to actually post something to it, and now here it is, the eve of a new year… it seems like a good time to get started

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

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

(9) continue beekeeping and gardening

(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!

OK, i’m off to party now, though i’m not really in the mood, new year’s eve always makes me moody (there’s a separate post in there too)

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!