Here we are, on the cusp of a brand-new year. In the first few days of a new year, I always think about the fact that there are twelve whole months of possibility ahead of us. Three hundred and sixty-some-odd days in which we can make choices to do whatever we like. I love this feeling. It's quite a bit better than the "oh crap, I've let another year go by without [insert unkept resolution here]", so I try to hold on to it as long as I can - but I must admit, the tremendous feeling of hope and possible adventure does tend to fade and become a bit tattered around the edges by Valentine's Day. (In fact, usually on Valentine's Day, come to think of it - evil and ridiculous holiday that it is.)
Anyway ...
I am not a New Year's Resolution-maker. I am not, in fact, any sort of resolution-maker. I don't set goals, I don't have a five-year-plan, and I grimly suspect that I will be spending my twilight years in some broken-down, dirty old folks' home, because I cannot seem to start saving for retirement for the life of me. Yep, I'm a grasshopper. Not an ant. Can't help it.
This year, though, I thought up a few things I'd like to try to resolve to do in 2014 ... I'm thinking of them more as "New Year's Suggestions", which really seems a lot more friendly, if you ask me. I wanted to have more than just one thing, in case I got bored and needed to concentrate on something else - but I also thought that it needed to be less than 5 things, since more than that would just overwhelm me. So, here we go. Suggestions for Erin in 2014:
1. Write more on this blog. I'm certain anyone who ever started a blog has "suggested" this to themselves at the start of a year, but I'm going with this one, anyhow. Writing more may mean less interesting posts for all of you ... but hey, let's be realistic. There are like five people who read this! Plus, since I almost never, ever write my blog, then exceeding past performance in terms of quantity is going to be easy, easy, easy.
2. Take a damned walk. I am gloriously and unhealthily sedentary. I suggest that this year, I get up off of my ass and take a walk every so often. Again, I'm shooting low here ... I think a ten-minute walk, versus no walk at all - it's obvious which one is better. (The walk ... right?) I'll admit - sort of hoping that walking springboards into fast walking and then into that awkward sort-of jogging thing and then, maybe, eventually, into running. But - this year, I'm only aiming for getting out of the chair. Small steps, folks. Small steps.
3. Sing. I love to belt 'em out, and I used to open up iTunes and do a sing-a-long about once a week, but I have, sadly, fallen out of the habit. But singing makes me feel joyful, so here's to singing at the top of my lungs in my car, my shower, and my living room. Let's hope my neighbors own earplugs, and I hope I remember to keep my windows rolled up while I'm driving.
4. Model my living space on the average ship's galley. My apartment is the approximate size of a Ritz cracker box, with an animal cracker box tacked on the side (my tiny screened-in porch). While I have much less stuff than I used to, I still seem to always have just a little too much to fit comfortably into my apartment's nooks and crannies. So this year, I am hoping to use Ikea and The Container Store frequently and make everything "ship-shape" ... a place for everything, and everything in its place. Ambitious, I know (as I am a self-avowed slob), but if I make any inroads at all with this one, I will feel most triumphant.
So ... yep. 4 things. Suggestions, not resolutions. I will ease into them with care and apprehension.
I will only look at them via my peripheral vision, so that I don't scare myself into thinking that the suggestions are mandates, and therefore something I want to run away from. It will all be oh-so-nice-and-easy.
Or not. Either way, glad to see you, 2014. We've got a lot to do this year - just wait and see.
Anyway ...
I am not a New Year's Resolution-maker. I am not, in fact, any sort of resolution-maker. I don't set goals, I don't have a five-year-plan, and I grimly suspect that I will be spending my twilight years in some broken-down, dirty old folks' home, because I cannot seem to start saving for retirement for the life of me. Yep, I'm a grasshopper. Not an ant. Can't help it.
This year, though, I thought up a few things I'd like to try to resolve to do in 2014 ... I'm thinking of them more as "New Year's Suggestions", which really seems a lot more friendly, if you ask me. I wanted to have more than just one thing, in case I got bored and needed to concentrate on something else - but I also thought that it needed to be less than 5 things, since more than that would just overwhelm me. So, here we go. Suggestions for Erin in 2014:
1. Write more on this blog. I'm certain anyone who ever started a blog has "suggested" this to themselves at the start of a year, but I'm going with this one, anyhow. Writing more may mean less interesting posts for all of you ... but hey, let's be realistic. There are like five people who read this! Plus, since I almost never, ever write my blog, then exceeding past performance in terms of quantity is going to be easy, easy, easy.
2. Take a damned walk. I am gloriously and unhealthily sedentary. I suggest that this year, I get up off of my ass and take a walk every so often. Again, I'm shooting low here ... I think a ten-minute walk, versus no walk at all - it's obvious which one is better. (The walk ... right?) I'll admit - sort of hoping that walking springboards into fast walking and then into that awkward sort-of jogging thing and then, maybe, eventually, into running. But - this year, I'm only aiming for getting out of the chair. Small steps, folks. Small steps.
3. Sing. I love to belt 'em out, and I used to open up iTunes and do a sing-a-long about once a week, but I have, sadly, fallen out of the habit. But singing makes me feel joyful, so here's to singing at the top of my lungs in my car, my shower, and my living room. Let's hope my neighbors own earplugs, and I hope I remember to keep my windows rolled up while I'm driving.
4. Model my living space on the average ship's galley. My apartment is the approximate size of a Ritz cracker box, with an animal cracker box tacked on the side (my tiny screened-in porch). While I have much less stuff than I used to, I still seem to always have just a little too much to fit comfortably into my apartment's nooks and crannies. So this year, I am hoping to use Ikea and The Container Store frequently and make everything "ship-shape" ... a place for everything, and everything in its place. Ambitious, I know (as I am a self-avowed slob), but if I make any inroads at all with this one, I will feel most triumphant.
So ... yep. 4 things. Suggestions, not resolutions. I will ease into them with care and apprehension.
I will only look at them via my peripheral vision, so that I don't scare myself into thinking that the suggestions are mandates, and therefore something I want to run away from. It will all be oh-so-nice-and-easy.
Or not. Either way, glad to see you, 2014. We've got a lot to do this year - just wait and see.
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