There was only one resolution from 2008 that I executed with any success. The diet crashed within the first week, my vow for prudent spending (I went on a “no-spending” diet for a couple of … days? A week? More about that later) didn’t last, but there was one resolution I kept until October and that was the one where I vowed to go a year without speaking to my brother.
Yeah – that’s a pretty terrible resolution, but my brother and I – while we love each other (and we do … just ask the B siblings that we beat the snot out of after confirmation class in 1991 when they taunted us) we just don’t like each other. As I once wrote in a column at my last newspaper, my brother is like Budweiser and I’m like Leinenkugels. We’re both beer, but he’s mainstream and I’m a microbrew – hence, we’ll always hold each other at arms length. Acknowledging our similarities, but sticking on our own sides of the cooler. 2008 found me tired of trying to engage my brother in conversation, only to get monosyllabic answers or stony silence, so I just stopped talking to him altogether. My one-sided coup was successful until I was vacationing at my folks’ house and answered the phone. He was on the other side and I had already said about four words to him when I realized that I broke my resolution. The resolution that could …
Anyway – it is Wednesday morning and it’s time to turn my thoughts ahead to a new year. I was online this morning and already talked about the future with my buddy Evan. Here’s how this particular chat went:
Evan: yeah, so mine are 12% body fat by the end of next year, (low end of healthy) Plant the freakin’ garden we’ve been talking about for two years … and I forgot my last one
Me: you’re very specific … mine – be greener, lose weight, finish novel, be better with my time
Evan: Being specific helps to reach a goal, if you’re not specific enough you’ll trail off anywhere. Like the greener one, maybe I’ll change my hand washing soap for a green soap, mission accomplished … we discovered this looking over last years resolutions.
Point well taken, dear Evan – ye of the six-pack abs – but Evan made me think about resolutions and why some of mine have failed in the past. “Lose weight.” Well … how much? What’s the game plan? Be greener – does that mean reduce my carbon footprint or incorporate more green into my wardrobe? And what about that damn novel?
Here goes – resolutions for 2009. And to incorporate the “accountability” factor – I’ll check in with you guys at the end of each month – at least on the financial stuff. Ignoring my brother for a year? That was easy – these goals are going to be a bit more tougher.
1) Green Initiative: I’m no tree hugger, but I am interested in leaving a better planet for my grandkids. To this end I am going to: Start a compost pile behind the lean-to this spring. (Bought the materials last fall … I rock.). Start using the “green” bags that are available at grocery stores more often. To do this, I’m going to make sure I have a couple of them in my car at all times and will make a conscious effort to grab them before I go shopping. Use up the cleaning products we currently have in our house – after they are gone, use “natural” cleaners (i.e. – vinegar, baking soda, etc.).
2) Weight: Oh the plans I had to be a svelte bride. However, a test run of my bridal gown revealed that I need to lose about 10 to 15 pounds for it to fit perfectly. (It fits now, I’d just be suckin’ it in all night.) Can I do this by April? You bet your bootheels. What about after April? God knows I should lose more than just 10 to 15 pounds. I need to give this some more thought because Future Husband and I are hoping to have kids sooner rather than later and like I’ve said – there’s a definite link between infertility and chunky peeps. Besides, if I ever have a kid, I don’t want to be winded every time they want to go out and play in the yard. FH and I know that we’re going to need to lead by example. And our current example involves carbohydrates and the boob tube. We need to do better.
3) Time Management: This is another one that’s going to be a work in progress. I’m terrible with time management and my life is relatively uncomplicated. But basically, I need to be more structured with my free time (more creative outlets, less CSI marathons) and I need to be better managing time at my full-time job (so write I as I craft this particular blog. Oh well, it’s December 31. I have a day to be my bad ass self.) But basically, if I’m better with my time, it will help with a lot of my other goals – i.e., the weight loss (no more CSI! You can watch that at the gym!) and the novel (no more House! Write more pages!)
4) Be a better fighter: What a random goal that is, eh? I’ve learned something very important over the year that Future Husband and I have lived together: Even the best couples, no matter how much they love each other, bicker from time to time. Whether it’s the guest list for our upcoming wedding, Future Husband’s tendency to worry or me just being tired and grouchy after a weekend at the cab company, FH and I aren’t perfect and we’ve been known to argue. And it stinks, but I think that I would feel better about the arguments we have if I would think before I speak and not say something totally inane and sometimes hurtful.
5) What a novel idea: Disclosure: When I quit my job as a journalist, one of the driving forces behind that particular idea was that I wanted to have more time and more creative energy to finish a book that I’ve been working on for the past few years. That worked great until about three months into my current job when I just fell back into all of my old habits and wasn’t as diligent about writing as I should have been. And then I fell in love and I gotta tell you, the Muse went into hiding right around the time that FH and I started living together. But she’s back, she’s a little bitchy that I left her for awhile, but I think we’re ready to get the band back together and try to finish the book I started so long ago. Action plans: Have a draft done by my 31st birthday (that’s July … that gives me plenty of time to plan my wedding, get married, have a honeymoon, lose 15 pounds, work on my relationship with my brother and churn out a couple pages a day.) My good friend Frances has also been trying to get me to go to a writing workshop up in the Twin Cities. I used to beg off because of financial constraints, but I checked out the prices on some of their classes and it’s not too bad. I think the real reason I’m scared shitless of going up to the Cities is because my novel is like my kid. I’m fiercely protective of it and afraid that it’s stunted or something. But hey – you only live once. Constructive criticism can only make me better.
6) SAVINGS! And here you thought this was a frugal living blog. Never mind my rambling about family relations, my addiction to carbohydrates and the ghosts of books that haunt me – you read this to find out what I’m doing to be a better frugal person. Here’s what I need to flesh out and work on: Establishing a budget. Building an emergency fund. Building a savings account outside of my emergency fund. Paying off the credit cards before children (notice … it used to be before my wedding. That was before the uninsured root canal of 2008). And honestly? Just being mindful of my spending and corking off some of those “dribbles” that are detrimental to my savings. I’m doing so much better now, but I know that there is room for improvement.
I’ll keep you posted with some concrete ideas and numbers for the financial part of my 2009 resolutions, but in the meantime – I sincerely hope that all of you have a wonderful New Years Day and that this year is prosperous for you all.
