I resolve…

So, hey, it’s cold. Just putting that out there in case you were in the U.S. and hadn’t noticed that detail or are in another country and hadn’t been inundated enough by FB status updates related to said cold temps.

Due to an ice storm in December and aforementioned cold weather (and copious amounts of snow – thanks Polar Vortex), Christmas break was extended an additional 3 days – Simon also got the last two days off after only working Thursday and Friday last week after his extended post-surgical break (off since December 13 – life is just so hard for SOME people). So we’ve had a whole lot of family togetherness because I can work from home when the roads are treacherous (or staying in my pajamas seems appealing). The wonder of this family bonding was broken today as Liam was back at school, Jack was in daycare and Simon is currently at work for the night… back to reality. (I also went to work today in case you are keeping tabs.)

Our break was good. Filled with happy times, gift-giving and receiving, visiting friends in faraway places like Ohio and tiny, multi-colored rubber bands. My boys LOVE rainbow loom (or, rather, they love the knock-off varieties they received for Christmas after mastering making fishtail bracelets on plastic forks). [A more energized blogger would provide links for those of you who haven’t a clue about rainbow loom but please note the plethora of family togetherness mentioned in the previous paragraph, I am spent.] But, did you know it is possible to make nativity scenes* and various animals out of those tiny rubber bands? And I can neither confirm nor deny whether I spent an evening over the weekend watching (and following) a YouTube video featuring a Russian-accented man showing people how to make a turtle out of tiny rubber bands. And while I can neither confirm nor deny how I spent my time, if you watched my children sleeping, you would see them cuddling tiny turtles that appear to be made out of rubber bands and that is pretty special and sweet.

Anywho… back to New Year’s Resolutions… first, let’s take a look at the ones from 2013 and how I did with them:

1. Read more books (a minimum of one a month)
   I read at least 15 books – it’s hard to know for sure because I didn’t keep an actual list so I had to look at hard copies and purchases made on my Kindle and make an educated guess but I am back to reading more like I used to do which is what I wanted to accomplish with that one.
2. Pray EVERY night with the boys.
   I did pray with them more often and we had plenty of theological discussions in the car. We’ll call it halfsies.
3. Eat more meals with all four of us around our kitchen table
   Sadly, it doesn’t take many meals to achieve this, but it does help to have a new kitchen table.
4. Be a better friend to my family
   I don’t know that this one could be measured. And I also don’t know that I tried real hard with that one
5. Prepare house for selling/renting (and preferably, do one of those things) [SOLD and MOVED]
6. Work on non-blog writing
   Fail, but I paid more attention to what I read (word choice, opening lines, voice, etc…) and read a book about writing so that is a tiny step in the right direction.
7. Host a dinner party
   I count having 12 people for small group around our dining room table. And hosting Thanksgiving.
   
8. Lose 50 pounds
   Well… FAIL. This happens when you move and let things go for the last six months of the year. But it’s a new year and we’re going to get back at it, starting NOW.
9. Move 500 miles (walking, bike, elliptical)
   I stopped tracking this but at the point that I did, I was at 360+ miles in August so I am going to say I made it – it helps knowing every figure 8 in our neighborhood is a mile.
10. Go on a family vacation
    Texas – spring break – it might not be original, but it was fun and it was two weeks of family vacationing.
11. Spend more days at the beach
    Not sure how many is more… but I had a nice tan, so that counts.
12. Procrastinate and worry less; laugh more.
    Another unquantifiable one… but I did have some good times and great laughs… but selling and buying houses and being put (officially) in charge of a company will make for a bit of worry, it is only natural and rather unavoidable.
13. List my gratitude on a weekly basis
    Like a few others above, I started strong on this but fell flat the second half of the year. So another halfsies.
14. Make sticky toffee pudding.
    Delicious (even with the dates) – it is the yummiest. Made it twice. 

One resolution not listed above but that I completed was not drinking Diet Coke – like at all and for the whole year. I honestly did not think I could do it which is maybe why I didn’t mention it at the start of the year. I used to have a sidebar image that said “Given enough Diet Coke I could rule the world” which is untrue but such was my love for the stuff. I drank it nearly daily – certainly not as much as others who shall remain nameless but more than enough. I read a study that said something along the lines that those who drink Diet Coke are [some percentage I can’t recall] more likely to be depressed so I gave it up, thinking it would last for a month or so but I went the WHOLE year without any Diet Coke, save the accidental sip I took of Simon’s on our way to Texas when I thought I was drinking my iced tea. After a year-long break I don’t really miss it (I mean sometimes I would love to have a DC, especially when the boys get kid’s meals from the golden arches – because their fountain DC is divine) and I don’t know if I’ll go back. I did have regular Coke this past weekend because a friend brought it over and it was after the new year started so I thought, why not, and let me tell you – I had an eye-ball hurting headache. It wasn’t the caffeine, because goodness knows I’m not crazy enough to give that up, but something in that Coke did NOT agree with my system so for now, no Coke products for me. Why would I want to work past my body’s rejection of it to go back to acceptance? Crazy talk.

So not so bad. On to this year’s NEW resolutions:

1. Procrastinate less.
2. Do better.
3. Get healthier.
4. Read (and keep track of) at least 12 books.

Procrastination is my least favorite trait about myself and I mentioned that today to a friend and she said that she would never have taken me as a procrastinator which means I am good at hiding this character flaw and at the end of the day – the person I’m hurting most is myself because procrastination leads to worry and worry leads to anxiety and anxiety leads to very many bad things. Add to that I think my brain chemistry could use a little rejiggering and you have a recipe for near-panic attacks and low-grade depression. I am not being overly-dramatic (or hypochondriacy) and I am seeing my doctor next week to discuss my options – but I want to be open and honest because the world of FB (and the Internet in general) has a tendency to only show the pretty version of stories and we end up comparing our worst selves to everyone else’s best selves and feeling bad about the perceived shortfalls when in reality, we are all imperfect and trying to do our best in the world. So I’ll let you know how it goes.

The above also leads to wanting to do better. I almost made it “Do it better” but thought I would save my husband’s snickering about what “it” I was hoping to “do better.” It’s just a general statement, and maybe too general because aren’t most resolutions an attempt to do [something] better? But for me it works. I’d like to end this coming year feeling like I did better, that I am better and that those around me feel and are made better because I was in their lives in some way. From a Christian perspective, that’s sort of what we’re all striving to do/be… better. Be better followers of Christ. Make the world a better place. Do better.

Given my complete failure since my 35th birthday to be on track health-wise (well, not complete, but certainly not my best effort to date)… I need to get back on the bandwagon (damn the bandwagon). Saying it out loud isn’t going to make it happen but maybe it will make it more likely. But nothing will happen if I don’t try and refocus on clean eating and working out again.

And the world is just a better place with books in it and I love them. Any book recommendations, please send them my way!

Thanks for hanging in through this whole post – rambling sentences and all. I hope your 2014 is kicking off in a wonderful fashion and that the next 350+ days bring all the good things.

*I absolutely did NOT make any nativity figures out of rubber bands, but I did forward the link to a friend whose son worked on them.