NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION TIME!

Hello and Happy Last Day of 2019!

Okay, my resolution results for this year were mixed. that means I'm wiser, (read here, OLDER), and I'm ready to make better, (more attainable), resolutions that I am going to work hard to keep (I'm going to dumb down the resolutions so far that I'll barely have to get off the couch to complete them.)

1)  Less focus on steps, more focus on active minutes.

So last year I wanted to up my daily steps to 12,000.  And I wound up tearing a tendon in my foot.  So this year, it's going to be less about getting steps every day and more about being active. And no, I don't mean I'm just going to spend an hour shaking my left wrist so I get active minutes while I'm sitting in a chair.  (I've done that.  You really feel dirty the first couple times you do it.  Also, your left arms starts to ache a lot.)  This year, yes, I will still have a step goal of 10,000 a day, but I'm also going to look at alternative exercises.  It won't just be about the treadmill. I've got Wii Fit. I've got a punching bag and free weights. Let's get some upper body work done!  Less stress on the feet.

2) Less bread all around!

One of the things I did last year was give up bread and any bread products (anything I would spread butter on) up for Lent.  That actually had a really good effect on a number of blood tests I had done this year.  But, in the last few months, I find myself eating more bread and crackers and the like.  Now, I'm not positive it's the bread, it might be the butter as well, but either way, for 2020 my goal is the really make eating bread a rare thing as opposed to something I do every day.

3) Accept the gift 

One of the things I put on my birthday/Christmas wish list to my family was that they get me a cleaning service so that I had time and energy to write more.  Well, hubby didn't hire anyone, he took on many of the household chores himself.  (He already did all the vacuuming and made sure we have clean sheets.)  I, however, have a difficult time accepting this gift and taking time to write. Instead, I still allow household chores to suck up my energy.  I need, in 2020, to make writing a real priority and accept that I've married a prince who is being super helpful!

4)  Stop using the credit cards!

This is a big one. My entire adult life I've struggled with credit card debt.  It's shocking, really, how normal I seem until you see my balances. But this year, while I'm not going to get them all paid off, my goal is to stop using them until I get them under control!  If I'm successful, this will have a profound effect on my weight as well, since I probably won't be eating nearly as much.  This is probably going to be the hardest one to keep, especially at first, since I'm in that nasty cycle of using credit to pay for stuff because I don't have cash because I'm paying credit card bills.  Oooooh, but I have Kohl's cash...and Amazon is just right there...and wouldn't it be fun to go to Half Price Books this weekend?

The struggle continues.

5) Let go. Let God.

The past year or two I've had a real spiritual crisis.  Those of you who know me well know where I struggle, especially when it comes to family.  I inherited my mother's ability to worry myself into sickness.  (Not her great metabolism, no. Her ability to worry, that I get.) Now, as we close out 2019, I feel like some of the issues contributing to my lack of or dormant faith are lifting. I see some major changes in that direction in 2020.  It's my hope that I learn to stop stressing and let God work in His time.  (Last year I resolved to be more patient.  That didn't quite work. So we're going with "let's worry less."  Maybe if I'm less worried I'll be less cranky.) This will be a struggle because I've been a "fixer" in addition to being a worrier.  I've found there are some things I simply cannot fix, and I'm pretty sure it's because God, in His infinite sense of humor, decided it was time for me to learn that lesson.  So, more prayer.  

And finally: On my wedding day, my mother-in-law told me to never mend underwear.  She said, "If you're that desperate for money, I'll send you the $1.59 and you can buy new underwear, but don't bother trying to mend it."  (For the record, I've never taken her up on this offer.)

Her words make so much sense to me now. Don't bother mending the underwear. Don't stress about stuff the just doesn't matter.  Put your energy into what will make your life, and the lives around you, better.  Don't let others drag you down with their petty nonsense.   You can spend a lot of time and energy trying fix some things and in the end they won't stay fixed. They'll fall down, rip, sag, and still be gross in the end.

The problems and ugliness of 2019 is our old, ratty underwear.   Let's all resolve, right now, to get rid of that old, nasty stuff with the rotted elastic and get new, fresh, nice fitting underwear for 2020. 

And the world will be a better place.