Enjoy Life; Eat J-E-L-L-O…it has fewer calories than a Christmas cookie.

“The past is a ghost, the future a dream, all we ever have is now.”

~ Bill Cosby

As the year draws to a close and the last of the Christmas left overs are consumed and the good dishes are put away for yet another year, I have been reflecting on the past 12 months in an effort to make the appropriate resolutions for the next.  2012 was both the hardest and best year of my life.  It offered change I could never have prepared myself for.  My life began changing in September of 2011 when I exited my career in hotels and vowed to myself I would never return.  After that decision was made and a new job was had, it was as if life turned into one giant mudslide wiping out everything I had known and was accustom to on a daily basis and presented new options, challenges and offerings that I had barely considered let alone prepared for.

This past year was one of self-evaluation, re-organization, re-definition and learning to embrace change.  Extreme lows followed by extreme highs and a new daily reminder of what really matters in life.  It has reassured my faith in fate, while also re-confirming my belief in miracles and that life’s journey is really about developing our souls through experience and trials. The avalanche of change that made up the past year left me dealing with things as they come with no plan or structure.  Anyone that knows me, knows that this is the exact opposite way in which I prefer to handle anything, so you can say that this year threw me for a loop on every level.  In an effort to embrace this change, while being true to my obstinate self I am creating a list of resolutions and have chosen to share them publically to possibly secure a greater chance that I will hold myself accountable.  In the past I have often viewed resolutions like cookies.  If no one sees me eat them, it never really happened and those calories didn’t really count.  Since my hips have decided to teach me a lesson in truth as of late, I figured I should find a new approach to this new-years resolution thing.  So, without further ado; My 2013 Resolve:

Financial

Save money.  Pure and simple.  Pay myself first, stop buying stupid shit on a daily basis, realize that it’s OK for the baby to wear the same outfit twice.  Whatever it takes to somehow come out of 2013 with more than $3 in the savings account would be a decent start.

Pay off bills.  This seems to be a bit of a conflict of interest to the last resolution, however, if I could have half of the hospital bills paid off by the end of the year, I would be willing to be flexible on the $3  savings minimum requirement.

Physical

20 pounds: gone.  Enough said

Tone up.  Build enough muscle up to find sitting upright to be less of a challenge for me than it is my 4 month old, while also eliminating the cellulite that seems to now make up my legs post-baby.  I’m a little worried at this point that without the cellulite I might be down a few limbs, but I’m willing to take that chance.

Practice Yoga 3 times a week.  In a class, at home, while driving… whatever it takes to fit it into my crazy schedule.

Work

Build my business.  Find the time to put the effort in and don’t be scared to say “yes, I can do that”, even if you have absolutely no idea how… That’s what business partners are for.  Goal: consistently be completing a minimum of 1 job per week by the end of the year.

Develop my skill-set.  Learn to do more with the tools I have and research and find new resources, then learn how to use them.  Generally just get better at what I do a little bit, every day.

Life

Play.   Realize that it is not a waste of time to read a book or spend 2 hours making funny faces with the baby, even if the laundry isn’t done and the house looks like a bomb went off.   The mess isn’t going anywhere, but eventually the baby won’t have any interest to play with me anymore.

Watch the every episode of the Cosby show.  It’s hilarious and it will save me money on parenting books.

Practice my violin. 15 years of lessons was a waste if I can’t even play the basics.  Goal: re-master Vivaldi’s Concerto in G major  (which happens to be one of maybe 4 pieces of sheet music I can still find)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6b7WH9Le-E

Read and finish at least 3 books.  Only one of which can be “50 shades of Grey” the other 2 need to be something on this list: http://thegreatestbooks.org/ in an effort to not get dumber.

Walk the dog at least more than once every 3 months.  The pug is fat and feels neglected since Sawyer took his spot on my lap.  And it wouldn’t hurt me to walk once in a while.

Drink more.  This is probably the exact opposite goal most Wisconsonites should have this year, however, I’ve never been a big drinker, and I think if I consumed a drink or 2 on a more regular basis, my ability to relax and accomplish my other goals will be more likely.  It’s really simply a means to a more successful and happier end than a specific resolution in itself.  I’ll try and keep it regulated to various types of clear liquor.

Change the daily baby goal from: “keep him from crying as much as possible” to: “make him smile every chance you get”   All babies cry, but not all of them have a reason to smile. Be his reason to smile.

I could continue on with lists of things I would like to improve upon in 2013, but I think I will keep the list to an achievable level and do my best to embrace what 2012 taught me and let the rest of the chips fall where they may. If I’ve learned anything from the baby it’s that goals are good, but sometimes you fall face first if you reach too far,  it’s the simplest things in life that create the biggest smiles and messes will happen every day, so dry your tears, clean them up and move on to a  toy that makes you laugh.

“Peace Begins with a smile” ~ Mother Theresa

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