The List
Thinking back, I’m pretty sure I have never made a new year’s resolution. It always seemed trite to me to make a list of things that I need to do, where my only motivation to complete the items on the list is the fact that the year has just begun. Anything worth doing is worth doing no matter the date. Motivation should not come from “tradition”.
Having said that, I decided to make a list of resolutions this year. I have a list of things in my mind that need to be accomplished this year, and the timing is right for them to be called “resolutions”. Here goes…
1. Lose weight. I know, I know. Everyone’s new year’s resolution is to lose weight. On Sunday, while perusing the local newspaper and all of the Sunday flyers from the various retailers throughout town, I was struck with how many of the fliers had sales on items relating to weight loss: elliptical machines, treadmills, exercise bicycles, yoga mats, stability balls, dumbbells, workout clothing, running/cross-training shoes, low-fat foods, low-cal foods, weight loss supplements… It was dizzying. Retailers definitely have it figured out that millions of people want to lose weight after the holidays (or do they? maybe the retailers are trying to trick consumers into thinking they need to lose weight so that they’ll buy all the weight loss “tools”). I am one of the masses this year. I have not been happy with my weight for years, but I think I’ve finally reached the point where I’m tired of it and ready to do something about it. Now comes the hard part--to figure out a weight loss plan. Stay tuned.
2. Stick to the budget that I created 6 months ago. Shane and I spend way too much and don’t save enough (save?? what’s that??). We eat out too much, mostly because I don’t feel like cooking. He spends too much on beer. And, he spends too much on Brady. Spoiling the boy by buying him shit every week isn’t doing him any good. So, I have told Shane that he has only a certain amount of money he can spend each week on beer, coffee, cigarettes, and Wednesdays with Brady. I have to keep myself on budget regarding eating out and buying yarn. I MUST cook at least 3 times a week, eat lunch at my desk 3 times a week, and not buy anymore yarn for another few months.
3. Knit from my stash until April 1st. After the spree that I went on last week at Yarn Barn's annual sale (pictures of my insanity to come), I can’t really afford to buy anymore yarn for several months. I have 3 70-qt. plastic totes that are full-to-bursting with yarn that I have ear-marked for future projects. Time to start actually making those projects.
4. Do not start any new projects for the month of January. I have, let’s see… hmmmm… 6 projects currently on the needles. I will work on just those projects this month, and not start anything new until 1 February. It shouldn’t be too hard to stick to this one. I have a sweater that I need to fix and then finish, and putting myself on this restriction means that I actually might be able to wear the thing this winter.
5. Read the newspaper everyday. I have had a subscription to the Lawrence Journal [Urinal] World for 3 years, and I almost never read it. I really like knowing what’s going on in town, and the paper is the perfect source for local news (even if it is conservatively-biased). I’m just lazy. Well, no more. From now on, I will at least skim through the whole paper each day.
6. Recycle. My father has an interesting, and somewhat odd, view of recycling, specifically cans: “If you recycle cans, then you’re taking away the livelihood of homeless people.” This notion isn’t as absurd to me as it sounds. During my poor college days, I lived in an apartment outside of which there was a trash dumpster about 10 feet from my front door. There was a homeless man who lived in his VW Beetle who frequently parked in the parking lot and rummaged through the dumpster. I often would put my spent cans in one bag on top of the trash in the dumpster so that he could easily find them. Anyway, as a rule, I don’t like to recycle. I’ve never produced enough recyclable material in my household to warrant collecting it and making a special trip the Walmart Recycle Center to dump it. Things have changed in my house over the last 2 years. Between Shane and me, we produce enough can and glass bottle trash to fill the Grand Canyon. Not to mention the newspapers. I guess I’ve been feeling a little guilty about the trash this household creates. I’m not going to be overzealous about it, like Grandma (who will dig through a full trash can to find the cans and bottles that we “careless” people throw away), but I will spend a little effort helping our little green earth.
There you have it—Ye Olde New Year’s Resolution List. We’ll see where we are in a few months. Wish me luck!
Having said that, I decided to make a list of resolutions this year. I have a list of things in my mind that need to be accomplished this year, and the timing is right for them to be called “resolutions”. Here goes…
1. Lose weight. I know, I know. Everyone’s new year’s resolution is to lose weight. On Sunday, while perusing the local newspaper and all of the Sunday flyers from the various retailers throughout town, I was struck with how many of the fliers had sales on items relating to weight loss: elliptical machines, treadmills, exercise bicycles, yoga mats, stability balls, dumbbells, workout clothing, running/cross-training shoes, low-fat foods, low-cal foods, weight loss supplements… It was dizzying. Retailers definitely have it figured out that millions of people want to lose weight after the holidays (or do they? maybe the retailers are trying to trick consumers into thinking they need to lose weight so that they’ll buy all the weight loss “tools”). I am one of the masses this year. I have not been happy with my weight for years, but I think I’ve finally reached the point where I’m tired of it and ready to do something about it. Now comes the hard part--to figure out a weight loss plan. Stay tuned.
2. Stick to the budget that I created 6 months ago. Shane and I spend way too much and don’t save enough (save?? what’s that??). We eat out too much, mostly because I don’t feel like cooking. He spends too much on beer. And, he spends too much on Brady. Spoiling the boy by buying him shit every week isn’t doing him any good. So, I have told Shane that he has only a certain amount of money he can spend each week on beer, coffee, cigarettes, and Wednesdays with Brady. I have to keep myself on budget regarding eating out and buying yarn. I MUST cook at least 3 times a week, eat lunch at my desk 3 times a week, and not buy anymore yarn for another few months.
3. Knit from my stash until April 1st. After the spree that I went on last week at Yarn Barn's annual sale (pictures of my insanity to come), I can’t really afford to buy anymore yarn for several months. I have 3 70-qt. plastic totes that are full-to-bursting with yarn that I have ear-marked for future projects. Time to start actually making those projects.
4. Do not start any new projects for the month of January. I have, let’s see… hmmmm… 6 projects currently on the needles. I will work on just those projects this month, and not start anything new until 1 February. It shouldn’t be too hard to stick to this one. I have a sweater that I need to fix and then finish, and putting myself on this restriction means that I actually might be able to wear the thing this winter.
5. Read the newspaper everyday. I have had a subscription to the Lawrence Journal [Urinal] World for 3 years, and I almost never read it. I really like knowing what’s going on in town, and the paper is the perfect source for local news (even if it is conservatively-biased). I’m just lazy. Well, no more. From now on, I will at least skim through the whole paper each day.
6. Recycle. My father has an interesting, and somewhat odd, view of recycling, specifically cans: “If you recycle cans, then you’re taking away the livelihood of homeless people.” This notion isn’t as absurd to me as it sounds. During my poor college days, I lived in an apartment outside of which there was a trash dumpster about 10 feet from my front door. There was a homeless man who lived in his VW Beetle who frequently parked in the parking lot and rummaged through the dumpster. I often would put my spent cans in one bag on top of the trash in the dumpster so that he could easily find them. Anyway, as a rule, I don’t like to recycle. I’ve never produced enough recyclable material in my household to warrant collecting it and making a special trip the Walmart Recycle Center to dump it. Things have changed in my house over the last 2 years. Between Shane and me, we produce enough can and glass bottle trash to fill the Grand Canyon. Not to mention the newspapers. I guess I’ve been feeling a little guilty about the trash this household creates. I’m not going to be overzealous about it, like Grandma (who will dig through a full trash can to find the cans and bottles that we “careless” people throw away), but I will spend a little effort helping our little green earth.
There you have it—Ye Olde New Year’s Resolution List. We’ll see where we are in a few months. Wish me luck!
posted by Beverly at 6:14 PM
2 Comments:
the weight loss thing...
the gym in dayton that I quit going to last year just built a branch in my town so now I have no excuse to not go. So...if you want some incentive, maybe we can try to do it together..like updating and encouraging each other. I don't want to say compete, but if that works then that's fine, too. let me know...
You're on. I'm not competitive so no need to make it a contest. I'd love some encouragement, though.
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