New Year, Old Plans

It seems some things never change. On making a new list of 50 resolutions, I noticed that there are a lot of duplicates from 2006. Most of the new ones have to do with the career which has a slightly different direction than in 2006. In 2006 it was all about getting a job, now it is about getting a better job. That goal involves doing a few things in addition to sending out the cover letters and copies of the cv.

Here it is: 50 Resolutions for 2008
1. Continue to go to the gym four or five days a week
2. Continue to eat healthy
3. Continue to lose weight
4. Develop patience
5. Find a friend in MO that is not a bad influence AND local
6. Finish painting the exterior of the house
7. Pay off all debt except for the mortgage (student loans, car, credit card, mom)
8. Fly a plane
9. Finish wedding announcement cross stitch
10. Start a serious running program instead of just doing 3-4 miles at slowpoke speed on the treadmill four times a week
11. Create an online course - "The History and Appreciation of Science"
12. Apply for a minimum of three jobs
13. Stop obsessing over the idea that money spent on preventative medical and dental appointments/procedures is wasteful.
14. Enter a triathlon
15. Lower my standards enough to date in the hamlet of hell at least for the free meal
16. Start my semi-autobiographical novel about my experience in the hamlet of hell
17. Create an honors online course
18. Go camping
19. Volunteer for something non-profit
20. Finish the jigsaw puzzle on my dining room table
21. Fix the bathroom ceiling
22. Make and cover the new seats for my dining table chairs
23. Visit at least two friends not in MO or MI
24. Make a trip to STL for a cultural event
25. Paint with my acrylics
26. Wear make-up regularly and use anti-wrinkle cream
27. Finish going through those "left-over" boxes from when I moved 18 months ago
28. Finish the quilt
29. Drink a minimum of 4 glasses of water a day
30. Take more pictures
31. Research stocks to make better decisions for my IRA
32. Resist the urge to slack at work when everyone else does (or appears to)
33. Go out to eat less often
34. Bite my tongue even more often
35. Try to be early instead of right on time or late if something "comes up"
36. Call my dad more often
37. Get my wisdom teeth removed
38. Go to a conference
39. Take a personal day
40. Find 5 tasty and healthy crockpot recipes
41. Strip and refinish the heirloom bureau
42. Update my teaching portfolio
43. Organize my job and personal paper files
44. Travel somewhere I haven't been before
45. Eat fewer carbs
46. Be more grateful
47. Blog more often
48. Relearn to knit
49. Get rid of clothes I know I will never wear
50. Check this list before 2010 to see if I am on track

Back in 2006...

Back at the beginning of 2006 there was a general meme-type thing going around the blogsphere on New Year's resolutions. The idea was to come up with 50 resolutions. I did that and then never looked at the list again. So, two years later, I'm checking in with it... and leaving comments. * means I accomplished the goal at some point in the last 2 years or I am currently doing whatever it is. Strike throughs mean that they became obsolete for some reason (mainly leaving the ex). And a ! means that in 24 months I still couldn't manage to get on top of that resolution and it will be added to the new list this year. Here we go...

50 Resolutions/Promises/Plans:
* 1. Eat healthier
* 2. Go to the gym at least three times a week but try for four or five
* 3. Lose weight (see #1 and #2)
! 4. Vacuum and dust regularly - not just when it is so gross I can't stand it
* 5. Paint the bathrooms
* 6. Help finish the basement
* 7. Create library of the WoodWorks series
! 8. Bite my tongue even more often (as current amount is clearly still not enough)
* 9. Stop wallowing in bed
* 10. Drink less soda pop
11. Go on a cruise with best friend for "bachelorette" party
* 12. Call and/or write friends and family more often
*/! 13. Send b-day cards
* 14. Get a new hairstyle
! 15. Start using anti-wrinkle skin care products (starting to notice those blasted "fine lines")
* 16. Finish crocheting both afghans
17. Blog on less superficial topics now that I have time to keep up on current events more fully
* 18. Learn more html programming
* 19. Read more books
! 20. Go camping
21. Make gift for bf's mom before next xmas
* 22. Find 10 great recipes for meals that are extremely tasty AND healthy
23. Participate in the Canadian Birkebeiner
! 24. Learn to ballroom dance (with my partner)
* 25. Take a vested interest in the elections
* 26. Turn the olympics off when they are featuring sports I don't really enjoy watching (can anyone say "curling"?) to stop wasting my time
* 27. Paint the closets
28. Get to know my bf's eldest niece better - I think she could use the 'adult friend'
* 29. Enjoy the "good things" more
* 30. Send copies of my degree confirmation to a few people who should know I finally finished
! 31. Relearn my French
32. Go to Vancouver or Seattle (since I am now within driving range)
!! 33. Be more patient
! 34. Volunteer to do something that isn't self-serving
* 35. Consolidate my e-mail accounts (I currently have 7)
* 36. Update my address book - both snail mail and electronic
* 37. Help my bf finally get the office completely cleaned up and organized before he moves it all to the basement and it (inevitably) gets worse
38. Write a kick-ass maid-of-honor speech and practice until it doesn't make me become a blithering crying idiot by the end
39. Play ultimate in the summer league and NOT get hurt
* 40. Join some sort of club (reading, knitting, etc.) where I can make my 'own' friends
*/! 41. Be more understanding
! 42. Jump out of a plane
* 43. Relax and pamper myself but do not let it get to the point of sloth
! 44. Finish the projects that are already started and try not to start too many new ones
! 45. Learn to enjoy, or at least tolerate, driving at granny speed (the only speed allowed up here!)
* 46. Get a job
! 47. Write a novel (NaNoWiRe anyone?)
* 48. Find a good salon here
* 49. Show my love to my family and friends
! 50. Check this list regularly to see how I am doing

Not terribly bad. Did a lot of things, made progress on some, and completely sucked on a few. My new list is in the works. Check back for that later.

I Knew It!

You Are 24% American

You're as American as Key Lime Tofu Pie Otherwise known as un-American! You belong in Cairo or Paris... Get out fast - before you end up in Gitmo!

How American Are You?