kismet & happenstance

This is a post about resolutions.

(I know I know… everyone is doing this, amiright? Feel free to skip this one.)

I've never *really* had resolutions, besides the standard, "Be healthier! Lose weight!" blah blah blah crap, which we all know is an empty facsimile of a sham for 99.9999% of the population.

But this year, I need goals. I need direction. This funk I'm in isn't going away, and I need to take more action.

So here we go:

1. Do better.

This is a general sweeping resolution. I'm flaky. I'm forgetful. I'm easily distracted. This sometimes means I'm a bad friend, a bad wife. I forget to send photos, forget to write back, forget lots of small things that don't seem like a big deal until it's a mountain of small things and I've alienated the people around me.

2. Feel better.

I realize this may fall into the "Be healthier! Lose weight!" category. However, it's a more holistic view of things I think.

I semi-recently became a vegetarian (in August, I think) after a couple of years dabbling, but never committing. The conversion was easy enough, but there's room for improvement.

Eating out as a vegetarian in this semi-small town usually means grilled cheese sandwiches, fries, etc, which means my dairy intake has become a bit ridiculous. I've consumed far more dairy as a vegetarian than I ever did as an omnivore. This has lead to a series of unfortunate health issues (headaches, stomach aches, etc) that are completely avoidable. So I'm going to fix that.

I also haven't been active in any consistent way since March, when I ran a 10K with friends after a few months of training. I'm not setting rules and a schedule for myself, as I really don't ever adhere to them (unless there's something like a race approaching). I really just need to stop sitting so much – at my desk at work, on my couch at home, in the car, etc. Walk to the store, use my bike more, go for an occasional run, and so on. Move more. Then see what happens.

3. Spend more time alone.

(This sounds terrible. I really don't mean it to be.)

I'm really quite a solitary character – I lived alone, exercised alone, ate alone, saw movies alone. I used to have little rituals, like spending an hour every Sunday walking around Target with a coffee, just to be alone, zone out, and see what was new. I haven't done anything like that for a while.

Since N and I were married in 2009, I've (obviously) not been alone much. With the few exceptions of N's work trips, we're *constantly* together. Don't get me wrong – I obviously want him around. I just also want to be alone sometimes. I've found that when I'm alone I'm far more productive, more focused. Maybe this will help me reset my personality and get out of this funk (and by this I in NO WAY mean that N is the cause for my funk). You know what I mean.

So there. Those are my resolutions.

What about you? Are any of you making resolutions? Plans? How good are you at keeping them?

gratuitous cheeseball tree photo by me, from the farm