I don't really believe in formal "resolutions" per se but these are the changes I want to implement in my life starting now:
1. Abide by the Four Agreements. My mom gave me this book to read a few years ago and I came back to it this past fall. The Agreements are, essentially: always tell the truth, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions, and always do your best. I could especially benefit from the two middle ones but I am working on keeping all four in mind as I go about my life.
2. Cook more. Chris and I eat out, or get takeout, a lot. (I feel embarrassed to admit it, but in defense I honestly do think it's a not infrequent result of city living.) Before we got our apartment, we ate out because we each had two roommates with equal kitchen rights, or else we'd meet up somewhere in the city after work which is, of course, dinnertime. Then when we first moved in we were cooking a lot more but in recent months we've been so insanely busy that that's fallen by the wayside. Eating out is not only money flying down the drain but it's generally higher caloric content, even if you get a salad, and not as healthy. I got Chris a cooking class and three cookbooks for Christmas, and Erika gave me an amazing stone baking dish and Liz gave us some fantastic kitchen basics (like a wisk, measuring cups, mixing bowls, and other stuff) that will help us in this goal.
3. Eat locally. I'm reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which is about her family's attempt to only eat things that they grow or that they obtain from local farmers. The international food trade is nutty...did you know we export 1.1 million pounds of potatoes a year, but IMPORT 1.4 million?? I'm not ready to dive wholeheartedly into the lifestyle that Kingsolver suggests, but I do want to support local farmers as much as I can, and there are numerous farmer's markets each week in New York. This also means eating things when they're in season--in other words, skipping a tomato right now because it's pale, mealy, and probably had to be flown here; but eating MILLIONS of tomatoes in the summer and fall when they're actually ripe. Again, I'm not sure I'm ready to live by this moral at every moment, but it's something I hope to keep in mind.
4. Go back to the gym. Such a cliche, I know...but I got some pretty shirts for Christmas that my mom and Chris's mom may have bought with my pre-Thanksgiving form in mind, and I'd like to be able to wear them, heh.
5. No more Internet gossip. I'll still read the blogs linked here, which is not gossip but is being in touch with my friends, and one or two other sites, but no more Gawker, Jezebel, Fashionista, etc....I'm sick and tired of that judgemental, shallow crap. Over the vacation I wasn't on the Internet at all and the peaceful silence in my mind was profound to experience. Jamie Lynn Spears's pregnancy has no place in my thought queue.
6. Try my hand at writing and painting.
7. Have regular chore time every Saturday. This involves not going away on weekends so often! And ties into
8. Keep a simpler schedule. I always feel obligated to accept every social invitation that comes my way, and it's just TOO MUCH. I'd like work, gym, home to be the NORM and not the exception for a weeknight, and I'd like to relax around the neighborhood on Saturday and go to church on Sunday. The people I care about most, with the exception of Chris and Shelby, don't even live in New York, so why am I knocking myself out to hang out with others? I'm going to become a curmodgeonly hermit :)
9. Do at least one cultural thing every other week. Maybe this is reading a good book or watching one of Chris's arthouse Netflix selections, or maybe it's actually going to a museum or a gallery, or finding a lecture, or going to a documentary. Be smarter, basically.
10. Hmmm, I don't have anything to put here (that is, I'm probably forgetting eight more things) but I think I've set horrifically lofty enough goals as it is, so maybe better to stop while I'm ahead.
What are you looking forward to in 2008?
2 comments:
Your #9 is my #1. I live in such an incredible part of the country and have the time to go out and see or do all of it, I just don't allow myself that time. Austin would also benefit from it all tremendously. We are joining a gym and I can't wait. They have an activity area for Austin so I never have to worry about having to find someone to watch him. Cooking is such an easy thing to let go of, I find that if I set a meal schedule for the week, I stick to it. I have friends who both work, they cook 5 meals on Sunday and freeze them so all they have to do each night when they get home is throw them in the oven, I think it's a great idea for you guys, not sure if it would work, but it may help. We so need to catch up my love. xo Liz xo
Your goals are lofty, but totally attainable. I am proud of you for wanting good, sustainable, smart, local, thought provoking, healthy things in your life. You are more than deserving of all the best you can squeeze from the world. I want to move in with you and do all those good things!! loves.
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