New Year, New Resolve
My head has been swimming lately with the ghosts of things I've let die and the inklings of things I hope to resurrect or introduce over the next several months. I've the feeling this could be a very long entry, but these are all things I need to say... and more importantly DO.
1. Pray more. (enough said)
2. Read my Bible... every. single. day. (even if it's only a passage... I've been HORRIBLE about not doing this for far too long)
3. Get my finances in order. (again... enough said... I'm possibly one of the worst financial planners alive)
4. Get over him.
5. Try to get some of my poetry published. When I met MJ in New York last week, she gave me some tips on getting published and places I could/should check out in order to make this happen. She also encouraged me that, while I may face a lot of rejection initially, it's worth it when it happens... and even if it never happens... it's okay, because I'm writing for me.
6. Start fleshing out the idea for my first (I say first because it's deliberately expectant) novel.
7. Read Les Miserables.
8. Start trading writings with MJ (and whoever else wants to join us). We're going to form a sort of cross-country (and depending on who else decides to join us... Cara? Anton? Red? Adam? anyone? ... maybe it'll be global) writing group. I'm SO excited about this and I really hope it happens.
9. Turn my cell phone off more often. I'm far to available... to my own detriment... and I'd like to change this. I need to do more of the things I love and stop spending so much time focused on the things my friends love. I know I sound selfish... but I think I'm losing myself (if I ever really had myself to begin with) and it's time I start focusing on more of the things I want to accomplish... like writing a book, reading a LOT of books, painting a picture, studying the Bible, learning more about history (both U.S. and world)... the list goes on.
10. Find out who I am and what I love... I could write an entire post on this one... and I think I will. Look for it soon.
11. Write more letters... especially to my grandparents.
12. Start saving for a trip with my sister. I read this article in American Way magazine when I was on the plane to Newark two weeks ago, and it gave me a great idea for a graduation present for my sister (thank you, Lord, that she graduates in four years... 'cause I'll need that long to save and plan). I'll write more about this after I've fleshed it out a little more and let my sister in on it (just in case she actually reads this). But know this... it's going to be AWESOME!
13. Don't eat out more than 2x a week... I waste FAR too much money eating out. And most of the time, I'd rather make and eat a home cooked meal anyway. I'm just a sucker and never say "no."
14. Watch more foreign films. (I think this one's pretty self-explanatory)
15. Read more -- of EVERYTHING
16. Spend more time with me. (kind of going off what I mentioned before... I want to be less social... I need more alone time)
17. Put up a shelf in my kitchen. (boring... but I really want to do this)
18. Get a dining table and chairs. (the only room that's ALWAYS empty wherever I live, is my dining room. even though I've lived alone off and on for the past three years, this is the one thing I have yet to invest in)
19. Get new mattress and box springs. I inherited a bed (mattress and box springs included) from my great grandparents when they died. This was awesome at the time... I was like six years old... and THEY had had this mattress and box springs for who knows how long before I got it. So I think it's safe to say I'm sleeping on a worn out mattress and box springs that's closing in on 50 years old. I think it's time I fork over some cash for a good decade's sleep.
20. Eat healthy and work out -- actually work to get and stay healthy. (self-explanatory)
21. Go see Dustin and Leigh Anne. And if all goes according to plan, I'll be accomplishing this one at the end of February. (Please, please let this work out!!)
22. Meet more blog friends.
23. Go a whole year without heart-ache. Not that this is really up to me... but here's hoping.
24. Go to work early at least 3x a week.
25. Take my lunch to work every day.
26. Find some new hobbies and start doing something to benefit another (or several) human being(s).
27. Start freelance writing to supplement my income... and maybe even get paid to write something I enjoy writing.
28. Be more deliberate with my time and energy.
29. Make more CD compilations. Supposedly I'm really good at this... because I don't have a ton of money, this has become my go-to gift for people. And I think I want to start doing this more often. It's fun for me... and supposedly the recipients love it, too.
30. Get a camera. For too long I've been without a camera. It's time to change this.
31. Love my friends and family better. (enough said)
32. Talk less... listen more.
33. Be content (period)
34. Cook more often. I LOVE to cook, but I don't very often because I'm only cooking for me, and that takes a little (okay a lot) of the joy out of it. Plus, my kitchen is officially the size of a closet, so it makes it a little difficult. But I don't care... I want to cook more often!
35. Finish decorating my room. In the last three places I've lived, I've failed to decorate my own room. I do the living room and even the empty dining room... and the kitchen and the bathroom and the hallway... but I NEVER seem to get around to decorating my room. I want to change that.
36. Don't move... for at least another year. Since I graduated from high school and went away to college, I've moved ELEVEN times. OH. MY. GOSH. I didn't realize it had been so many times until I actually counted it all out. Whoa. I think it's time to settle.
37. Keep this job for a few years. (continuing on with that whole settling thing. this company has treated me SO well... I think I owe them a few years, at least)
38. Attend more concerts... hopefully more than a few with my new friends (see those linked in #22)
39. Convince my apartment management to give us a recycling option.
40. Be less selfish... be less self-righteous... be less vindictive... be less envious. I know those seem broad... but they're ugly things I've seen in myself lately, and I want to see them gone.
well... that's it for now... we'll see how this goes. and you can all be my accountability partners. since you're the friends I'm most honest with (mostly because you can't see me, I guess) and you're the friends I "see" every day... and you're the friends I've shared these goals with... I'm counting on you to YELL (i.e. type in big letters) at me whenever you think I'm straying or slacking. and let me know if you want me to help you... I'll do my best.
HAPPY 2-0-0-7!!!
posted by Martha Elaine Belden @ Thursday, January 11, 2007
11 comments
11 Comments:
In response to Item #22 "Meet more blog friends"...
Although obviously excluded from the above mentioned list, i will overlook that ever-so-slight slap in the face long enough to propose a meeting. (It would be amazing to meet you after all this time; rumor has it that we're not that far apart.) Now i know that my soon-to-be-proposed idea is in direct contradiction to Item #25 "Take my lunch to work every day.", but i feel that in this particular situation, the most mutually benefitial approach is the best way to go.
so lunch then?
yes, mirandaray, lunch would be fabulous :)
we'll e-mail shortly ;)
That's a whole lotta resoluting! I thought I was doing good by attempting to eat less Peanut M&M's...
oh my gosh, can we just meet right now so we can gab and gab and gab (gab's a verb, right?)? i'll make a list in honor of your list.
1. would love to trade writings. this is a little scary for me, but i want to be involved in your stuff, and i need to push myself.
2. can't wait to hear about the trip with your sister.
3. oh, we should make each other mix cds after we get to know each other and our tastes better.
4. yeah, i could go on and on. can't wait to talk about all these things over dinner. (sorry, you'll have to eat out unless you want dinner in the sherl).
These sound like wonderful resolutions :) I wish you the best luck I can. I especially enjoyed hearing about you making more alone time for yourself. As someone who also is usually very social, I know that it's important to do things that refresh you and things that you alone enjoy. I feel like I could comment on all of these individually, but I'll spare you. I can't wait until next Saturday!
UGH! I SO feel you on #34. I feel the EXACT same way.
argh.. my comment didn't post.
This New Year's resolution is incredible. It's so fresh and exciting. It's going to be great!
that's a heck of a lot of resolutions. good ones though. #9 is my favorite...i need to do that too...spend less time on friends hobbies and more time on my own.
and i'm glad i'm helping you with your "getting a dining room set" resolution. it'll be there tomorrow!
my goodness that's one big long list. but do-able, i think. (especially since so many of them seem to overlap). as I said when we met, I would LOVE to trade writing(s) with you and whichever global friends wanna join. let's think about how we might do this over the weekend...
great resolutions, Martha, I feel quite inspired now to work on some of these myself. and I love that you want 'accountability partners,' life is better for all of us when we help each other out in that way.
First of all: by all means, get a camera! Digital cameras have changed my life! Did I mention we took, like 1,300 pictures in Seville?!?
Second: you MUST decorate your bedroom, girl. That's like your temple, your cocoon. Sure, the communal areas of your apartment need to look pretty and feel comfortable too, but that is your area and you should feel like it's your special place. Get your friends round with paintbrushes, buy a few pictures, a few cushions, a few candles, and badabing! A cosy little place is born. And get yourself a new mattress too!
Third: I shan't be taking part in the writing project just yet, simply because I don't do much creative writing (well, none at all, actually) and even if I did, I would be too conscious of my limitations, especially among such talented people as yourself, MJ, Adam and the others.
BUT: I would be happy to exchange a few compilation CDs with you. In fact, I would love to do that, if you're up for it. (redspage@btinternet.com is my email address if you want to drop me a line with your details.)
Finally, do turn that mobile (cell) phone off! Read Les Miserables! Travel with your sister! They are all great ideas. Here's to you succeeding in all of them!
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