2012!

Well, here we are again.  The beginning of another year, the motivation to set new goals and change yourself for the better.  I've never been good at new years resolutions...  It's so hard to really change yourself, I just get so complacent and go with the flow.  I turned 27 last month, and I really feel like this is the year I've got to get it together.  This is the year when I've really got to decide what I want to do and get out there and (as my husband said this morning) "attack the day, don't let it come to you."  So, with that in mind, here are my 2012 resolutions!

1. Advance my career.  I will finish my web design certificate program in April, and I'm really hoping to start a web design business, or at least get a super awesome new job in a new field.  I am a graphic designer right now, but when looking for jobs it's really rare to find a graphic design job that doesn't also require you to know about web design.  So I feel like I am moving in the right direction- I have this fantasy of being a big hot shot designer, and I think I have the skills, but not the confidence.  So really my resolution is to work on my confidence in my abilities, and to know that I deserve to be a super awesome hot shot web/graphic designer.
2. Finish my office redesign and get more organized.  I am the most unorganized person ever.  Actually, I take that back - I am just messy.  I know where everything is, but it's all over the place.  A couple months ago I started redesigning my office (which is actually my basement), and I painted the birch tree wall I've been wanting forever.  I also got shelves and a million storage cubes and magazine holders, and I've been slowly putting together the storage boxes (damn you IKEA, you make putting together a storage cube an hour-long job!) and I'm going to paint them.  I also bought a countertop, with the intention of making cabinets/shelves for the countertop to sit on for my desk, but I haven't actually started making the desk, so everything is just spread out all over the place.  I think if I can get everything organized and have a place for everything, it will be a lot easier to be more productive.

3.  Take some trips! I got a credit card last year that gave me a lot of free airline miles, so now i have about 110,000 miles - they're British Airways miles, and I had the intention of taking a trip to London or Ireland, but apparently a trip to another country costs just as much in fees as non-miles airfare (ok, maybe not as much, but still like $500 for a round trip ticket, plus 50,000 miles each).  Staying in the U.S., on the other hand, is super cheap.  For example, I can go to Miami for 9,000 miles plus $5.  Yes, $5.  I can go to New York for something like 15,000 miles plus $5.  Considering I've never been to New York or California and have always wanted to go, I'm deeming this the year that I'm going to do some traveling.  
 

  And sure, I've got the stock resolutions that I have every year - exercise, diet, be better with my money...  But after a million years of never really keeping those resolutions, they're not even worth mentioning now.  I am eating healthier, thanks in part to the fact that my husband has resolved to get leaner, so it's easier to diet when he's not complaining about the dishes.  

So, how about yall? What are you resolving in 2012?

 

gymnastics!

so, guess what!?!? today, i am starting a gymnastics class.
no, i am not 12, i am 25. but it's an adult gymnastics class!
i am not new to gymnastics, i took gymnastics when i was little, and then from middle school through 1st year of college i took tumbling classes because i was a cheerleader. however, that means it has been 6 years and 20 pounds since i tried to do a flip of any kind.
and this is actually gymnastics, so that means beam, vault, bars... things i have not done in probably 20 years. it may sound crazy, but i'm excited. and at least one day a week i will be getting some exercise (yeah, that resolution to work out didn't work so great).
so, wish me luck! and hopefully i don't hurt myself. i am what you may call a klutz. i broke my right arm three times within a two year period when i was a child, and sometimes i fall down for no reason. at my wedding, i tripped on the stairs and had a huge welt on my arm before anything even started. like i said, klutz.

state of the union (or, of my resolutions)

There's been a little bit of progression with my resolutions, so I figured I'd post an update.

start writing in a journal or online to get more comfortable with my writing style, and then start writing my book, and not quit after 2 weeks, i will write at least 10 pages every other day.
well, i've come up with a couple ideas for some books and have written some notes, and I wrote about half a page of the beginning of a story, but so far I haven't stuck with my 10 pages every other day. haven't done any extra writing.

work out at least 30 minutes 4 times per week. drink more water. quit spending so much money on lunch, eat lean cuisines. take my dog for more walks.
i actually have been working out (3 times last week) and since my car is broken and my husband has been driving me to work every day, i have no choice other than eating lean cuisines and not spending money! yay! and as a side note, i love my dog and wish we were doing more walks but it has been freezing and raining a lot lately. i know, excuses, excuses...

travel somewhere new that requires a plane (hopefully nyc or ireland), also i want to go somewhere with my mom & encourage her to do something exciting in life
my mom and i have planned a trip to go to savannah at the beginning of march! no planes required, which means i guess i need to get my car fixed, but it's something!

take a class for something artsy & crafty, like painting or jewelry making
umm nothing on the horizon for this at the moment.

start reading to expand my knowledge: three things that i want to learn about are: religion, current events (i will read parts of the newspaper i never even glanced at before), and science
well, no newspapers, but i am 1/3 of the way through pride and prejudice, which i have tried to read before but could never get into, and this time i actually am enjoying it!