The old "New Year's Resolution" bit

So, I think it's that year for me.  The year of the new year's resolution.  Maybe even a few of them, bigger ones mixed in with the small.  I have, so far, entered into this new year with the firm idea that this year, 2009, will be better than 2008 was.  I'm determined to make it so.  Let's get started, shall we?  I'm a list person, so this will be fun:

1) Worry less about things I don't have any control over.  Pretty self-explanatory.  I worry WAY too much about things I can't control.  I am the Queen of the "what if?" game and I need to step down from that post.

2) Take full advantage of the free time Jason and I spend together.  Work-free time is rare these days, so making the most out of what we have is key.  I am so blessed to have a happy, healthy marriage and I want to celebrate it, keep it flourishing. 

3) Be more optimistic.  Why live life as if the glass is half empty?  Where does that get me?  No where fast, I'll tell ya.  It's easier to be pessimistic, especially during hard times but it doesn't change things and it certainly doesn't make it any better.  Perhaps if hard times are approached differently, the outcome will be different, too.

4) Don't take living in Santa Barbara for granted.  I live in a beautiful city.  I've grown up here so sometimes it's easy to take for granted.  I shouldn't.  I'm lucky to call this place home and I need to remember that.

5) Don't be so hard on myself.  I'm not perfect.  Who is?  Who would want to be?  

6) Take risks.  So far, I've cut my hair really short.  For someone with super curly hair, that's a risk.  But it felt good and I love it!  I don't mean unsafe risks, I mean out of my comfort zone risks that will enrich my life somehow if I just put my nerves aside and do it.

7) Keep a reading log so I can keep track of what I've read.  I read all the time but sometimes I get into these reading grooves and I'll blow through so many books in a few weeks...and I lose track of what I've read.  I sometimes will start reading a book that I've been wanting to read only to discover I've already read it!  So, the log is necessary.

8) Cook more.  I've gotten lazy.  I'll admit it.  The first year and a half of married life, I honestly cooked from scratch most nights.  Now it's maybe a few nights a week.  We don't eat out on the nights I don't cook, it's more like scrounging around for a meal, putting things together.  I LOVE cooking, but these days, I get home and just want to relax.  Not an excuse.  It's way healthier to stop being lazy and make some meals!  

9) Make more "me" time.  I need to be less stressed out.  I just have to make time for it, take a day off here and there, go in late sometimes, leave early every once in awhile and not feel guilty about it.  As my friend, Beth would say, "treat myself."  I care too much sometimes and it weighs on me.  It's not healthy.  Stress is, according to most doctors, the worst thing a person can do to their body.  

10) Be more patient.  Patience is NOT one of my best virtues.  In fact, it's one of my worst.  But, these days require more patience than I've ever had to exhibit and it's time to work on it.  For my own good.

11) Write a poem every once in awhile.  I have my degree in creative writing and yet...where did that piece of me go?  I used to write every day in college, mostly because I had to but I truly enjoyed it.  Writing is part of who I am and I've let that part drop away.  It's time to unearth it again.

This is a pretty good start I'd say.  I'll have to check in with myself half way through the year to see how I'm doing.  Can I count on you to help keep me accountable to myself?