No more traveling
Friday, 2 January 2009 07:23![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
earthbelow
I'm finally back home after being in Tennessee with my dad and stepmom and grandmother for a few days. Oddly enough, I had a better time with my father than my mother this year. Those who know my family situation will find this as strange as I do.
I'm done traveling for a while, thank goodness.
So Happy (Already Begun) New Year's! I hope that 2009 will be a spectacular year for all of you that brings the things you hope for and then a little extra.
As far as New Year's Resolutions, mine are pretty straightforward. Though I did achieve most of
1. Be more organized and clean. Done. I've become better at keeping on top of clutter and mess, and I've even found that on my own terms, I enjoy housekeeping. But, like I said, on my own terms.
2. Lose weight. Sorta done. I didn't lose as much weight as I wanted, and am not significantly thinner than I was this time last year. I think I'm under by a few pounds, but not many. This bothers me, especially since I've gained weight over the holidays that I now have to take off just to get back to the weight I was at this summer.
3. Plan Wedding. Failed. This is a great source of stress for me, because everyone has an opinion about it, and since I'm not at all decided what I want, hearing other people's opinions and ideas is just uncomfortable and frustrating, especially since whenever I admit to not having many ideas, people go ahead and start trying to plan the whole damn thing for me. "Oh, you should go to [insert place of other person's choice] and you can do [insert activities of other person's choice] and you can have [insert objects/people of other person's choice]!" I'll have a wedding when I'm good and ready, and I'll let you know in time to make reservations and save money, okay?
4. Exercise More. DONE! While I haven't taken off the weight like I wanted, I have gone from not doing much exercise, to walking 3 miles in the morning. I also got a set of small free weights (1, 3, and 5 pounds respectively) to help me with this. I also have added the occasional 30 minute session of intense Wii-centered exercise to my habits.
5. Be a better artist. Failed. I haven't kept up with my art like I wanted to, which includes scrapbooking, journaling, painting, and other things I like to do. I think it's because I feel like I'm never going to be good enough to please even myself.
6. Journal Daily. Failed. I did really good at this until about November, then I just petered out completely.
7. Read More. Done. I've really stepped up my book consumption this year, and devoured a lot more literature than I did previously. In fact, this year, I think I read more than I have in any year since college.
8. Pay Off All Debts. DONE DONE DONE!. I owe nothing to no man. I can't say how proud I am of this or how good it feels not to be under the weight of debt. It wasn't a huge debt (a little less than 10k for student loans in total), but it's gone and I can keep the money I earn for myself, and use it to save for things or pay for things I'd want instead of going to feed the Loan Monsters.
9. Submit a Manuscript for Publication. Failed. I have to say this was my most "successful" failure of the year. I am very close to having a manuscript that is submission ready, and if 2008 had lasted longer, and I hadn't spent most of the month of December traveling all over creation, barely getting a day or two to sit down at home, I'd have this done. So, I did my damndest.
1. Lose Weight. I think upping my exercise, and experimenting with my diet may help. I may also get brave enough this year (seeing as I have insurance) to venture forth and find some sort of professional who can explain why, at 24, when I eat a diet of 1000-1200 calories and exercise for 45 minutes each day, sometimes more, I'm not losing more weight. It can't just be the insulin resistance, can it? Nobody's metabolism is *that* slow. Something else is at work.
2. Exercise More. I list this separate, because I don't just exercise for weight loss. I do it for my mental health as much as my physical. I've found that I get less anxious and I have an easier time sleeping when I get in my 45 minutes. It also helps my self-esteem to know that I can set goals and meet them and even exceed them. My goal is to get up to the point where I can jog for longer and maybe walk 4 miles in the morning by March/April.
3. Submit a manuscript for publication. I'm close to this one and it might be the first one I check off my list.
4. Continue being cleaner and more organized. I need to straighten the clutter at my desk today that has accumulated during the holiday season. I could use a good cleaning fit, honestly.
5. Journal daily. I failed![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
embodiment, but I will keep trying at it, because I feel it is important, and I like it. I like using my journal as not only a place for just venting and ranting, but experimenting with collages, poetry, and other random forms of art.
6. Work more on art. I need to get back in the saddle and get over my issues. I won't ever please myself if I just sit around going, "Oh I'll never be any good!". I do, however, stand a chance if I practice and work and keep trying.
7. Find some kind of employment or money making activity that doesn't make me completely miserable. My internship made me miserable, and since publishing in general is going down in flames, I think it is time to consider other options.
8. Keep reading more. My tentative goal is 40-50 books this year, which is about a book a week.
9. Try one new recipe a month. I really would love to be better in the kitchen, and I like cooking, surprisingly. I always envied people who knew what to do in the kitchen, until I realized that they only know what to do because they cook, a lot. Because they've made mistakes and had the benefit of learning from others. My favorite thing to do when I go to see my dad/stepmom is to try cooking something new with her, because she's awesome in the kitchen and a great teacher.
10. Learn a new skill. I think this year's is going to be soapmaking. I'm really psyched to try it out, and if I get any really good results, I'm totally going to be sending my friends and family what I make. I'd love to learn how to make faux french milled soaps.
I'm done traveling for a while, thank goodness.
So Happy (Already Begun) New Year's! I hope that 2009 will be a spectacular year for all of you that brings the things you hope for and then a little extra.
As far as New Year's Resolutions, mine are pretty straightforward. Though I did achieve most of
1. Be more organized and clean. Done. I've become better at keeping on top of clutter and mess, and I've even found that on my own terms, I enjoy housekeeping. But, like I said, on my own terms.
2. Lose weight. Sorta done. I didn't lose as much weight as I wanted, and am not significantly thinner than I was this time last year. I think I'm under by a few pounds, but not many. This bothers me, especially since I've gained weight over the holidays that I now have to take off just to get back to the weight I was at this summer.
3. Plan Wedding. Failed. This is a great source of stress for me, because everyone has an opinion about it, and since I'm not at all decided what I want, hearing other people's opinions and ideas is just uncomfortable and frustrating, especially since whenever I admit to not having many ideas, people go ahead and start trying to plan the whole damn thing for me. "Oh, you should go to [insert place of other person's choice] and you can do [insert activities of other person's choice] and you can have [insert objects/people of other person's choice]!" I'll have a wedding when I'm good and ready, and I'll let you know in time to make reservations and save money, okay?
4. Exercise More. DONE! While I haven't taken off the weight like I wanted, I have gone from not doing much exercise, to walking 3 miles in the morning. I also got a set of small free weights (1, 3, and 5 pounds respectively) to help me with this. I also have added the occasional 30 minute session of intense Wii-centered exercise to my habits.
5. Be a better artist. Failed. I haven't kept up with my art like I wanted to, which includes scrapbooking, journaling, painting, and other things I like to do. I think it's because I feel like I'm never going to be good enough to please even myself.
6. Journal Daily. Failed. I did really good at this until about November, then I just petered out completely.
7. Read More. Done. I've really stepped up my book consumption this year, and devoured a lot more literature than I did previously. In fact, this year, I think I read more than I have in any year since college.
8. Pay Off All Debts. DONE DONE DONE!. I owe nothing to no man. I can't say how proud I am of this or how good it feels not to be under the weight of debt. It wasn't a huge debt (a little less than 10k for student loans in total), but it's gone and I can keep the money I earn for myself, and use it to save for things or pay for things I'd want instead of going to feed the Loan Monsters.
9. Submit a Manuscript for Publication. Failed. I have to say this was my most "successful" failure of the year. I am very close to having a manuscript that is submission ready, and if 2008 had lasted longer, and I hadn't spent most of the month of December traveling all over creation, barely getting a day or two to sit down at home, I'd have this done. So, I did my damndest.
1. Lose Weight. I think upping my exercise, and experimenting with my diet may help. I may also get brave enough this year (seeing as I have insurance) to venture forth and find some sort of professional who can explain why, at 24, when I eat a diet of 1000-1200 calories and exercise for 45 minutes each day, sometimes more, I'm not losing more weight. It can't just be the insulin resistance, can it? Nobody's metabolism is *that* slow. Something else is at work.
2. Exercise More. I list this separate, because I don't just exercise for weight loss. I do it for my mental health as much as my physical. I've found that I get less anxious and I have an easier time sleeping when I get in my 45 minutes. It also helps my self-esteem to know that I can set goals and meet them and even exceed them. My goal is to get up to the point where I can jog for longer and maybe walk 4 miles in the morning by March/April.
3. Submit a manuscript for publication. I'm close to this one and it might be the first one I check off my list.
4. Continue being cleaner and more organized. I need to straighten the clutter at my desk today that has accumulated during the holiday season. I could use a good cleaning fit, honestly.
5. Journal daily. I failed
embodiment, but I will keep trying at it, because I feel it is important, and I like it. I like using my journal as not only a place for just venting and ranting, but experimenting with collages, poetry, and other random forms of art. 6. Work more on art. I need to get back in the saddle and get over my issues. I won't ever please myself if I just sit around going, "Oh I'll never be any good!". I do, however, stand a chance if I practice and work and keep trying.
7. Find some kind of employment or money making activity that doesn't make me completely miserable. My internship made me miserable, and since publishing in general is going down in flames, I think it is time to consider other options.
8. Keep reading more. My tentative goal is 40-50 books this year, which is about a book a week.
9. Try one new recipe a month. I really would love to be better in the kitchen, and I like cooking, surprisingly. I always envied people who knew what to do in the kitchen, until I realized that they only know what to do because they cook, a lot. Because they've made mistakes and had the benefit of learning from others. My favorite thing to do when I go to see my dad/stepmom is to try cooking something new with her, because she's awesome in the kitchen and a great teacher.
10. Learn a new skill. I think this year's is going to be soapmaking. I'm really psyched to try it out, and if I get any really good results, I'm totally going to be sending my friends and family what I make. I'd love to learn how to make faux french milled soaps.