Baker’s Dozen – New Year’s Resolutions 2012

Now that I have been blogging long enough to have annual posts, I thought it might be interesting to use last year’s New Year’s Resolutions list as a starting point for this next year’s list of resolutions.

I mentioned last year that, like a lot of people, I make New Year’s Resolutions every year, but also, like most people, they don’t last too long.  One of my nephews commented that he thought making resolutions was ridiculous and that people should be constantly assessing and reassessing their goals and shouldn’t be tied to only  making ones because it’s the start of a new year.

I see his point, but I think people naturally like to have a point of reference from which to make changes in their lives.  Sometimes they happen when they have a significant life event – a birth, a death, a major illness.  Most people, fortunately, do not have significant life events every year so using the New Year as a starting point makes a lot of sense and just seems natural.

Bottom line for me is putting it out there is making me be more accountable.  Yikes.

Here is my annotated list from last year and either an update or a replacement to it for this next year.

1)  Be nicer.  I think I was mostly successful at this last year, but I could always do better.  I am going to change this one up a little and rather than say “be nicer” I’m going to make it:

Be happy every day.  I tend to get myself worked up into blue moods or funks.  Often these occur over events or people who do things over which I have little or no control.  Being happy every day will mean that I will have to work on letting go.  And if I am happy I will naturally be nicer.  At least I hope so.

2)  Exercise more.  Hey, I think I did pretty well at this one.  I got a physical fitness assessment done, and have a plan for regular cardio and strength training in place.  I am missing the gene that says when you exercise you will feel better.  I just end up feeling tired and really find any type of physical activity to be extremely boring and am challenged to stay motivated.  It has helped to walk several times a week with a friend.  I am going to change this one up to make it:

Mama biking on the Katy Trail.  2011 – first time on a bike in decades.  Looking forward to more biking in 2012.

Live a healthy lifestyle.  This means working not only on exercise, but on diet, too.

3)  Use nice words.

Yes, I like spicy language.  Yes, I am better at not swearing so much, but I still make DSH roll his eyes from time to time.  Guess I’ll keep  this one on the list.

4)  Work on the Bucket List.  Hurray for us!  We went ziplining in the rain forest!  That was a big item on the bucket list.

Mama and family ready to go ziplining in the Costa Rican rain forest.

I’m going to keep this one here and hope we can plan some more  exciting adventures in 2012.

5)  Read more.  I’ve done more reading this year, but I have a tall stack of books on my nightstand waiting to be read.  I’m going to change this one up a little to:

Read more great books and see more great movies.

6)  Write more thank you notes.  Okay, big fail on this one.  I did make an effort to do more of this, but it was not nearly what I had planned to do.  I’m replacing this one with:

Work on downsizing.  If we can manage to downsize our home and have it make sense financially, this will be the primary goal.  Along with this includes going through all of our stuff and cleaning it out – cabinets, drawers, closets, garage, basement.  This is a big project.  Reduce, reuse, recycle.

7)  Repair, powerwash, and stain the deck.  Done.  Check it off the list.

Replace this one with make any needed repairs and changes to our  current home that may be necessary to rent it out in the event we are able to purchase another home for us to live in.

8)  Finish re-finishing the bathroom cabinets upstairs.  Okay, not  quite done, but these will be done within the month.  Don’t you just love projects that take over a year to complete?

9)  Finish, okay maybe not finish, but continue working on getting the rest of the slides and pictures digitized.  I made a lot of progress on  this goal, but there is so much more to do it is daunting.  I built a picture archive site for both sides of the family and have been adding family tree information, too, so I think I’m going to amend this one to:

Scan family photos and build a true genealogical database for our  families.

Mama as a baby.

10)  Help the kids get ready for college.  Last two kids are off to college and the middle kid graduates in May so this one will change to:

Help our new college graduate to get settled into her new life, wherever that may be and, if finances permit it, take her on a trip.

11)  Visit my sisters in Arizona, Oregon, and Minnesota.  We visited my sister in Arizona and in Minnesota, but we never made it to Oregon.  We are going to make that trip this year for sure.

Mama and sisters in Arizona.

12)  Help my brother plan a trip with his sisters for his 50th birthday.  We never planned a trip with my brother, but we had lots of fun experiences with him this year.  We found out he had a 21-year-old son, and he got married.

My brother and his new family.

This will be replaced with:

Let go of family members who “don’t fill my bucket” or who “work to actively empty my bucket.”  I’ve blogged a little about the challenges I  have encountered in this area, and it is quite a challenge for me.  You’ll hear more about this for sure.

13)  Do something (anything) romantic with my husband.  We seriously need to keep this one on the list and work on it, too!

Happy New Year to all of you!  How did you do on last year’s resolutions?  Do you have any for 2012?