Top 10 List

Control is the issue this year, as always.
Tell myself what to do and then make myself do it,
for the good of myself.  Sounds rather selfish.
I would much rather resolve this year to split the atom,
but I found out someone else already had that on their list in 1932
and they dang sure got it done. Good for them.
They probably already had their personal control issues marked off their list
and were ready to step out and do things for the good of mankind.
I am not there yet.
However - I don't have anything on my new year's resolutions list
that involves my job. I am doing alright there.
Which means I am not slacking in doing my part to help protect the
environment, and I feel like that is contributing to the good of mankind.
Okay - so back to me.

My List:

1.  Eat at least one raw-food meal a day.
         No, I don't mean sushi or steak tartare.  No meat involved in this meal.

2.  Eat less carbs.
         This is not for weight loss or fad dieting. Carbs are sugars
         and they overload the pancreas which produces insulin
          to take care of the sugars in the bloodstream.
          Over time, this results in insulin resistance and a cataclysm of other events.
          Basically, unless we are running marathons,
          we all eat way more carbs than are bodies can handle.

So diet gets the number one and two spots on my list.

3.  Practice yoga at least 4 times a week and add meditation.
           Yoga is aaammmaaazzziiinnngg!!! I love it, love it, love it!
           I would have no problem practicing everyday and even twice a day.
           It is the meditation part I don't do.  That is something akin to riding a
           stationary bike on a bike trail.  Not what it is about and not getting to
           experience the whole experience.  Gotta do better there.

Exercise and meditation get the number three spot.  I am much in need of "awareness" in my life.

4. Use my inside voice.
            No, not my inner voice.
            The inside voice, as in what we are taught in kindergarten.
5.  No swearing.
             I really need a loophole here. Not only am I menopausal,
             but I have three teenagers,
             two who live with me and one who texts me.
             The combination of these afflictions has led to, at times,
             a mild but pronounced case of Tourettes syndrome.
             Lord help me on this one!

Okay so numbers four and five actually go together.
But that makes it look even worse.

6.  Read more.
                Finally, a resolution that doesn't take an extreme amount of discipline,
                just a redirection of time,
                and breaking the habit of reading to "fall asleep"

Number six is simple.  Can't wait to get started!

7.  Start the envelope system.
               Dave Ramsey thinks he is the father of this, but he isn't.
               My father is.
               No, not the heavenly one.
               The one who I would sit on the bed with
               and watch while he divided that stack of bills and
               put them into envelopes each time he got paid.
               To this day the smell of money reminds me of my
               dad. It is real, and inky and papery and earthy and worn.
               I want to smell and feel and hold more of that.  Plastic sucks.

Good old number seven.  Budget.  Ends up on my list every year.

8.  Make grocery lists.
              It's a no-brainer.  Plan. Write it down.  Drive to the store.
              Send the kids in with the list.
              Get some reading time in while you wait for them.
              Save an INCREDIBLE amount of money!

Cut and dried.  Enough said about number eight.

9.  Limit computer time.
                Ouch - this one's gonna hurt.
                It is my biggest and most favorite time eater.
                It is not a bad thing, I just need to keep it in balance.
                I like it and want it and need it,
                but just like eating, a person's gotta know when to push away.

Yes, I will push away from the computer, right after I finish this list with my
grand finale!


10.  Use what I have.
                 Those four little, simple, understandable words
                  are about to have a huge impact around here.
                  I don't know when exactly I concocted the idea
                  in my head that I didn't have enough time to find or work with what
                  I already have - but it is hugely out of control,
                  has been for years and is darn sure going to stop.

What are your New Years Resolutions?