{photo from the wedding of our friends Dusty + Heather: 11-6-11}

I am the queen of creating horrifically long, detailed, unachievable lists of resolutions. Goals. Whatever the kids are calling them these days. I start small, and before I know it I’m going from someone who never works out to a resolution of “Work out 5 times per week! Lift weights! Exercise all the things!” So I do ALL THE THINGS for about a week, get burned out, and crash. Lather, rinse, repeat. Story of my life.

It’s so easy to make these lists and then feel overwhelmed, like someone is forcing us to do them. Um, pretty sure there’s no List of Insane Resolutions Police. If there were, I’d be locked up for life. Who sets us up to fail? WE DO. We set ourselves up to fail. We create these lists, put unnecessary pressure on ourselves, and make ourselves feel terrible when we don’t accomplish what we set out to do, because HELLO IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE.

I always write a list of resolutions around January 1st, but this year, I decided to do something a little different. I allowed myself two resolutions only. They are sort of general and, should I accomplish them, they will open up other opportunities and pave the way for other accomplishments in my life. Two are more manageable than 12 (or 37! All the things!) anyway.

Side note: I recently went through a bunch of old lists, posts, and resolutions I have made over the last couple of years and you know what? I’ve completed most of them. It may not have been in the timeline I originally had planned, and the results may not have been exactly what I wanted, but it’s encouraging to know that sometimes, I actually finish what I start. If you really stopped and thought about it, you’d realize that you probably do too. 

And now for the resolutions + goals. (Goalutions?)

New Years Resolutions:
• Define & refine my personal style.
• Become a morning person and therefore a more productive person.

{Style}
>>DETERMINE a distinct and purposeful, yet still eclectic style. Create board(s) on Pinterest to get visual ideas. My personal “style” is all over the map. When I shop, it’s overwhelming because EVERYTHING IS PRETTY and I lack focus. I’m 25; it’s time to embrace the body I have (while continuing to make it healthier and stronger), but also to realize what I can and can’t wear. What I should and should not wear.
>>CLEAN out closet. Get rid of everything that is crap/doesn’t fit (size- or style-wise). I have stuff in there that will never fit me again, no matter what happens. I have stuff in there that I should not wear, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. I keep holding onto items saying “What if I need this one day?” when, let’s face it, I’m never going to need it. Most of my items are cheap (because I’m cheap) and flimsy (because I’m flimsy?), so it’s not like I’m getting rid of expensive pieces. I need to let it go already and purge my closet.
>>MAKE a list of key pieces needed. Then stick with it. Stop buying things “because they are $5.” I need to save the $5 and put it towards a quality piece I will wear more than twice.
>>SHOP sales and second-hand until desired results are achieved. I’m still going to be doing this on a budget, y’all. Right now, I have zero budget, so the shopping part will have to wait. When I get my hot little hands on some money, I need to make it go as far as it possibly can. I know I can do this, but it will take patience and resourcefulness. No more cheap crap. I will become a huntress of cheap thrifty, quality items.

{Morning Person}
>>GO to bed when Michael does; have him wake me up when he gets up. My husband is the epitome of a morning person. I feel like since I started working from home/going to school, I have become – how shall we say this? – a bum. I wear leggings and t-shirts almost every day, I sleep in (not late, but I don’t rise and shine), and I stay up all hours of the night. It’s gotten worse over Christmas break. I feel that this is seriously affecting my productivity. I have all this time and yet my to-do list keeps growing, not dwindling. Michael, on the other hand, gets SO MUCH DONE in a day. I need to be more like him (read: a grown up) and less like myself (read: a bum).
>>CREATE a schedule for each day, including an exercise plan. Running and yoga should be a part of this plan. I work better with a schedule. And since I don’t have one per say, I will have to create one. I was working on it tonight and think I came up with something pretty manageable. Maybe I’ll post it later (if it works out). I don’t like running, but running helps me to be able to keep eating cupcakes, which I like. Yoga helps my back (I have mild scoliosis). When I am pairing these two exercises, my body is happy and healthy.
>>UTILIZE Michael’s help in keeping me accountable. I have enlisted his help, which is perfect because he happens to be the most encouraging person in the world. But he can also be tough. He is like Bob on Biggest Loser, except hotter (and not gay). That was a really bad comparison. You know what I meant! Right? Moving on.

Other improvements (these are other things I am continually working on, but refuse to beat myself up over should I not accomplish them 100% perfectly all the time):

{Blog}
>>Blog 3-4x per week. Finally getting better about this. I am working on writing a post, doing a quick re-read/edit, and hitting publish. So many times, I avoid blogging or don’t post what I write because I’m too much of a perfectionist to enjoy it and/or to get anything done. This needs to (and is in the process of) stop(ping).
>>Clean up. My category/tag system (and the 1,000,000 [give or take] posts that are still under “drafts”) make my eye twitch. I try to not think about them, but at the same time, I want stuff on my blog to be easy to find. I also don’t want all my drafts to go to waste. Thinking of creative solutions for both and will get back to you if I discover any answers.

{Healthy}
>>Get outside more. I am behind a computer so much of the time. Some days I barely go outside or leave my house. I’d like to go for a walk (or just be outside) every day. Unless it’s freezing. Then I’m staying in and watching movies.
>>Think about food differently. Earlier this year, I used MyFitnessPal for a few months and lost about 8 pounds that I haven’t gained back. While I am no longer using MFP, it was an effective tool that taught me to think about food differently. If I have a set number of calories per day, anything over that is excess and either needs to be worked off or avoided. If I continue to think of food in these terms, make healthy choices to combat my bad ones (Example: If I eat fast food for lunch, maybe I don’t get to eat an entire pizza for dinner? Just a thought), substitutions (Example: Greek yogurt instead sour cream), etc., I will continue my path to a healthier lifestyle. However, I need to remember that food is a passion and joy of mine and that finding a balance also includes being able to enjoy cupcakes without guilt.

{Miscellaneous}
>>Read the manual for my camera. We’ll see if this ever happens. I want to be able to take pretty pictures but I don’t want to put in the work or time to learn. This is kind of like when I was 10 and wanted to play the piano but didn’t want to practice. DILEMMA.
>>Update and complete important items on my 95 in 1095. This list needs a serious update. Some of these things aren’t going to happen by next year; some of them I don’t want to happen by next year (anymore). That being said, I still think this list is of value, since I obviously put a lot of time and thought into it. We’ll see how far I get in 2012.
>>Complete another mass home organization/purging. I did one of these before we moved in the summer of 2010, and it was amazing. So therapeutic and rewarding. It’s about time for another one. I hate clutter and I hate having stuff around that I’m not using or that doesn’t serve a purpose.

Sorry this was so long and detailed; I really wanted to write it all out so I could have it for future reference. Hopefully it will inspire one or two of you to stop beating him/herself up, make a shorter, more accomplishable list, and join with me in telling 2012 to bring it.

What do you think about New Years Resolutions? Did you make any this year?