Obligatory Yet Useful New Year's Reflection

Time to look back at the year, back at my New Year's Goals from last year, and reflect. 

For one thing, I am resolved to stop using sentence fragments such as the one above which sound like the script for a local news broadcast:  "Local citizens waking up in flames.  Migraine striking one pedestrian at Speedway and Swan.  Reporting from downtown.  Writer, cringing inwardly at local news broadcasts."  Usually, all that is missing is a helping verb, and sometimes a subject.  I wonder how many extra super-cute Youtube videos of kittens teasing turtles they can squeeze in by eliminating helping verbs.  Eliminating the subject of the sentence seems downright irresponsible.  The recipients of my e-mails and readers of my blog will be happy to know that although I am not relinquishing fragments altogether, I'll do my best not to sound like I'm reporting on a police shooting.

Here were my goals (not resolutions!) from last year, with commentary from how the year actually went...
1. I will do less yelling in my house and work on strategies to encourage my kids (and husband?) to do the same.    I'm not really sure I accomplished this, though Rich is doing pretty well at it!

2. I will maintain a consistent interest in and commitment to exercise and physical fitness. I will use my gym membership at least a couple of times per week, and get out for hikes at least a couple of times per month. I will try to get out to do the following activities more often: walks at the park, biking to work and for fun, tennis at Catalina H.S.. I'll try to expand my repertoire!  Uh, yeah, that one.  I did pretty well in the springtime, but once we started working on remodeling our investment property, most of my physical effort went there all summer.  Luckily, it was pretty good and exhausting exercise.  We did walk around the park a lot more this year, though not so much since November.  I am getting antsy though!  I want to hike so bad.

3. I will bike to work more often when the schedule allows.  Nope.  Didn't do that at all. 

4. I will recycle more-- too much is making it into the trash can.  Did pretty well until the last month or so.

5. I will end 2011 weighing less than I weighed on the way in-- 10-20 more pounds?  I'm about the same.  So that in itself is some level of success. 

6. I will be more consistent about cooking meals and eating lots of fruits and veggies-- and the kids, too.  I definitely did better with this throughout most of the year, especially having my dad around during the summer.  A lot of this is due to dwindling budget for restaurant food!  I don't miss the drive throughs much, though, I'll tell you.

7. I will get the kids out into nature more and have fun learning the lore-- plants, animals, weather, geology, geography, etc.  The remodeling project kind of got in the way of this in terms of hiking, but we have spent a lot of time at the park for various activities.  We need to clean up the back yard.

8. I will read more books and try to be less susceptible to checking out Facebook and watching whatever trash is on TV.  I have definitely accomplished this, despite Rich's jealous behavior when I read books (which I find interesting and slightly amusing.)  I need to thank my friends and students for inspiring me to read more... and I have truly enjoyed it, though I no longer have any idea what is happening in the news.  Unfortunate side effect.

9. I will continue to work on buying less crap I don't really need ($1 bin shit, stupid office supplies I covet but never use, stuff like that) and stuff that has tons of packaging (this is a tough one...)   I have definitely, definitely bought less crap this year.  Yea!

10. I will create time for friends and family and work on nurturing my adult relationships-- more fun time for me and me more fun for others!  I need to do much better with this.

11. Attitude: Empowered, positive... stop whining, internally and out loud.  I think I have done better with this, although working on my National Board Certification has definitely caused me plenty of anxiety and panic from time to time.

ALSO-- I have been writing much, much more this year.  So, yea!  I feel like if I had more time and focus to devote to it, the writing itself could be a bit more serious, reflective, well-researched, well-crafted.  But... one step at a time, my friends.  And I have written a few poems that I really like, and participated and WON my first NaNoWriMo.
 
Three additional goals for this year:   Accomplish my National Board Certification.  Travel more.  Write notes and letters to friends and family.

New Year's Goals for 2011

Although the idea of constant progress and self-improvement can become tiresome, I have to admit that it must be an essential part of the human experience, and I have to admit that, like most people, I could do better... much better... in quite a few areas. And so I will wholeheartedly embrace a few goals for 2011, and hope that I can, indeed, make progress.

I've decided to call them "goals" instead of "resolutions" because resolutions are absolutes, and most absolutes are inherently weak.  It only takes one exception or moment of weakness to break the resolution, and once it is broken, well, I can justify all sorts of self-destructive behaviors.  When I set a goal, I can think more positively about it-- am I doing better today than I did yesterday?  I can reward myself for baby steps and small yet significant gestures.  If I fail one day, I can pick myself back up and make a better decision the next day.  Ben Franklin defined 13 virtues for himself and kept a log of his failures to live according to those virtues.  He never did achieve a "clean" page in his log, but he did say that he lived a better and a happier life for the effort.

And so, in the spirit of the new year, here are this year's goals:
1.  I will do less yelling in my house and work on strategies to encourage my kids (and husband?) to do the same.
2.  I will maintain a consistent interest in and commitment to exercise and physical fitness.  I will use my gym membership at least a couple of times per week, and get out for hikes at least a couple of times per month.  I will try to get out to do the following activities more often:  walks at the park, biking to work and for fun, tennis at Catalina H.S..  I'll try to expand my repertoire!
3.  I will bike to work more often when the schedule allows.
4.  I will recycle more-- too much is making it into the trash can.
5.  I will end 2011 weighing less than I weighed on the way in-- 10-20 more pounds?
6.  I will be more consistent about cooking meals and eating lots of fruits and veggies-- and the kids, too.
7.  I will get the kids out into nature more and have fun learning the lore-- plants, animals, weather, geology, geography, etc.
8.  I will read more books and try to be less susceptible to checking out Facebook and watching whatever trash is on TV.
9.  I will continue to work on buying less crap I don't really need ($1 bin shit, stupid office supplies I covet but never use, stuff like that) and stuff that has tons of packaging (this is a tough one...)
10.  I will create time for friends and family and work on nurturing my adult relationships-- more fun time for me and me more fun for others!
11.  Attitude:  Empowered, positive... stop whining, internally and out loud.

Okay-- these are big goals, which is why they are goals and not resolutions.  May we all have a happy, healthy, sustainable, loving, profitable and lucky 2011!