Resolutions for the New Year

1.) Exercise 3 times a week.

2.) Write a blog post once a week.

3.) Substitute water for soda once every day.

4.) Be more punctual.

5.) QUIT smoking.

6.) Be more confident.  Stop worrying so much about what others might think.  The truth is, they probably don't care!

Often, I don't make resolutions but I felt a strong draw to make some for the next year.  I think mine are realistic and manageable.  There's nothing on the list that hasn't been something I've actually done in the past year, minus the biggie: #5.  I want to be more healthy this year, plain and simple.  The summer after Jason and I met, we were each other's best exercise buddy.  We hit the gym 3, sometimes 4, times a week and we felt FANTASTICO and looked great!  We were both glowing in the pictures I have from that summer and fall.  I slept so much better when we were exercising, and we both felt better about ourselves.  I know the key is to find something you like to do and just do it.  I know I can do it because I want to feel that energetic and confident again.  The quitting smoking will be the doozy of the list, but I feel like I can do it.  Ever since we got engaged, I've had this mental picture of me being smoke-free by the time we get married.  I really don't want to be all gussied up in my wedding finery sneaking puffs on the balcony at Callanwolde.  I want to do this for me.  Nothing good comes from smoking, but amazing things happen when you quit.  :)  

I have been working on being more confident and worrying less about what people think of me.  It's something I've struggled with more and more as I've gotten older.  I find myself turning down the radio when I pull up to a stop light, worrying that someone in another car will overhear me singing along to "Call Me Maybe".  Why?  This is what I've been asking myself every time I automatically do something out of fear of being judged.  What is the worst thing that could happen?  Someone would think I'm a vapid moron with a terrible singing voice?  How, exactly, would that affect me?  Truth is, I'm probably never going to see that person again, and if I do, they aren't going to remember me nor will they chastise my inability to hit a high note in the privacy of my motor vehicle.  When I see people singing, and sometimes dancing, along to a song in their car, it makes me smile.  I LOVE seeing people enjoy themselves and feel free enough to not care what anyone else thinks.  One morning I saw 2 girls absolutely JAMMING out to Katy Perry's "California Gurls" on the way to work and I thought it was adorable.  My self-conciousness goes deeper than car singing, of course, but it's just one example of how much I automatically try to go unnoticed.  I want to get back to my spunky younger self who danced in grocery stores and enjoyed myself without worrying about how my behavior might be perceived.  In the long run, who cares?  Turn UP that Carly Rae Jepsen and ENJOY IT!

What are your resolutions this year?  I wish you all the best of luck in your plans!