Revolutions

Well, 2009 is getting going and so should I, I suppose.

I was thinking about making some resolutions this year. Not as iron-clad deals but more like guidelines.

Money: I really want to make a serious attempt at saving a substantial amount of money this year. If I think about some of the things I have spent money on the last year it's ridiculous! And I don't mean the trips I went on I mean the clothes and shoes and bags. I love them all dearly but I really don't need 70+ pairs of shoes. I also don't need to buy every pretty thing in the store. I am such a magpie. "Oooh sparkly!! Must. Have." No, I mustn't, and this year I will try not to give in to every temptation.
Resolution: I will not spend money on things I don't need.

Work: I have decided that I do really like teaching and I fully intend to keep doing just that. Now I need to find a school I like that's not too far from home. I will probably have to accept that the school itself won't be as fabulous as the one I am at but being closer to home and still teaching will be reward enough for the short term, I believe.
Resolution: I will find a teaching job closer to home.

Travel: I already have loads of plans for this year. And I fully intend to get to all the places I have in mind. I want to visit Suze in February, I want to go to Liverpool in May and I want to visit Julie in Canada in June. There may even be a short trip to America in the works. Which is also why the saving part is so important. I can't keep draining my savings to go on jaunts. I must be adding money to the pot as well. So this was a tricky resolution to formulate. I really want to go to all these places but I don't want to suck my savings dry.
Resolution: I will not travel beyond my means but I mean to travel to all of my planned destinations. (As a friend of mine likes to say: I will either find a way or make one)

Health: Ugh. Not my strong point. I found it easy to go to the gym when I had nothing else to do but getting there after a long day at work and nearly (or sometimes completely) falling asleep in the train on the way home? Nah, not my thing. However, I still have my gym subscription and it's even gone up in price so I'd better either make it count or give it up. Also, I am not very good at the whole healthy eating thing. I still eat like a kid who's parents are on vacation. I don't need to lose weight but I do need to try to get in all four food groups a day. Tricky.
Resolution: My body is my temple, I should treat it as such. I will go to the gym twice a week and I will eat mostly balanced meals every day.

Happiness: Last year was a bit of an odd one. I still had all the happiness I had discovered in 2007 but there was also that whole work mess and not feeling very happy there. This year I would like to be all-round happy again and I think I am off to a good start. I love my job again and I am working on my terms. I love that I have discovered that what I really want to be doing is what I was doing all along. I love that there are possibilities and I look forward to going out and finding them. I have also discovered that it's okay to be selfish and think of yourself first. Quitting my job last year was the scariest but also the most rewarding thing I have done for myself. So how do I turn all that into a resolution for 2009?
Resolution: Taking care of me is not just eating the right food or going to the gym. I will keep my best interests in mind at all times and make choices for me.

Cherries on top: A while ago I started writing a story that had sort of materialized in my head. I didn't know where it was going so I got swept along. Quite quickly I figured out the plot and then stopped writing it down. I think I will try to get the whole thing down this year. Or, at the very least, make an attempt to. I have loads of beginnings, I need to bring one to its end. Also, I have lots of books in my apartment that I bought fully intending to read. But they are now in an ever growing pile and I have guilt issues over that. I must read more. Or, at the very least, read what I have!
Resolution: I will give literature an increased priority. My own and that of others. I will break out the writing pad and continue my story and attempt to read at least one book a month. (I do realize that, with the amount of books I have, I still won't have finished them all at the end of this year, so this might be a carry-over resolution for next year).

I am good. I am happy. I am healthy. But I am also getting older and I need to take better care of myself. The world may end in 2012 but if it doesn't, I'll need to have made some arrangements for the future.

Now, where are those washing machine delivery guys? They have 35 minutes left to show up.

xxx