Saturday 2 January 2010

Happy New Year

It is New Year’s Eve – 5:10pm as I write this and there are less than 7 hours of 2009 remaining.  Since I have no internet connection here, this will post in 48 hours once I return to civilisation.

2009 has been a strange year. This has been the first year I’ve had job security (as much as anyone can have in the current economic climate) and I haven’t moved house at all.  I have started and finished 2009 living in the same flat and working at the same job, both of which are unusual compared to my previously mobile life.

2009 saw my first trip to Vegas, which was also my first trip with just friends for no other purpose than having fun.  I also did the obligatory wedding travel and spent 10 days back in the US for my college roommate’s wedding.  I got a promotion at work, I broke my wrist, I began running and then trained for and ran a half-marathon. I joined weightwatchers and lost 25lbs, I stopped going to weightwatchers and gained maybe 10 of those back.

2010 I have some very specific goals in mind. I have some general life things I want to accomplish, some specific health and fitness things I’d like to accomplish and some hopes for the next 365 days that are to come.

In 2010 I want to:

Volunteer – I haven’t figured out the specifics, but I want to get back into fundraising or other work with a charity that I care about

Get organised – This is a goal every year and I think I made a definite improvement on this in the past 12 months.  I’d like to keep my flat at a level of cleanliness that I don’t have to ‘apologise for the mess’ whenever someone drops by unannounced.  Of course, I’ll still say it regardless!

Save money – I started this one yesterday when I cut my broadband bill in half.  I want to do a full money makeover and get my bills as low as possible over the next few weeks.  Then I fully intend to cut back on my spending, particularly in terms of food shopping, eat out less especially for lunch and get some money into my savings account by stopping spending on my credit cards.  I aim to only put things on my credit card that can be expensed back to work and this will also ensure that I don’t miss any expenses that could have been claimed back each month.

Reignite a childhood passion – I’m not sure I’ve figured this out yet either but it’s one of the goals suggested by Spark People (as is the one below) and I really like the idea.  Maybe I’ll join my colleagues at their weekly netball game, maybe I’ll dig out my old flute or go camping.

Look forward – I already cut out pictures and articles about places I want to travel to, restaurants I want to eat at, things I want to try or see and now I want to create a dream board.  It will be something that can inspire me day-to-day to move towards a life that is everything I dream of.

Make peace with my grief – My father died 11 years ago and I still cannot talk about him without tears.  I’m pretty sure it’s not typical to still harbour grief this long and this may require counselling, but it’s definitely a place that I’d like to get to.

Expand my cooking skills – I aim to make one new recipe a week to expand my repertoire of go-to dishes. I’d also like to give my kitchen a bit of a makeover (organisation again!)  I’d also like to experiment with different grains, new spices and find kale to try those crispy kale chips I see throughout blogworld!

Health and fitness goals are to:

Try a new sport – I never thought I'd do as well as I’ve done this year with running.  Even though I took an almost 6 week break after the half-marathon and then another hiatus after breaking my wrist I’ve stuck with it for most of the year and have even run twice this week between Christmas and New Years, quite likely the only time I’ve ever worked out in these usually gluttonous days. As soon as my wrist heals I want to try Bikram yoga and have already scoped out the closest yoga studio. I also plan to PR at the same half-marathon race next September.

Look after my skin – I am 27 and still fall to sleep with my makeup on. I want to establish a skin routine and stick to it. 

Eat cleaner – I plan on fully completing Project55 this year and reaching my goal weight finally. As part of this I aim to

  • increase my fruit and vegetable intake to 5-9 portions daily
  • increase my intake of healthy fats
  • increase my protein levels with an aim of 15g at breakfast
  • eat less meat
  • take daily probiotics
  • take a multi-vitamin/supplement daily

2010 is a completely blank canvas – as far as I know there are no moves in my future at work or home, I have no holidays planned.  I don’t mean to sound pessimistic like I have nothing to look forward to but I have no idea what can happen in 2010.  I guess we can only find out!

- CJ

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