New Year's Resolutions

"Well, it's that time of year again. Actually a time I enjoy, making resolutions to guide me through the next year. I have been giving a lot of thought to this year's resolutions and I don't believe that there are any repeats from previous years.

As previously stated one of my resolutions is to lose 20 lbs. I am going to do this through a variety of means. First, by cutting out all wheat and potatoes in my diet. They upset my stomach and make me gain weight. I am also going to increase my water intake. This is a proven method for loosing weight and as some days go by and I don't drink any water, anything should help! I am also going to continue with my walking and belly dancing. Let's see how I do!

My second resolution is to spend more time with my daughter. She moved out last summer and it has been hard not seeing her on a daily basis. I am going to make a concentrated effort to get together with her at least twice a month for some mom/daughter time. We start this Wednesday with going to see Memoirs of a Geisha. Then we will grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks and talk about the movie. Sarah loves movies and asked me to go with her. I am glad she did. I have a tendancy to not always do the things she asks me to do with her. I need to, in order not to loose touch with her. She is precious to me and I want to keep our connection.

Number 3 is to write to my mom weekly. She is 83 years old, not at all well and living by herself. I talk to her almost every day, but she loves to get mail and because it means a lot to her, I am going to make sure she gets something in her mailbox on a regular basis.

My fourth resolution is to maintain my various friendships that I have. I have a tendancy to let time go by without contacting people. No more, this is a year of a new me and if I want that community I have been talking about in previous posts, I have to work on it!

My fifth resolution is to finish the things I have started, be they the afghan for Sarah, scanning all my old family photos, the various scrapbooking projects, my website etc. You get the picture. I start things and don't finish them. I am going to aim for one a month. Wow, that means at the end of the year I will have completed 12 major projects! That will be reason to celebrate next new years.

Number 6 is to read more this year. Only managed 5o books last year. My average is usually around 100. Don't know what happened in 2005. It's not that I don't have books to read. We have an excellent library, I have piles of unread books I own and lots of opportunities to get more. Let's see what jewels I find this year.

My seventh resolution is to enjoy nature more. I live on a beautiful 1.4 acrea piece of property and mostly I enjoy it out my window. This year I am going to spend more time outside. No reason not to now, we got a mosquito zapper and it works, so no bugs to worry about. With my new digital camera I will be able to take lots of beautiful nature and animal shots!

Number 8 is to be even more environmentally friendly. I do a lot already. We recycle everything that we can and I give away unwanted items through Freecycle instead of putting them in the garbage. I think one good place to start is to go paperless when it comes to bank statements and bills, and that will be my first green project.

Number 9 is to spend more time developing a spiritual life. I have been working on this in fits and starts, it however, has NEVER been on my list of resolutions. This year it is. I have an aching need for something spiritual in my life. I have found the path I want to follow, now I just need to take those first stumbling steps along the way. Hopefully I won't stumble too badly!

And number 10 is to be me. To be more true to myself in my relationships with others and not to feel guilty when I am. The older I get and the more I learn about myself, the more comfortable I am with who I am and I am actually learning to like that person.

What are your new year's resolutions?"I whisper.

Are you listening?