For some, the new year is a time for new beginnings, positive energy and excitement for what lies ahead. The cynical part of me sees what happens a few months from now: people slip back into the old habits and much continues as it was. Even though the calendar starts back to 1/1, our life simply continues. It’s easy to see why people lose track of their goals, get caught up with daily life, and another year comes to a close with the same issues still chafing our skin.
I wish I could be a super positive person with a good attitude, but in an attempt at being realistic I only see the negatives. And believe me, I can pinpoint all of my bad qualities quite well. No assistance required. This is by no means limited to new years resolutions, but in all facets of life. This makes my failures extremely poignant.
I am very tempted to turn this into “How Rakel Sucked in 2011″ but really, what good would that do anyone? Like I really want to bring you down into the darkness with me… I’ll save that for my buddy list so only my friends have to be burdened with that crap. And really, I ought to remind myself that my life is in no way crappy. I am married to a good man, have a good job, live in a good house, drive a good car, have a good family, have nice possessions, in general have a healthy emotional state of well-being, and am good looking. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink (excessively), I don’t do drugs, I don’t party. Really, 95% of my life is fantastic.
But, there are a few things that bring me down which boil down to weight loss/health and personality flaws. Everyone has struggles, some people have some of the “I don’ts” listed above as “I dos.” I’m certainly thankful I don’t have those vices. I know I should not expect to solve all of these issues in a year, however it’s still frustrating when no progress is made. A year passes and all of your grand plans for self improvement are busted.
So, I have been thinking, how can I make smaller goals that can be accomplished in a year? Not that I want to set the bar so low that I can easily check off these tasks without any hard work involved and no real progress made, but reasonable expectations that over time amount to lasting change. The list below is my attempt to set realistic goals for this year that are settled more on fixing a daily habit, rather than a blanket “lose 50lbs.” because what if I only lose 20lbs, but made really good habits, gained muscle and got my blood pressure down? Knowing me, I’d still be liable to brand myself as a failure when I am really failing to notice my achievements.
So, without further ado, here are my 2012 goals:
1. Focus on healthy eating: eat more vegetables, less sugar and processed foods. Eat out less, including lunchtime. Prepare healthy snacks ahead of time so I am less likely to opt for cookies and crackers then raw fruits, vegetables and nuts. Use the crockpot more to prepare things for a quick dinner after I get home from work. Keep a food journal consistently.
2. Exercise every day: even if it’s only 10 minutes, as long as I am continuosly moving the whole time. Aim for 30 minutes. Even on work days. Even on weekends. Every day.
3. Take care of my health: get my bloodwork done so I can figure out here I stand health wise, and make a conscious effort to improve my general health, whether it entails weight loss or not (though hopefully there will be weight loss). Get all my dental work done.
4. Be more consistent with my beauty and hygiene routine: in order to look and feel my best, I want to apply makeup and do my hair more consistently, wear jewelry every day, and take care of my nails, skin and teeth.
5. Budget, save, and be responsible: adjust our budget and stick to it! Control spending and don’t make any unnecessary splurges and shopping trips. Save more. Actually use the things that we purchase and get our money’s worth. If it’s not something that we need or will use, find a good home for it, sell it, donate it or throw it away.
6. Be a better human: help people without complaining, be nicer, pray more for others, be thankful, be patient, love more, forgive more.
I, Rakel, acknowledge that I may not accomplish all of these goals completely in 2012, and when January 2013 rolls around I shall not be gravely upset at myself for my shortcomings. I am only a human, and humans even at their best are still imperfect. That said, I am feeling better about these resolutions and find them to be simple goals that I can work toward. Even a small success in any of these will improve my life signfigntly.
To leave this post on a positive note: after my frustration ebbs away, my hope for the new year increases and I find myself looking at ways to implement new lifestyle changes gradually. I’m going to start with a workout, even though it’s after 9pm.
Happy New Year everybody! Make it a good one 
Obligatory New Years Post
January 4th, 2012
A Creative Outlet?
May 7th, 2011
I wonder what creative professionals are supposed to do for a hobby, if we should even have hobbies. If we are being creative at our day jobs, is it expected that we sit numbly in front of the television instead of find some inspiration to continue the creative process outside of 9 to 5? To be honest, most of the time I spend my time outside of work trying to keep up with the house, friends, church, and all of those other details of life and rarely ever find the opportunity to really do something creative. I wish I had more motivation to do a sketch a day or something like that, but lately I have just been exhausted all of the time. And thus, this blog has been largely neglected. Not that anyone is missing it anyway.
A month ago I got my hands on a printer’s drawer that I am turning into a jewelry display to hang on my wall. So far I’ve sanded it, although it could use a little more and then clean thoroughly before I paint & stain it. I am going to stain the inside with an ebony stain, and paint the outside either a plum or magenta. I bought samples of both colors, but haven’t decided which one I’m going to use. I’ll probably test paint on some cardboard and make my decision from that. Either way I’m sure the other color will get used up. I’d like to go to some thrift stores and find little totchkey’s and picture frames I could paint and use for decorations.
My nephew is turning 2 soon, and I’m thinking about making him a simple teddy bear. He has one that he takes with him everywhere, but it’s getting a little beat-up. I had started knitting a blanket for him a few weeks before he was born, but it’s still not complete. I am knitting it into 3 panels, I have almost 2 panels complete. I’ve never knitted something that big before… and I have not been very dedicated to finishing it. My second panel does not match up to the first even though I thought I counted it, and I didn’t buy all of hte yarn from the same dye lot so it looks a little strange. It really has not turned out the way I wanted, which is partly why I have not finished it. I am thinking about doing a different color for the third panel to put in the middle, that way maybe the different dye lot on the yarn won’t be as noticeable.
Of course, there’s always a part of me that wants to write. But no matter what I start, I can never finish. I feel like that is the story of my life. I am a starter, not a finisher. *big sigh*
Please excuse my dust.
August 9th, 2010
My site got hacked over the weekend, and now all of my post images are gone. I have them all backed up on my computer, but I’m going to have to take some time uploading them to the appropriate month folders so they work again.
And now, for something completely different.
February 13th, 2010
This is not my first attempt at a blog. In fact, I’ve been blogging intermittenly since approximately 1999. My first blog was published through Blogger.com, back before blogspot came about and blogger uploaded all of your entires to your own website via FTP. Most of my blogs have been hosted on services like livejournal and vox, ironically enough. Why is that ironic, you ask? I started learning HTML back in 1997/1998 when I was 12 years old. I absolutely loved it, and now as an adult, I build websites of all types and sizes for a living. I guess it’s something along the lines of the cobbler’s children don’t have any shoes or something.