Resolutions

I've always made New Year's resolutions, but seldom kept them. It was an exercise that was doomed to failure. This year, instead of resolving to do things that I'm pretty sure I won't actually do--eat healthier, lose weight, clean the house more (not that I ever resolved to do that), etc., I decided to resolve to do things that I would enjoy doing, along with a couple of things that I should do, but that aren't that egregious. My list, so far:

• Use reusable bags more
• Eat more cookies
• Watch more movies
• Read more books
• Write more
• Burn more candles
• Send more birthday cards
• Get more sleep
• Drink more water
• Take more pictures

Use more reusable bags: I resolve to use them for every grocery store trip. I bought four big canvas bags at Target a few months ago, and I've gotten pretty good at remembering to get them out of the trunk and take them in with me. I've also got a few nylon bags that can be folded up pretty small, and I always have one in my purse, as well as a couple in the car.

Eat more cookies: That one just means, don't worry about what I'm eating, don't be too serious. Have more fun.

Watch more movies/Read more books: A reminder to relax more--to get off the computer once in awhile and read a book, to relax, put a movie in the DVD player, and not work all the time.

Write more: I just submitted my journal to Amazon to be published in Kindle format, so if I expect people to pay $1.99/month for it, I'd better write a little more often. That's one motivation.

Burn more candles: This is sort of a "use the good china every day" resolution. I enjoy candles, but sometimes it seems like kind of a waste. I resolve to stop thinking like that, and do things that I enjoy, like burning candles, without worrying about the relatively small expense.

Send more birthday cards: I used to be very good at sending birthday cards and gifts to all the nieces and nephews, but in the last couple of years, I stopped. Part of it was because I almost never got a thank you card, or even a mention of it at all. But that shouldn't be a reason not to do it. So all of the nieces and nephews will get a card with a five dollar bill (or a Target gift card) in it this year. I already sent three!

Get more sleep: I tend to stay up way too late. Sometimes it's with intent--if Bob has to get up at dawn to go to work, I usually stay up until I'm sure he's asleep so I don't wake him up. But sometimes that's just an excuse. I resolve to get up and go to bed when I get sleepy, not to fall asleep in my chair or on the couch. Maybe that will make it easier to get up in the morning. It could happen.

Drink more water: This is the one that's health-based. I don't drink enough water, and I know that if I did, my skin wouldn't be so dry, and of course there are other health benefits as well, so I'm going to give it a good shot. I just have to be aware of it. I drink quite a bit of iced green tea at home in the evenings, but I don't always think about it at work.

Take more pictures: The iPhone has a pretty good camera, and I love taking photos with it. Lately I've gotten interested in photography apps that modify the photos in interesting ways; the most interesting, to me, are the ones that mimic vintage or toy cameras. I'll do a post with examples soon. I've committed to taking a photo a day, and created a Flickr set for them.

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