It's been 4 weeks since my last post. Let's face it, I'm not the best at keeping up with my blogging, but today is a special day in Alaska: the winter solstice. I think this day is special to us up north because after today, the days can only get lighter. For those of you in the lower 48, you may think of this as a metaphor, however I'm meaning this in the most literal sense. Today, we get maybe 5 hours of total sunlight. I think it's actually somewhere around 4 hours and 45 minutes, I'm not 100% and the darkness is a drag. The idea of longer days is what's going to get us past that holiday bump and through the next 4 long months of winter.
Yesterday in yoga class, our instructor did use the winter solstice as a metaphor. She said, "what better day to rid of the darkness from 2013 and start a new beginning" and it made me think. I really don't have any dark days of 2013. None. It was a fantastic year.
In 2013, I had the wedding I've always dreamed of having, and then some. G and I got to go to Hawaii for the first time, go camping, lots of hiking, it was a warm summer, great Thanksgiving with some amazing friends, we got a new puppy, I learned to ski (which was probably my "darkest day", though it was still something I got to to cross off my bucket list), saw my friends and family multiple times, had a bachelorette party back home, met my future in-laws, saw my first dog races, turned 26, gained my first Zumba class, and then some, took a group fitness certification course, and realized what a strong person I truly am when my husband is gone.
That list is huge and it's going to be hard to beat next year! I mean, what can really beat a wedding and 7 days in Hawaii? Well, let's find out! I made some New Years resolutions for next year. I'm sure a million people are rolling their eyes because resolutions are usually only good for the first week. Well, to all you uncommitted haters, you should know I make a list of resolutions at the beginning of every month. So there. Okay, my list goes as follows:
1. Stop wasting money on crappy foods. This is something I'm going to have to work on with my husband. I go out of my way to create menus for each week so we have food to each for each meal, so when G and I go out to the movies, a hockey game, a fair, or even dinner, we splurge on crappy foods. Not just one treat, but multiple. For example, we spent $40 on nuts, corn fritters, chicken tenders, and a beer at the hockey game two nights ago, after I made us dinner beforehand. I think we eat out of boredom or awkwardness of not having something to do with our hands, and I want to work on that. It also applies to eating at home or ordering appetizers at dinner.
2. Focus on more natural sugars in my diet. I'm a sugar addict who loves to bake and try out new recipes. That's a recipe for disaster right there (no pun intended, heyo!). In fact, my breakfast this morning was a christmas cookie with coffee and pumpkin spiced creamer. Not healthy at all, but do I feel pumped for the day? Yes. Today is an example of what needs to be resisted next year.
3. Budget, save, and shop! I don't have a huge income, so the small bills I do get, I want to start saving for a trip I'm planning in 3 years. right now, 10% of every paycheck goes to that cause, and another 10% goes to a basic savings account. I want to make sure I stay on top of managing my money to save, get out of debt, and of course, have enough to shop when I need to do so.
4. The move. Our lease ends June 1, which means we'll probably be moving either on base or to ER this summer for our last year. I just want to get this accomplished with as little stress and damage to our belongings as humanly possible.
5. Stay productive while G is gone. He leaves me for a month next year for training. I just want to make sure I don't use this as an opportunity to sugar binge or overspend like I usually do when he's gone.
6. Get my dental work done. I can't guarantee all of it, but I want to save up to get another crown in my mouth next year. And I want to stay on top of flossing!!! If there's anything people need to do to prevent cavities, it's to floss. I'm going to add to this making sure my husband stays on top of this too. He tends to not care so much about what goes on with his teeth. Enter Molly.
7. Juggle the dogs. This includes shots, grooming, dental, exercise, and not going crazy when they decide to be incredibly hyper at 6 in the morning.
8. Run a 5k. I've never ran one before. Not so much because it's hard, I just haven't really had the funds to sign up. This time, I'm going to use the money I save by not eating junk food (see resolution #1) and get involved in multiple races. I want to eventually get my time down to 25 mins or less and also I want to start building up to 10k or half marathons. Probably not this year, but in the future. I teach so much Zumba and I still need my body in working order.
9. Donate money. Last year, I donated only a little bit to the ASPCA and that charity that protects the pandas and other endangered animals. I want to donate more. I know resolution 8 often times automatically helps with this goal, however I want to try to start my own fundraiser. Maybe a Zumbathon or something that will go to a local charity or more towards animals.
10. I want to finish the next Game of Thrones book (4) before season 3 comes out on DVD (right after Valentine's Day). And then I want to finish book 5 sometimes before 2015.
11. Stay positive and communal. What I mean by this is keeping that Christmas spirit alive throughout the whole year by being nice to strangers for no reason (not in a creepy, call the cops kind of way), giving compliments and being sincere with conversations at the check out counters. I think this country needs to build a foundation of trust within each community through everyday interactions. Sure, you may think you don't steal or cheat or do anything bad, which relatively is helping the world out, but when you're the a-hole speeding down the highway every day in heavy traffic and pouring rain, that's making a dangerous situation for the community. You have this amazing thing called a brain that actually allows you to think about every situation you're in an react to it. How awesome is that?
12. And of course, continue to learn about the person that I am and the person that I want to be. I think the biggest impact 2013 had on me was the realization that I'm a lot stronger of a person than I originally thought. I don't know if it's because I'm so far away from friends and family, but I feel like there is nothing out here that can negatively impact my life. We started from scratch and got to pick and choose what kind of people we want in our lives. With that, I feel like I've gained patience (my biggest area that needs work), kindness, and I've become wayyyy less judgmental than I used to be. I realized that yes, one day I do wants kinds and when I do, I will be an EXCELLENT mother (mostly because these dogs have given me practice of cleaning up nonstop poop, waking up a million times throughout the night, constantly revolving each day around their schedule on maybe 4 hours of sleep, and a ton of other things moms on Facebook constantly bitch about. Of course, children will be way harder and last longer, but I think the biggest shock will be the idea of something popping out of my area. That, and them growing into adults who will one day get up and have their own lives away from me.)
13. Write a book. I've started about 3. No more than a chapter. I'm not going to have it published, but I at least want the option if I ever felt that I wanted to.
14. Become less attached to FB and texting and more on actual person-to-person socialization.
Why did I decide to make my resolutions a blog this year rather than jot them down on a piece of paper like I usually do? Maybe to give insight. Maybe to encourage people to make their own resolutions. Maybe to encourage people to make my resolutions their resolutions. Or, maybe because I really like to write.
Either way, these are my resolutions. If you read them, that means you probably are someone close to me who actually cares about what I'm saying. If we aren't that close and you did read this, well, let me know. Maybe I should re-evaluate our friendship since you stuck through each word that is personal to my life, unless you were reading this for unkind purposes. But still, you took time out of your day, so I thank you nonetheless.
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my life in 2013. I wish you all a cheery winter solstice, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.
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