I’ve told everyone that I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions this year. All the while my mind was a-whirl with what I wanted to accomplish this year. Like most people who announce, or secretly vow, making a New Year’s resolution, I’ve never kept any of them for more than three months. By the time the end of March rolls around, I’m done, toast and back sliding all the way to the next New Year’s Day … with nothing completed and nothing really accomplished. I need discipline!
As I said, my mind was a-whirl with all I wanted to accomplish for this year 2010.
#1. For most women my age, it usually starts by promising to practice a little weight management, become more health conscious, get more exercise. You need to keep this resolution if you can even entertain the notion of asking, “Does my ass make these jeans look fat?”
It would be far better to say that I’m going to try to get into better shape, possibly getting back into my smaller jeans by the spring time. I’m safe with that. There’s no real commitment there. This is not an impossible goal. In fact, it’s really an attainable goal. It involves managing better the food brought into this house, and controlling exactly how much gets into my mouth. Also, required is to start ignoring the “diet saboteurs”. I’ll mention no names. You know who you are. Included in this should be a change of activities. This includes getting off my ass and doing something physical. One can only sit in front of the computer and/or the T.V. This requires discipline!
#2. Read a book every two weeks. This, I would love to do, and it actually requires that I sit on my ass. But then, this would also require that I have an absolutely quiet atmosphere with nothing to distract me. No T.V., pleasant chatter, phone, computer or dog pacing about. This has always been a pitfall with me. I’ll start to read, and then think of something that, I need to do, I should do, or should have done. It’s hard for me to sit through an hour long T.V. show, let alone a movie, and I’m always popping up to do something. Once I finally get focused, I’m good with it for at least an hour.
The last time I actually sat down to read was in a cabin in Utah, with no T.V., telephone (except for our cell phones which didn’t ring), and no computer. I actually read a book and enjoyed it. The time before that, five years ago, I ran through book after book while sitting at the kitchen table with my nebulizer for the required 45 minutes. I had to do that four times a day. I actually couldn’t tear myself away from the book, so I would keep the nebulizer going an extra 20 to 30 minutes just to get through to the next chapter. I know I went through about 20 books during that time. I’m not under treatment of the nebulizer anymore, so, reading a book every two weeks would also require discipline.
#3. Better organization of my money, hoarding it and saving it. This has been a lifelong fight with myself. It doesn’t do any good to have anyone watching it for me. It’s mine! I’ll take care of it! I am an adult, and if someone else was holding my purse strings and told me I couldn't dig in to it, I would simply respond in the adult manner and yell, cry and stuff beans up my nose.
Again, I do alright with it until the middle of April comes around. Then by some magic, I feel free again. Maybe that April 15th date has something to do with it. I start to tell myself things like, “There are no pockets in the shroud.” And, “You can’t take it with you!” But what about the rainy days, and the 6 months salary saved up for emergencies? Yup! This is really going to require some discipline!
#4. I want to get started on a major fix up of the master bathroom. Yeah, this is a biggie. It’s more like a re-model. It still has all the same bathroom counter with the knee space for a vanity stool, sinks, light fixtures, faucets, and a sunken shower that was originally built into this house 30 years ago. I might as well go on to #5 because it’s far more doable than #4.
#5. Clean up the finish on the kitchen cabinets and put a clean coat of varnish on them. Hmmm … I was going to buy all new knobs and drawer pulls, but I figure, to save a lot of money, I can take them all off, clean and prime them; then spray paint them a nice brushed antique bronze … or something. What the heck! There are only 50 of knobs and drawer pulls. I would be saving a lot of money, and I can do a two of cabinets every week. I’d actually clean out the contents of each cabinet, getting rid of things we don’t need or use. That’s a two-fold accomplishment. I already have a lot of the discipline for this.
#6. Number 5 would lead me dangerously close to the infamous “Paper Closet” in the kitchen. This closet also contains small appliances, including a copper chafing dish, and a wok, neither of which have been used in 20 years. There’s a filing cabinet, a big butane burner for the big cast iron chili pot, a small vacuum cleaner, toaster oven, which I’d actually like to keep, bread maker, a toaster, and an avocado green Crock Pot. Bet you can guess how old that is. And I’d probably be correct in saying around 40 years old. Anyway….Harvest Gold appliances and shag carpet were also popular at the same time. Those are the items I can see right off the bat. Oh, and there are stacks of paper, files and binders that need to be sorted. The rest could just be a cover up for the Twilight Zone. A person could get sucked right into somewhere else really fast.
Here is my lamest excuse so far. I can’t do any of these projects until I get the “Christmas Closet” cleaned out. There is a Christmas light collection from the past twenty years. When I suggested to the Royster that we should probably get rid of some of them, he immediately went out and bought more lights. He couldn’t resist the blue LED, indoor/outdoor lights that were on sale at Sears. It’s not just the Christmas closet, it’s the closet that has off season clothes, and thing that no one has worn in years. I took down all of the Christmas decor and put it upstairs in the big guest room. The closet has to be sorted through and cleaned up before I can put Christmas away for the year. I will need the Royster to help me get rid of some of that stuff. But on the other hand … maybe some of that stuff will just go away.
And, I’m working on it!
