A Clean Slate...
Finally finished my mega list of 2004 resolutions - 104 items to be exact - and am feeling quite positive about the new year. It only took me a little over two weeks past Jan. 1 to get there.
This time, I broke the list out into categories (work, social, whimsy, home, etc.) so I'll be able to calculate success ratio by areas of my life. For example, I don't have high expectations in the "habits" category, but I do expect to strip the kitchen cabinets and take the doors off (I love open cabinets, or the ones with glass doors (home). And buy more plants (also home).
Last year, I had about a 55% success ratio overall, which wasn't bad. But I've gone as high as 80% in past years. Let's be positive and shoot for the high marks, right?
A random sampling of my resolutions for 2004:
30) HABITS: Spend less time getting ready in the morning.
31) HABITS: Go to bed earlier and get up earlier.
(I'm already mocking both of these...)
25) FRIENDS: Write more letters and thank you notes.
41) HEALTH: Eat breakfast every day, even if just a protein shake.
53) BUY: Very dark drapes for bedroom.
(and that fits in with "get up earlier..." how?)
61) MONEY: Pay off student loans.
73) LOVE: Love myself the most.
(that's not been hard so far...but wanted to keep it in just in case...)
80) SOCIAL: Sometimes go to social engagements I’d rather not attend.
(note that I said "sometimes"...)
This year to my "read 52 books," I added "and keep a reading journal. I've read more than 52 books (that's one a week) and hit that goal every year so I need a bigger challenge. Last year, I think I averaged 2.5 books a week. And I read Middlesex AND The Little Friend - no "chick lit," no skanky half-witted Candace Bushnell, nor any paperback that would fit in my coat pocket. Maybe if I have to write down a bit about each in a notebook, it would make it more challenging? Maybe summarize the plot or quote bits from the text? I can't bring myself to join one of those godawful books groups. The last time I went to one there were unidentifiable casseroles and they were discussing The DaVinci Code, which took me all of 3 minutes to read in the car while driving and I still knew it was a poorly written book based on what could have been an excellent premise. They kept talking about what a great "author" this guy is and I was almost embarrassed for him. I think if Dan whathisname had been there, even he would have said, "hey, ladies, calm down. I wrote that thing on a plastic GI Joe typewriter that I bought for a dollar from a garage sale, with one hand, typing on newsprint with no ribbon, drunk as a coot, and a heroin needle dangling from my other arm."
Come on - that book would have written ITSELF. You'd have to be the worst writer in the world to take a great premise like that and just sh*t all over it.
But I digress.
Forgot about:
99) GIVE: Don't say mean things about people even if I am thinking them.
