So, a new year is upon us. 2011. I feel as if it were only yesterday that we rang in 2000. I still remember exactly what I was doing the night of December 31, 1999-- Watching MTV's countdown to the new year. Christina Aguilera was a guest and there was a contest to see who would be put into an underground room in the event the world came to an end. This year's New Year's Eve, I barely stayed awake long enough to see the ball drop. Amazing how things change.
So, I have a handful of New Year's Resolutions that I intend to do my best to keep this year. Here's a quick look at some of the things I hope to improve about my life this year:
1- Fix my hair more often. I know this sounds simple, but there are so many days that I just throw my hair up into a sloppy bun. It's time that I grow out of this stage and start to do something better with my appearance on a daily basis. So, to start small, I intend to at least straighten and fix my hair on days that I work. Simple resolution, but hopefully it will help me to appear to be more professional, as well as help me to feel better about myself. Other small resolutions include taking better care of my skin and my teeth.
2- Make our bed everyday. I love to climb into a nicely made bed at night and have all layers of the bedding not be tangled. So many days lately we just don't make our bed. It makes the entire bedroom look sloppy. Again, another simple resolution but maybe it will make me feel better on a daily basis.
3- Lose some weight. Over the last 6 months or so, I have lost about 15 pounds without trying. I'm not entirely sure what has caused the weight loss, but I'm so very glad that it is gone. I can see pictures from just prior to graduation, and I look a lot heavier. I'm much happier with my appearance now. I can only imagine how the loss of another 15-20 pounds will make me feel. If nothing else, I would love to at least tone up my arms before our wedding day. So, to set my goals small, I'm going to do my best to lose 10 pounds before the wedding and another 10 pounds before the end of 2011. That will get me back down to 125 pounds, much closer to the healthy weight that I maintained through much of high school.
4- Read at least one book per week. One of my Christmas presents- my Nook will help facilitate this.
5- Read the news daily. Sometimes I feel like such an uneducated person when I hear others talk about current events.
6- Develop my relationship with God. I am nowhere near where I want to be with my relationship with God, but I know with His help I have an easy road getting there.
7- Keep my car clean. I am forever leaving jackets and trash in my car. It doesn't look nice. So even though it's not disgustingly filled with half-empty drinks and food bags, it's still very cluttered. Definitely time to fix that.
8- Learn all that I can about nursing. What a perfect time to start this resolution. I'll be starting my new job on February 14th in the Neonatal ICU at PCMH. I want to learn all that I can about babies and how to help the sick ones get well. With that being said, I also want to become the best nurse that I can possibly become-- I want to communicate well with my patients' families, have good time management, and to always look at the entire picture when taking care of my patients. With a 6 month orientation, I hope to reach this goal a little at the time.
9- Keep a cleaner house. I hope that if I make the goal to de-clutter the house for 5 minutes every day, my life will remain more organized and I'll feel more "together."
10- Eat a healthier diet. The biggest factor with this is cutting out eating out. We went to the grocery store today and more than stocked up on foods that we can cook at home. This will not only help us to become more healthy, but it will also help us to save money. I am determined to make this one work. I will now only allow myself to eat out twice per week. Absolutely no more. This will be hard when friends want to get together, but I will stick to my rules no matter what it takes.
I guess 10 resolutions is a bit unrealistic, but I know that as a human, I do not have to be perfect, but I must always strive to better myself. So with this New Year's, I will do exactly that- strive to be a better person, someone that I can be proud of.
