New Year, Not So New Plans

I have been writing on this blog since 2009.  And now it's 2017.  That's a lot of ideas, memories and sharing.  It's also a lot of plans; some that worked and some that lasted only as long as it took to hit the "Publish" button.

New year.  New plans.  New wondering.  New blank calendar.  

I know I've said it before, but I can't help looking a my new planner and wonder what will fill its pages.  What highs and lows will be penciled in.  I have to say, it gets more daunting as you see your kids' events also fill those pages.  Mine are older and more independent than they were in 2009.  They are more steps away from home, heading towards their own futures, their own goals in their minds.

I long ago stopped calling my yearly plans "resolutions."  I have called them different things over the years - challenges, goals, projects, intentions, but now they are just, "things I'd like to get in the habit of."  Though the names have changed, the list rarely does:  better eating, dropping a few pounds, making time for myself, dealing with clutter in the house, healthy habits.

Let's call it now.  

• Easy - Better eating comes with menu planning.  Menu planning that steers a little more away from creamy things.  A meal here and there is one thing, and while butter and cream are my friends when it's cold and blustery outside, I'd like to get back in the habit of one meat-less dinner and one seafood dinner a week.  The seafood will be the toughest - the kids only like fish and that gets old fast.  I may need to opt for seafood a couple times a month instead of weekly.
• Moderately Easy - Dropping a few pounds.  Frankly, if I laid off the candy or the midnight snacking I'd be well on my way - I rarely drink soda or alcohol and my coffee is one cup a day with cream and sugar, so there's nothing to give up there.  I actually just need a healthier alternative when I want to grab a couple licorice bites, or a handful of chips.
• Moderate - Making time for myself.  While I know the huge value in this, even more so in the last couple months, it's still hard to do.  It's hard to ignore the chores, to do what feels like an indulgence.  Harder still, when you know things you ignore will still be there, or worse, the things you just completed will be completely undone.  Still, it is something that feeds me, re-energizes me.  It is something I truly need, whether I read, sew, paper craft or color.  I need to make this a habit - it's as health-conscience as what I eat and the ever-allusive exercise.  Only this is way more fun.  To this end, I've joined Scrapbook and Cards Today All Year Class SCT365.  I received the first month's challenges, but haven't yet read them.
• Easy (Should Be Anyway) - Decluttering. Organizing is my thing.  I'm pretty good at it.  When I'm ready to purge, just get out of my way.  Shoot, I spent some of this past Sunday finally, finally, tackling the basement - with an eye to the above goal in mind.  The trick is to keep on top of it, to get to it before it gets out of hand.  And to hide the things I've purged so they don't somehow end up back where they started.  Funny, how things nobody remembers are suddenly of great interest when you dig them out and put them in a box marked "Goodwill."  De-cluttering the house equals de-cluttering of life and mind.
• Ridiculously Difficult - Healthy habits.  There's just no way to motivate me.  I hate, H.A.T.E, the gym.  I'm not into classes.  There are too many ready excuses to make outside walking a thing.  I was at our local rec center, where the 8 y.o. plays hockey, and I looked into the fish bowl that is their gym and thought, "Nope, there is no way I'm coming here for others to watch. Just no way."  I have played with the idea of joining MPC.  I thought about it last year, too.  We'll put aside the fact that the founder is hot (he plays the TV version of my book crush Jamie in Outlander.)  Seriously. . .he's hot.  That he's in the workout videos, will certainly make me watch them, but would it be enough for me to follow along with them?  The plan comes with workout videos, daily menu plans and recipes, Facebook support, even groups of "Peakers" to gather with, if there are any in your area.  It's everything one would need to get in a healthy habit from the safety of one's home.  Shoot, 50% of the fee (which is crazy affordable for a year-long program) goes to charity.  Yet I drag my feet.

So, here we go.  Into the blank that is 2017.  What will work and what won't?  What's coming down life's path?  Only the turn of a calendar pages will tell.

Happy Tuesday,