Every new year, I blog about my list of New Year Resolutions.

I told myself I wasn’t going to do it this year. I have a strong tendency to not follow through on my resolutions, and at the end of the year, I always feel disappointed in my myself. I think this is quite self-deprecating, and I should avoid that behavior.  But the last four days, I have thought about nothing else, and it was slowly starting to drive me mad. So here I am.

One:

The most common New Years Resolution across the board is to lose weight. I, like most everyone else, usually set this as a goal. And this year…..to hell with it.

I’ve been saying that I want to lose 10-20 pounds pretty much FOREVER. I’m not as thin as I would like, but I’m not overweight either. All of my numbers for my age and height are healthy numbers. So who cares right?

Now, I’m not going to start eating all kinds of crap-food and gain weight. I’ll maintain, and if later in the year I decide to buck up and lose 10 pounds….awesome. But I’m donethinking that this needs to be a huge priority in my life. As long as I’m healthy, it just doesn’t matter.

And just so you know…..this mentality feels REALLY GOOD.

Two:

Another common resolution amongst society is to exercise more frequently. I really do need more exercise than I get, but this is something that is very difficult to achieve when you have 2 kids that need supervision around the clock. It is very literally impossible for me to procure a babysitter with any regularity (and I don’t like leaving my kids frequently anyway), so I’m just going to say that I will exercise when I can. That’s all I CAN do.

I really stress out about how little I am able to exercise. And this year, I’m done with that.

I will do it when I can, and that will be enough….for now.

(Note: When I say “exercise”, what I really mean is “running”.)

Three:

READ READ READ.

Reading is a fundamental part of who I am. If I don’t read something for long stretches of time, I get downright cranky. Last year, I read very little. And I won’t lie….sometimes I just felt….lost.

This year, I am going to tear through a long list of books. Like whoa. Also, having a pre-designated reading plan feels soooo good. I should have been making yearly reading plans from the onset of my reading life. I can tell it will make a huge difference in how many books I read this year.

I’m already on book number 2 of the year, and it’s only the third day of January. So yay.

Four:

Religion is very important to me. I never talk about that on my blog, but it is. It’s personal, and I‘m not one to discuss things in such a public manner that I define as personal.

I used to focus on my spiritual well-being heavily, but I kind of….lost track…the last few years. This year, I’m getting back on track.

Now, when I say “religion”, my definition of religion greatly differs from that of some people. I don’t like the “religious people” that harshly judge others. I don’t like “religious people” that think they are better than other people. I don’t like “religious people” that try to beat their beliefs into others with a mallet.

Chill, Penny. Don’t get started.

I recently found a church in which I feel like I can completely relate to the other members. Their main goal in life is to be helpful and courteous to others. And not just people like them…. helpful and courteous to everybody. Anybody that needs it.  I adore that. And, they don’t seem to be the kind of “religious people” that I spoke about above.

I’m not going into a lot of detail on this, but I will say this:

I like the church. Spud likes the church. My goal is to stick with it, and to make it a type of “home”. Whatever religious needs are not being met at the church, I know how to supplement them on my own. Meanwhile, my son is extraordinarily happy with the church we are attending, and that makes me very very happy.

Five:

The “hobby’”.

The “hobby” will be the death of me. The “hobby” is slowly and painfully turning me into a slobbering lunatic.

This is not an exaggeration.

It is making me insane.

ANYWAY….

I plan to focus heavily on the “hobby” this year.

On the day I turned 30, little alarms started going absolutely berserk in my mind. *you’re 30! what are you waiting for?* *you’re getting old! start now!!*

The little alarms were not exactly delicate in what they were screaming at me.  

I have this overwhelming voice in my head that’s telling me to put my butt in the chair and focus on the “hobby” and to not get up for about 5 years.

So, I’m going to learn about the “hobby” and practice the “hobby” this year, until I am either completely psychotic to the point of institutionalization, or totally sane and content. I’m eager to see what the outcome will be. Because I know myself pretty well, I believe it will result in a straightjacket. And drool. And a really strong prescription.

Boy….that all sounds terribly dramatic and scary, doesn’t’ it?

(Fine…the hobby is writing. There. I said it.)

Six:

Blog.

My poor blog. I feel like I’ve neglected it.

I’m want to blog more this year. I need to blog more this year. I like it, it makes me happy.

And, considering what my yearly fees are for this blog, I should technically be writing about 37 posts a day.

Speaking of my blog, I think it’s lookin’ kind of badass these days. But, I’m biased.

And that’s it.