A New You in 2005 — slackermama . com

Since this is the time of reflection and better-ment… I thought this article was very timely. I read about it on another blog (which sadly, I have lost the URL to) and thought, “What a great idea!” I can’t be the only one who doesn’t want a repeat of 2004.

The original article was printed in US News and World Report. You can find the article here. Check it out. Meanwhile, I’m going to summarize the contents and give my own reflection on the answers.

50 Ways to Fix Your Life
1. *Set your priorities*. I think for the most part I’ve already done this. Getting pregnant is a huge priority this year. Mental health would be another. I want to get through this year with my sanity. Please. The article describes this step as a “to do list” and that sounds like simple resolutions to me. See the list at the bottom of the menu. (if you can’t see it, GET FIREFOX! Don’t make me have to tell you again.)
2. *Learn to meditate*. Oooh, this is an interesting one. Every time your brain starts to overload, just make a conscious effort to settle down. Deep breathing, clearing your mind of all thought…whatever works for you. I may have to try this.
3. *Clear your closets*. I definitely need to do this one. My closet is starting to get kinda of a scary look to it. And a clean closet is an organized closet. And an organized closet is a good closet. I’ll just need to get rid of several truckloads of junk is all.
4. *Donate your phone*. How timely! We were already planning to upgrade our phones after the new year. Never really cared for our old ones. I was probably going to end up selling it on eBay or something, like I usually do with my old cell phones. But this time I’ll donate it instead.
5. *Save your snapshots*. This is not so much saving them as it is putting them in frames and up on the wall. And I can go for that because a) our walls need more things on them and b) I think snapshots are a lot more personal and interesting than some artwork or something.
6. *Store by season*. I don’t know how doable this is with our limitations… right now everything gets stored in one of three places: the garage, the defunct powder bath and the guest room closet. There’s talk of building a shed in the backyard. But I think this is a marvelous idea…this way you know exactly where all those icicle lights are kept.
7. *Bag it*. This refers to those hanging shoe bags that you can hang on the back of doors. Nice idea, but I just don’t think that’s my style.
8. *Move to Bismark*. Okay, I’m sure its a real nice place and all, but no.
9. *Stop doing Housework*. I’d totally be behind this one if I wasn’t already behind it. If you know what I mean. ((looks around at cluttered loft area))
10. *Quit your Job*. Another I’d do if I hadn’t already. And yes, being a stay at home mom is a job but you can’t really quit that unless you wanna run off with the UPS man. But then you’d probably have to get a job to support yourself… Yeah, this is entirely realistic, is it?
11. *Use your Grey Matter*. I think this refers to puzzles, games, reading, learning and all that jazz. Since I am going to try to learn how to play Chess, I think that covers this one nicely.
12. *Grow a Plant*. Or two. Or three. Or a whole yard-full. Yes, one of my resolutions is to plant the backyard. So I imagine there’ll be plenty of growing going on around here this year.
13. *Take Time to Play*. These people don’t know me very well, do they? Taking time to play is probably one of my PROBLEMS. So let’s just change that one to *Don’t Play Quite So Much*, just for me.
14. *Listen to New Music*. This is a neat one. I’ve already had a band or two recommended to me so I will definitely try this one.
15. *Read More Books*. On the one hand, I say this is pretty impossible. But I did used to read a lot more than I do now. And there are quite a few Nora Roberts books I need to catch up with.
16. *Have More Sex*. Seeing as my primary resolution is to Get Pregnant, I don’t think this one will be any problem.
17. *Fix your Finances*. Mr Callista is already sorta working on this one for me. Paying off MBNA finally and all that. Our finances could definitely use some work though, don’t get me wrong. We have a lot of credit lines we need to pay down.
18. *Cut back on Fees*. Okay, this applies mostly to stocks and trading and all that and that I just *so* not me.
19. *Rebalance Investments*. See above.
20. *Freeze your Credit Cards*. Okay, lets not get carried away here. But it may just come to that.
21. *Plan for the worst*. Wow, we’re so far from being able to do this. Maybe after we fix those pesky finances. But that probably won’t be this year. Maybe 2006.
22. *Refigure your FICO*. That’s credit score to the uninitiated. Yeah, Mr Callista is *all* over that. He loves to check credit scores and fiddle with them. Nutjob. :nuts
23. *Make Emergency Plan*. Wouldn’t hurt. I mean, we have ideas what we’d do in a fire and the like, but we don’t have any solid plan and we haven’t talked to the Boy a whole lot about it either. Good idea.
24. *Master your Data*. This is a biggie organizational thing. I’m mostly organized on my computer but I could be better. The article recommended Yahoo and Google’s desktop search utilities and I may have to look into it.
25. *Learn to File Really Well*. File what? You mean like bills? :lmao
26. *Exercise a Little*. I knew this one was coming. I’d like to, I need to motivate myself. A walk around the block at least several times a week could not hurt.
27. *Go to Bed*. Got that one covered. Trust me, no one keeps me away from my bed.
28. *Quit Smoking*. Never started. Thank GOD.
29. *Try Greener Greens*. The article recommended spinach instead of iceberg lettuce and so forth. Seeing as I prefer spinach and romaine to iceberg, I think I can do this one too.
30. *Consider Cantaloupe*. This would be tougher. I’m just not a melon fan. And ever since that Friends episode where they compared breastmilk to cantaloupe juice, I can’t *not* think of that when I eat it.
31. *Wipe out White*. Yeah, that whole anti-carb thing. But its better than just that…you can still eat carbs but just try to stay away from the processed and refined stuff. Eat more whole wheat. I can totally get behind this.
32. *Toss the Can*. Okay, I see what they’re getting at here. No soda. But they’re saying it for the sugar. Mostly. Anyhow, the soda I drink doesn’t have any sugar in it. So I’m gonna pretend I didn’t see this one.
33. *Treat Yourself*. I can see the logic here. No, really! What they’re saying is try not to eat stuff that’s bad for you. But if you are going to indulge, at least eat the real thing. Real sugar, real butter… you know, stuff that is found *naturally*. That sounds like wise advice.
34. *Get Married*. Been there. Done that.
35. *Eat More Veggies*. We try to have veggies at every dinner, but sometimes we flake out. And we mostly are eating green beans. Need to eat more salads, and more variety. More consistantly! We have examples to set here!
36. *Wear your Bike Helmet*. I don’t ride a bike any more, but I’ll pass this one along to the Boy.
37. *Watch out for Deer*. Okay, if you’re not already doing this then you’ve got problems.
38. *Install Carbon Monoxide Detectors*. Oooh, this is one we have been wanting to do. No excuses. I saw that ER episode.
39. *Get a paper shredder*. Because, you know we have such important documents around here. I know, I know, that’s not the point. We should do it and they really are coming down in price.
40. *Peer in the Dark Corners*. Lordy, I really don’t want to. There could be black widows there.
41. *Become a birder*. No thanks. Besides, need more vegetation out here before we get enough birds to watch.
42. *Floss your Teeth*. This is hard to deny. Because you know you should. Couldn’t I just rinse with Listerine instead?
43. *Stretch Regularly*. I’m already pretty good at this. I’m constantly cracking my neck. Wait, maybe that’s the problem…
44. *Wear the Right Shoe Size*. Huh. I’m pretty sure I already am. After all, the gunboats can’t get much bigger.
45. *Breathe*. Again, pretty sure I’m already doing this. Isn’t this tied in with the whole meditation one way back when?
46. *Take Vitamins, the Right Ones*. With any luck and a good dose of God’s grace, I’ll be taking prenatal vitamins and wanting to hurl them up every day.
47. *Take up Philosophy*. You know, I tried to take a philosophy class in college once. Uh uh.
48. *Volunteer*. This is a bad one. But its a hard pill to swallow. Where to volunteer, what, how, etc and so forth. I promise I’ll look into it.
49. *Get a New Look*. Another something I’ve wanted to do. But there’s only so much you can do with blah.
50. *Forgive*. I have to say, this is spot on. You would be amazed at what forgiveness can do you to your well-being. Simply amazing. Letting go of anger, especially if you don’t want to, is very freeing. It’s not them it’s helping, its you.