Resolving 2009

I'm not a huge fan of making resolutions, because I find them very hard to remember, let alone keep. A few years ago I resolved not to make any more New Year's resolutions. At first I thought that was pretty funny. But by promising not to make any changes in my lifestyle I was cutting off my nose to spite my face. I did make a couple last year but don't remember what they were (quit smoking? Not. Save money? Not. Declutter house? Not so much).


With little fanfare, here are some sensible resolutions I may or may not keep:

1. If I don't quit smoking I won't save over $3000 per year (plus my life). I'll at least make further attempts to read Alan Carr's Easyway to quit smoking book.


2. I'll test my blood sugar more often. Some days I don't test at all, let alone before breakfast and 2 hours after meals.


3. I'll take my medications when I'm supposed to. And eat when I'm supposed to. And eat WHAT I'm supposed to. Maybe that's too many at once...


4. I will start walking 30 minutes or more a day. And do some yoga, and use the rowing machine. And continue to stay off high heels.
5. On a related note, I'll either use my fitness club membership or cancel it.


6. I'll do more work-related reading. I'm part of a very interesting project and I have a whole book about it. I'm on page 8 of 542.


7. I resolve to buy only winning lottery tickets.


8. I think I've resolved in the past to keep in touch with friends more often. I haven't done very well with that -- I'm surprised that anyone talks to me any more. But I'll try again.


9. With the wet weather this past summer I didn't do anything with my gardens or yard (but that's an excuse, not a reason). I did get bumper crops of grapes and raspberries, so made plenty of jam and jelly for gifts and personal consumption. This year I promise to plant some vegetable and herb seeds early enough to get them hardened off and in the ground by Victoria Day. And if I do buy more perennials, I promise to plant them instead of just leaving them in their plastic pots to their fate.
10. Well, part of the reason for planting only perennials is to have a low-maintenance garden. But I should at least do SOME maintenance, like spreading the topsoil, mulch, and compost that I bought last spring.
11. I can't do much more than I already do with conservation, except sell the house and move to a shelter (that's not funny, though). But I can protest over-packaging by either not buying over-packaged goods or leaving the packaging with the store (unlikely!). I've registered 54 acts of green already. You can, too. I'll continue to bring my reusable shopping bags to the stores until I run out of plastic bags to put Green Bin and garbage in.
12. I can't really resolve to watch less TV or fewer DVDs. But I should watch the shows I do like, which probably amounts to The Rick Mercer Report and This Hour Has 22 Minutes on CBC.
13. I'll try to be kinder to my mother and my younger brother and his wife.

That's probably enough for now. I'm off to eat breakfast.