The Santa Inventory and my first Goals Ever!

And 2010 begins! My husband and I went to a fancy party to ring in this new decade. We usually spend New Year’s Eve at a friend’s lake house in Wisconsin. This has been a tradition since high school. There’s beer pong, tons of food, tons of alcohol, ice fishing, and a room full of snoring drunks. I’m so glad our friend’s wife had a baby three days ago and we didn’t have to go this year! I hate sleeping with the snoring drunks.

Well…..like most everyone else in blogging world, I too have decided to detail my Christmas list and elaborate on some goals I have for myself this year.

First off: What Santa brought me:

- A Wii fit! I’ve been wanting this since we got our Wii last year.

- A Garmin! For my car, not my wrist. Do you name your car Garmins? Or just your running buddies?

- Slippers and a robe

- Clothing and jewelery

- 2 pairs of fleece lined running tights!

- 2 fleece running tops

- A new cold-weather compression shirt

- An HP wireless printer

- A Kindle! I was not expecting this, but my dad thought I’d enjoy it. I was skeptical at first, but now I’m in love. Expect a book review of Shanghai Girls: A Novel by Lisa See in a few days.

- And lots of other random knick-knacks that my mother is famous for stuffing stockings with: Tervis Tumblers, note pads, ornaments, candy, etc.

Next: Some goals for the New Year:

I have never before set a New Year’s Resolution. Heck, I don’t even set goals. I’m terrified of failure. What better way to keep from failing than to not give yourself any expectations at all. That in itself is a big FAIL. So I’m going to give this a try.

So (insert nervous whine here) here we go:

1. Wash dishes after every meal.
• Now, before you laugh, hear me out. I hate, hate, hate, hate washing dishes. My husband has no concept of washing dishes at all and just leaves his stuff all over the house. I have adopted his attitude toward dishes and just set them on the counter when I’m done using them. I figure, if he’s not going to care, why should I? I now realize that I need to be the bigger man. I need to actually wash them, and make him at least bring them to the kitchen when he’s done.
2. Run at least 2-3 times a week for the rest of the winter and then increase to 4-5 times in mid-March.
• I would love to run every day, but life tends to get in the way. With it still being winter, and the worst winter is yet to come. January in Illinois is brutal at times. If I can make it through January, I can make it through anything. I’ve purchased the Beginning Runner’s Handbook and will be following that program.
3. Bring a focus to this blog.
• Right now, I’m still learning how blogging works. I’ve seen how organized the other blogs that I follow are and I want to do the same. They have things like “Music Monday,” “Three Things Thursday,” and “Sunday Funday.” Now, I don’t want to copy everyone else, but I’m going to “borrow” a few of their topics. I have a few of my own which I will share with you as they come up.
4. Take time for myself.
• I am always doing something for someone else. Cleaning up after other people, making lessons plans, shopping for dinner, etc. I rarely take time to relax and unwind. This constant attention to others is taking its toll on my health. Reducing my stress will hopefully eliminate my headaches and help me sleep better.

I know I’ve only set 4 goals for myself, but I must start somewhere. Walk before you run, look before you leap, put your pants on before you leave the house, etc. Look for goal updates throughout the year.

Keep your fingers crossed and send motivation my way!

PS…..I keep seeing commercials for the Winter Olympics. I’m so excited! I’m such an Olympics nerd! Pretty sure I kept the guys who lived below us last year up all night after the men’s swim relay pulled off that win in the last seconds. They could hear me screaming down the street! I backed up my DVR for days with Olympic recordings! Go USA!