Resolutions

I’ve never been one to make resolutions for the new year. It’s just never struck me as something to do and besides I think the “pressure” of setting a new year’s resolution adds to the anxiety of trying to keep the resolution. I read somewhere that most people stress over keeping their resolutions and as a result break them within a few days or weeks after setting them. So, to clarify, this is not a list of new year’s resolutions, but just things I am going to try to work on for the coming year.

1.) I am going to try to start eating healthier. This goes for my hubby too. We are not getting any younger and I think it’s time to start thinking about the kind of things we eat and drink. For the record, I am not swearing off everything. I mean, what would be the point of living if one could not have the occasional caramel macchiato, tortilla chips and salsa, buffalo wings and that second helping of pizza? But I do see the point in making wiser choices and keeping things in moderation. At this point, we are lucky to have the luxury of making changes because we want to rather than because we have to (which would just make me feel deprived!).

Lately, because of busy schedules and because of our love for culinary pursuits – our eating habits have been … quite challenged … to say the least. I had a conversation with my mom a few days ago and her advise was eating healthier does not have to be more work but it does take a little bit more of planning. So, this weekend, Jojo and I came up with a sort of eating plan and went to Costco to stock up on ingredients for that plan. Hopefully, as mom said, this planning will keep us away from frozen dinners, canned soup, junk food, and take out meals!

2.) Exercise. Yes, I’ve thrown the “e” word out there! No major promises here – but we have taken our exercise machine out of the garage and parked it in front of the tv (blocking the view from the sofa). Now if that’s not an incentive to start using that thing, I don’t know what is! We’ve also made plans to go on afternoon walks during the weekend (does walking around the mall count?) and maybe on weekdays too when the weather gets a bit warmer and the daylight lasts longer. But since our work schedules are really bad, we’ve added housework to our exercise regime as well.

3.) Relax and take mini-vacations. My hubby and I have not been on a vacation in ages. Our home is the vacation destination for many of our friends and family (which is great too!) – but we ourselves have not been on one since … well … not in a very long time. Although we still do not have the time and luxury of dropping work and jetting off to Europe for a month, we are certainly going to try planning a few weekend or week-long getaways whenever we can.

4.) Try not to take work too seriously. This one will probably be the hardest one of all. But I have to try put things in perspective. Life is too short and it is not worth stressing over things I have no control over. I will sincerely try to do this … or may have to find something else that is less stressful! We’ll see.

There are many other things that I can think of – but we’ll have to take this slowly. We’ll see how it goes with the first four and maybe I’ll make a few more mid-year “resolutions”.