New Year

So I pulled on my sweats and drove the kids to piano this morning. I have *NO* idea why the piano teacher wouldn't reschedule, she has three kids and one on the way, and stayed up with a housefull of people last night at her house playing games, but she was bright and shiny when I dropped the girls off. Me, not so much. I stayed in the car. I hadn't looked at myself in the mirror yet nor touched a comb. Anyway, she's younger than me, I guess she has stores of energy I lack, possibly in the form of chocolate. But as usual I digress. What I noticed this morning on my drive was that there were almost no cars and lots and lots of people jogging or walking or somehow out and about.
Hah!
It's the First day of the New Year! Gotta start those resolutions!
Even though the house is still full of great food, we've got to slow down the intake and speed up the exercise and make the metabolism work for US!
Fortunately, here we have two opportunities for giving up stuff, New Years' and Mardi Gras. I like them both, because Mardi Gras helps you recharge as you're losing (or have completely lost) momentum by then. It's awesome to take time to recharge that resolution, that determination, that focus and work a little harder.

So besides doing one extra thing a day for your body, and one extra thing a day for your soul (you know you're eating better and reading a scripture a day) what else do you want to accomplish this year?
Ah, there it goes. My inner "Monster" telling me I'll never accomplish anything.
So I use Reason to overcome. Reason is awesome, wears a blue cape.
If I break it down into tiny bites, like the girl in the Shel Silverstein poem, I can eat that whale.
So if I make reasonable, weekly goals I'm more likely to do it.

I read in a book that was full of totally useless information this one nugget that surprised me.
Paraphrasing loosely, it said it was good to make the bites even tinier than you might think is reasonable. In other words, if you really hate dusting, for your first step, find the Pledge. THat's right, find the can and put it on the counter top. You're done for the day. Tomorrow, next step. Next step, get a dustrag and put it by the Pledge. Wow. So then you can rest for the rest of the day after that achievement. It sounds so simple, so slow, so ridiculous. But sometimes we DO need to break down tasks to achieve them, especially if they're something we're not comfortable with.
I keep thinking I can do anything until I am actually doing it. I got on Flylady and really liked her simple steps. I am still trying to shine my sink every day. I don't feel any pressure to get to the next step until I have mastered this habit.
Habits are a lot easier the younger you are. When I was young, I got married and extremely busy. We were always doing something with church, Boy Scouts, his work, my work, friends and travelling. My husband's schedule alone made any kind of dependability impossible. Three days days, Three days nights, when is he off, when is he home.... I remember a friend who had a child who did not take change well. They had to keep a tight schedule for her to be comfortable. This made them very regular church attenders and when things had to change, they gave her a lot of notice. I am so glad I didn't get a child like that, because our kids have had to be flexible with us.
But a lack of consistency has made me two things: Very flexible, your girl on the fly, if there is a last minute thing I can deal with it. It also did not give me good, steady habits.
Even though my life is more predictable now, I feel the need to make time for the important things I want to do, achievements I want to make, and knowledge I need to gain.
SO yes, I am setting aside some time every day for making myself check my list, re-evaluate my goals, and ... sigh... put the Pledge on the counter top.
Good luck with your resolutions!! :)