Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a fun and safe night. May God bless you all throughout 2011.

Just to give you an update, I ended up finishing the year having read 20 books. The was 55 less than my goal, so this year I am keeping that goal of reading 75 books. I try not too make too many resolutions (or goals as I like to view them) because I'm afraid that I make them too large, meaning that I force myself to do more than I know I am capable of at the present time. So this year, I have tried to make my goals/resolutions not easier, but more realistic. My New Year's Resolutions for 2011:

1. Trying to get in better shape - instead of saying that I am going to work out for so long every day, I am going to do something active every day, even if it is only for 10 minutes, just to make sure I am doing something, since I don't really exercise at all. I also begin physical therapy for my knees and back and am hoping that I can learn some exercise techniques that I can do correctly and every day. I am also hoping to possibly get the Kinect for Xbox 360 sometime this year, which I have heard provides a great workout with both the dancing games and sports games.

2. Eat healthier - instead of going out for fast food all the time, I am going to cook more meals at home and use more vegetables and fruit in my cooking. I don't consider myself to be a great cook, so most of our food comes out of a box. But even if I make rice or pasta, instead of indulging just in that, I am going to try and add vegetables to it and eat at least one to two pieces of fruit a day. I also would like to attempt to try to cook some seafood at home, since I not only love seafood, but it is healthy as well.

3. Work on my book - instead of constantly just thinking about the fact that I want to write a book someday, I am going to start brainstorming about the plot and my goal is to have the subject and basic storyline picked out by the end of the year.

4. Pay off debt - instead of ignoring calls from my school loan counselors, I am going to try and be more proactive in making payments. I say try only because at this point and time, I do not have a job, thus having no income. But I do get some money every now and then, so I would like to start paying off my loans if I can manage it.

5. Learn something new every day - I know that this goal sounds really hard, but I am confident that I can learn something new all the time. I feel that people can learn something from anyone, even if they don't agree with overall ideas or methods. It has been suggested that I bookmark the Wikipedia Random Page, which will bring up a random subject when I click on it - I'm hoping to learn some pretty interesting stuff.

6. Stop swearing so much - my household tends to swear quite a bit, and while I can't really get my boyfriend to stop doing so, I would like to try and do it less. Sometimes, I think that it sounds unnecessary and unintelligent, and while I do still swear when I feel no other word will work, I am going to try and curb how much I do it.

7. Grow in my faith - throughout the past year, I feel that my dedication to being a Christian hasn't been as strong as I would like. I feel that I haven't been as focused or as grateful for the relationship I have with God. I hope to grow in my faith, learn new things about other religions (more for understanding than anything since I am a devout Christian and don't intent to convert to any other religion), and focus more on what I am thankful for instead of the negative side of everything.

8. Complain less and show more gratitude - I know that one of my downfalls is that I complain a lot about the health issues that I have and the situation that I have been dealt. I want to try and see everything in a positive light and learn to be thankful for what I do have rather than what I do not.

9. Read 75 books in 2011 - while I set this as my goal last year, I obviously did not achieve it. I am hoping that this year, I can read all of the books I own (or at least most of them since I am pretty sure I have over 75) and learn some things that I may be able to incorporate into my own book someday.

There ya go - a long list of resolutions that I hope to accomplish. While it may be hard, I am going to try and take things one day at a time because focusing on the present is all I have control over. As I recently read in a Max Lucado book, "leave tomorrow's worries for tomorrow."

Peace and Love