Resolute

It's that time of year again. Time to watch post-stroke Dick Clark mumble his way through the "Rockin'" New Year's Eve, start thinking about taking down the decorations, stop counting cookies as one of the major food groups and generally get one's house in order for the new year. And resolutions. Time for resolutions. Actually, I think last year I resolved to give up making new year's resolutions, but screw it. I'm a creature of habit, and now is as good a time as any to set some goals for self- improvement. Here are mine:

1. Get healthier. Please to note: this is NOT code for "lose weight." One of the ways in which I want to be healthier is in my mental attitude about my physical shape. So I'ma try to stop crucifying myself on a daily basis for not being a size 6, one. It's a drag, and I'm running out of wooden crosses. Two, I need to find a way to be physically active on a regular basis. More, I need to find a way to do this joyfully, so I'll be able to KEEP doing it. This is a real toughie for me, especially in winter, because I HATE being cold, y'all. HATE IT. So all those picturesque winter sports like skiing and ice-skating and such are RIGHT. OUT. I'm going to start up with T-Tapp and see how that goes, and come the thaw (in, like, May) try to be better about getting out and about with the Hatchling on a daily basis.

2. Get greener. Like the frog said, it ain't easy, but I've been meaning for a while to give up disposable grocery bags, and this year I'm gonna do it, by gum. When I lived in CA I was really good about keeping canvas bags in my car to use for shopping purposes, but I slipped back into bad habits when I moved home to the Midwest. However, I've collected a nice assortment of non-disposable bags that I'm going to start keeping on the porch so they're right there when I leave the house. It's what Al Gore would want!

3. Give back to the community. Just before Christmas, I joined the Parents Advisory Council for Minneapolis Early Childhood Family Education. It's a volunteer group that does fundraising for ECFE and builds awareness of the program and its benefits through community events. I figure since I'm benefitting from ECFE (and also since I think it's like the best thing since sliced bread) I oughta do my part, you know? I'm incredibly lazy about volunteering er, extremely protective of my time - but it will be good for me to do this, both from a community service perspective and from a get-mommy-the-hell-out-of-the-house perspective.

That's it. Just three. Don't wanna take on more than I can reasonably be expected to achieve. What are your new year's resolutions?