Image via Wikipedia
I’ve been putting myself last for years now, not because anyone asked me to but because nothing brings me greater joy than my family, so taking care of their needs before mine just came naturally. Something happened recently, though, that made me pause to think about life: I turned 49. Next December, I’ll be 50. The big five-oh. Wow.
I looked in the mirror and saw a woman in serious need of a make-over – not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. Next December, I want to be a Fab 50, not a frumpy or frazzled 50. So, I’ve decided: 2011 is the year to get back to ME. With my youngest child half-way through kindergarten, my husband finishing his Master’s degree in June, and the New Year right around the corner, it seems to me that some resolutions are in order.
Now, I’m not looking for an extreme make-over. Uh-uh. These need to be realistic, achievable goals. That’s not to say they won’t be challenging. After all, some of them have been attempted before, and some have been achieved but not maintained. Knowing that goals must be specific and measurable and that it helps to be held accountable, I’m sharing with you my resolutions for 2011:
- Fit into my wedding ring. I think I’ll need to lose about 15 pounds for that to happen, but the number of pounds is not as important to me as the ability to wear my wedding ring again. I am proud of the man I married and miss wearing the ring that symbolizes our love. Fitting into my skinny jeans will be a nice bonus. This goes hand-in-hand with resolution number two.
- Exercise/improve heart health. I plan to utilize my treadmill and work-out DVDs at least three times per week before the boys get up for school and continue to walk with friends when I can. I also will reduce carbs, increase vegetables, eat reasonably-sized portions, and drink more water.
- Reduce coffee intake. Heck, I might even eliminate coffee altogether; have done it before. I hear there’s going to be a coffee shortage in 2011, so it seems like a good time to give it up. Tea is good. I’ll drink that and more water from now on. Coffee makes me jittery and upsets my stomach, anyway.
- Read at least two grown-up books per month: one for fun and one for education/self-improvement. Books read with the children, while fun, don’t count. I love to read and don’t know how this simple pleasure managed to slip out of my life for so long. To accomplish this, I plan to turn off my computer by 9:00 p.m. every night. Period. That’s going to be the hard part.
- Blog once a week or more. This is totally new, but once a week shouldn’t be difficult. I read a great deal online. Add to that at least two new books a month, and I should be able to find SOMETHING interesting to blog about. My husband will be thrilled if I manage to use part of my daily word allowance by blogging because I talk A LOT. The challenge for me will be to crank the postings out quickly and not over-think the writing because I’m a bit of a perfectionist. Being a social media consultant and work-at-home-mom (WAHM) of “advanced maternal age” (AMA), my topics likely will include kids, food, health, aging, earth, social media, marketing…in short, whatever is “onmymindrightnow.”
What are your resolutions for 2011?
Onmymindrightnow's Blog 