Friday, January 4, 2013

new beginnings

New year's resolutions are dumb. Most people never keep them and then the resolutions sit there and make people feel bad about themselves. Mainly because these resolutions are far too ambitious for most people and they have no plan set up to make them happen. I think the missing key is accountability. Whether you want to lose weight or quit smoking or play your guitar more or whatever, if you don't have a way to keep yourself on track, you're not going to do it.

I'm not saying that EVERYONE fails. I'm sure people succeed. I mean, I don't know them, but they've gotta be out there right?

For me, 2012 was full of ups and downs. More downs than ups, to be perfectly honest. I kept setting goals and failing to meet them and disappointed myself immensely. I don't just want 2013 to be different, I want the rest of my life to be different. I want to be happier, healthier, and better off.

This blog and whoever decides to read it will be the ones to hold me accountable. I have a lot of goals and I know they're ambitious, but I'm determined to live life better from here on out. Let's go through them, shall we?

1.  Pass my motherf*cking CPA exam

I am not playing around with this one. In 2012 I went through the shame and torture of failing this bastard not once - but TWICE. I have until May 23rd to pass, but I NEED to get it this time around. I'm scheduling the exam for early February and I am on complete social lockdown until then.

2.  Get organized

I am the queen of clutter, and it drives Zach (and me, if we're being honest) nuts. I need to find a system to keep things tidy, organized, and inspiring. It's hard to be happy and productive when you're living in a pile of ... stuff. Just lots of stuff everywhere. So I want to tackle some projects that will make keeping organized and tidy easier. Time to bust out my Real Simple magazines and take their tips. Time to throw out stuff I don't need. Time to reorganize closets and cabinets and make everything easier.

3.  Get fit

I need an exercise routine, man. Like some serious cardio and core toning. I've gained more weight than I'd like to admit, and watching what I eat alone isn't cutting it. I've never been good at working out. I have bad knees. I have bad ankles. I hate running. So I'm determined to find some kind of cardio workout that will work for me, whether it's fast paced circuit training or jumping rope and hula hooping or just forcing myself to suck it up and deal with a treadmill/elliptical. It's gotta happen. First goal: losing 10lbs. Once I reach that, I'll reassess my willingness to buy an entirely new wardrobe.

This leads me to...

4.  Be healthier

I generally eat fairly well with low calorie, low fat foods. We use whole wheat pasta and ground turkey instead of beef, and we only eat beef once every 2 weeks or so. But we also have the same 6 or so recipes we use in rotation and I'm just tired of it. I need new recipes and healthier snacks. For example, Zach eats a veritable shitton of cereal. Any snack/fourthmeal/breakfast opportunity results in cereal consumption. And not usually some Special K extra fiber good for you stuff. It's like, Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Rice Krispies. He wants to lower that down and get fit and healthy with me, which will help this whole transition be easier.

I found an amazing app, Food on the Table, that allows you to search for meals and add them to your plan, while automatically populating your grocery list and pulling in sale items from your local grocery store. (P.S. - all the meals that I've seen through the app include nutrition facts. Kind of awesome.) The free version only allows 7 meals at a time/per week, but that's plenty, right? You can also add as many grocery items as you want, manually, so you don't have to pop your awesome oatmeal recipe into the app in order to remember to buy the ingredients. I highly recommend it.

And finally,

5.  Be happier

It's hard to be happy when you see yourself as a failure. 2012 saw CPA exam failure, weight gain, junk food, and generally unhappiness with my life. I want to change that. Making the first four things happen will go a long way towards that happiness, but I also need to remember to keep a positive attitude. I will struggle. I will fall short. I will cry. But I will not beat myself up anymore. No one is perfect and no one should be. All I can hope is to be better.

This is the start of life, but better. Join me. We can hold each other accountable.


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