It All Came Down, On Sunday
1:59 PM
First off,I would like to mention that not having school equals out more free time than I would have thought, it however does not mean that I have been the most productive person. Not really a horrible thing, however, after a week of blowing everything off I feel like being more productive on this lazy Sunday. I have decided to get a start on my new years resolutions. I know right? a little lame, however I feel like doing something a little different this year. I will have a few "restrictions" i.e. eat less junk food, exercise more, blah blah, but I wanted to incorporate a few twists into my usual regime of resolutions. So here it goes:
1) Meet new people. Not that there is anything wrong with the people I know, I have just come to realize that a lot of my friends work different schedules as me and some of them live a little far so it limits the time I have to spend with them. It does not mean that I cannot make new friends or spend a little time talking to new people. For instance, I rarely talk to people at school. I am not trying to be snobby or rude, I just don't know what to say most of the time. My last semester at O.C.C. was different. I took a French class and sat next to a girl named Anne and we began chatting about French, and food and music. Then we decided to study together and realized that we had a lot in common. Including making the teenage buys that sat behind us look more mature in class. We also began to talk to the boys, Jon and Alex, and would up doing a project together. A year later and Anne is one of my closest friends and I still talk to the boys via txt and Facebook. We all also meet up for coffee once in awhile, we call ourselves "The French four", like we are some French-speaking super hero students.
I think that this might be a little more challenging than it sounds, but I am going to take a stab at it. I tend to frequent the same places when I go out, something else I'd like to work on, but I don't go out all that much and I tend to treat myself to the places I like. I went last week with Kyle to a bar in Detroit, Grand Truck, for some lunch and we struck up conversation with the bar tender Paulie. We went back in yesterday for some apples to apples & yummy food and we all got invited to a pajama party at his place for next Saturday. Normally I would be hesitant and nervous, but I am going with the guys and my bestie, so it should be fun.
2) Cook new recipes. New to me recipes, since I usually don't use them at all, actually. I was inspired by a movie (I know, I know) but I saw Julie & Julia last night. I cannot fathom going to that extreme, however I have had a few cookbooks for awhile. I am thinking while I am in school, one recipe a week. Kyle has been putting sticky notes in the cookbooks of what he wants me to try. It will also give me a chance to get a move on that binder of recipes I want to put together, and I can give updates on that as I move along.
3) Eat less junk. It's obvious this one had to go on here considering chips and pizza have become a staple of my diet ever since I was two, and has only increased since living with a guy. I have noticed though, after days without any fresh vege or fruit I start to crave it. It gets hard to cook meals every night while I am in school, but even a sandwich with whole-grain bread and some lettuce & tomato is so much better than deep-fried anything. I have lost 30 pounds in the past year and 8 months or so. It was very challenging and it felt good, so I would like to stay on a healthy track. Which means more exercise.
4) Shop less. I can be good at this, and really bad at times. I have to make it a new rule to not buy any new books unless it is part of a series and I am missing one of them. I have 3+ milk crates full of books that I have to read. I am working on a list of books I really want to get still, and I am making a rule for those: buy them used. Used bookstores are always more fun to browse in anyways. For clothes and music-another major weakness of mine-, since I already buy these items used as often as possible, I have to limit my purchases to two a month. Within reason of course, I never spend a lot on one item, but there are also flea markets that have records for 50 cents. So I figure I can buy more in situations like that but within reason (Limit myself to 5 bucks worth). Also when I am shopping, I would like to shop locally more often. I do pretty good with avoiding mega chain stores like Walmart most of the time. I would like to make more use of the farmers market here in Royal Oak.
5) Homemade. I want to try to make more homemade items and products. I made homemade toothpaste awhile back and it worked out pretty good, and it was very inexpensive. I have access to a ton of ideas and a blog to share with everyone, my results.
6)Volunteer. Last spring, the twins and I decided to help cleanup Belle Isle, it was a warm day and actually a lot of fun. I got to be outside and I was helping out the environment. Also, for the past 3 years, through my job, we have also participated in the breast cancer walk on Belle Isle in October. I think trying something once a month would be realistic considering my schedule.
7) Read & watch. I have mentioned the huge stack of unread books in my possession. My goal is to read one a week, and review the good ones on here. Movies I have always had a hard time with. Kyle loves movies, I love music and reading. I do have a handful of favorite movies and I will never turn down a screwball comedy, but I hardly watch anything else Kyle likes. I always fall asleep and I have been leaning more towards older films, little kid movies or Indie flicks. So we have agreed to tackle Hitchcock. I am very intrigued and excited to watch all of his films, I've seen a few of them but I would like to see them all.
8) Fashion & blogging. I have only recently started blogging and I am either wanting to blog about everything, or I neglect the blog. Kyle and I have come to the conclusion that this blog is a good thing for me, since I seem to always be in a good mood when I am blogging something I like and reading interesting and awesome things on other blogs. So I am hoping to update this 2 to 3 times a week with all the randomness that is me. I am in no way a "fashionable" person in any means. I have to say that I have had a larger interest in clothing ever since I lost weight though. I like that everyday when I get dressed, I am presenting myself to the world how I want to be presented. It also makes work and school more exciting. When I think I look nice & I feel great, it just makes the day so much better.
*Kyle & I in Detroit with yummy coffee.
I really think this is all for now, although I should add "Make blog posts shorter" considering the length of the last two.
5 Musings
good list! I also had a meet more people resolution at the beginning of the semester when I realized my friends and I weren't as outgoing as we were last year, so clearly if I wanted to socialize I would need to find a few more friends. On a whim, I joined my college's sailing team, its always been an interest of mine, they teach you how to sail, and the kids are friendly and fun, a good new group to hang with. when in doubt about how to meet more people, I say try something you have any interest in at all, even if its a really mild curiosity, just something new with new people.
ReplyDeletebtw, I've had a kidney stone too! except I believe mine was from not drinking enough fluids hmm
Good luck! I know EXACTLY what you mean about books. I can't help but buy them! I put sticky notes on the ones I need to read and.. let's just say I nearly ran out of sticky notes, yikes!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes! I can agree and should add some of your resolutions to my own list, like meeting new people and shopping a tad more smartly.
ReplyDeletexo
Sophie
Good list! I've started thinking about my new years resolution is too. I'm the same with number 1. I really need to get out and meet new people too, which is really hard for me being the socially awkward person that I am, but we have to start somewhere right? :)
ReplyDeleteHave fun at the pajama party!
This list is perfect.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm in love with your header pic. Just a tad obsessed w/ owls ;-)
Talk nerdy to me.