It's a New Year!

2011 sounds so weird to say, and it's so weird to see how quickly time marches on.  It picks up speed as we age, and I don't like how fast the years seem to pass now.  I've been in our new house for a year, married for three, out of high school for twelve, living on my own for six, it's crazy!  I feel like I should be much more grown-up since I'll hit the big 3-0 this year, but I don't.  It makes me wonder if my parents felt like grown-ups at thirty either.  I do wonder at what age I'll stop and think to myself that I'm finally a grown-up, that I'm finally an adult making adult decisions.  I think my introspection goes to show that I am starting to realize I'm not a kid anymore, but enough on that tangent.

As always, I made New Years Resolutions.  I'm not very good at keeping them, but they are normally light and fluffy and silly ones so it doesn't matter.  But this year, I have some things I want to change.  If changing my personality is like losing weight (it gets harder as you get older), I want to be sure I'm in a good place as I head into my thirties.

1) Lose 10 pounds.  I have a pretty small body frame and I know what I should weigh, and I'm not there right now.  Too much snacking on the weekends I guess.  I already work out and eat healthy during the week, so losing will take some effort.
2) Say 'yes' more.  I am not always as spontaneous and accessible and I would like to be.  When friends call to do something, I want to just say yes and not come up with a hundred reasons to say no.
3) Swim with the dolphins.  I am doing it this year.  Hold me to it.
4) Become an extrovert again.  Growing up, you could not keep me quiet or keep me from engaging any stranger or friend within a mile radius.  I loved talking to people, meeting new people, making friends, etc.  I could argue it's because I was in my comfort zone, I had friends and family around at all times that I knew loved me.  Since moving to the states, I have become quite the opposite.  When I first heard someone hear describe me as introverted, I laughed out loud.  But now I realize that's how I am here.  If I am around people I know care for me and I feel I can trust them, I can do whatever and say whatever.  But I don't feel I have that here, so I keep to myself and have a very hard time talking to new friends.  However, I need to make those friends to have friends around me.  So I will trust my instinct and step out there more often, make the first move, introduce myself, and trust that my friendliness will yield results. And hopefully without needing liquid courage every time!
5) Believe I am the woman my husband believes I am.  He has many things he loves about me and many things he compliments me on, but I cannot see those things.  If I learn to really believe even one of those things, I will consider this resolution a success!
   5A) On a similar note, I want to continue striving to be a woman he can always be proud of.  He brings out the best in me, and I want to continue down that path.
6) Sponsor a less fortunate child.  We are incredibly blessed, especially at a relatively young age, and I want to give back in a meaningful way.
7) Read more.  We have a chair-and-a-half and a fireplace and I want to cuddle up with a book and make use of it.
8) Finish more house stuff.  I have a long list of stuff I'd still like to get done in and around the house, and it's been a year already.  Hopefully by the two-year mark I'll be more satisfied.


I think that's all for now.  Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything more, at least that I'm willing to share. :)  I hope you all made good resolutions and plan to stick with them.  Happy 2011 y'all!