Happy New Year!

Well it's a new year. That must mean resolution time.

Last year's resolution was to buy nothing new, and I really think I did a good job of it. There were a few moments of weakness (like the bike!) but overall, we bought very few things new, and certainly nothing unnecessary. I found real enjoyment in taking my time, scouring op shops and second hand shops for things I needed, making do with what I already had, or deciding to do without. Of course, gifts were often things that were 'wanted' more than 'needed' but they are kind of exempt from the nothing new rule - as with everything, a little bit of indulgence makes it easier to be restrained the rest of the time. I'm amazed at how much less money I spend, and how much less rubbish we generate. Of course, concurrent with the buying of nothing new, I've worked to cut down on packaging in general (buying in bulk, reusing containers). We also spend much less on groceries than we used to - although I try and buy more things organic which in theory is more expensive, buying less processed foods and no meat really makes the shopping bill shrink.

So my resolutions this year -
1. make vegetarian choices as much as possible. I already don't buy meat for use at home, but I need to work on eating out (sometimes it's hard to resist, like, say, at an Indian restaurant, or when mum cooks dinner for us… and sometimes there are just plain lousy vegetarian options).

2. get my house in order. This means painting, decluttering, plastering, gardening, other repairs. House has to take priority over fun this year. Hmmm. Did I mention yet that I'm studying as well? But Sophie will be at preschool so theoretically I'll have more time to fit everything in.

3. get my life in order. This means writing a will, actually getting divorced, sorting out some financials.

4. spend less time aimlessly on the computer, particularly late at night (sorry Michael!). It's fun at the time, but really achieves nothing and leaves me tired and less likely to achieve the next day as well. So nights are for exercise and study and housework and 10pm curfew. Gee this is shaping up to be a fun year…

5. maintain or even increase my fitness. This is a random goal, really in there so I have an excuse to have some fun. For a few insane moments I thought I'd like to make my goal to complete a triathlon, but after the mini-tri I did where I couldn't even swim 100m, I realised I would need WAY too much extra training time particularly in the water, and I just don't have that much time. I also contemplated, again for about five minutes, doing an extreme 100km mountain bike race, but again, no training time. And it's in February. Not really enough time to prepare. Although it's on awesome trails and apparently a lot of fun alongside the torture element. I'll just have to live vicariously through friends. So there is no fixed goal to train against, except a vague idea that I might run the City to Bay with a friend. It's only 12km, how hard can that be with hardly any running training? Otherwise, I just resolve to exercise as regularly as possible and get out on the bike as often as my other resolutions allow. :) So a non-resolution really, since that's pretty much what I do anyway.

6. get more green. I know some people think I'm plenty green enough already, but there are always ways to reduce your impact on the environment. I really need to work on generating less waste when we go out particularly when we buy lunch (bring our own cups, cutlery etc and ASK how things are packaged and served). I would like to be more active in the community and particularly the school as well. And I need to talk more to acquaintances and friends about what I do and why, and encourage people to consume less.

7. be a calmer parent. I get angry too often over things that shouldn't make me angry. Refine my parenting techniques to use less reward/punishment and more cooperation. Or something. Try to ensure the kids still feel valued even when I'm busy. Try not to use children's needs as an excuse not to study. Or do housework. Ha ha ha.

Hmm, a busy year maybe... Oh, and I promise to put more stuff on my blog too. Pics and stories of the last few months will be up soonish, I promise.