I Commit, to Me!!!

So it’s 3 days into the New Year and I’ve yet to write out my Commitments for the year, save for a small scribbled piece of paper in my purse.

I’m generally pretty successful in sticking to Resolutions (or Commitments as I’m calling them this year), when I take the time to make them.  Last year I had two:

• Try more new things (ingredient wise)
• Incorporate more nuts and seeds into my diet

I absolutely was successful on both fronts, and am ready for more commitments for this new year (which feels like it is so full of promise and success!).  This year I have 6 Commitments that I’m challenging myself to.

Running

I would like  to run 5 races (of any length) this year.  This is a manageable number, but with the summer pretty much completely out and my first half not until April, I’ll have to do some good planning.  I would also really like to get my endurance back (has anyone seen it?).  My endurance is much better right now than it was this summer (stinkin humidity!), but it’s nowhere near where it was last year.  I don’t want to put a specific number on how far I want to be able to run without a walk break (although 11 miles would be great again! ;P), but I’ll know if when I have had significant improvement.

Photography

I love taking pictures and would love to not only take a photography class, but to buy an SLR.  Alas, these aren’t in the budget for this year.  Instead, I’m going to read some books on photography and learn more about the camera that I have.  Do the best with what you’ve got, right?  My goal is to be able to better translate what I see through the lens into the picture I take.

Blogging

The past year and a half has seen a lot of changes here at Flybynyght.  When you’ve been blogging for 8 and a half years, you’re bound to change your message and the way you deliver it from time to time.  I’m going back to my roots and blogging for me.  It’s easy to get caught up in comments and visits, but I write this because I love to write and I love to share my life and interests.  So while the content won’t be changing, the delivery will change.  I want to blog more often.  Everyday is not realistic for me, but several times a week absolutely is.  But if I have nothing to say, I won’t write an entry.  I’m more concerned with quality than I am with quantity.  The second part of this commitment is to not have any long periods without an entry (longer than 2 weeks – I’m trying to be realistic).  I haven’t had a gap-free blog in a loooong time.

Recipes

I think I’m most excited for this Commitment!  I’ve challenged myself to either make or create a new recipe every week for the year.  That’s 52 recipes that have either been created or followed by me.  I can make more than one a week (and really hope and expect to!), but these can’t be saved up for weeks when I’m really busy.  The only reason to miss a week (and subsequently make up the recipe at the first possible opportunity) is if something happens that is beyond my control like an all inclusive trip to Mexico.  I’ve already created my first recipe and I’ll be posting that tomorrow – it was simple and delicious!

Reading

I want to read 40 books this year.  I know going in that this isn’t realistic for me (as I only read about 20 last year), but I want to commit to making books a larger part of my life.  This will mean choosing to read rather than keeping up so intently on social media (and let’s face it, celebrity gossip) and to PVRing a show instead of watching it in its’ entirety when it’s on. 

Appearance

This commitment doesn’t seem to really fit with the others, but it’s the only one that I feel is really NEEDED.  I need to take more care in my appearance, especially when going to work.  I work in a very casual office and it’s just so easy to throw on a t-shirt with my dress pants and whip my hair back and forth put my hair up in a ponytail.  But this needs to stop!  I feel like a shlub a lot because I kinda look like one!  I’ve also decided to start wearing makeup regularly again (I used to be a makeup fiend, but stopped wearing it almost completely 2 and a half years ago when I started to work out regularly).  I commit to wearing actual outfits, complete with hair done and accessories on (I make jewellery for gosh sakes!), at least 4 workdays a week.  Makeup will likely be a part of this, but not a necessity.

So those are my commitments to myself for the next year.  I hope to remember to examine these every few months, but I think that with my recipe challenge being in the forefront of my mind, I should remember about the others as well.  Here’s hopin!

And since I don’t have  a single picture in this post and it looks a little naked, here’s a random picture of me

Tweeting and eating as usual…   :)