Welcome to 2011

New Year’s Resolutions are meant to be broken. At least, that’s what everyone says. But for me, I really love the idea of them. The idea of a fresh start, a new year, new beginnings… It shouldn’t be a surprise that one of my most favorite purchases each year is my new day planner for work. It brings my desire for organization and new starts together in a most clever way.

I was thinking about my resolutions from last year, and I realized that I did stick to quite a few of them. Of course I can always do better, but I’m proud to say that I meant every word I wrote AND actually stuck to most of them.

The Best ME

Increase my physical health. This means eating nutritious foods when possible, drinking water, taking my vitamins, washing my hands… Jay and I both agree that we’d love 2011 to be healthier than 2010, and it shouldn’t be hard to do. Considering we had 16 cases of strep throat, 5 bouts of the stomach flu, a tonsillectomy, several colds and two foot and mouth diseases, I think we can do better this year. And, with commitment to run a ½ marathon, my training should pair nicely with this.

Optimize my mental health. There are many times I know Jay would describe me as bat-shit-crazy and be spot on. There are so many variables that go along with that but my focus this year will be to make reasonable commitments and actually stick with them, and be prepared on a daily basis. This means keeping cash in my wallet at all times (so I don’t panic when I need some), getting our family on a decent schedule, and to committing to what I can actually do, then doing it. I am the QUEEN of saying “I’ll get that to you right away!” or “I’ll work on that tomorrow!” both home and at work, then failing to do so, which sabotages my mental health and really makes me a crappy mom, wife and friend.

Blog at least three times a week. I get asked by family and friends why I blog, which then makes me wonder if I’m being silly or wasting my time. The feeling I get is that I’m frivolously wasting my time, when in fact I’m enjoying even the crappy moments. Blogging helps me release creative energy and document our family history, but more importantly it gives me the opportunity to find something fun and lighthearted out of what might really be a shitty time. And THAT is priceless to me.

Be the best Mom I can be. I’m me, not someone else, so I’m only wasting my time when I compare myself to other moms. Hopefully by improving physically and mentally, this will fall in line naturally.

And finally: Run for Congress. Hey, this way I have at least one resolution I don’t mind breaking.

2011 will be a good year. I can feel it.