Day 283: Mantra Monday - New Years Resolutions!

Happy 2012 everyone!  I hope you're all recovering from your holiday festivities.  I, for one, could use another week of vacation to recover from my vacation!  As I mentioned last Wednesday, my holiday season was a bit more stressful than usual, with a brand new puppy and a very sick kitty.  My household is still pretty hectic, but at least we're all back home and healthy (or, at least, recovering!).  FYI, Michael and I loved getting all of your feedback on puppy names.  We've decided on "Noelle" but it was a close call.

In the spirit of welcoming the New Year, today's "Mantra Monday" is actually a short list of my resolutions for the entire year of 2012.

1) Just Say "No"

Between my dissertation, my work at About-Face, this blog project, and a new puppy, I've got lot on my plate in the coming 12 months.  Everything I've mentioned here is incredibly important to me, and also time consuming.  Add quality time with friends and family, along with exercise, adequate sleep, and a sprinkling of leisure, and suddenly there are barely enough hours in the day.  I simply cannot add anything more to my list of responsibilities and activities without risking my mental and physical health.  So, I'm going remind myself to "just say no!" to any extra time commitments that might present themselves.

2) No alcohol on weeknights!

I started avoiding alcohol on weeknights a few months ago when Michael and I had our first serious budget conversation.  We've always loved sharing a bottle of decent wine with dinner a few nights each week, but since we no longer tolerate the really cheap stuff, the expense was adding up.  We decided to cut wine out of our weeknights as a way to save money, but almost immediately I noticed an improvement in both my quality of sleep and in how I felt, emotionally: on nights without alcohol, I fell asleep faster, slept more soundly, and woke up feeling less anxious and ready to greet the day.  I was shocked, but soon became hooked.  Despite knowing better, I returned to more frequent imbibing during the myriad holiday festivities with family and friends.  I enjoyed a lot of fun and memorable nights, but also a lot of exhausted and cranky mornings.  Time to get back on track!

3) Run at least one half-marathon, preferably two.

I've completed 10 half-marathons since I graduated from college in 2004.  Sadly, I've only run one in the past 3 years (ever since I started dating Michael! hrmmm...).  I've never been a particularly fast long-distance runner, but being able to run 13.1 miles without stopping makes me feel really proud of myself, whether it takes 2 hours or 4.  I probably won't have time to train for a race until summer, but that gives me several months in the meantime to start building my strength and endurance.

4) Don't look in the mirror until March 25th!
No peeks, no cheats, no "window-shopping," and no going crazy!

Four resolutions might seem like too many, but I think I've picked a balanced set of things I'd like to accomplish.  What are your resolutions?  Any suggestions for how I can be sure to fulfill mine?

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