I normally shun resolutions because I know that I am not the sort of person to keep to them. At the same time, I never needed to lose weight or stop smoking or start jogging – common things that most women aspire towards.
But this year, I am beginning to think that I need goals and aims in order to keep my life chugging along. Now that the wedding and the house are done and dusted, there’s nothing to look forward to, really, except Christmas. Which is a dreaded 12 months away. Boo hoo.
1. Go on photographic expeditions at least once a month
Besides taking photos of my very adorable kitties, there was a point to my splurging on a DSLR so many moons ago. TO TAKE GOOD PHOTOS, duh. Unfortunately, the camera sits in its dry box idly most of the time because I do not make the effort to go out and have fun with it. And then maybe, I can restart that 10 photos a month project.
2. Finish the DIY tasks I set out to do
That roll of paper and can of spray glue is still sitting in my storeroom, while the bamboo curtain is fast gathering dust. I have a lot of ideas for our house but we just never seem to get our asses off the couch to do it. (And by “we”, I really mean “he”.) I want to get the windows in my toilets covered up (so that nobody is looking in as I pee), get the Muji shelf-turned-nightstand “upholstered”, fix up the spare room and wallpaper my wardrobe (I can hear husband screaming for help).
3. Cut my carbon footprint
Hopenhagen might have been more like Nopenhagen but that doesn’t mean we should stop caring for the climate. We’ve tried to do our part – not using the air-conditioning when the weather is cool, bring along an Envirosax when we go shopping to cut down on our use of plastic bags, taking public transport etc – but we can certainly do a lot more.
4. Read more books
I’ve been so consumed by blogs and magazines that I have forgotten to read my books. But that doesn’t seem to have stopped me from BUYING books. It sounds absolutely ridiculous but I LOVE buying books, I love collecting books and I LOVE rereading my books.
5. Try out one new recipe a week
I bought some really great cookbooks last year: Harumi Kurihara’s Everyday Harumi, Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc At Home and the great Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. What I love about these books is that they make cooking seem to easy and exciting! All those pictures and illustrations teaching me how to cut a whole chicken (don’t laugh, but I haven’t dared to tackle a whole chicken!), tie kitchen twine around meats for roasting, poach eggs…it’s so amazing. Cooking is such an art and a science combined.
6. Eat healthily
I am not the sort to count my calories or abstain from chicken rice but I find that as I grow older, I care more about what I put into my body. That means being careful about eating fat laden food like laksa and char kway teow, and trying to sneak in more vegetables and fruits. I wish that husband would share my view but he doesn’t think twice about chomping down on that chicken skin. Maybe my caution stems from the fact that my father died of a heart attack at 52, years below the risk age of 55 but let’s just say that I prefer to enjoy my guilty pleasures in moderation.
7. Exercise more
Laziness and procrastination can be my middle name(s) and that explains why I haven’t hit the gym since, oh, early December. I vow to keep to my routine of yoga-pump-swim-RPM to keep that good ‘ol heart healthy. Afterall, I am no longer young (sobs!) and that metabolic rate has to go down one day.
8. Write more
I miss writing creatively. I don’t know how I am going to do this but I am going to try.
9. Save money
My bank account is doing okay but I think I can be financially stronger. The wedding and house drained my savings (hell, we paid for everything ourselves!) so it’s been a mammoth challenge rebuilding it but I am getting there. As long as I STOP filling my wardrobe with things. And STOP buying shoes.
10. Be a mom!
Now, is that pressure or what? But seriously, I’m hoping that this year will be THE YEAR now that we have decided to, err, try our best. (Underaged boys and girls can turn away NOW.) It’s all up to God and Super Sperm now. Hopefully, his boys and my girls can hook up over some champers and cheese, and then everything will be swell. Otherwise, it’s going to be a teary affair every time that bloody Aunt Flo (pun absolutely intended) visits.
Yannisms 