New Year's Resolutions (Challenges)

January is a fresh start to the New Year. I always think of January as a time to review the past year and figure out what was good and what was not so good. I like to challenge myself to be more creative, better informed and of course more physically fit. Pushing myself to step outside my comfort zone is always on the list!

This past year, a friend and I decided that we needed a little more culture in our lives. Our goal was to attend an “artsy” event each month throughout the year. We went to concerts, art shows and lectures that we would not ordinarily have attended and had a great time, even though some of the outings ended up being a little weird. I learned how much fun it could be to step outside “life as usual”. What a great experience. I will certainly continue this challenge for 2010.

I also challenged myself to expand my reading to include classics, biographies and other nonfiction. I got tired of hearing references to classic novels and authors that I had never taken the time to read. In 2009 I experience Charles Dickens, Nathanial Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe and Jane Austin, to name a few. I have to admit that I cheated a little on this one and went the audio book route. Close enough, the words are the same after all.

I was not successful on all my challenges for 2009 including being better informed (bad news will always find you according to my mother!), 30 minutes of exercise each day and eating at least 5 fruits and vegetables each day. I did improve in these areas but I will continue to work on these goals in 2010.

My new challenge for 2010 is to stop procrastinating and actually work on some of the great ideas I have come across over the years. This includes clever craft projects, simple recipes and ideas that are reported to make life more organized and efficient. I have created this blog as a tool to hold myself accountable to actually following through on this challenge.

I invite you to follow along and keep me on task. If you have any projects you would like me to test, please let me know.

Happy New Year to you all, I hope you have a challenging and successful year!