Hopes for the New Year

Every year, many people make resolutions: to quit smoking, to exercise more regularly, to get a hold of their finances, to not get caught up in any drama.

Well, I vow to do all of these...

I quit smoking in mid-November and vow to remain smoke-free. Maybe a few months from now, I can smoke a cigarette or two without it becoming a habit again. But for now, NO CIGGIES!!!

I need to start exercising on a regular basis. I like how exercise makes me feel, I just hate doing it. I have the clothes and I have the machine; I figure all I need is some motivation...now, if only I could buy motivation, it would make things so much easier.

And that last statement leads me to my next: I will continue to work on getting my finances under even tighter control. I can manage to make it from one pay period to another with a few bucks leftover but my goal is to actually save something, even if it's just $20. I have reigned in my spending and have started little tricks to avoid unnecessary spending (carry lots of pennies so you get lots of quarters as change from your purchases; save $5 bills so you won't need to hit the ATM as often) and I can see the benefits of these tricks already.

As for drama, sometimes it's unavoidable, we all know that. Drama is something that some people thrive on and that others avoid like the plague. I think I fall in the middle. I like having all the attention on me sometimes but there are also times when I want to sit in the back of Starbucks and read and have no one notice me. My vow is to not create drama. I'm on the road to rediscovering myself after spending 10 years with a man who isn't in touch with his emotions and therefore made me believe that it wasn't okay for me to be in touch with mine. There's no place for drama in my life right now. I'm raising a little girl, I work full-time, I have a household to run and I'd like to have a bit of time for myself. It's all about balance, and learning that lesson can be quite eye-opening!!

I have great hopes for 2007 (2006 was especially hard) and am willing to put in the work to make it as fabulous as possible. New beginnings are filled with hope and now, at the cusp of a new sense of wonderment, I am filled with hope too.