Hello 2009

I normally never make resolutions for the new year. Whenever I did in the past, I would always break them, or not even try. Having looked back over my life for 2008, I thought that maybe this year I should try. It has been a hard year for me. There were definitely some great things that happened, like the birth of my nephew, and my taking the plunge on getting over my fear of flying and taking a whole 4 flights! :) I must admit that I'm proud of myself for that. I always told myself I would never fly. Now I can actually see my dream of going to Paris becoming a possibility. I may even get to Australia to see my wonderful friend Kath someday. :)

So with 2009, I'm hoping to start fresh. It's a new year, with new possibilities. So this year I'm making a few resolutions. Not many, but the basics, and I plan to work on them. I'm not calling them resolutions though, I'm calling them goals.

1. Lose weight. Yes, we all make that one, but I've already lost over 50 pounds, and I AM going to continue this weight loss in the new year. I am focused on getting healthy, and losing weight will help get my health back in order.

2. Read more. I love to read, and do read quite a bit, but I'd like to read a lot more. I get in moods where I just want to read and read, but other times I just don't read at all. So I'm setting a goal of reading at least 2 books per month. That may not seem like very much, but it is more for the months that I wouldn't read at all.

3. Spend more time with friends and family. I see my family once a week, but rarely see my friends. I'm going to make more of an effort to make sure that I don't let time go by so long between visits. I love my friends and family, and love to spend time with them. I don't really know how to set a concrete goal with this one, but maybe a goal of seeing them all at least once a month? That may not always work with some schedules, but I will try.

I am very optimistic and hopeful that 2009 will be a good year. The last 2 have been very hard, so it can only get better. Here's to a very happy and healthy 2009! :)