Happy 2019! My Resolutions -- or How Long Can I Last?

Do you realize that New Year's Day is probably the only worldwide holiday? Think back  to all the holidays you celebrate during the year. 

We have religious holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Passover, but these are acknowledged by people of certain faiths. We may all get the day off at Christmas, but it isn't celebrated by everyone. Many other countries celebrate these holidays too, but it is not universal across the world.

Then we have the national holidays here in the US: Independence Day, Labor Day, and Memorial Day. Our banks are closed and government offices don't answer the phones, but cross the borders to Canada and Mexico or cross "the pond" to Europe, and they are going about their business as if it wasn't a day off. Last year, Ken and I were in Denmark for the 4th of July, and we didn't hear or see a single firecracker.

And you can't count Thanksgiving either. Canada has a Thanksgiving but it is in October, not the fourth Thursday in November. You may want to try to cite some of the shopping days such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but I know many men (such as my husband) who refuses to acknowledge such a holiday too. Actually even I don't shop on Black Friday. I consider it a day for amateur shoppers.

So that leaves New Year. We watch the new year march in across the globe with every top-of-the-hour countdown from New Zealand to to Hawaii. Fireworks blast from the Eiffel Tower to the Pyramids. 

So it doesn't matter where you are from, I hope you have a wonderful and prosperous New Year. I want everyone to success and be happy.

So here are some of my resolutions for the new year.

1. Lose weight. I know, I know, this is on everyone's list and by the first of February (or even sooner) it is forgotten. However, I already have a head start on this. I had surgery in October for some female stuff and I feel much better. Since mid-October, I have lost 20 pounds. I still have a long way to go, and 20 pounds is similar to taking a cup of water out of a bathtub, but I am feeling like this might actually work. Ken and I are both just "eating health" as opposed to dieting. We are followed Dr. Joel Fuhrman's program of "Eat to Live" which is beans and greens. I don't feel hunger or deprived because we can still have some sweets and meats. I will keep you advised on my progress. 

2. Knit more. I shouldn't even have to put this on the list, but there you go. I have started knitting baby hats to donate to the local hospital and take some of my other hats and scarves to a shelter too. I have so much stash that I need to use it up.

3. Buy less yarn. Speaking of stash, I have so much yarn that I could even start to make a dent if I needed to. So I will buy less yarn. Even if I go a yarn store, I often find myself saying "I already have something like this." I will still go to wool fairs and explore new books, but no more buying.

4. Buy less. And leading into that point, Ken and I are buying less. Less clothes, less junk, less stuff.  We spend a good two months a year or so ago, we destashed our house. We donated tons or clothes, furniture, small appliances, books, and even office supplied to ARC. We just refinanced our house and have more money every month, but we don't need anything. Actually between our Social Security and our rental incomes, we are making more now than we ever made working. Retirement is great.

5. Travel more. Although we took a month long trip to Europe last year, we are getting the wanderlust again. A month is too long however. By the last week, all I could think of was home, so we will limit out trips to 2 to 2 1/2 weeks. We are thinking of the Pacific Northwest again, and maybe going to New England in the fall. We even have Australia and New Zealand on our bucket list, but not this year.

6. Cuddle my cats more. This one will not be hard to accomplish.

7. Spend more time with my sons. Also not too hard to accomplish. It will mean going to Fort Collins more and a few trips to California, but that is great.

8. Read more. Since I read over 60 books last year, maybe I should scale this down to keeping even. I use GoodReads to track my books, and visit my library more than once a week.

9. Move more. This will be the hardest to keep up with. I hate exercise but if I just concentrate on just walking or moving, maybe I'll do better. Since I am already losing weight, maybe this will just come naturally.