So ... whatcha doin'?

As my neighbor's daughter likes to say, "So ... whatcha doooooooin'?"

I mean this in the New Year's Resolutions context, of course. I make New Year's Resolutions, every year, and, every year, I break them not too far into said year. But, the way I figure it, if the law of averages always manages to catch up with you when you don't want it to, why the hell can't it catch up with me in regards to my New Year's Resolutions? One of 'em's gotta stick SOMETIME!

I sat down and thought a lot about what I wanted to do this year. New Year's Day always seems so "clean slate" to me, even though there's really nothing that sets it apart from any other day, other than it's the first one that shows up chronologically on your calendar. So, for the past few days, I listened to my own thoughts, and read some others' blogs about what they wanted to do, and came up with a ginormous list of my own. Again, with that whole law of averages thing, I'll most likely break nearly all of them, but at least one should stick, right?

1. Start my New Year's Resolutions on January 2nd. January 1st is really just an extension of New Year's Eve, in my opinion, meant as a day of rest and recovery from the previous night.
2. Take a walk every day. Even if it's just on the treadmill, it's still good to move around a bit. Get the blood flowing and all that.
3. Lose 20 lbs by April 1st. Then another 20 by July 1st. Then another 20 by October 1st. Then another 20 by the end of the year. The way I figure it, I'm at least 80 lbs overweight. So, instead of being too vague or too strict in setting goals for myself, set a yearly goal, with 4 checkpoints throughout the year. Once I get down to what I feel is a reasonable weight, to where I'm comfortable sharing what I currently weigh, and where I'm headed, I'll list the actual numbers. For me, losing weight isn't just about the numbers, though. It's about being 24 (almost 25), and having to take high blood pressure medicine. It's about being an aunt, who wouldn't be able to keep up with her nieces and nephews if they wanted to run around. It's about having my jeans fit me comfortably, instead of fitting me like a tourniquet. (Go ahead ... get that image in your head.)
4. Finish my mom's American Flag Afghan. I've only been working on different incarnations of that thing for going on 3 years. I'm so close to having it finished, that there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to have it completed by week's end.
5. Use up at least 10 balls/skeins/hanks of yarn in my stash. I have --- literally --- 2 Rubbermaid storage tubs filled with yarn, down at the storage place in Harrison. And I have a stackable cart of yarn, as well. And some under my bed. And some in my closet. What obsession?
6. I want to learn how to cook. I mean, really cook. Like, as in The Julie/Julia Project type of "I want to learn how to cook". So far, I'm able to cook down some salsa before canning it, and I can whip up a batch of rice with vegetables and chicken, but I'm pretty limited. I want to be able to make things from scratch. Because really, isn't that what homesteading is all about?
7. Oh, yeah. I want to be a homesteader. I want my own place, with a lot of land, and all kinds of manual conveniences (instead of the electric ones ... with few exceptions), so that, just in case the end of the world as we know it occurs --- you know, nuclear war, widespread disease, movie-ranking natural disasters, or economic collapse --- I can live just as comfortably then as I do now. Somehow, this doesn't seem like one of the things that I'm going to complete by the end of the year.
8. Devote at least 15 minutes a day to cleaning my room, until it's spotless. See, I'm one of those people that have chronically messy rooms. My junk avalanche seems to spill from my walls into other areas of the house, to the point where I'm stepping over things in order to get to my bed. I'm about halfway to Hoarders, in some respects, so I need to get more organized.
9. Read the Constitution in its entirety. I'm a bit of a political junkie, as of late, and I keep thinking that I need to read it, and more importantly, understand it. I've got a book that contains the Constitution of the United States of America and The Federalist Papers, but I've yet to crack it open. I want to do that soon.
10. Begin (and finish) reading "The Real George Washington", "The Real Benjamin Franklin", and "The Real Thomas Jefferson". I've had these books for a while, and I keep hearing Glenn Beck talking about those books, and the people in the 9/12 Project group that I'm in have talked about it, too. I actually gave all three books to one of the guys at work to read, and he's read them all, loved them, and returned them. I would love to have a more intimite understanding of the lives of our Founding Fathers, and a deeper appreciation of what they sacrificed to be able to give us our country, which many of us, myself included at times, take for granted.
11. Finish reading the Southern Vampire Mysteries novels by Charlaine Harris. Okay, that's admittedly not as noble a task as reading the above-mentioned pieces of literature, but I really want to find out what happens between Eric and Sookie!
12. With that in mind, I need to finish Season 1 and Season 2 of True Blood.
13. Lower my blood pressure enough that I don't have to continue taking my blood pressure medication.
14. Get a tan. I'm not talking about being a bronzed beauty or anything, but just something darker than the pasty-whiteness of us natural redheads. If I were red-haired, fair, and blue-eyed, it would look okay. But I've got brown eyes, so I just look ... weird.
15. Learn to sew. I thought about getting some books on how to use a sewing machine and how to repair damaged clothes, but I never did. Oh, well. Birthday wish list, it seems. Plus, if I'm going to be losing weight, I don't want to go out and buy a whole bunch of new clothes (which I really shouldn't need to, if I've got a closet-full of clothes that I've 'outgrown' -- and not in a tall way), so why not just repurpose the ones I've already got?
16. Knit a sweater. I started Sweater Club last year at KnitWits in Kentucky, under the assumption that I'd have this wonderful-looking, handmade sweater that I'd fawn over. Well, after months of work, the sweater was finished. I put it on, turned around and looked in the mirror and ... hated it. It looked so ... frumpy? I picked out a bad pattern for my body type, so it looked absolutely horrible. Here's hoping I can go back on Ravelry and get a new pattern.
17. Knit a pair of socks. See # 16.
18. Make a baby blanket for one sister's baby girl, and for my other sister's ... wait for it ... baby BOY. I knew it was going to be a boy, turns out, I was right.
19. Grow some garlic. I keep buying garlic at the store, telling myself that I'm going to grow it in the garden, and I keep eating it instead. Oh! Note to readers: do NOT think to yourself, "Well ... I mean ... if I just take a bite out of a clove of raw garlic, it'll just taste like I dumped a load of garlic powder on my tongue. I'll just try it ..." Hah, yeah, about that ....... ah, no. Take it from me. And the blistered spot on my tongue that I received when I actually tried that a few months ago. I never said I was the brightest crayon in the box, did I?
20. Get my mom and/or dad to can with me. Or get my neighbors to can. Not that I don't mind sharing my homemade salsa with people, it's just that I like canning, so I think everyone should can.
21. Learn to can more than just salsa and apple pie filling.
22. Grow spicy peppers this year.
23. Have more than just a few plants in my garden.
24. Grow lettuces this spring/summer.
25. Start more plants from seeds, and transplant out into the garden.
26. Save $10,000 and put it into a savings account, and let it accrue interest. I'm more of a spender than a saver, and ever since I've had a job (which has been for 10 years; I started working when I was 14), my mom and dad always told me to save my money. But did I listen? No. So, while I currently don't have any debt (I see this as a big plus, especially in today's world), I don't have but about $3,000 - $5,000 to my name. While this may be a lot for some people, for the number of hours I've put in over the last 10 years, it's pathetic.
27. Go back to school and work on my education. I went to college for one semester, at Northern Kentucky University, the year after I graduated, and never went back. So, I don't have a degree in anything. While I'm thankful to have a job, it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life. (Come to think of it, if there's ANY way I can get a sugar daddy and just be a kept woman ...) While these may not be the best economic times, I'd still like to get a degree so that I can open up some more opportunities for myself.
28. Get a life. A love life, that is. I'm not talking about anything specific, like a long-term relationship or engagement, or anthing, but just get out there and mingle. I'm a fun person to be around (no ... really), but I never put myself out there in that way. One of the girls at work swears she's going to teach me the basics and finer points of flirting, so that I can use my skills for good or evil, whichever the case may be, to land me a guy. Eventually.
29. Learn how to work on my car. I have a 2001 Saturn L200. It's black. And it has a shitload of Marine Corps stuff on it, including a big 12'' in diameter Marine Corps seal emblem on the driver side. Wave or honk if you're passing me. So, that aside, it also has a gas leak. From the tank itself. Talk about annoying. Thank God it's not still $4/gal anymore!
30. Learn to make soap. My mom's friend, Renee, has been promising that she'd teach me how to make soap ever since my sister and I went and worked at her soapmaker's booth at Tall Stacks Festival in Cincinnati in 2006. Here we are, four years later, and no soapmaking skills have been bequeathed to me. Le sigh.