2 weeks in

First of all, if you set goals for yourself this year, or haven't and still want to you should read this article by Jen Fisher about how she changed her mindset on goal setting and how to do this thing better.  It's an easy read with 7 strategies she feels help her with success. They may not all be for you, but I will say accountability has been my #1 place to start. And that's because my body is my own accountability measure.

I tried to cheat- to eat the foods I know I shouldn't and my body slapped me in the face so fast it's nearly comical. Needless to say I only had a few bites of that Pizza before realizing LOUD AND CLEAR that this was NOT going to happen. My body said NO- and I needed to listen.

I have spent much of the last 2 weeks sick with some sort of upper-respiratory crap that took away my voice and my ability to do my job for awhile. But I'm back to work. It's nearly finals week and the Resolutions are going well.

1) Dry January.  Has been good. Being sick really curbs any and all desire to drink so that's helpful, my birthday is this month and I look forward to spending the money I would normally spend on a cocktail or a few on a really nice dinner and be of sound mind for the whole night. Maybe talk to me when I'm grading tests and exams on the 27th then maybe not so much.

2) My Health: Other than the 1 time I tried to cheat I've been good in terms of the resolution, mostly because I don't want to vomit again. I've had more immediate health crap going on so I'm focused on medical care for that, then I will reach out to Allergy specialists.  I eat a lot more fruit and veggies than I use to. I'm eating soy free and I feel better. I drink a lot more water.  Thank you to my dad for the wonderful birthday gift of new water bottles with straws.

Contigo Autoseal Water Bottles w/Straws

3) De-clutter and organize- well I continue to put items into bags, as I try things on and they don't fit. I throw away items that are beyond repair. On the 12th I took 30 more items to good will. While I don't use these items any more.  They are all still usable so I am hopeful someone will be able to find a use for them.

       I am also working to limit my shopping, this is probably the bigger deal for me. My husband can attest to the constant flow of Zulily and amazon boxes in our home. And frankly I do feel I have an over shopping problem and buy things I'll never use up and don't need to fill some sort of void in my life. I am giving away more than a few NEVER WORN items because they don't fit, but I cannot return them. I want to focus less on quantity of goods and more on quality of the things I own.

        I write down everything before I put it in a bag. Then I utilize a "reasonable value" list to determine the value of my donation. The Salvation Army Value Guide can also be very helpful for low to high end pricing scales.   I make sure that none of my individual donation items are over $500 in value (or you have to provide documentation: gowns and furs, cars pianos and the like, I have donated those things before. if you have questions feel free to ask).  Remember your attachment to the item is not the same as the items value.  I have given away over 60 items so far this year. At points in my life the attachment to some was probably unreasonable for items of clothing, but the total assessed value has been under $400.

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