Resolved

Er, generally I’m not much of one for New Years’ Resolutions because, really, they’re a great big fail target waiting to happen.

However, I do have some goals for 2009 and quite frankly, it’s a good thing to write them down just so I don’t lose sight of them.  If you look closely at them they’ll look quite a lot like resolutions I guess… but without the resolve… more the intent and somewhat less of the internal pressure required to make a ridiculous number of wholesale changes all at once with nothing more than good intentions and will power to back them up… Oh, and these are in order of them popping into my head rather than any order of importance.

1. Get more active.  I really only got back into the habit of walking after Rose asked me to join her in November. I’d so forgotten how much more motivated I am after I’ve got the blood pumping a bit so even once she moved out of town I’ve been back on the beat.  My daily route is beautiful and takes from an hour to an hour and a half to complete around some of Sydney Harbour so I’d be a fool not to take advantage of it… I started walking in October just 2 days a week, have juiced it up to four and am happy to have stayed in the swing of things since coming home from NZ…
2. Make smarter food choices.  No, this is not a diet.  I won’t be weighing and measuring (either me or my food), nor will I be counting points or buying pre-made meals… I will be all about eating when I’m hungry and stopping when I’m not; eating what I want but doing what I can to want smarter things.  I think having a bit more home time on my hands makes it possible to look at my recipe books and find interesting recipes and having a much stricter budget means I’ll need to make some of the things I’d more often choose to go out for… (First attempt at Asian Salad a la the Wock Bar, great big bucket of win)… My biggest battle on the weight/health front is my relationship with food, why I want the bad things… that’s the goal… deal with the appetite… maybe the body will change, in its own time, at its own rate…
3. Plan meals and shop to the plan.  2008 got a bit hectic towards the end and I’d find myself defaulting to a stock cooking repertoire that was quick and easy and quite simply, boring.  There was a time when I used to find prepping dinner relaxing… I want to get back to that… I have good recipes and great produce available locally.  I’m looking forward to making the most of that more often.  I’m also wanting to reduce the amount of food waste I generate… I’ve thrown away a lot of produce due to planning too far ahead and having the plan change on me leaving food to go to wast… this bothers me and I’d like to redress the balance a bit…
4. Spent more time with friends.  Sounds easy… was certainly something I got better at later last year… this might be tricky once University kicks in but the intent is there for 09… and if you’re one of these friends, this is a direct invite to include me in your shenanigans!!
5. Achieve a Merit Scholarship at Uni for 2nd semester.  This is my incentive to work really hard on my coursework…  A merit scholarship is worth 300 bucks per paper… so a saving of $1200 (basically the cost of 1 paper) my student loan would be very helpful… To get it I have to achieve a Distinction (+75%) average… wish me luck!!!

I think that’s probably enough.  These are lofty maybe, but achievable nonetheless… will see how it goes…  What are your resolutions/plans/goals for 2009?