Resolutions

At the beginning of every year people tend to make all kinds of resolutions and hope that they can actually act on and achieve these resolutions before the end of the year. Most people, I assume, fail or fall off the wagon after a few weeks or months. So, like every other fool out there, here is my list of resolutions for the year. I tried to keep it to a minimum so as to not disappoint myself too much when we reach December.

1. Continue to work out. I was really good about working out last year. I lifted weights every other day and on the weekends I took long walks or hikes. Granted, like most people, I took a break from working out in November and December because there was just too much going on. With work, parties at work, holidays, and vacations, it is tough to stick to the routine. But now that the holidays are behind us, I plan on getting back into my routine. I also want to add yoga back to my routine. When I do yoga, I do it more to increase my flexibility and to relax before bed. I want to do this more often this year.

2. Continue eat healthy. I was also really good about this last year, so I plan on doing this again. However, I'm not going to be too hard on myself, and will absolutely let myself "cheat" when I'm eating out with friends or when I'm on vacation.

3. Continue to have fun cooking. Loyal readers might have gotten the sense that I really like to cook. I'm not sure how great I am—the food usually tastes good to me—but I like to call cooking one of my hobbies. Over the past few years, there have been several dishes that I've more or less perfected. I have a good number of dishes that I know I can always make easily, quickly, and well. This year I want to try different things. I want to expand my repertoire and try new things or new cuisines. Toward the end of last year, I experimented more with baking and I want to keep doing this.

4. Read more or brush up on my Greek and Latin. Considering my career revolves around books, it might be hard to believe that I don't read a lot in my spare time. When you spend the entire day scanning and reading things on a screen or off a page, it's sometimes hard to come home and pick up a book. By the end of the day I'm usually tired and my brain feels like a marshmallow, so sitting in front of the TV watching a show or a movie is what I have preferred to do. But I'd like to keep my brain a little more active and engaged. And, because I no longer read Greek or Latin on a regular basis, I've gotten a little rusty. So I'd like to remind my brain that I actually do know these languages and have spent a lot of time (and my family's money) learning these languages.

5. Take more time off work! Some of my lovely friends will be happy to read this one. Again, as loyal readers might now, I'm a bit of a workaholic. Toward the end of last year when I was planning my Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations, I realized that I took only three or four days off. And, sadly, a few of those days off was when I was moving. So my goal is to take more time off so that I don't get burned out at the end of the year. Even if I take a few "sick" days here and there, I'm sure it will make a difference in the long run.

That is my list of potentially achievable New Year's resolutions. We'll see how well I do...