happynewyear

There are 2 posts tagged happynewyear.

Resolved 2016: Let This Day Be Good

sunset over exit four

So 2015 was more challenging than usual. Mostly okay now but I had a lot of various maladies many of which took a while to resolve. This was partly because of the usual stuff–trouble getting appointments, things taking a while to heal, travel and vacations–but partly it’s because I got in my own way a bit too much. I’m smart and anxious and the first trait has a terrible multiplier effect on the second. So the end of this year saw me really working on calming down. Which sounds like an oxymoron but it’s really helped. Doing some regular meditation, staying offline for the first and last parts of the day, letting things slide more than seems reasonable at the time (but turns out to be ok!) all helped to wrap the difficult year up nicely. And I got better health insurance. And I’m working towards looking for a job that will handle this part of my life for me, the insurance part, but my status as itinerant freelance librarian doesn’t always lend itself to this.

So anyhow, I did my year end wrap ups which are listed here in one place:

And I checked back on my resolutions last year, both my offline resolutions and my online resolutions. I got my laundry done in decent fashion last year. I read before bed almost every night. I quit being only an armchair activist (mostly) and collated my online activities. It helped. I’m one of those people who resolutions work for. Making a promise to myself has motivational power. Totally AOK if they’re not your thing.

This year, in addition to flossing (because WTF why can’t I floss?), I have a meditation-inspired mantra which is the title of this post. I like it because emphasizing any of the five words can give you a different starting point and personal assignment for the day.

LET this day be good – get out of the way and leave the day be and it will be okay
Let THIS day be good – you can’t control what’s happening or what happened, let’s focus on today
Let this DAY be good – just a few hours, we can pull it off
Let this day BE good – the day without me will be fine and does not have to be special or exceptional, it can just be
Let this day be GOOD – good is okay. Good is fine. Settle for good.

That’s what I’m up to on this chilly January morning. Best of luck for a peaceful new year.

Hello New Year

me & the bonfire

So I’ve been writing up new book and library oriented New Year’s posts over at librarian.net and you can read them there. Short form: I read a book a week and visited a library a week, more or less. This blog is usually where I report where I’ve slept and what I’ve been doing exercise-wise. I’m working on the sleeping list but it’s gotten sidelined because I’ve been doing so much actual sleeping.

While Kate and Ned and Jim all got full-blown versions of The Crud, I seem to have a version that is 30% of the strength but lasts three times as long. Nothing bad, just mild achiness, sleepiness and always feeling a little muzzyheaded/dizzy. So I’ve been taking it easy. I changed the Justice of the Peace blog from daily to “irregular” which seems like an okay move. I’ve been drinking lots of tea and getting to bed early. I’ve been eating healthily but haven’t gotten back to the gym yet.

my fitness plan graph of minutes exercised

The good news is that thanks to keeping track of food and exercise on MyFitnessPal (and some concerted effort on my part) I lost the 20 pounds I was aiming for by the end of last year. For people who haven’t seen me in a few years, I look the same as I used to, just not the same as I did last year, if that makes sense. Additionally, thanks to to soap opera lure of Downton Abbey and my routine of only watching it while on the treadmill, I’ve got a pretty good exercise routine down (though looking for good one hour series to watch, suggestions?). The days are getting longer. I did not get demoted in my online trivia league, for once. There’s snow on the ground and it looks like real winter here. I got to see a lot of friends and family over holidaytime but without it feeling like a forced march. I finished a few long books that I really enjoyed.

I had a really long list of Shit To Do at the beginning of last year and I’m pretty certain I have done all the things on that list that were doable by me (as opposed to, say, by a team of lawyers and accountants) so I’m forgiving if I haven’t started 2013 in a blaze of energy. I’ve got to find some time to think out some new goals, new plans.