New Year's Resolutions: 2012

I'm not a big fan of resolutions. I've never been good at keeping them and it amazes me the number of people who have disregarded their resolutions by February.

That being said, I thought I'd try them this year. However, they really aren't resolutions, these are more like guidelines.

1. Be better at communication. I suck at my cell phone. It's constantly dead. There are consistently unheard voicemails. Emails take days or weeks to be replied to. Not anymore. I will be better! It will be charged. I will get a charger at work so I can get calls there too. I will respond to emails as soon as I read them. I will listen to voicemails and call people back by the end of the day.
2. Be more positive. Most times, I assume the worst. The worst in people, the worst possible outcomes, blah blah blah. And sometimes, it is a good strategy. It often does help me avoid being disappointed by expectations that are too high, but more often than not, it makes me assume the worst about the people themselves. And it's nearly impossible to let people in when you are assuming the worst about them.
3. Shave my legs once a week. Before you become grossed out, I have a skin condition. My skin breaks out in a very painful rash when it becomes worn. The most common place it occurs is on my legs where I shave, but I've gotten it in my underarms and when I used to wear a watch. Anyway, in order to keep it at bay, I've gotten good at putting off shaving, which I am very lucky to have very light hair so it's hard to notice. But I've gotten out of the habit and since I haven't had an outbreak in a while, it's time to see what happens. My doctor told me that while medication can help, the only thing that will make it go away forever is for me to grow out of it. Time to see if I have grown.
4. Incorporate more vegetables into my diet. You would think as a vegetarian my meals would be chock full of vegetables, but I kind of just have a couple on rotation. Hopefully, in my new work out plan, by planning out my meals the night before, I will be organized enough to cut up cucumbers for an afternoon snack. I will try to reach for baby carrots to dip into hummus rather than crackers. I will learn to cook a side of something that is not just frozen corn.
5. Hang out with someone once a week. I have fallen into the trend of making time and effort for friends when life gets really easy and straightforward. All that said, how hard is it really to meet a friend to catch up for dinner after work? Or to invite someone over for pasta and to show off the renovations we've been doing? I need to not put pressure on every time I hang out with someone and hopefully by increasing the frequency, I'll get better at this and things will be easier.
6. Work out before work once a week. Most Fridays, I dress up really cute and by the time I get home from work, working out is the last thing on my mind. I want to go out and be seen! So, if I can work out in the morning before the easiest day of the week, I might be able to start the weekend on the right foot. Morning yoga isn't so bad, right?
7. Put some effort into every outfit I wear. Is it really so hard to put on a cute pair of flats, some bracelets, and a coat of mascara when I run to the grocery store? I think not. 
8. Finish painting the house. We've got about a third painted and while it's not pressing, the hardest part is just choosing the colors. Once we've finally done that, it's moving furniture, patching up the old walls the former owners didn't bother fixing, painting, then reploacing light fixtures and outlet covers. It adds up remarkably quickly, and while I hope we finish it up next year, I hope it takes all year for the sake of our budget. But it's amazing how changing the color of the walls makes the house feel more like ours.

I know most of my resolutions are fairly shallow, but that's how resolutions are supposed to be. Otherwise, they're just goals and those are sooooooooooo boring.